Posted on 11/20/2011 8:51:58 PM PST by smokingfrog
A Spotsylvania County man with a valid concealed-weapon permit died after a semi-automatic pistol without an external safety discharged as he tried to adjust the weapon, which was tucked into his waistband, investigators have concluded.
The 45-year-old man was sitting in the front seat of his family's minivan in a shopping center parking lot on Sunday when his .40-caliber Glock discharged, authorities said.
"For some reason, maybe for comfort, he reached out and went to adjust it," said Spotsylvania sheriff's Capt. Liz Scott. "The detective thinks that in doing so — in just grabbing it — he inadvertently grabbed the trigger."
"This particular weapon does not have an external safety," Scott added.
The single shot struck the man in the hip and he bled to death in a matter of minutes, the captain said.
The incident is at least the second in Virginia in 15 months in which a concealed-carry permit holder accidentally shot himself in public.
On Sept. 11, 2010, a Bedford County man with a permit accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a Lynchburg restaurant as he apparently reached into his pants pocket to pay a bartender for a beer. The .45-caliber Glock 36 was unholstered. Permit holders are not permitted to drink alcohol in restaurants while carrying a concealed weapon.
The man was later convicted of recklessly handing a firearm, given a 30-day suspended jail sentence and fined $500. He also was ordered to give up his concealed-carry permit for a year.
In the Spotsylvania case, police said the victim was sitting inside his family's van with his four children outside the Giant grocery store in the Harrison Crossing shopping center.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.timesdispatch.com ...
Never, ever, ever, ever carry a loaded Glock without a holster.
Your old Navy .44 reminds me of using a car as a defensive weapon. It gets them the first time if your aim is true, but it takes so darn long to reload.
My preferred CC weapon is a SiG p232 in .380, 7+1 and decocked. I sometimes carry a S&W snubbie revolver loaded with .38 Special +P as circumstances direct. In both cases, I use holsters (shoulder, pocket, IWB, etc.)
Advantage SiG p232: comfortable CC carry and shooting.
Advantage S&W snubbie: Point and click (boom) interface.
LLS
The “hard and fast” rule is that if your gun does not have a safety, never chamber a round unless you are in the process of firing it or in the case that you think you will need to use it immediately if attacked...and that only applies in very special circumstances.
With respect to safety, a Glock is functionally the same as a revolver. Would you carry a double action revolver with the hammer on an empty chamber? Most people would not, prefering to be able to simply pull the trigger to get cartridge ignition. Understand what you are carrying, and the safety laws will follow. A 1911 carried cocked and locked looks dangerous and scary to the uninitiated, but only because the hammer is exposed. Functionally, it is as safe as any other semi-auto with an external safety. My vote is to always have a round in the chamber and adopt the right safety rules.
Tragic...
Get to the range often and practice, practice, practice is what we preach to the ladies we teach in our Second Amendment Sister classes.
Unless its a Fun House or a 270 combat range, all ranges won't allow anything near real practice. I submit that any traditional range time is developing and reinforcing very bad habits or "anti-patterns".
Crims worthy of shooting are not going to be standing centered, straight and motionless exactly seven yards away in excellent lighting calmly allowing you to stand without cover or concealment in front of a yellow line, with already unholstered weapon in your strong hand forming a textbook stance and forming a clear sight picture before squeezing off a round in center mass, pausing a second and delivering remaining rounds. (Eagle Peak discourages "rapid fire" and is thus a worthless pistol range suitable only for zeroing rifles)
True practice would be in a high stress environment, with rounds heading your way, shooting while on the move, with an off-hand while ducking for cover while your subject is also running ducking and hiding in bad lighting. Even IPSC or IPDA is far from reality since no one has to shoot a dozen gouls hiding in your house.
You want practice? Paint Ball.
that said, Prayers up for the 4 kids who got their eardrums spiked, then watched in horror as their father bled out while screaming for his life...
brady and bloomy prolly got 4 new members of their sick cults for this guys foolish notion that he knew what he was doing was 'safe' enuff...
Glocks have a “trigger safety” and you can drop it off a 4 story building, loaded w/a cartridge in the chamber and It WILL NOT discharge; but, if you put your finger on the trigger or allow some object to be forced against the front of the trigger; the safety disengages and it goes “bang!” That's why any standard factory Glock (except some South American variants which were specially ordered w/a standard safety) requires a holster that covers the trigger/trigger guard.
There is absolutely nothing wrong w/a Glock if it is used and carried properly including "carry" w/a "round" in the chamber ...except Glocks are damned ugly! (Yeah, I own one.)
Ah, we have a winner! Thanx for pointing that out, so many forget a working brain is necessary.
Must have hit a major artery.
Darwin award ping
While I agree w/your comments on the safety of a “cocked and locked” .45 ACP, the accuracy of the above quote regarding the Glock safety system depends on how you define “functionally,”
If you mean that both double action revolvers and Glocks will discharge if you pull the trigger w/sufficient force; I agree; however, the Glock Gen 4 pistols have a 3-part safety system;
1. Trigger
2. Drop
3. Firing Pin Block
See page 9 of the below linked .pdf file for a diagram of the Glock Safety System:
Link: www.glock.com/downloads/GLOCK_Gen4_en.pdf
I am not aware of any revolvers that have the same type of three-part, redundant safety system as the Glock.
Oh, how horrible for those kids.
Not at all. Many guns are completely safe that way, even with the hammer back and locked. In this case I'd be more inclined to blame carelessness/lack of a good holster.
Two comments: While the trigger pull force might be the same on the Glock and revolvers, 10 lbs or so, the length of the trigger pull is much longer on most DA revolvers than the Glock. This makes the DA revolver somewhat “safer” IMHO.
Ruger (and I think Taurus) have transfer bar safeties which prevent the revolver from firing unless the trigger is completely depressed. I believe this provides the same resistance to drops or partial trigger pulls as does the Glock.
This was not a dump on Glock. I own and use one. I know about their internal mechanics. I was simply addressing the issue of “one in the chamber, or not”.
Around the house, condition 2, at work, condition 2, while driving, mostly condition 2.
When on foot, questionable areas (when necc to be there), usually condition 1.
Being aware of surroundings at all times much more important than condition or type of carry.
Of course, I don't carry a Glock either. None of the Glocks I've fired feel right in my hands.
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