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Man Dies Terrorizing Women And Children

HankD

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
I've never had an accidental discharge of a firearm, but back when I was in the junior NRA rimfire program I avoided such an incident by pure happenstance. I liked to dry-fire praqctice in my upstairs bedroom using empty brass, and one evening I closed the bolt and found the trigger had already let off. The bolt noise must have screened that of the pin. Tried again, same thing, so I took the old Mossberg and some brass down to my dad. He quickly diagnosed trigger creep (I'd enjoyed the hair trigger), and adjusted it to 2.5 lb, sealed with a dot of glue. Had I not dry-fired that week, the following Saturday at the range I probably would've sent 40 grains of lead over the backstop hill.

I was present at one accidental discharge at age 14, at that time the minimum age for a regular NJ hunting license. A friend was showing me his recent gift of a .30-.30 (for out of state use only, rifles illegal in NJ then and now) and I should've spoken up as he showed me how to load it. Next thing I recall was dust settling from ceiling and walls, and the thunder of parents charging toward the room. His mom gently told me I ought to go home, but as I walked away from the house the swats and cries were plainly audible. Fortunately, for both of us, he had been pointing the weapon in a safe direction, the bullet exiting thru the crown molding above his closet.
Whew!
 

Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
1. I carry and I do not chamber a round.
2. Before my weapon is holstered and a magazine is inserted I check the chamber and release the trigger.
3. Arguments can be made for and against both practices.

Yep, I don't chamber a round either, but will admit I feel and often think about I can only hope that 1 second it takes to do so doesn't ever cost me. It's personal decision, I've taken the responsibility to weigh the risk of an "accident" happening with having a round chambered against the risk of taking the time to chamber a round and believe the odds are better to maintain that no accidental trigger pull would fire a round, .Accidents like that of the "expert" DEA agent demonstrates very well that the risk is real, although I wouldn't expect an on duty law enforcement agent to not have round chambered, but otherwise as a general rule all it takes is a touch of the trigger at any time or place, under any circumstance or mishap, and it happens all too often so the responsibility one accepts is his own.

BTW, if you watch closely the women in the video appears chamber a round just before firing and she seems to have done just fine....
 

Baptist Believer

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Yep, I don't chamber a round either, but will admit I feel and often think about I can only hope that 1 second it takes to do so doesn't ever cost me.
Unless you have cover, that one second and the distinctive noise of cycling a semiautomatic can be fatal.

It's personal decision, I've taken the responsibility to weigh the risk of an "accident" happening with having a round chambered against the risk of taking the time to chamber a round and believe the odds are better to maintain that no accidental trigger pull would fire a round.
If you have a firearm with a hair trigger, you definitely should not have a round chambered. Of course, I would also not recommend that for a carry pistol. If you have a good holster that covers/blocks the trigger, then many of the risks go away.
 

HankD

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Unless you have cover, that one second and the distinctive noise of cycling a semiautomatic can be fatal.


If you have a firearm with a hair trigger, you definitely should not have a round chambered. Of course, I would also not recommend that for a carry pistol. If you have a good holster that covers/blocks the trigger, then many of the risks go away.
Safety? - red is dead.
 

TCassidy

Late-Administator Emeritus
Administrator
I've taken the responsibility to weigh the risk of an "accident" happening with having a round chambered against the risk of taking the time to chamber a round and believe the odds are better to maintain that no accidental trigger pull would fire a round, .
There is no such thing as an "accidental" discharge of a firearm. There are only negligent discharges. The trigger can't pull itself.

Unless you have cover, that one second and the distinctive noise of cycling a semiautomatic can be fatal.
Yes. One way street to the morgue. Not to mention if you can't use your left hand for some reason, you can't chamber a round one-handed.

If you have a firearm with a hair trigger, you definitely should not have a round chambered. Of course, I would also not recommend that for a carry pistol. If you have a good holster that covers/blocks the trigger, then many of the risks go away.
Exactly. You have no business carrying a sidearm with a hair trigger.

Minimum trigger pull for my striker fired carry pistols without manual safety is 6-8 pounds.

Minimum trigger pull for my hammer fired carry pistols with a manual safety is 4-6 pounds.

The only pistols with less than a 4 pound trigger pull is my competition M&P and I never carry it. To carry that pistol, with a 2 pound trigger pull and no manual safety would be irresponsible.
 

