Uh Huh. Good advice, but what do you do when it happens?
semi auto...is it safe if dropped?
- Thread starter hdtwice
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Uh Huh. Good advice, but what do you do when it happens?
InsideWaist
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Pick it up, dust it off, inspect it, reholster, and be on your way.
ThrowinRocks
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If you're going to reach inside the pistol to flip the lever to release the slide so that you don't have to pull the trigger then you just cleared the pistol because you CAN NOT flip the lever out if there's a round or mag in the pistol.
So if you pull the trigger after clearing it is just as safe.
I guess Glock and other gunmakers got it all wrong.
So if you pull the trigger after clearing it is just as safe.
I guess Glock and other gunmakers got it all wrong.
OP
hdtwice
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Thanks for taking the time to share that vid link....very informative.
Bkreutz
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All modern semi auto handguns have multiple drop safeties, the one thing they can't prevent is discharge if you grab your gun midair after you dropped it, if you happen to get your finger into the trigger guard, it can go off. The IPSC community just lost a very experienced shooter due to this. Vancouver man dies after pistol shooting competition accident | Metro Vancouver
OP
hdtwice
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This seems to be a common safety theme in this thread of which I am grateful because I am on a steep learning curve and catching a dropping gun is not something I would have thought of. Thanks to all who brought this up.
InsideWaist
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Or maybe invest in a lanyard/tether for you gun and let it fall.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzB97lzXuwI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzB97lzXuwI[/ame]
Just to add comment that isn't needed.....
I believe that even modern single-action revolvers, whcih were notorious for the firing pin hitting the primer at inopportune times, have a hammer block to prevent firing on dropping. If it's an old fashioned design, though, careful because a drop can set off a shot.
I believe that even modern single-action revolvers, whcih were notorious for the firing pin hitting the primer at inopportune times, have a hammer block to prevent firing on dropping. If it's an old fashioned design, though, careful because a drop can set off a shot.
Mounties
How about those RCMP uniforms, I remember seeing them in movies, looked like a cord fastened to their sidearm, don't know if they still do.
Or maybe invest in a lanyard/tether for you gun and let it fall.
Where Are The Handgun Dum Dum Cords? - YouTube
How about those RCMP uniforms, I remember seeing them in movies, looked like a cord fastened to their sidearm, don't know if they still do.
Like a revolver, if you do not have a chambered round in a semi, it is very safe if dropped. If you have a chambered round in a revolver when dropped it is dangerous. If you have a chamberered round in a semi when dropped, the trigger mechanism will prevent firing. So I would,say that a semi is safer if dropped than a revolver.
I will never catch a pistol that I dropped in mid air, why you say, because I don't have reflexes like a cat, I probably could catch in on the second or third bounce. I had my service revolver fall out of my holster once during a fight, I kicked it into a nearby sewer and maced the guy. ESU truck 2 Manhattan North was not very happy fishing my Model 10 out. Oh yea it stunk.The revolver didn't go off upon impact, nor the recovery process.
You just gave the best advice of the night.
Bullzaye
US Veteran
Sure...the *safer* condition for a revolver is to have an empty chamber under the hammer, and the *safer* condition for a semi-auto is with an empty chamber. But then, the *safest* condition for either is to have them completely unloaded, locked up, and separated from the ammo!
However, if we're talking about keeping a firearm around to potentially be used for self-defense, it makes much more sense to have it immediately ready for use, when practical. As has been said...modern pistols are VERY safe to have around, completely loaded. A modern revolver is every bit as safe as a modern semi-auto, as they both have internal automatic mechanical safeties that reduce the likelihood of an accidental discharge due to being dropped to an extremely low probability.
While it's certainly preferable *not* to drop a firearm...I wouldn't agree that dropping a loaded revolver is more dangerous than any other sort of firearm...assuming again that we're speaking of a "modern" revolver. As has been mentioned, older revolvers, especially older single action revolvers, often lack any sort of transfer bar or hammer-blocking mechanism, and these could definitely be hazardous if dropped. Certainly it's quite advisable to know for sure into which category your gun fits. As has been said...the Shield is quite drop-safe.
Tim
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Good info, especially for me who last shot a revolver in the 1970s.
I think people who do not have a chambered round in their carry gun have a strong death wish or are simply nuts.
mnshutterbug
Member
And to think Wild Bill Hickock and the like used to twirl their 6 shooters before holstering them. They must not have had any safety training. 
I think what you are saying is that S&W didn't need to bother with the sear lever because its just as safe to clear the chamber and pull the trigger. True enough IF the chamber is cleared first. Unfortunately, there are way to many morons out there that will assume its clear without checking it and then pull the trigger. BANG! If you use the lever in a S&W this won't happen.
FWIW, I've heard others say you can disassemble an M&P by pulling the trigger but I have tried with mine and it does not work. Perhaps they changed something.
And to think Wild Bill Hickock and the like used to twirl their 6 shooters before holstering them. They must not have had any safety training.
Hickock was reported to have fired his revolvers every morning and then reloaded them for the day, to insusre that his loads were "fresh." If he followed the common practice of his day and loaded only 5 chambers in his 6 shooter, leaving the hammer down on an empty chamber when the gun was holstered, then his (first generation/no-transfer-bar-safety) revolvers were completely drop safe if he twirled them after loading and before holstering.
mnshutterbug
Member
Thanks for the history lesson.
dougb1946
Member
Don't believe all you read about the cowboys with guns. Fast draws were not common. Gun fights could be at close range with 2 guns emptied and the only casualty was the mirror or the windows. Navy Colts like Wild Bill carried are heavy and long barreled. Twirling can remove skin from a finger.
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