Dropped Gun Discharges in Wal-Mart Bathroom

Status
Not open for further replies.
Maybe. All it says is a "western-style holster" and a .357 caliber "antique revolver"

So the assumption is single action, but why would he have it cocked? Can an old revolver go off if dropped, if it isn't cocked? And if it wasn't cocked then it would be tough to have a discharge from accidentally pulling the trigger.
 
Assuming the gun is an antique western style i find such a carry weapon to be an absurd choice in our world of safer, modern hand guns. I won't pity the gun owner if the other guy sues his brass off.
 
If the revolver in question was an "antique-style" six-shooter, and the hammer was down on a loaded chamber, it could be expected to go off if it was dropped on a hard floor. Revolvers of this description are supposed to be carried with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

If the person who is responsible for this incident isn't in trouble they should be.
 
I like how there has to be a 'victim' here. So now, being startled is being a victim
Click to expand...

The guy discharged a .357 in a confined space. The noise and destruction would be more then startling. Perhaps the "victim" had an accidental discharge of his own.

I'd probably need a change of clothes...
 
oh ya i heard about that on the news but not the details turned it off before those came on

and ya im sure a .357 going off in a nice echo friendly bathroom would make anyone a victim


the news tried making it sound like some guy was dodging a gun battle in the bathroom LOL
 
Last edited:
What irony! I had to be walked to the exit door when I bought a Marlin Model 60 .22lr rifle a year ago; company policy. At least he didn’t shoot himself in the leg in the process of relieving himself.

There goes his chance of being a Wal-Mart greeter in the future.

News flash: Man at urinal to sue Wal-Mart stating the blast caused him to do No. 2 verses No. 1 thereby soiling his pants. All Wal-Mart ammunition sales are being suspended. Future ammo sales at stake pending litigation.
 
his Ruger .357-caliber Western-style revolver
Click to expand...
is all we have from the article.

Could be new. Could be a 3 screw. Not enough info to go on.
Most of the hipster "hey, look! I carry an old revolver!" crowd know about the hammer on an old 3 screw.
.357-caliber antique revolver
Click to expand...
I'd be curious to see the police report. This looks like typical news crew stuff. "hey, it looks kind of old school. must be an antique."
Something stinks in Denmark... er, AZ.

either way, don't play with your gun. And if you do, don't eat so little fiber that you strain hard enough to cause inter-limb reflex and recruit your trigger finger muscles.
 
when his Ruger .357-caliber Western-style revolver fell out of its holster and fired a round
Click to expand...

That's plausible. That's why Ruger instituted the "upgrade" on the single actions. If you have an older model single action Ruger, and load all six rounds, then you have the firing pin resting on a live round. If the gun is dropped onto a concrete floor it can discharge.
 
Ruger offered an upgrade to their single-action revolvers years ago to make them "drop-safe". Of couse, not everyone has heard about it, or declined to take advange because it would hurt the "original version" collectability.
 
Old Ruger Single Actions

SunnySlopes said:
That's plausible. That's why Ruger instituted the "upgrade" on the single actions. If you have an older model single action Ruger, and load all six rounds, then you have the firing pin resting on a live round. If the gun is dropped onto a concrete floor it can discharge.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's necessarily true. I believe old model Ruger SAs have a "safety" notch like Colts that hold the hammer off the pin so that the hammer is not resting on the pin. Not uncommon, according to Elmer Keith in Sixguns for that "safety" notch to fail if the gun was dropped or the hammer struck. So our guy could have had the hammer in the "safety" notch and the drop was enough to break it. Or he could have had the hammer down on the pin. Either way, he was an idiot to have a live one under the hammer on an old model Ruger.
 
AD in Walmart Bathroom

I've always said, Guns don't kill people, PUBLIC RESTROOMS KILL PEOPLE!

With that said, I can see a western style holster without a thumb strap allowing the firearm to fall, but it is a lack of awareness that allowed this to happen.

I can only imagine that he may have been rushing to the stall before another accidental discharge if this happened.

JMTC!
 
As I said on the other board where I first saw the account...

There are people who have posted on the gunboards that they are comfortable with six in a conventional single action without transfer bar, depending on the quarter cock "safety notch." But I am not one of them.

This guy was:
1. Playing with his revolver in an unlikely place.
or
2. Dropped it such that it went off because:
a. The hammer was in the "safety notch" over a live round and broke out the notch or the trigger sear. (As I said, there are people who do that.)
or
b. The hammer was all the way down on a live round. (Some people do not know the difference between a floating firing pin and an inertial firing pin.)
or
c. The hammer was all the way down between live rounds and got rolled onto a live round by handling or rubbing in the holster. (That has also been mentioned as a traditional method.)

If it had a transfer bar action, then he is covering up, see #1 above.
 
I have a revolver manufactured in 1926 that does not have a block, and the firing pin is part of the hammer assembly. If that pistol fell just right on the hammer, with a live round under that hammer I could see it going off.

Two things you do with old guns like that: First, you have a high retention holster, an open "Cowboy" holster just won't do. Second you leave the chamber under the hammer empty.

I feel for the guys ears...Lord, in a tile lined room like those WalMart bathrooms,,,that sound would keep on. Bet he couldn't hear anything for a week.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top