Accidental discharge! Ekk!

[monotonous_iterancy]

Today I was shooting a Walther P-38. I've never handled one before, but I was looking forward to trying one. I fired about 56 rounds of Winchester 115 gr. FMJ.

Most of them fired fine, except, I had an accidental discharge. Two of them, in fact.

Now, sometimes, I would rack the slide, and the first round would get stuck and not chamber. Manipulating the slide back and forth fixed it, and the round chambered.

Other times though, and this is how the first slamfire happened, the round would chamber, but the slide wouldn't close all the way, it was just a hair from being fully chambered.

This happened once, and, like I'd already done a time or two before, I used my other hand the move the slide forward. It slid forward a fraction of an inch, and BOOM!. A round fired into the air. It happened in the blink of an eye. I felt the muzzle blast on my forehead.

I was shaken, still am a little, it happened only about an hour ago. But I decided to not let it ruin my session. I told myself that it was my fault, not a mechanical problem, and to be more careful next time. I noticed that the safety lever was only halfway. This might be from my finger moving it during the recoil, but I'm not sure.

About two magazines later, I loaded a new one, and I chambered a round. I pulled the slide back and let it fly. Boom!

This time I was ready, and the gun was pointing completely down range. The safety was definitely on that time.


All in all, this experience illustrates why rule #1 is #1. Without it, nothing else matters. You can do everything right and still have an accidental discharge. I'm glad I'm still here, and I'm not glad to have had that experience, but it does wake you from your complacency.

It's my fault for not taking it apart and inspecting it beforehand, but what could be the problem? A stuck firing pin from insufficient cleaning? Soft primers, possibly? A mechanical failure? A design flaw in the gun itself?

 

[el Godfather]

Get rid of it.

 

[leadcounsel]

Get rid of it.

Terrible advice. This is a safety problem that must be fixed. A new owner, unaware of the problem, could accidently shoot himself or someone with it (say he's in an apartment and shoots it through a wall and kills someone due to an ND/AD).

How would it make you feel if the previous owner knew of this problem, and still sold it to you.

Spend the time and $30 to take it to a gun smith to get it fixed.

 

[el Godfather]

The reason I dont buy used!

Buyer be aware is general rule especially when buying used inherently dangerous contraptions.

I am not advising him to stick someone in the neck or lie- just get rid of it with all its faults.

 

[bigfatdave]

waltherforum has the experts on the P.38

Figure out what is actually wrong, THEN decide what to do with it. Repair, sell, destroy, sell for parts, clean, re-spring ... who knows?

I'm guessing something is wrong with the decocking system and how it interacts with the fire-control system to prevent a hammer drop from igniting a primer. I haven't been in the guts of my P.1 enough (or recently enough) to say more about it. There are guys on waltherforums who build P.1/P38 type pistols from parts kits though, they'll be able to give you details or guide you through more detailed troubleshooting.

 

[monotonous_iterancy]

Well, here's the problem with "deciding what to do with it." It's not my gun. I'm just borrowing it.

 

[monotonous_iterancy]

So, I figured out, that when I rack the slide, the hammer is cocked. When it gets caught, like it did the first time, the hammer stays cocked, but moving it forward into battery drops the hammer. Interesting. That seems to explain why it went off.

I know that it's a DA/SA pistol, but I remember cocking it single action for the first round after racking the slide. Can someone more familiar with P-38s explain the proper controls to me?

 

[VAPOPO]

If it's a wartime produced pistol have it gone through, lots of reports of intentionally sabotaged weapons or just the stress of the 65+years of wear and tear on something produced during war time.

 

[hentown]

I had a similar experience with a Star PD, while I was demonstrating safe loading/unloading techniques to my oldest son. Shot a hole through my ex-wife's dining room table, and through the floor beneath. Fortunately, no one was hurt and no pipes or wiring under the floor were affected.

Also had a MAC 10 go off, when I'd forgotten (hadn't handled it in 10+ years) that it fired from an open bolt. I thought the bolt was stuck back, so I pulled the bolt back a little and eased it forward, having pulled the trigger, I suppose, to release the bolt. Shot a hole through the ceiling. Fortunately for my ears, had the suppressor attached. Later recovered the 230gr fmj from my atic.

 

[Redlg155]

Were the 2 accidents with the same wife? This may explain the divorce..

 

[USAF_Vet]

If its not your gun, unload it, clean in, lock it up and give it back to whomever it was borrowed. Inform them of the issue.

 

[Cosmoline]

The reason I dont buy used!

