The Firearm Blog

This video shows a guy shooting a steel spinner target up close. He is hit by a ricocheted .223 bullet hitting him in the arm.

… 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.

Important safety recall on i-Bolt rifles:

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.

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

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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.

Xavier has written about a guy to got his thumb blown off by a .460 revolver.

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.

A round fires out of battery throwing the dust cover off and giving the security contractor a scare. A good example of why shooting glasses should always be worn!

Sear and Hammer has posted a very honest account of some accidents he has had with firearms and the importance of learning proper firearm safety.

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.

The golden rule for firearm safety is usually attributed to Jeff Cooper.

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.

A new safety trigger for the Glock has been launched by American Tactical Imports

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.

The Unforgiving Minute has a post on the dangers of magazine safeties.

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.

Following his article about Glock safety Rob has written an article explaining the differences between the safeties in the Glock and XD.

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.

An interesting article from B.B.

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.

Glock pistols do not have an external safety that be can engaged and disengaged at will. Instead Glocks have various internal safety

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.