After 40 years as a Firearms Instructor, every time I hear about someone killed while "Cleaning their gun" I have to wonder why and how. How do you clean a loaded gun? Most of the time this is a euphemism for suicide. Those are accidents with clearing the gun when preparing to clean it or put it away. But who in their right mind looks down the barrel of a gun to see if it's loaded.
I think Johny Ringo's father committed suicide and the family was too ashamed to admit it. It's common among Cops and older men to claim they died cleaning their guns, so the family gets the insurance money. It's sad, but true. That suicide could be the source of Johny Ringo's shame and despair that helped lead him into the life he choose.