Most firearms are used, and about 99% of the best ones are used. To restrict yourself to new production firearms because of slamfire problems with certain pistols is excessive.

Any slamfire needs to be taken very seriously, and the firearm should be unloaded and red flagged for repair.

 

[el Godfather]

Most firearms are used, and about 99% of the best ones are used. To restrict yourself to new production firearms because of slamfire problems with certain pistols is excessive.

Any slamfire needs to be taken very seriously, and the firearm should be unloaded and red flagged for repair.

Well I would gladly pay higher price for new.

 

[el Godfather]

Were the 2 accidents with the same wife? This may explain the divorce..

I bet you are right on the money here. Can't imagine living in a house with ADs as such and holes in furniture and flooring.

 

[Big Dave]

Always keep that muzzle down range!!!

 

[gym]

Could it be a firing pin safety? . Maybe it is broken or cracked.

 

[777funk]

To the guys commenting on the guy who shot a hole in the table, an A/D could happen to anyone. Overconfidence can equal lack of the right kind of caution since the human factor is always involved without exception. That said, my overconfidence and/or bragging to my wife how careful I am and that I've never had an A/D as I was explaining operation and safety features... well, I should have kept my mouth shut. Humbling... and I felt pretty low but I'm not overconfident anymore and I still am cautious. Outdoors only for function explanations in the future.

As mentioned, always keep the muzzle in a safe direction is priority #1. Thankfully, I followed rule #1. Beyond that rule and it should be plain old common sense, a gun can NEVER be pointed in the direction of (or worse yet, Directly AT) a person. There's no pretending and my kids are not allowed to have toy guns for that very reason. Not a good habit to develop or take lightly.

 

[777funk]

I have to laugh at my own quote in #17... I said 'function explanations'... I should have said function 'demonstrations'. I won't forget it and I'm sure my wife won't either. She still loves me anyways... lol. But boy did I feel low.

 

[AKElroy]

Well I would gladly pay higher price for new.

I buy used almost exclusively, and I frequently pay more than new. They don't make them like they used to. That said, the OP is dealing with a broken, dangerous firearm. As others stated, give it back with details and a stern warning to the owner to sort it out.

The only mistake I might call out is continuing the range session after the ND. you acknowledge being shaken, it would have maybe been better to call it a day and return with a clear mind later.

 

[243winxb]

Same happened to me, same gun. Luck i was holding it as collateral on a loan. (1963) Got my $$$ back.

 

[Redlg155]

I looked at the Safe Direction Academy pad but at $180 its a bit pricey. I may look at a nice size clay pot filled with sand and a fake plant for use as a loading/unloading area.

So far I've only has had one discharge, but this one was expected. I was testing a freinds Davis. 22 lr due to complaints of firing when the slide was released. I tested it in a safe directions and yep, slamfire. The cause was a burr at the end of the chamber caused by deformed metal due to dry firing. This burr acted like a "firing pin" when the slide pinched the case against the burr.

 

[hentown]

I bet you are right on the money here. Can't imagine living in a house with ADs as such and holes in furniture and flooring.

Was already divorced when both events happened. My second and final ex-wife had left the dining room table in my care. I don't remember what happened to it. That was 25-yrs-ago.

I hesitate, however, to even respond to somebody who's too ignorant to buy used firearms.

 

[tipoc]

Well, of course take the gun back to the fella who owns it and discuss the problem with them. Either you broke his gun or it's a problem of gun handling or it's a problem that he is familiar with.

When he loaned you the gun did he not show you how to handle it?

Was it clean when he loaned it to you?

tipoc

 

[1858remington]

Having had a Walther P-38, the feed issue sounds like a weak magazine spring. The way the magazine sits in the P-38, the round is dead in front of the chamber, making it a straight shot from mag to barrel.

As for the accidental discharge, I would check the firing pin. There may be some debris in the pin channel causing the pin to stick in the forward position. The pin spring itself might be broken, and would cause the same pin sticking effect.

 

[el Godfather]

Was already divorced when both events happened. My second and final ex-wife had left the dining room table in my care. I don't remember what happened to it. That was 25-yrs-ago.

I hesitate, however, to even respond to somebody who's too ignorant to buy used firearms.

Good one old chap.

I may be ignorant but not cheap. We are not talking thousands of dollars worth of difference but just few benFranks on a pistol- I rather have NIB than a used one without knowing usage history etc. Sure there are exceptions to the rule but they are like I said exceptions.

As for the light jab I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. If it makes you feel better lets not talk about it. Again, I apologize for hurting your feelings.