Guns went off when dropped

[mgood]

Someone's Type 928387332 (and all its clones) is a loads-itself gun, shooting from a closed (breech? like getting through a door? no, that's breach with an A. Or like pants? Those are britches. Okay, some closed thing.) Like all guns, its operation is based on the action of the blah blah blah blah blah. These gases are used to cycle some part of the gun, whose recycling action will eject some other part of the gun case...and now my eyes are glazed over and I am lost...firing.

Here's an animation that shows something flying out the front and something else flying out the back right at you so you can flinch even when you're just watching it online! It's cool!

[TDDude]

I've never believed any of the stories about guns going off just because they were dropped and discharged as they hit the ground. My suspicion is that the story is intentially misleading in order for the media to portray firearms as more dangerous than they actually are.

The truth is more along the line of if it was actually dropped, someone was trying to catch it. One reason I like DA/SA semi-auto pistols is that if the hammer is down, it's not going to go off even if it is dropped and I catch it only by the trigger. (No, I don't and won't. Just an example!!) My Berettas take around a 15 lb. pull around an inch long before the first round is fired and that is a lot of dropping.

I can see the pencil in the backpack argument if it's some sort of striker fired pistol without a grip safety but even that's a stretch of the odds.

Nope, the booger hooker was involved and a story is made up to save face or to distort facts.

[mgood]

I've never believed any of the stories about guns going off just because they were dropped and discharged as they hit the ground. My suspicion is that the story is intentially misleading in order for the media to portray firearms as more dangerous than they actually are. . . .

Nope, the booger hooker was involved and a story is made up to save face or to distort facts.

I won't say it never happens. But my first suspicion every time I hear "it just went off," is that someone had their finger on the trigger.
Even with a 1911 with no firing pin safety, I think the odds of it firing by hitting the ground are right up there with being struck by lightening while on your way to cash in your winning lotto ticket.

Long guns may be a different story. Many (most?) of them might be more susceptible to firing when dropped. But the chances of one firing and actually hitting someone anywhere but in the foot seem pretty astronomical to me. When we heard the story of the kid who knocked the gun over while cleaning the cabinet, and shot his brother in the chest, my bull meter immediately went into the red.

[flb_78]

There was a thread on this site where a member dropped a 1911 muzzle first and it fired off. The member provided pictures and his first hand account. He did not try to grab it on the way down.

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... +discharge" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A NAA revolver will also go off if dropped on the hammer.

The Ruger LCP had a recall because of a possibility of it going off. I have never heard of or read of any instance where it had happened. If I recall, it was some California agency that claimed that the LCP did not pass their "drop test" and therefore, the LCP was not eligible to be sold in California.

[mgood]

There was a thread on this site where a member dropped a 1911 muzzle first and it fired off. The member provided pictures and his first hand account. He did not try to grab it on the way down.

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... +discharge" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's pretty amazing.

I won't say it never happens.

But I still think this is much, much more rare than what people claim. Without seeing the pictures with the outline of the muzzle on the floor, I probably would doubt his story. But as presented, it is a compelling case.

A NAA revolver will also go off if dropped on the hammer.

Not if it's carried correctly.
(Or at least not those made within the last few years. I don't know how long they've been this way.)
There are notches between the chambers in which the hammer rests. It's not over any of the cartridges. No matter how hard you beat on that hammer, it won't contact the cartridges.
http://www.northamericanarms.com/videos.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[NcongruNt]

A couple of years ago, there was one post reported in the forum where a gun fell out of a jacket pocket and discharged, hitting the owner. I think that it was a 1911, but I am not certain. I can't recall the thread right now.

That was a RIA 1911. That problem is easily overcome by installing a heavy firing pin spring and/or a light firing pin. That was the exact thing the poster did with his 1911 after it happened.

The post you are talking about is here:

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=16443" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The heavy spring/light firing pin is a better solution than a firing pin block add-on that is prevalent in most production 1911s these days. This leaves less potential for mechanical failure, which I've heard happening from posts here on this forum. I believe the one I recall most vividly was one of the Sig designs, which retain some of the mechanics of the firing pin safety system using the rear sight. The user had the rear sight come loose for some reason, and made the 1911 completely non-functional. Ruger has gone the heavy spring/light pin route for their new 1911, which is one reason I'm interested in getting one.

[Vecco]

I put people and news reports about dropping a gun and it going off in the same category as people who wreck their car while texting and say “they were distracted by something outside the car”. They are trying to change a ND to an AD so they don’t look stupid.