Dropping handgun poll

To those on their high horse that think their safety skills are too good for error, I say BS. So does Massad Ayoob:

"You aren’t going to ever drop your gun? Good that you’re the first perfect human who’s immune to error. It’s safe to say that neither you nor I are the Second Coming of the perfect human incapable of making a mistake."

"Bottom line? The criminal and civil liability potential of a “dropped gun discharge” from a firearm that is not “drop-safe” are obvious, and just as obviously unacceptable. None of us are “cooler” or “more professional” than Wyatt Earp or Steve Malloy. If it happened to them, it can happen to any of us."

http://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/dropped-gun-inertia-discharge/#dgid-lead

I have personally never dropped a handgun, loaded or unloaded. To say that it could NEVER happen to me is just plain foolish.

I have dropped one. Not loaded, but it was on a table and I moved something and down she went. I have also dropped weapons in combat situations/training for combat situations, though that seems forgivable. I have had a couple of rifles fall out of my safe for reasons I don't at all understand since I take care in loading them in there. I would say that it happens. Anyone who gets preachy about what poor that gun handling that is is riding a high horse that I hope they never get bucked off of. Guns get drop tested for a reason, and that reason is simple: Guns get dropped on occasion. Sometimes through poor gun handling, sometimes because things get dropped accidentally.

In conclusion, there are lots of poor and 100% avoidable gun handling issues. I do not believe dropping them is one of them, barring stupid behavior. Unsafe, as should be obvious, but not necessarily "poor gun handling".

Now, with all that said, it shouldn't be a regular occurrence. I have been shooting for the majority of my life, and I have had my own guns and handled them independent of direct supervision for the last thirty-five years. Aside from the training or combat drops, there are only two occurrences I have experienced and those are listed above. If you are dropping your gun regularly, then yeah, its probably you.

If you carry every day you are bound to. I have dropped my S/W 29, Glock 21, and Keltec P3at. None of them accidentally fired. Yes they were all charged. An unloaded weapon is of no use.

I'm not uppity or perfect. Since I have been handling guns (+40 years now) I have not dropped a gun. Hasn't happened yet. Therefore, I don't believe it is likely to happen. That's all, just not likely to happen. I did have one instance about 10 years ago when I was handling a semi-auto pistol I thought was empty. It was not. No discharge, no accidental firing but it alarmed me because I think I always double check guns before handling. And, I don't leave ammo on the table when I fool with them for cleaning or dry fire practice. This one time it was different. I didn't pull the trigger before noticing and nothing bad happened. That type of incident never happened again. Now I triple check a gun for safety reasons.

I've fallen while I was carrying a gun. I've dropped an M16 off the front end of an M110A2. I've dropped a 6906 out of my holster walking into the house. Did the same thing with a Glock.

I've never dropped one, but Once, while playing pool with a friend, he bent over a little too far to take a shot when his .45 Gov. Model fell out of his shoulder holster and landed on the table top. I don't know if anybody saw that, since we didn't stay long enough to find out.

I'm shocked that more people have than haven't!

RUT said:

I'm shocked that more people have than haven't!

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That's because humans are fallible. And THR members are more honest.

I haven't dropped a handgun. But I've dropped a few rifles that I intended to lean against a tree. I had a sling break once. And was squirrel hunting and stepped into an old coyote or dillo hole. I went down, and so did the 22 rifle I was carrying.

BigBore44 said:

That's because humans are fallible. And THR members are more honest.

I haven't dropped a handgun. But I've dropped a few rifles that I intended to lean against a tree. I had a sling break once. And was squirrel hunting and stepped into an old coyote or dillo hole. I went down, and so did the 22 rifle I was carrying.

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Yeah, if you hunt enough that kind of stuff happens. Especially if your hunting involves more than sitting in a deer stand 5 days of the year.

Had a sling break while bumping through the tundra on my snowmachine in AK. Caught it before it fell but I've seen rifles go flying before. Always carried a cleaning kit to unplug barrels.

I do wonder how many of the "I've never dropped and never will" actually carry daily (and doing other tasks than sitting in a chair/desk all day) and/or hunt often and in treacherous landscapes.

Might be a neat seconday poll thread.

RUT said:

I'm shocked that more people have than haven't!

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Really? Huh.

I have also dropped a rifle on a number of occasions.

The one time that I clearly recall was about 15 years ago when I had a K98k on my shoulder while crossing a drainage on some large rocks ... feet went flying and I went down ... HARD.

Funny thing, my immediate concern was for that old milsurp. After I gave it a quick inspection and found no damage (WHEW!), I checked out myself ... also in good shape, other than the pains that I knew that I would experience over that following few days.

