Portuguese Police Glock 19. Photo from Portal das Curiosidades forum.

The police upper management then proceeded to tell the public how wonderful their new pistols were. The cops on the street must have been given a different gun because their pistols were having all sorts of problems. They had magazines randomly falling out of the guns, magazines refusing to drop out when the mag release was pressed, brass being ejected into the shooters face and just plain failing to cycle. The Portuguese IPSC community, where I believe Glocks are popular, were not at all surprised.

FORÇA DE SEGURANÇA translates to Security Force (Police force)

A few weeks ago the Portuguese media discovered that the police have signed a contract with Glock to retrofit all their pistols with normal, safety-less, Glock 19 frames. No doubt at a significant cost to the tax payer.

The government fears that the other pistol manufacturers such as HK, Beretta, Walther and Mannlicher, who were passed over in the search for the new pistol, will sue them for choosing a faulty pistol and for stipulating that a safety was a requirement, only to drop the requirement a few years later.

Many thanks to my anonymous Portuguese source for the links and translations he sent me.

Moments before, Sherri Thourot had watched her husband fire and reload the Jennings 9mm. Then he set it down for her to shoot next at the range.

That's when the handgun started firing on its own, she said, spinning around in circles, landing the Thourots and an Irish tourist in the hospital.

I once belonged to a club with a private range. Club members had shot themselves in the foot at least a few times in the club's recent history. This happened when race guns with hair triggers were drawn from a holster. The pistol would fire a burst into the shooters foot and an ambulance would need to be called.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the gun may have been altered, leading to the malfunction. Detectives expect to know more when they take the gun apart and inspect it as they continue to investigate.

Sherri Thourot said her son, 29-year-old Jeremy, brought the 9mm back to the United States after one of his tours in Iraq with the Navy. He gave it to them this summer.

So it may have been a souvenir from Iraq. They do not list the exact model of the Jennings pistol and I don't know much about those guns, other than they were budget pistols.

Jennings Model 58

Flynn was listed in stable condition at the hospital, while Michael Thourot was released Sunday. His wife said doctors put pins in his hand to help heal shattered bone.

...

But the freak accident won't keep her away from guns.

"I can't allow something like this to cause me to be afraid of something I've done all my life."

I am very glad they are all ok.

Many thanks to Mason for the link.

It has come to our attention that KRISS CRB/SO and SBR/SO models with SN's between 1100 - 1633 MAY experience ejection issues due to an out-of-spec ejector. Typically, the symptom is consistent failure to eject (FTE). THIS IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. If you are the owner of a KRISS CRB/SO or SBR/SO within this SN range, there is a small chance your ejector may be defective. THIS IS NOT A FACTORY RECALL. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING FREQUENT FTE'S, KRISS-TDI will work with those original owners of KRISS firearms who are covered under our Lifetime Warranty on defects of materials and workmanship and your KRISS Certified Dealer to refit your firearm with a new ejector at no cost to you. WE WILL REFIT ONLY THOSE FIREARMS THAT HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE FTE BEHAVIOUR. Owners of used firearms who purchased their firearms from private parties and not KRISS Certified Dealers, the Lifetime Warranty does not apply to your firearm as it was purchased used. HOWEVER, we will make a repair kit available to you at no cost as a one-time exception to our original owner Lifetime Warranty program. Owners: for a full description of the problem and how to determine if your firearm is affected, please click here. KRISS Dealers, for full information on the KRISS Ejector Refit Program, please click here.

More info at TDI's website.

Hat Tip: New Jovian Thunderbolt

Knight Rifles has received a small number of reports from the field of Revolution muzzleloading rifles accidentally discharging as the user closed the action. While there were no reports of personal injury, we asked those customers to return their rifles to us for inspection. Although we were unable to duplicate the claimed accidental firings in most of the rifles, we have instituted this recall for ALL Revolution and Revolution II rifles to allow us to inspect and repair the trigger mechanisms. Even if you have never had a problem with your Revolution or Revolution II rifle, you should not use your rifle until you have returned it to us for inspection and repair under the recall program. This recall only applies to Revolution and Revolution II rifles, and does not apply to any other models of Knight muzzleloaders.

