Shot in Leg by Bathroom Stall Neighbor

[joe817]

I believe that any gun, can go off at any time, announced or unannounced, when dropped.

To believe anything else, is to lull myself into a false sense of security and start disregarding the rules of gun safety.

That's how I feel and I'm unanimous in that statement.

[dicion]

I believe that any gun, can go off at any time, announced or unannounced, when dropped.

To believe anything else, is to lull myself into a false sense of security and start disregarding the rules of gun safety.

That's how I feel and I'm unanimous in that statement.

That's a good way to go ;)

However, the question is, do you agree with my saying that "if it's falling, let it fall. Don't grab for it"?

To me, the chance of AD/ND is only increased by attempting to catch a falling firearm.

[joe817]

I believe that any gun, can go off at any time, announced or unannounced, when dropped.
To believe anything else, is to lull myself into a false sense of security and start disregarding the rules of gun safety.
That's how I feel and I'm unanimous in that statement.

That's a good way to go ;)
However, the question is, do you agree with my saying that "if it's falling, let it fall. Don't grab for it"?
To me, the chance of AD/ND is only increased by attempting to catch a falling firearm.

(I had to think long and hard on this). In all honesty? I'd have to say no. IMO, chances of the impact of the falling gun hitting the floor and discharging, is greater than the chance catching it and cushioning the impact. I guess I'd have to say I'd try to catch it, IF AND ONLY IF I was in a place where people were near by. If I was in a room by myself(eg: in my bedroom and the family at the other end of the house), then I'd probably let it fall and just get the heck out of the way.

It is an eminently potentially deadly situation, what ever you do.

Note: This is ONLY my opinion, and I'm NOT recommending that you do what I would do.

[DoubleJ]

That's a good way to go ;)

However, the question is, do you agree with my saying that "if it's falling, let it fall. Don't grab for it"?

To me, the chance of AD/ND is only increased by attempting to catch a falling firearm.

my Beretta 92 has a FPB, so it's free, free falling.
actually had an incident many moons ago when I first got my CHL. Had a cheap holster (hey, it happens), and was bounding down the stairs from my Apt. Agent 92 (as I like to call him) jumped, no leaped, out of my holster and made it down the last five steps before I did. reminded me of that scene in True Lies where Ms Curtis drops the Uzi and falls down the stairs, fires, and eliminates everyone. except my version had no gunfire.

my Kimber has a Schwartz system. no, I don't have a "drop" story with a SpaceBalls reference, cause, well, that gun don't get dropped.

my Glock'n Wesson also has a firing pin block, so I'm not too worried about it, either.

I am not even trying to catch an already falling firearm.
"Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent..."

[dicion]

(I had to think long and hard on this). In all honesty? I'd have to say no. IMO, chances of the impact of the falling gun hitting the floor and discharging, is greater than the chance catching it and cushioning the impact. I guess I'd have to say I'd try to catch it, IF AND ONLY IF I was in a place where people were near by. If I was in a room by myself(eg: in my bedroom and the family at the other end of the house), then I'd probably let it fall and just get the heck out of the way.

It is an eminently potentially deadly situation, what ever you do.

Note: This is ONLY my opinion, and I'm NOT recommending that you do what I would do.

And this is where we disagree. I believe that grabbing for a firearm while it's falling can very likely cause a violation of the 4 rules, eg, you might put your finger on the trigger & squeese it as you're trying to catch it, therefore, in the case of some handguns with only a trigger safery, WILL cause it to discharge.

If you let it drop, chances are will only discharge if it lands perfectly on the muzzle (if it does at all), and in that case, it would only discharge stright down into the floor. To me, that is about as safe of an AD as you can have.

Granted, each firearm is different.

I'd have less trepidation of trying to catch a 1911 as compared to a glock, but I still would not try it.

To AD a Condition 1 1911 while it is falling, you would have to do 3 things. Disengage the slide safety, depress the grip safety, and pull the trigger. Unlikely? Sure.. still possible? Yes, especially if the slide safety got accidentally disengaged in the holster (common issue).

