questions about drop tests

[toivo]

Yeah, this is a good thread. Some of my misconceptions have been cleared up. I'm wondering about a little Beretta Jetfire that I have. It's SAO, but most say not to carry it cocked-and-locked. I'm wondering if hammer down on a loaded chamber is safe. Can't seem to get a definitive answer on that one, even after much forum searching. Chamber empty is not a good option on this pistol, because it's a bear to rack: tiny slide and mega-strong spring. It has the tip-up barrel, but who would want to try to load that in the heat of the moment?

 

[Owen]

you can't go by a "dead" trigger. many drop safeties only block the firing pin. You need to used a primed case, or a copper crusher in an adapter. The copper crusher method has a max indent allowable. The primed case method allows an indent on the primer as long as the primer doesn't fire.

 

[Jim K]

It occurs to me that CA would be a lot safer if they took the people who wrote and enforce that law and put them on street patrol where they might actually do something productive for their big salaries.

Jim

 

[gathert]

California and productive in the same sentence makes me laugh. Please dont go on, I'll die of laughter.

 

[Loosedhorse]

a gun that is perfectly fine when dropped from 3ft and 5ft, will fail when its dropped from 4ft.

Why? (I assume "fail" means discharge.)

 

[NavyLCDR]

Why? (I assume "fail" means discharge.)

Murphy's law says so.

 

[Mike1234567]

I dropped a Kel-Tec P-11 directly on its muzzle onto a hard floor from less than 3 feet. It discharged. But it's a DOA with a somewhat lightened trigger spring and correspondingly lightened firing pin spring. No one was hurt because the bullet basically disintegrated... a couple of very tiny bits of the jacket just grazed the palm of my hand on their way up to the ceiling into which they stuck. Other than lead "powder" left on the now exposed bare concrete (3" hole in the tile) there were no other traces of the bullet. I never thought I could be that negligent but... live and learn. I was REALLY tired and sleepy but that's just no excuse. With this firearm I no longer carry with one in the chamber. I'm considering spending more money on a compact 9mm with thumb safety... maybe a M&P. With a thumb safety I'd again feel safe carrying with one in the chamber.