THIS HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY BEATEN TO DEATH!
Please read this thread:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/concea...iability-modifying-gun-used-self-defense.html
are trigger jobs(apex etc.) advisable for CC use. I was just inquiring do to civil liabilities,if it were used in a defensive situation. you know how lawyers are.
You are fine. A justified shoot is a justified (no matter the trigger used).
...and you're responsible for every bullet fired from your pistol.
A 1-pound trigger is more likely to have an accidental -- sorry, negligent -- discharge than a heavier weight trigger.
Not sure where 4.5 pounds came from, but it's been considered the ideal minimum weight for probably 100 years. My M&P9 was setup for 4.5 pounds but the trigger reset was too light for me so I added the Apex carry/duty spring set for a very nice 5.5 pound weight.
-- Chuck
THIS HAS BEEN THOROUGHLY BEATEN TO DEATH!
Please read this thread:
Any liability with modifying a gun used for self defense?
Did anyone read the last couple of posts on the thread quoted herein?
Massad Ayoob may be the most respected trial witness regarding handgun defense we know. He said regarding this very question:
What some are missing here is that attorneys know there is no such thing as a justifiable accident. This is where we get the prosecutor who changes his theory of the case to negligent accidental discharge, in hope of an easy win on Manslaughter instead of a high hill to climb for a Murder conviction. This is where we get the plaintiff's lawyer who fabricates an accidental discharge theory because homeowner liability will pay off for negligence, but not for the "willful tort" of an intentional act.
A trigger pull lighter than factory spec plays right into their hands, as does a deactivated safety device on a firearm. This is the kind of thing cshoff is wisely warning about.
We can't confuse how we think things should be with how they are, and like it or not, this is how things sometimes are.
ME AGAIN.So Massad told us how an attorney can and will take your lightened trigger pull and contend you may have 'accidently' murdered his client. Perhaps if the trigger was stock, the deceased would be un-deceased. Now the jury can consider this win-win scenario! They can convict you on a lesser charge that your insurance will pay, and the family of the dead attacker gets compensated. In a jurist's mind, that may be the best way to put this case to rest and get back home grilling weenies with his kids on the deck.
You get a reckless homicide conviction because you modified your trigger.
Now before you get all bent out of shape, remember, we're dealing with lawyers here....
Without getting into Ayoob's issues, most states have a castle doctrine to protect the shooter.
Nuff said.
C4
You are mistakenly under the belief that the circumstances surrounding any shooting you would be involved in would be black and white. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen in every case. Things happen; bad or inaccurate police work, prosecutors trying to make a name for themselves, bad eyewitness accounts, evidence that paints a less than accurate picture, etc. There are a hundred different reasons why your choice in making a modification could be called into question. On the other hand, if you DON'T make a modification, there is a 0% chance it could ever be called into question.
Yeah, my M&P9 trigger pull is very light for being stock. I don't have any gauge to tell me what the pull is, but I'd guess it's in the low 4# range. I haven't made any changes to it at all and would be fine for home defense or concealed carry.