Striker fire questions/concerns

[ECUfan]

There are a few different threads going on now about safeties, strikers, and half cocked.

I have always felt less comfortable carrying a striker fire pistol because of it always being at some level of "cocked". Even with the manual and trigger safeties. I am a fan of the appearance and ease of carry for the SR9c. But the striker has kept me from buying the pistol. I carry a Beretta PX4 sub compact. It is a comfortable pistol to shoot but a fat little sucker for carry.

My questions are....

1) Is there enough energy in the semi (1/2) cocked striker to fire a bullet? Especially in the SR9/SR9c.

2) What specifically do the manual and trigger safeties block or prohibit while engaged?


Different pistol but same idea. I recently bought the Remingtion 1911. It is VERY pretty!!! You can of course carry this pistol "cocked and locked". But is there any issues with carrying with the hammer completely down or in its semi cocked positon? My understanding is that the firing pin is actually slightly shorter than the channel in which it rests. Inertia from the hammer hitting the pin is what drives it far enough forward to hit the primer. Is this correct and if this is true it seems as though there would be no chance of firing with the hammer completely down.

I am not asking about the merits of speed of use in a emergency situation just the mechanics of it all.

 

[Longrange]

Carrying a 1911 other then cocked and locked will get you or somebody around you killed! It has 2 safeties on it and it will not go off cocked and locked unless you want it to. You can take a cocked and locked 1911 loaded and throw it as far and as high as you want and when it hits it will not go off!
Cocking one coming out of the holster or racking the slide just gave away any advantage you might have had.

Striker fire guns are just as safe as the owner operator! There are millions out there and how many times have you seen in the paper gun goes off in holster at Wal Mart? It does not happen they are well build and designed. Again but are only as safe as the nut on the handle!

 

[FergusonTO35]

As far as I know, the Ruger and most other striker guns have a passive firing pin block in the slide which is only disengaged by pulling the trigger. The partially cocked striker is not likely to have enough energy to fire the gun, one reason for its design.

 

[Tam 212]

I think most (all?) the contemporary striker pistols are safe'd (is that a word?) against just about everything save something or someone squeezing the trigger because the firing pin/striker is blocked. Hence, they are touted as drop safe.

Just be super duper careful if you hang one on the coat hook in a bathroom stall through the trigger guard... :D

 

[ECUfan]

Thanks for the responses.

I know it is not a Ruger but I will take some pictures of the new 1911. I bought the extra rosewood grips with the Remington "R" embedded.

 

[Tam 212]

Congrats on the 1911!

Everyone handgun owner needs that timeless classic.

Including me. :D

 

[Verndog]

My questions are....

1) Is there enough energy in the semi (1/2) cocked striker to fire a bullet? Especially in the SR9/SR9c.

I'm not sure if the SR9 could possibly go off half cocked, but a few people here sure will. :lol:

 

[SkepticalChymist]

From the manual for the SR9c

"Additionally, the pistol has a separate internal striker block which will not allow the striker to move forward and contact the cartridge until the operator pulls the trigger with the safety off (in its “fire” position)."

"Your SR-SERIES pistol also is
equipped with an internal striker
blocker that prevents the striker
from contacting the primer of a
cartridge in the chamber until the
trigger is pulled. An additional
trigger safety blocks trigger bar
movement until the trigger is
pulled. An internal trigger bar interlock prevents the trigger
bar from moving down to release the striker until it is
moved back by trigger movement."

 

[dacaur]

As is stated above, the firing pin is physically blocked on the SR9/SR9c unless the trigger is pulled, so even if the striker were somehow able to disengage from its partly cocked state, its still blocked from hitting the round the the striker block....

As for your 1911, it depends on the model. Some models of Remington 1911's have the series 80 FP block, which stops the firing pin from moving unless the trigger is pulled. If your specific model has a series 80 FB block, then it would be safe to carry it with the hammer down and a round in the chamber. If it does NOT have the series 80 FP block, then it is NOT safe to carry it hammer down with a round in the chamber. Either way, a 1911 was DESIGNED to be carried cocked and locked, so IMO if you dont want to carry it that way, either dont keep a round in the chamber, or get a different gun. :mrgreen:

 

[Tx gun runner]

The 1911 hammer down with not NEVER hit primer unless your firing pin is incorrect and too long . The firing pin [FP] block was designed so if you drop the gun the FP don't override FP spring and hit the primer and work like a striker . A heavier FP spring installed work great too .