If you own a Knight Revolution or Knight Revolution II you should immediately stop using your rifle(s) and discontinue any further use until your trigger assembly(s) have been inspected by our designated Knight Rifles factory personnel and returned to you by Knight Rifles. This recall ONLY requires that your trigger assembly be returned and inspected.

If you own more than one Knight Revolution rifle affected by this recall, click the “Add another rifle” button and indicate the model and serial number for each rifle. The form below should be filled out completely. When completed the “submit” button will initiate a process whereby a trigger assembly return kit (complete with prepaid return labels and all required packaging material) will be sent to your address. The trigger assembly return kit will be sent to your address by USPS and should arrive 7 to 10 business days after the date when the return request was received. When this trigger assembly return kit arrives please follow all of the included instructions.

Thank you for your cooperation,
Knight Rifles

More information available here.

SIG SAUER, Inc. has initiated a Mandatory Safety Upgrade pertaining to our new Model P238™ pistols. We have determined that a small number of P238 pistols may have safety levers that are not manufactured to factory specifications. Under certain conditions, it may be possible for the lever not to be completely engaged in the safe position. In this condition, the gun will not fire when the trigger is pulled. However, when the safety lever is moved to the off position, the hammer may fall, with the remote possibility that the gun could fire unintentionally, thus creating a risk of injury or death.

…

If you have a SIG SAUER P238 with a serial number between DA000501 and DA003216, please cease use of the firearm immediately. Not all P238s within the identified serial number range are affected; therefore, it is imperative that you contact us via the UPGRADE HOT LINE at 1 (866) 446-1914. An operator will take your information and confirm if your firearm is required to be returned for Upgrading. If necessary, you will receive a certified package from SIG SAUER that will contain a UPS shipping return label, a Return Merchandise Authorization Number, and a box to return the firearm

More information at Sig Sauer.

Thanks to Tony for letting me know about the safety upgrade.

If you look closely, there appear to be people on the other side of the river.

The guns appear to be real, not airsoft or air guns.

Google Translate is a crude tool at the best of times, but I think they are saying that it was safe because the boat pictured above was 200-400 meters away from the firing line! I looked up the probable location on Google Earth / Maps and I think at best the boat was 200 meters, probably less.

According to Hatchers Notebook, the classic text on ballistics, a .45 ACP and .38 Special round can reach as far as 1200 yards ( 1097 meters ) if fired at the right elevation!

Am I missing anything that would make this safe? Can any Russian speakers please read the forum thread and let us know in the comments if they were doing anything that made it safe.

UPDATE: trigger288 says in the comments that the pistols are loaded with low powered rubber bullets, which are only dangerous up to 50m.

Hat Tip: Дмитрий Кочетков

Locks are often frowned upon by self defense experts, but some people cannot legally leave their guns unlocked, or are simply unwilling or unable to do so for whatever reason.

The MSRP is $19.95.

Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist in certain model 22-A pistols. Based on our ongoing product review, we have determined that the slides of certain pistols manufactured from August 1, 2008 to February 19, 2009, may not meet the design specification. This can create a situation where insufficient headspace exists creating a risk of unintended discharge.

STOP USING YOUR PISTOL AND RETURN IT TO SMITH & WESSON AT ONCE.

Any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential for causing injury, and we ask that you stop using your pistol immediately

Over at GunNuts, VegasChris posted a link to photos of his 22A pistol which self-destructed

You can see the raw metal where the piece was blown off

Hat Tip: Caleb @ Gun Nuts Media
.

The SKS action with bolt held open. (not the SKS mentioned above, for illustration only).
Photo from Kywon.

This is an incredibly sad story. If you have been following this blog, youtube, or shooting magazines over the years you will have seen many photos and videos of gun being utterly demolished by a variety of mishaps, without causing any injury whatsoever to the user. The sad reality in this above scenarios is that guns are generally designed to fail without causing injury. In this case the user was holding the rifle action close the the body, not how it was designed to be held, which is at the shoulder.

I think this is a warning to all of us, complacency can be fatal!

