1911 ND/AD..... Safety engaged... Lesson to be learned

[Lars]

Found this on another board. Figured I'd share as there's a lesson to be learned. 7 mechanical safeties or not your gun MAY STILL DISCHARGE.

Explains why there are 4 cardinal rules to firearm safety.

If you don't believe a 1911 45 can fire from being dropped,It happened to me about 15 minutes ago,I was in the bathroom and as I pulled my shirt up to set my gun on the sink the shirt had got caught between the gun and my crossbreed holster as the shirt came up so did the gun and I watched it drop barrel first on my tiled concrete floor then I heard bang and thought OH DANG but with an S.My ears weren't ringing but there was a shunk of tile missing and a chip out of the edge of the bathtub,If you look at the picture you can see powder burns from the muzzle around the hole in the tile.I did get a small cut from shrapnel on my ankle and I had to put a band aid on it.I know the safety was engaged in the holster but i believe when the weapon was pulled from the holster and started to drop it was disengaged.Thank god nothing worse happened but the bullet was smashed flat and the copper jacket was in the tub and the lead was in the toilet.I gotta tighten up the retention on my holster and make sure i never get my shirt wedged between the gun and holster in the future.

 

[TomN]

It must have been because it's a 1911! Ban them! BAN THEM!!


Actually it sounds like a model with the Series 70 firing pin since it fired when it was dropped on the muzzle. I guess it just goes to show you that you shouldn't drop your gun eh?

 

[Fenway]

That's the kind of thing that pisses off the wife when she gets home.

 

[NateIU10]

That's the kind of thing that pisses off the wife when she gets home.

Or the kind of thing that calls for some impromptu redecorating

 

[Episcopus]

Or the kind of thing that calls for some impromptu redecorating

"Seriously Honey, I was bored and I had been wanting to re-tile the bathroom floor anyway. I thought you would like this color."

 

[Bill of Rights]

I'm just glad it's something that a couple pieces of tile (and a run through the washing machine for your pants!) can fix. This could have been much, much worse. Thanks for posting this for everyone's info, and thank you, God, for Lars still being around to post it.

Blessings,
B

 

[melensdad]

it sounds like a model with the Series 70 firing pin since it fired when it was dropped on the muzzle.

Tom, that is a good point. Various 1911 designs exist that could have prevented this, but there are many models out there that will fire if dropped on the muzzle end. The newer guns have various features that should prevent this. Depending on the manufacturer they could include physical blocks that prevent the firing pin from moving forward, other brands have extra strong springs on the firing pin and some use ultra light weight firing pins. All that said, there are A LOT of older style 1911 guns out there in the world and this could easily occur with any of the older style guns.

I'm not sure, but there may still be some "70" series type guns made today that don't have any way to prevent this, so even some new guns may suffer from this problem???

 

[Lars]

TomN, Melensdad I agree there are things in place now that should help prevent this.

The lesson however for everyone, regardless of what they carry is that safeties can fail. NEVER TRUST THEM as the only thing preventing you from putting bullets in things that don't need to be shot.

 

[milton]

The lesson however for everyone, regardless of what they carry is that safeties can fail. NEVER TRUST THEM as the only thing preventing you from putting bullets in things that don't need to be shot.

+1

 

[TomN]

That's why the only safety I trust is the one between my ears. And even that is up for debate.

 

[Pami]

I'm just glad it's something that a couple pieces of tile (and a run through the washing machine for your pants!) can fix. This could have been much, much worse. Thanks for posting this for everyone's info, and thank you, God, for Lars still being around to post it.

Blessings,
B

You're absolutely right, Bill. This could have been much MUCH worse.

And just for clarification (based on the last sentence), this didn't happen to Lars. He was reposting a thread from another site he reads. Lars did, however, hurt his foot when putting on his "fireman ready" pants this morning and the holster turned upside down from the weight, dropping a few pounds of metal and plastic on his foot, scraping off a nice chunk of skin. (Fortunately, there was no BANG!) Lesson learned from that: remove the gun first, or at least have a better grip near the holster.

and thank you, God, for Lars still being around.

 

[Lars]

Lars did, however, hurt his foot when putting on his "fireman ready" pants this morning and the holster turned upside down from the weight, dropping a few pounds of metal and plastic on his foot, scraping off a nice chunk of skin. (Fortunately, there was no BANG!) Lesson learned from that: remove the gun first, or at least have a better grip near the holster.

Don't Remind Me.....

 

[Cwood]

OMG I'm BLIND....... didnt need to see that

 

[Ri22o]

Do you shave all of the hair off of your foot, other than that one spot?

 

[Scutter01]

Do you shave all of the hair off of your foot, other than that one spot?

I think the fall just knocked all the hair off.

 

[bwframe]

At least it didn't fall in the toilet or something bad like that.

 

[Lars]

no razors there. That's just the way my battered foot looks.

I blame it on years of scraping against canvas heavy bags.

 

[Ri22o]

I don't think I have ever seen that big of a nail on a pinkie toe, ever. Normally it is so small it is almost non-existent.

 

[Bill of Rights]

You're absolutely right, Bill. This could have been much MUCH worse.

And just for clarification (based on the last sentence), this didn't happen to Lars. He was reposting a thread from another site he reads.

Oops. Ok, missed that the first time through. Still glad the only casualties were a floor, a tub, some pride, and likely a pair of pants.

Point of curiosity: Would this be more properly called a ND or an AD? I'd always heard it said that there are no ADs, but there was no finger on the trigger or anything similar, so.....:wtf:

Blessings,
B

 

[obijohn]

there really isn't a satisfactory way of keeping a ser 70 type 1911 from doing this. you can put in an extra power FP spring and a light firing pin, but it could still happen. even though it's really tough to get a good trigger with the firing pin safety, these days my carry 1911's have them. my competition guns do not.