Is your handgun drop safe?
- Thread starter Wvfarrier
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The Preacher
Blackhawk
I have two series 70 type 1911's. I have always assumed they were not drop safe and handle them accordingly.
Paul B
Hunter
Wasn't that problem addressed in the series 80 1911? Seems I heard of people complaining because the "fix" made for not so smooth trigger pull.
Paul B.
I have a few pistols but I can assure you that I will just assume they will fire if dropped and take extra care. No way I am going to drop them on any hard object to confirm or deny their 'drop safety'.
epags
Single-Sixer
California listed handguns must be so tested.....having said that, I would never knowingly drop any firearm loaded or unloaded. A potato chip onto the floor and recoved in less than 5 seconds is OK though.
wheelgun1958
Buckeye
If one of my dogs don't get to it first. I have a pair of dachshunds (aka kitchen sharks).
Bad Barlow
Blackhawk
Maybe california needs to drop test potato chips!
PinnedAndRecessed
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2006
- Messages
- 190
Back when I carried my Ruger LCP pro I dropped it about 3 times, two of those on a concrete floor... it did not go off any of those times... does that count as a test?
I remember reading that early Glocks failed some kind of law enforcement "frisbee" drop test - found the following on a different forum:
"It was a DEA frisbee test... an aggressive drop test which involved throwing G17s ~15 feet with a 4 foot drop. This simulates accidentally falling/tripping while carrying a pistol while at a full run.
"In the test, the frame separated from the slide the first time with every pistol tested. This resulted in every pistol becoming inoperable due to rail failure and the testing for Glocks stopped immediately because no pistols could be made to fire.
"Rather than admit serious design flaw & recall all Glocks, Glock decided to quietly redesign the rails and offer free upgrades for all Gen1 pistol slides. It took 2 tries until the rails design was made satisfactory, that is part of the reason why there are 3 Generations of Glock pistol designs."
So, do NOT drop an early Glock while running - it was apparently produced before the company achieved "perfection".
"It was a DEA frisbee test... an aggressive drop test which involved throwing G17s ~15 feet with a 4 foot drop. This simulates accidentally falling/tripping while carrying a pistol while at a full run.
"In the test, the frame separated from the slide the first time with every pistol tested. This resulted in every pistol becoming inoperable due to rail failure and the testing for Glocks stopped immediately because no pistols could be made to fire.
"Rather than admit serious design flaw & recall all Glocks, Glock decided to quietly redesign the rails and offer free upgrades for all Gen1 pistol slides. It took 2 tries until the rails design was made satisfactory, that is part of the reason why there are 3 Generations of Glock pistol designs."
So, do NOT drop an early Glock while running - it was apparently produced before the company achieved "perfection".
Sterling Arms was put out of business by a lawsuit against them from a woman who had her purse on the roof of her car and dropped her pistol on the ground from the roof. I can't remember if it was a .22 or .25 but it hit just right and fired. She got a boatload of money...
PinnedAndRecessed
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2006
- Messages
- 190
Not unlike the reason Ruger put in the transfer safety bar in their single actions.
I'm not a big fan of Glock but to me throwing any gun 15ft and expecting it to work afterwards is kind of like driving a car at say 15mph hitting a concrete barrier wall and expecting it to function afterwards...I remember reading that early Glocks failed some kind of law enforcement "frisbee" drop test - found the following on a different forum:
"It was a DEA frisbee test... an aggressive drop test which involved throwing G17s ~15 feet with a 4 foot drop. This simulates accidentally falling/tripping while carrying a pistol while at a full run.
"In the test, the frame separated from the slide the first time with every pistol tested. This resulted in every pistol becoming inoperable due to rail failure and the testing for Glocks stopped immediately because no pistols could be made to fire.
"Rather than admit serious design flaw & recall all Glocks, Glock decided to quietly redesign the rails and offer free upgrades for all Gen1 pistol slides. It took 2 tries until the rails design was made satisfactory, that is part of the reason why there are 3 Generations of Glock pistol designs."
So, do NOT drop an early Glock while running - it was apparently produced before the company achieved "perfection".
When ever I think of a gun failing a drop test I imagine ... the testers after 5,000 tries discovered if you dropped the gun at exactly 56.75" with the barrel pointed up at a 17.5 degree angle and it landed on a section of solid oak 4.6" thick the gun will go off! Recall! Recall! Recall!
The Idea is not to be so careless as to drop your handgun. I have been using guns since 1962, I have only dropped 2 to the best of my recollection. Each time it was due to carelessness.
Armybrat
Buckeye
My 2008 1st generation LCP (in a Desantis Nemesis) slipped out of my pocket twice over the years while getting out of the car.
Both times it hit the concrete garage floor with the rear of the slide without discharging.
Lucky, but clumsy me.
Even though I made a joke about the drop safe test I do think they are a good idea. I am very diligent with a firearm and with that said have dropped one more than once. I guess some of us are more clumsier than other... If I dropped a gun and it went off and hit me that is one thing and not good but what would be worse is if it hit someone else because of my mistake.
It's difficult to talk about gun dropping without insulting some folks. I've seen a few dropped at competitions and it's a real issue, at best the dropper was disqualified and the one time it did go off luckily nobody got hit.
A few things I learned from shooting IPSC and IDPA style matches is to select a holster that cannot catch the front sight when you draw it, never draw if you've recently experienced tennis elbow (carry and shoot weak handed if this happens) and train often drawing it.
A few things I learned from shooting IPSC and IDPA style matches is to select a holster that cannot catch the front sight when you draw it, never draw if you've recently experienced tennis elbow (carry and shoot weak handed if this happens) and train often drawing it.
Speaking of which, my Rottie is right there with me in the kitchen. He is lightning-fast when food drops. He gets it as soon as it hits the floor. I would have to command him to STOP before he eats one of my meds.