JR24 said:

Yeah, if you hunt enough that kind of stuff happens. Especially if your hunting involves more than sitting in a deer stand 5 days of the year.

Had a sling break while bumping through the tundra on my snowmachine in AK. Caught it before it fell but I've seen rifles go flying before. Always carried a cleaning kit to unplug barrels.

I do wonder how many of the "I've never dropped and never will" actually carry daily (and doing other tasks than sitting in a chair/desk all day) and/or hunt often and in treacherous landscapes.

Might be a neat seconday poll thread.

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Well I just took three pistols and dropped them on my floor. A Redhawk 44mag, RIA 10mm, and an XD45. All were unloaded (verified twice). Took a video of it but it won't post. So now I've dropped 3.

looking back I need to change my answer over the years I did fumble a handgun once and had a few rifles slide while leaning against a tree/wall ect ..
I agree if handle a firearm long enough it can happen and if you use one as a tool it will happen if its a range gun chances are much less, when I was still in the service I seen many M16's fall or slide off something, also seen a few handguns come out of holsters while on patrol's, when you are moving around in tight spaces in all positions snaps and Velcro and other retaining systems get undone , I remember one time a handgun came out a holster and went skipping down the floor of our asset when we hit some rough ridding environment in full battle rattle things get knocked around, and muzzle pointed in safe direction ya right while seated my muzzle was pointed at the guy seated in front of me and I had a muzzle pointed at me as well, we carried round in chamber but in tight areas and in a working environment thats how it is , HUGE difference from taking a firearm to the range in a case in a controlled environment to packing / wearing all the gear daily in an LE or Military environment in my opinion

Went shooting out in the desert with my GF and another couple. When we arrived and got out of the car, the girl handed me her pistol. It was a SW SVE, which is nothing special. Except it was her first handgun. And it was brand new, still unfired. Yeah. I dropped it in sand, dirt, and rocks. The look on her face.

I immediately drew my G19 and threw it into the ground. Then I stripped and cleaned both guns. We were good.

Lucky for me, I wasn't carrying my G21, lol.

Drop safety is a real thing, but the real major concern is for drop safety in a muzzle-up drop. There are still plenty of older handguns out there which will can kill someone when dropped. It has happened before, and it will happen again. Most all currently produced handguns which aren't "full California drop-safe," are only going to potentially discharge in a muzzle down drop, which isn't nearly as dangerous. I suppose if someone dropped a gun off a roof and it landed muzzle down on the top of your head, you would be in danger of getting shot in addition to cracked on the noggin, but IMO that is a more acceptable risk compared with a muzzle up drop fire.

Long guns don't hold to the same standards. Plenty of shotguns and rifles are currently made and sold which can fire if dropped while the muzzle is pointing in a dangerous direction. It's best to know how your guns work. If you don't, don't assume they are safe to be dropped.

I've dropped one. Winter gloves situation. Just like any other tool, the more time you spend using one, the more likely you are to have gravity get its way. Heck everything I've handled for long periods of time I've dropped at one point. Except for a baby. I haven't dropped a baby yet.

I've dropped a Glock 19 and a SIG P226 with loaded chambers and nothing happened.

Steve S. said:

Ironically, I just dropped my Les Baer PII yesterday morning. I reacted quick enough to cradle it in both hands just before it hit the ground

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This concerns me more than having it hit the ground. Randomly grabbing on the way down seems like a great way to accidently press the trigger. I know you didn’t have it cocked and locked. I mean, in general, a bad thing.

I haven’t, but here’s one for thought.

I was going up a flight of stairs behind my coworker, both our Glocks were out. She (my partner) decided half way up the stairs to pick up the pace and start running. I followed suit but stumbled, falling. My pistol covered her upper body as I fell, and my trigger finger involuntarily tightened as I caught myself.

Thank the Lord my finger was along the slide where it belongs.

Work/train with pistols, things happen. Pistols should not go bang if dropped.

Dropped one the other day, I was changing pants and sat on the bed. The gun, a G26 was in its holster laying on the bed. When I stood up I noticed I had messed the bed up a little and tugged the end of the cover to straighten it up, launched the holstered gun into the air and it hit the floor. It was not as though I pulled really hard on the cover either.

I would think a gun that can go off while being holstered (even if done sloppily) would be more of a concern than one being dropped . . .

lysanderxiii said:

I would think a gun that can go off while being holstered (even if done sloppily) would be more of a concern than one being dropped . . .

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All handguns can "go off" when holstered sloppily. A few will also fire when dropped.