Baptist Believer

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Safety? - red is dead.
I don't want a traditional safety on a conceal carry pistol -- too much to worry about in an emergency. Let the safety be a decisive pull of the trigger. My carry pistol, a Sig P250, has a long trigger pull of about 5.5 pounds. There is quite a bit of smooth travel in the trigger, so it is just about impossible to accidentally fire it.
 

Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
There is no such thing as an "accidental" discharge of a firearm. There are only negligent discharges. The trigger can't pull itself.

Agreed, which is why I quoted "accident'. ;) But , it is the real possibility of a "negligent" discharge, that risk that everyone takes, and undeniably happens too often - unless they are always 100% perfect - which weighs in my decision about the odds being more in favor of it being safer to risk having to take that second to chamber a round. IOW's I've personally seen negligent discharges happen a few times, all of which could have been bad and commonly leads to criticism of the handler, but I've never seen anyone in such an urgent situation that their or others safety was jeopardized by not having a round already in the chamber.

There is really no comparison between the dangers in the number of negligent discharges, which could be avoided, and the dangers of not having a round already chambered. Granted, this is speaking from a general rather than profession use and overall which odds would lead to being more responsible - generally speaking.
 
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Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Unless you have cover, that one second and the distinctive noise of cycling a semiautomatic can be fatal.


If you have a firearm with a hair trigger, you definitely should not have a round chambered. Of course, I would also not recommend that for a carry pistol. If you have a good holster that covers/blocks the trigger, then many of the risks go away.
Yep, all these things have been factored in my personal decision.

Note, the woman (mother) in video had her pistol in her purse which perhaps is why this "professional" didn't have a round already chambered.
 
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Bro. Curtis

<img src =/curtis.gif>
Site Supporter
Numerous safety devices on an ACP .45. It won’t fire unless someone is holding it. It won’t fire when pressed agains something. You can walk around with one in the chamber, cocked and locked as we call it. The gun will not go off.
 

Baptist Believer

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Numerous safety devices on an ACP .45. It won’t fire unless someone is holding it. It won’t fire when pressed agains something. You can walk around with one in the chamber, cocked and locked as we call it. The gun will not go off.
Do you carry inside the waist band on the .45?

I've thought of carrying a .45, but I'm concerned about the carry weight and over-penetration of the roung, even with a hollow point.
 
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TCassidy

Late-Administator Emeritus
Administrator
Numerous safety devices on an ACP .45. It won’t fire unless someone is holding it. It won’t fire when pressed agains something. You can walk around with one in the chamber, cocked and locked as we call it. The gun will not go off.
In fact, the only way you can put the safety on is for the gun to be cocked.
 

Bro. Curtis

<img src =/curtis.gif>
Site Supporter
No. I have a hip holster. I don’t generally carry in public. I keep one on when I’m in the woods. Yep. They aren’t light. I generally use police rounds. They’re cheap. I used to carry a .44 magnum in the woods but I’m an old man now. I just go where the grizzlies don’t.
 

TCassidy

Late-Administator Emeritus
Administrator
Note, the woman (mother) in video had her pistol in her purse which perhaps is why this "professional" didn't have a round already chambered.
I don't think she chambered a round. I looked at the video at 300% zoom and in very slow motion.

What I saw was her doing what we were taught in the academy when in plain clothes. When you draw your firearm you put your off hand over the center so your hand breaks up the shape of the gun and the assailant does not notice it so quickly.

It appears to me that is exactly what she did. :)
 

TCassidy

Late-Administator Emeritus
Administrator
Do you carry inside the waist band on the .45?

I've thought of carrying a .45, but I'm concerned about the carry weight and over-penetration of the roung, even with a hollow point.
Mine's too heavy too. My every day carry firearm is either a Walther P380 or a SIG single stack P225 in 9mm. The Walther has a polymer frame, and the SIG has an aluminum frame.

But for the most part I always carry IWB. I have several Alien Gear holsters that are the most comfortable I have ever worn. (And I have been carrying for almost 60 years.) :)
 

Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
I don't think she chambered a round. I looked at the video at 300% zoom and in very slow motion.

What I saw was her doing what we were taught in the academy when in plain clothes. When you draw your firearm you put your off hand over the center so your hand breaks up the shape of the gun and the assailant does not notice it so quickly.

It appears to me that is exactly what she did. :)
I noted her throw her left elbow back from covering the gun, that action appeared pretty definitive toward her cocking the gun to me.
 
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