To AD a Condition 1 Glock, all you would have to do while it was falling was grab and pull the trigger. Thats it. Would DEFINATELY recommend not even attempting to try to catch a falling Glock.

An XD is in the middle of that. No Slide safety, but still a grip safery and trigger safety.... so each one is different.

[joe817]

Thank you sir. We are agreeing to disagree. That's fine. But given the scenario, I would make no attempt to "grab" it. I'd just let it fall in an outstretched palm of the hand.....just to cushion the impact.

You are much more knowledgeable than I on the intricate workings of various guns, so I'll acquiesce to your judgment. (I still stand firm in what I would do, given that circumstance....but that's just me.)

[roberts]

To AD a Condition 1 Glock, all you would have to do while it was falling was grab and pull the trigger. Thats it. Would DEFINATELY recommend not even attempting to try to catch a falling Glock.

Same as a revolver. But if you pull the trigger is it really AD?

[dicion]

I'm using 'Accidental' here as in 'did not intend to do so'..

So I'm pretty sure that someone who is trying to grab or catch a falling handgun is not 'intentionally' trying to pop off a round when doing so

[dukalmighty]

I personally had a RIA 1911 45 drop from my holster at waist level muzzle first on my tiled concrete bathroom floor and discharged when it hit,my shirt got wedged between the gun and holster and when I pulled my shirt up it pulled the gun out of a crossbreed IWB holster,the JHP blew a circle in the tile and pieces of lead and copper jacket ended up in the tub and bathroom floor,I received a small cut on my ankle.I changed the Firing pin spring to a wilf X-strong one immediately afterwards,I was shocked it fired and it was from a height of only 3 feet

[jlangton]

Seems like just running those dividers all the way to the floor would solve multiple problems (Larry Craig) along with giving folks additional privacy and some extra cover in the rare event an idiot drops a gun in the next stall.

i like the way you think...
JL

[dukalmighty]

Then again, if it was a 1911 instead of some piece of BT, it would require both the trigger AND the grip safety to be pressed, in opposite directions of eachother, to fire, not to mention the thumb safety...

I'm not sayin'.. I'm just sayin.

This is not true, 1911s without a firing pin block can potentially go bang when dropped. This includes the original design 1911s, and There was a thread about a Rock Island Armory 1911 discharging in this forum

as almost anything is possible, I also believe that a mechanically sound 1911, with or without the FP safety, improbable to discharge from a drop of aprox. 4'. I read of the RIA discharge on another forum. The owner had a FP spring that was too short/or too weak.
If you can find other instances of 1911's going off from short drops, whether directly on the muzzle or otherwise please post a link or reference to that info. With or without FP safetys. Thanks in advance.

I'm the guy that had the RIA 1911 compact 45 discharge with Remington 230 grn JHP ammo,the gun fell from waist height on a tiled bathroom floor,the only alteration to the gun was an ambi safety was installed and working at the time.I did not try to catch the gun but watch it fall straight down on its muzzle, a fraction of a second later the boom.After that incident I replaced the stock factory FP spring with a wolf x strong spring.The gun had about 1000 rounds thru it at that time

[The Annoyed Man]

Seems like just running those dividers all the way to the floor would solve multiple problems (Larry Craig) along with giving folks additional privacy and some extra cover in the rare event an idiot drops a gun in the next stall.

Tim, I'm laughing because that sentence sounds like a line from that character "Subliminal Man" Kevin Nealon used to play on SNL years ago.

[The Annoyed Man]

In regard to dropping 1911s...

My Kimber has a firing pin block that retains it until the trigger is pulled (and grip safety depressed). Be that as it may... ...I don't drop it.

My Springfield beats the problem by having a titanium firing pin which doesn't weigh enough to overcome the inertia of the spring when dropped. I choose not to drop it either.

[Oldgringo]

Anybody thought about goin' before you leave home?

[VoiceofReason]

Well I have been criticized enough for carrying my Kimber on half cock so let’s not get into that again.

But because I do, yes I would try to catch it. Wouldn’t matter if I did get my finger in the trigger guard and squeezed the trigger while catching it.