Travis’s comments are below:

I am an attorney. A shooter had a misfire. He did not remove the magazine prior to working the action. He tried to inspect the breech and the action slipped out of his hand. This allowed the tip of the round from the magazine to act as a firing pin and discharge the round in the chamber. He was killed when part of the casing of the round in the chamber went into his chest. This could have been avoided if he had dropped the clip prior to pulling the action back to inspect. Some of the manuals you have on this site explain that one should remove the magazine prior to pulling the action back. I am trying to find a manual that was produced with the sale of an SKS. You have great manuals but they should accompany the sale to inform the user of this risk and how to avoid the risk. The shooter in my case had earplugs. He put the safey on. He had the gun pointer down range. Does anyone have an knowledge of this happening, i.e. a round from the magazine striking a round in the chamber and creating an accidental discharge?

I asked for clarification on the position of the rifle when the bolt was cycled and the injury sustained. His response:

User had a thirty round magazine in the SKS and had fired two rounds. The third round did not fire. We do not know why. Apparently the action did not close or the ejector did not work because the round was not ejected when he pulled the action back to inspect the breech. User had dropped the gun to his side holding it where he could inspect to clear the misfire keeping the barrel pointed down range. He pulled the action back to inspect and the action slipped out of his hand according to the eye witness. The round was in the chamber and was not ejected. The next round from the magazine entered the breech when he pulled the action back. When the action went forward after if slipped out of his hand, it drove the point of round two into the primer of first round and it went off. Round two was pushed back into the actiion and has been recovered. Round three bullet went down range, but the casing of the round entered the left side of his stomach about four inches above his belt and traveled upward inside his chest. I have a doctors deposition and x-rays showing the casing inside the deceased.

The casing traveled eight to twelve inches upward into the chest cavity after penetration. The area where the cartridge exploded is open to allow stripper clips to fed from the top. The leaves the shooter exposed when he has dropped the gun to his side to inspect for a problem. The tip of the full metal jacket ammo can substitute for the firing pin.

Is anyone aware of this? The SKS in my case was from China and was made by Norinco. They are a defendant in my case. I will explain to you or others the name of the importer and the wholesaler, but do not want to create problems with the trial date which is set for November, 2009.

Would you allow me to put my address and office phone number on this site. It would be more appropriate for me to visit personally with those who may have information that will help bring this matter to a conclusion. Once the case in concluded, I will go public with the result. I am sure there are those who agree and disagree. I enjoy guns. Many users by instinct will work the action automatically when faced with a misfire. Many users enjoy using a 30 round clip. That is the two things the defendants say my client did wrong.

Dont do that without first dropping the clip.

This is a serious problem. One should always drop the magazine or remove the live rounds from the magazine prior to inspecting the breech after a misfire. There are manuals that say this but I am trying to locate a manual provided with the SKS at the time of sale. It is necessary to warn of these types of risk. It is also necessary to explain to the user how to avoid the risk.

Maybe someone will learn from this. Maybe someone can help me determine what I need to do.

As far as whether I think an importer or manufacturer should be liable if a gun manual does not warn the user about a particular scenario, this is my view on the matter: I don’t think gun manuals should even be required to be sold with a gun, nor do I believe they should have to cover every single scenario. I believe it is up to the owner to learn how their weapon works. Guns are dangerous.

Regardless of you opinion about a gun importer being sued, remember the comment rules: civility is expected and uncivil comments will be deleted.

UPDATE: Just to clarify my own opinion, I do not think this is a Norinco specific fault at all.

A reader, who shall remain anonymous, emailed me this account of what happened to him.

Your message about the 9 mm Nato versus 9 mm Luger (9×19 mm, 9 mm Para) is correct and should be a warning to all users of 9 mm pistols. I found out the the higher pressure of the Nato round can be punishing. The same day as I received my first and brand new police service pistol, the Walther P5, I took it to my shooting club to show it to the lads and to shoot it.

Because I ran out of ammo, I borrowed a box from a military friend, who used 9 mm Nato rounds. After two shots my new pistol jammed, because the extractor broke off. I had some explanation to do the next day in order to get my service gun back in working order and got the message: Never use military ammo in non-military firearms. So, any surplus army ammo: use it in the Browning High-Power or the Glock, but not in “civilian” pistols.

