Smoke
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Smoke
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Does a trigger job add to legal problems in a justifiable shooting?
- Thread starter at-home-daddy
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DA/Prosecuter probably won't even notice as long as your trigger job isn't too extreme. It's like having your car tuned up.
If they do find out, (what, did you tell them?) it was done by a competent gunsmith for the reliable and accurate operation of the weapon.
Why that ammo? Well, it's marketed as 'self defense', and operates accurately and reliably in my particular weapon.
9/.40/.45: They're all common calibers, not noted for extremes in respect. If you use a .45 your lawyer can point out that your a traditionalist. 9mm is the most common defense caliber, being used by many police departments and the military. .40 is like an average of the two, and used by departments that have logged trouble with the 9mm's 'stopping power'. 10mm? It's all I had?
Now, you might get in trouble if you were running around with a .454 or .500, but what are you thinking if you're running around with them?
The biggest part of the case will be your actions and the fact that you had a weapon, rather than the details of the weapon.
If they do find out, (what, did you tell them?) it was done by a competent gunsmith for the reliable and accurate operation of the weapon.
Why that ammo? Well, it's marketed as 'self defense', and operates accurately and reliably in my particular weapon.
9/.40/.45: They're all common calibers, not noted for extremes in respect. If you use a .45 your lawyer can point out that your a traditionalist. 9mm is the most common defense caliber, being used by many police departments and the military. .40 is like an average of the two, and used by departments that have logged trouble with the 9mm's 'stopping power'. 10mm? It's all I had?
Now, you might get in trouble if you were running around with a .454 or .500, but what are you thinking if you're running around with them?
The biggest part of the case will be your actions and the fact that you had a weapon, rather than the details of the weapon.
SMMAssociates
Member
...
We may have wandered off, or perhaps I'm restating the obvious, but....
If it's a clean shoot - if there's no criminal prosecution - then it really doesn't matter what you did, or how you did it, or what sort of weapon, it's condition, ammunition, etc., was used.
However, in many areas, you'll find yourself in Civil Court as the relatives of the BG turn up to tell everybody how good a boy he was, etc.
You then run into the problems of rabidly anti-gun (or just criminally uninformed) media, Judges and Juries who have no idea, and hungry sharks who don't care about the truth as long as they get paid.
The point, then, is to NOT give them any "ammunition" by which to hang you.
The good news is that if nobody can make something out of a half-pound trigger, unless you've got one of those ugly assault pistols, ammunition type and caliber may be the only real issues. I think we've covered that well elsewhere in this thread.
The bad news is that Juries tend to be made up of people who didn't have the "pull" to get out of Jury Duty....
(Some years back some gang-bangers shot up a house hereabouts, killing a little boy. The local rag screamed "high powered assault rifle". It was a .22.... Semi-auto.... .22LR.... Wrong house, too.... Trying to prevent that is like trying to stop hijackings by banning travel agents.... It's the criminals, stupid.)
(Tallpine: The idea is to then be able to put Officer so-and-so on the stand and let him tell the Jury that he's carrying stuff that's a lot worse. That's why you try to stay "reasonable" on your ammunition choice. If the local PD likes .32ACP, we're screwed, of course, but some kind of 9mm HP seems to be the minimum these days. All we have to do is appear "reasonable", but sometimes it's good to be able to slap the shark upside the head.)
We may have wandered off, or perhaps I'm restating the obvious, but....
If it's a clean shoot - if there's no criminal prosecution - then it really doesn't matter what you did, or how you did it, or what sort of weapon, it's condition, ammunition, etc., was used.
However, in many areas, you'll find yourself in Civil Court as the relatives of the BG turn up to tell everybody how good a boy he was, etc.
You then run into the problems of rabidly anti-gun (or just criminally uninformed) media, Judges and Juries who have no idea, and hungry sharks who don't care about the truth as long as they get paid.
The point, then, is to NOT give them any "ammunition" by which to hang you.
The good news is that if nobody can make something out of a half-pound trigger, unless you've got one of those ugly assault pistols, ammunition type and caliber may be the only real issues. I think we've covered that well elsewhere in this thread.
The bad news is that Juries tend to be made up of people who didn't have the "pull" to get out of Jury Duty....
(Some years back some gang-bangers shot up a house hereabouts, killing a little boy. The local rag screamed "high powered assault rifle". It was a .22.... Semi-auto.... .22LR.... Wrong house, too.... Trying to prevent that is like trying to stop hijackings by banning travel agents.... It's the criminals, stupid.)
(Tallpine: The idea is to then be able to put Officer so-and-so on the stand and let him tell the Jury that he's carrying stuff that's a lot worse. That's why you try to stay "reasonable" on your ammunition choice. If the local PD likes .32ACP, we're screwed, of course, but some kind of 9mm HP seems to be the minimum these days. All we have to do is appear "reasonable", but sometimes it's good to be able to slap the shark upside the head.)
HankB
Member
Unless your trigger job is extreme and causes accidental discharges or (illegal) fully-automatic fire, in my non-laywer's opinion it's no more of a problem than ANY other characteristic of your gun or ammo.
ANYTHING can be twisted by an unethical attorney.
Use handloaded ammo . . . and you're brewing up deadly loads to KILL.
Use factory hollowpoints . . . and you're using DUM-DUM ammo, banned by the Geneva Convention. (Actually the Hague Accords, but who cares?)
Use FMJ . . . and you're a "military wannabe."
Use the same gun or ammo local cops use, and you're a "cop wannabe."
Use a standard gun, and you're "trying to kill on the cheap."
Use a modified gun, and "ORDINARY guns aren't GOOD enough to KILL for you?"
Practice a lot, and it's "Why didn't you shoot the knife/gun/club out of his hand?" or "You really practice to KILL a lot, don't you?"
Don't practice, and "You're not really competent to use deadly force, are you?"
etc. etc. etc.
Best defense is to first, avoid using deadly force if possible. Second, if that doesn't work, make doggoned sure you're only in a GOOD shoot. Third, SHUT UP until you speak to your attorney. Fourth . . . make sure your attorney is a GOOD attorney.
ANYTHING can be twisted by an unethical attorney.
Use handloaded ammo . . . and you're brewing up deadly loads to KILL.
Use factory hollowpoints . . . and you're using DUM-DUM ammo, banned by the Geneva Convention. (Actually the Hague Accords, but who cares?)
Use FMJ . . . and you're a "military wannabe."
Use the same gun or ammo local cops use, and you're a "cop wannabe."
Use a standard gun, and you're "trying to kill on the cheap."
Use a modified gun, and "ORDINARY guns aren't GOOD enough to KILL for you?"
Practice a lot, and it's "Why didn't you shoot the knife/gun/club out of his hand?" or "You really practice to KILL a lot, don't you?"
Don't practice, and "You're not really competent to use deadly force, are you?"
etc. etc. etc.
Best defense is to first, avoid using deadly force if possible. Second, if that doesn't work, make doggoned sure you're only in a GOOD shoot. Third, SHUT UP until you speak to your attorney. Fourth . . . make sure your attorney is a GOOD attorney.
at-home-daddy
Member
All good advice -- thanks, everyone. You've managed to put what I instinctly felt what an unreasonable concern into a reasonble light; appreciate the feedback. I think I'll run another 1000 or 2000 rounds through it (it's got around 800 now, I believe) and see if I can't smooth the trigger out a bit that way. If it's still not up to my satisfaction, I'll go with the trigger job and have no qualms about doing so.
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