Can a fixed barrel semi auto such as a Makarov be used for contact shots?

[sherman123]

A friend and I were discussing this recently whether a semi auto pistol with a fixed barrel(Makarov, Bersa Thunder .380, etc...) can be used to make contact shots like a revolver without causing a malfunction. I'm not finding much info searching this online and we haven't had a chance to test it yet. Any input? Thanks everyone

 

[tarosean]

The barrel moving or not has nothing to do with it.. the slide going a fraction of an inch out of battery will not let most guns fire off a round.

 

[1KPerDay]

I would GUESS that a fixed barrel pistol with the barrel proud of the front of the slide would have a better chance of firing when pressed against a surface than a browning-action design where the entire slide/barrel assembly may be pushed out of battery and cause a misfire. You should try it.

 

[WestKentucky]

Fixed barrels work fine, and have worked fine for decades. I know of several people who used Ruger mk1 pistols for contact shots on hogs to knock them out for slaughter. Get them in the chute, bang them, hang them, cut them. If done quickly they were still stunned when the knife hit their neck. That was standard process for my dads uncle, and same process for a few other folks I have heard tell stories of old school slaughter days. Always contact shots to the forehead (then a second one behind the ear when the hog wasn’t trying to kill them with its tusks)

that’s a pistol with an internal action mechanism. Some pistols have rearward slide mechanisms. Some have a traditional external slide mechanisms that cover the barrel. So long as the slide doesn’t move it wouldn’t be an issue.

Hi-point is a more traditional slide type pistol with a fixed barrel. There are plenty videos where people do absolutely horrendous things to those guns and they just keep working. I’m relatively sure that Demolition Ranch had a video on the hi-point that started with contact shots and then went to blocked barrels, bent barrels, and progressed until they finally successfully broke the gun… but I don’t remember what it took to break it.

 

[PWC]

Surrounding impedementa (clothes for example) may push slide back.

More importantly, why let someone or something get that close?

 

[Havok7416]

Oh I don't know. The Russians have been killing plenty of their people for a long time with contact shots from their Makarovs.

 

[Monac]

The reason automatic pistols are thought to be tricky to make contact shots with is because if the mechanism (usually the slide) is pushed back by the contact, it can go back far enough so that the disconnector will not let the trigger trip the sear and fire the gun. This is what tarosean and 1KPerDay are saying. In a pistol with a fixed barrel, the fixed barrel works AGAINST this happening - a moving barrel, like a 1911, can move backward with the slide. However, you are working against the whole strength of the recoil spring to do it, so you need to exert 16 pounds of force (according to Wolff Springs) to get anywhere. You can also see why it is altogether impossible with a pistol like the Ruger 22, as WestKentucky describes, where the barrel can exert no force at all on the internal bolt.

With a fixed barrel pistol with a slide, you would have to somehow arrange for the slide to be pushed back without the projecting barrel stopping it. It is hard to imagine a realistic situation where that would happen.

I read a short story many years ago where a character put his finger against the muzzle of a 45 automatic to keep it from firing. Once I got a 1911, and found out how much force it took, I laughed. Some people understand the principle involved in a thing without understanding the practical reality of it.

 

[zaitcev]

A friend and I were discussing this recently whether a semi auto pistol with a fixed barrel(Makarov, Bersa Thunder .380, etc...) can be used to make contact shots like a revolver without causing a malfunction.

If the surface is soft enough, it will press the slide around the fixed barrel.

But the idea of a stand-off device is not new. Honor Guard used to come with it in one of versions, to the the most extreme example. Also, according to Springfield, the guide rod of XD-S is intended for making a contact shot. These things are more likely to work when pressed against a human body than the barrel of Makarov -- unless of course you press against the skull, like a true communist.

 

[Riomouse911]

With striker guns I trained my guys to press their off hand palms against the rear of the slide if they’re doing a hard contact shot. If standing; fire the shot, step back / offline to the side while racking to clear the chamber, fire 2x more and assess. Doesn’t hurt the palm a bit and keeps the gun in battery to fire.

You can’t do this with exposed hammer guns, since the hammer is in the way, so with a PPK, Mak, 1911, Hi Power or other hammer gun I would teach to fire right before or as the gun touches the suspect. (This same goes for rolling about in a fight since you’ll most likely not be able to use two hands to hold the slide in place.) They would not press the gun hard into the suspect because the slide will probably move back and prevent a shot. (Like the guys said above .)

Stay safe.

 

[barnetmill]

Fixed barrels work fine, and have worked fine for decades. I know of several people who used Ruger mk1 pistols for contact shots on hogs to knock them out for slaughter. Get them in the chute, bang them, hang them, cut them. If done quickly they were still stunned when the knife hit their neck. That was standard process for my dads uncle, and same process for a few other folks I have heard tell stories of old school slaughter days. Always contact shots to the forehead (then a second one behind the ear when the hog wasn’t trying to kill them with its tusks)

that’s a pistol with an internal action mechanism. Some pistols have rearward slide mechanisms. Some have a traditional external slide mechanisms that cover the barrel. So long as the slide doesn’t move it wouldn’t be an issue.

Hi-point is a more traditional slide type pistol with a fixed barrel. There are plenty videos where people do absolutely horrendous things to those guns and they just keep working. I’m relatively sure that Demolition Ranch had a video on the hi-point that started with contact shots and then went to blocked barrels, bent barrels, and progressed until they finally successfully broke the gun… but I don’t remember what it took to break it.

This is what it takes to blowup a 9x19 mm high point. They had already ringed the barrel with previous attempts to blow it up.