… he then goes on to show off the stitching kits he stole form the hospital / clinic that sewed his arm up.

Many thanks to Jay for emailing me the video.

Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist with the bolt supplied with some rifles that would allow the striker to become disengaged from its locking tabs during cycling of the bolt, allowing the rifle to fire without the trigger being pulled. In the interest of consumer safety, we are initiating this recall to allow for the prompt inspection and, if necessary, the repair and replacement of each bolt.

…

This recall applies to the bolts of all i-Bolt rifles manufactured by Smith & Wesson prior to December 1, 2008.

…

Please contact Smith & Wesson directly at 1-800-331-0852 or at ibolt@smith-wesson.com to arrange for the inspection and repair, if necessary, of your bolt.

More info at Smith & Wesson.

It is important, when firing a revolver, to keep all parts of your hand(s) away from the front of the cylinder. Explosive ignition gases exit the cylinder gap as well as the muzzle of the firearm when the cartridge is fired. This safety issue is sometimes illustrated by instructors who place a revolver inside a paper bag with the muzzle sticking out a hole in the bottom.

Xavier has also posted the photo of the thumb itself. It is not pretty.

More here.

You handle firearms enough and at some time you will have an unintentional discharge. I know, I know, there are people who claim that their firearms never fired unless they intended them to. Typically these folks either go to the range very little, rarely carry a firearm, or are just plain liars.

Let me tell you about a couple of instances where I’ve found myself surprised by the report of a firearm.

I HIGHLY recommend reading this.

More here.

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

I was reading the book “Cautions to Young Sportsmen” by Thomas Frankland, which was published 207 years ago. The golden rule has not changed.

You can read the book here.

From the press release

SIDERLOCK® from American Tactical Imports is a security trigger designed for GLOCK® pistols which replaces the original trigger to offer a safer and more secure blockade of the firing action.

The concept is simple; with a push on the safety pin a sliding pin acts to block or release the movement of the central pivot of the trigger whereby avoiding an accidental discharge of the weapon. SIDERLOCK® behaves exactly as the original GLOCK® trigger when it is in the fire position all the while maintaining the original manufacturer specifications and its immediate availability of shot.

Having not seen one I cannot comment on how useful it would be. I just hope no one will draw a Glock in self defense only to have the trigger jam!
American Tactical Imports will be displaying it at SHOT Show this year.

Referring to the SR9:

It is the worst of the worst! With the magazine removed, the trigger functions normally, dropping the hammer, but the gun is prevented from firing. (…) It simply blocks the firing pin! Upon hearing a “click,” instead of a “bang,” the shooter knows little, because the pistol has told him little. Chamber might be empty. Might be a dud round. Magazine may be unlocked.

Being a Glock fan, I personally think the less external safeties the better. As mentioned in the article, a magazine safety should not be the only thing that separates your kid from firing your pistols.

More here.

If the Glock firing pin is partially retracted and the Springfield XD is fully retracted we could draw the conclusion that the Glock is half-cocked while the XD is cocked and locked. Both will fire if there is an accident. Both have safeties in place to prevent this from happening. If the only unique safety on the XD’s is the grip safety, how does it work? It looks like the grip safety on the 1911, but it definitely does not quack like the same duck.

More here.

The kind of glasses I’m talking about today are not for eye protection, though they do that as well. Their primary purpose is to help you see the front sight and target when shooting a target gun. Glasses are used by both rifle and pistol competitors, and even by archers, but since I know pistol glasses much better, they are what I will describe today.

More here.

mechanisms to ensure the pistol does not fire a round unless the trigger is pulled, ie. not when dropped, knocked etc.
Rob has written a interesting blog entry explaining how the internal Glock safeties works.

Understanding how your weapons safeties work is also of critical importance. Glock, even though it has no external safeties is no exception.

So that out of the way we can begin discussing how Glock is looking out for you. As you may know the firing pin is under 2/3rds pressure when the slide is charged. As soon as you place a round in the chamber there is pressure, and therby a possibility, however remote, that the round may go off.

More here.

UPDATE: Famous Guns has more information here.