Hammer Drop Failure?

[PINski1015]

Can a Hammer drop or decocker fail and cause a discharge?

 

[GBuck]

Yes. Happens more than people like to admit. Guns can fail. They can fire without the trigger being pulled. Where is Kirk Freeman when you need him?

As he would say, "Stop coon-fingering your guns. Leave them in their holster and always use a sand barrel when loading/unloading."

 

[jackadew]

Of course it can! Its a MECHANICAL DEVICE. You should treat any mechanical safety device as if it is going to fail. The BEST safety on any gun...is the one between your ears!

 

[PINski1015]

Any Guns more prone to it than others?

 

[in625shooter]

Anything COULD happen. And not that it hasn't happened with these 2 designs. I have used/trained folks on SIG's and Beretta's for over 25 years and have never seen a SIG decocker or Beretta safety/deacocker fail. The Beretta is probably one of the most safe since it actually rotates the firing pin (or the part that strikes the firing pin however you want to call it) up out of the way when the hammer falls. The SIG never actually hits the slide even though it looks like it does.

As far some of the other manufactures I can't comment on them.

 

[GBuck]

I know some of the Walther PPK/S models had some problems with it.

 

[Mr.JAG]

Anything is possible, but looking at the de-cocker mechanism on my 92FS - it would have to be one freak of a failure.

 

[possum_128]

Had a WW II Walther discharge with the safety/decocker on when chambering a round, have the holes in table and wall to prove it. And yes it discharged 2 rounds and no, my finger was not on the trigger. Yes, guns do fail, always point in a safe direction.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Prone to fail: CZ-52

 

[cordex]

I know some of the Walther PPK/S models had some problems with it.

Had a WW II Walther discharge with the safety/decocker on when chambering a round

I know someone whose PPK would reliably fire when decocking. Thankfully the four rules kept everyone safe when he found out about it.

 

[.45 Dave]

Just yesterday I was shooting some Aguila Super Colibris in my basement in my Ruger Single Six. As I was decocking my thumb slipped off the hammer. Fortunately it didn't fire but it could have. I noticed immediately that I had the barrel aimed carelessly at the concrete wall instead of the target and that could have caused a ricochet had it gone off. Even in such a low power round, it can cause injury. Point is I am now doubly careful not to take anything for granted. Even a moment of inattention can be dangerous and it can happen to the best of us.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Eez gun. Eez not safe. Per the Great one, KF!

 

[Claddagh]

Strict compliance to the Four Rules, especially Rule 2 - ALWAYS. Any mechanical device can fail or malfunction. Once a bullet has left the barrel, there's no taking it back.

 

[mtgasten]

Yes. Happens more than people like to admit. Guns can fail. They can fire without the trigger being pulled. Where is Kirk Freeman when you need him?

As he would say, "Stop coon-fingering your guns. Leave them in their holster and always use a sand barrel when loading/unloading."

you forgot "eez gun, eez not safe"

 

[OneBadV8]

Any Guns more prone to it than others?

The older Walther's were prone to it (as others have said) mainly because the safety mechanism on the older ones didn't prevent the firing pin from getting hit by the hammer, it instead attempted to hold the firing pin in place when the hammer did drop.

Not sure what they were thinking on that one. Use the 4 Rules of Gun Safety when operating your decocker IF you choose to use it and you should be ok.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

you forgot "eez gun, eez not safe"

See post #12...

 

[BlueEagle]

Any safety CAN fail...personally, I like to disassemble my guns and really learn exactly how they work before trusting them...helps me. But always follow the four rules.

 

[ryknoll3]

Anything is possible, but looking at the de-cocker mechanism on my 92FS - it would have to be one freak of a failure.

Plus there is another firing pin block further forward in the slide that has to move (moves up when the trigger is pulled. You can see it rise up out of the slide) in order for the pin to strike the primer. If all of that failed, you're a very unlucky soul.

 

[Mgderf]

The only firearm(s) I have that sport a decocker is a pair of IWI Baby Eagles in .40S&W.

How likely are these decockers to fail? Any chance they're built like the Berettas?

 

[Tombs]

With a firing pin block, there's no way a decocker could cause a gun to go off, UNLESS... The firing pin block is not functioning, which would mean you don't have one anymore.

Could jarring the gun make it go off? Yea, about as likely as a decocker managing to set off a round.

At least on the sig design, you can ease the hammer down, it wouldn't have anywhere near enough force to set off a round anyway. You'd need the firing pin block to fail, as well as the trigger bar to allow the hammer to fully drop.