 

[BulkAmmo]

Your safe to carry a round in the chamber of any of the modern striker fire pistols. The striker block will keep the firing pin from striking the primer.

Your R1 is also safe to carry with the hammer down if you prefer. If you plan to carry with the hammer down. I would suggest practicing enough that when you draw you automatically cock the hammer.

Generally the 1911 is meant to be carried with the hammer cocked and the safety on. So it is safe to carry that way, but only carry in a manner that feels comfortable to you.

__________________
bulk 44 mag ammo

 

[dacaur]

The 1911 hammer down with not NEVER hit primer unless your firing pin is incorrect and too long . The firing pin [FP] block was designed so if you drop the gun the FP don't override FP spring and hit the primer and work like a striker . A heavier FP spring installed work great too .

In theory yes a drop "shouldn't" discharge a 1911, even without a series 80 FP block, but it has happened, You are right that on a gun with a series 80 FP block there is obviously 0 danger of a drop discharge. The problem with carrying hammer down on a 1911 without a FP block, is that at some point you are going to have to cock the gun, and if your thumb slips off the hammer as you cock it, you have an AD, or if you drop it and it lands on the hammer, the force gets transferd to the FP, which could result in a discharge. But again, with the series 80FP block, thats not possible.

 

[tcanthonyii]

I think you have a valid concern. I would prefer a hammer fired pistol. That said....You have no need to worry. They have undoubtedly already though of that and have tested it. I have an SR9c and an xd45. My uncle knocked my xd off of my desk and onto hard concrete with a round chambered. It landed ass side down and didn't even blink. If it or any other striker fired pistol weren't made with this problem in mind the manufacturer would have to have a lot of cash laying around for lawsuits.


T.C.

 

[DGW1949]

The 1911 hammer down with not NEVER hit primer unless your firing pin is incorrect and too long . The firing pin [FP] block was designed so if you drop the gun the FP don't override FP spring and hit the primer and work like a striker . A heavier FP spring installed work great too .

Maybe, maybe not.
An in-spec 1911 can/might/maybe-will fire if dropped from a heigth of about 9'-10', IF it lands on a hard surface AND squarely on the muzzle. While it's obvious that such an occourance would be quite rare, the key wording here is "in-spec".....which a lot of guns are not.
Fooling around with aftermarket springs, "improved" firing pins that may or may not be "drop-in", failure to replace worn springs, etc....can alter the safety aspects of JMB's design dramaticaly. Then there's the well known fact that some primers are more sensative than others.

Aint saying that a hammer-down carry is any more dangerous than "cocked 'n locked" because if the subject is dropping a fully loaded pre-80 gun, there realy aint no differance there. It's all about how hard and how far the FP travels once the gun comes to an abrupt halt.

DGW

 

[gig]

There are a few different threads going on now about safeties, strikers, and half cocked.

I have always felt less comfortable carrying a striker fire pistol because of it always being at some level of "cocked". Even with the manual and trigger safeties. I am a fan of the appearance and ease of carry for the SR9c. But the striker has kept me from buying the pistol. I carry a Beretta PX4 sub compact. It is a comfortable pistol to shoot but a fat little sucker for carry.

I have the same issue but not concerning carry mode as much as storage.
I don't worry about a striker fire pistol when it is in my control because the kinetic energy in the striker spring is not enough to pop a cap and there are mechanical stops on the striker which are only released when the trigger is pulled.

The advantage of a striker fire is that it has the same trigger pull every time as opposed to a DA/SA feel of the hammer fire pistol.
However this gives it a lighter trigger pull which IMO makes the striker fire a bit "less" safe if in the wrong hands.

Above I mentioned my concern while the gun is in storage, by this I mean stored at home; but in a loaded state ready for immediate home defense.
The problem being the "safer" the storage, the slower the response time and little, young fingers are more likely to find the gun when in home SD storage than when on my person.

For these reasons my preferred home defense pistol is a hammer fire system with a positive decocker-safety.
At least this gun does no go bang with only the pull of the trigger.

You mentioned the Beretta, I might suggest a look at the Bersa thunder.
Same design, but a bit smaller.