How Often Do Decockers Fail?

[Phydeaux642]

I was looking at a Sig P239 and got to wondering how often the decockers fail on autos. I have heard stories, and I'm leary.

 

[atblis]

Not very often (unless it is a CZ52). SIG, CZ UB (not the maker of the 52), HK, S&W, etc. I would not worry about.

None the less, You should always, always, always point a gun in a safe direction when using the decocker.

 

[rellascout]

I agree not very often. Something is very wrong with the gun when it does and to be honest breakage can happen to any part. It is not something that concerns me.

That said I always decock a gun only when pointed in a safe direction.

 

[sokygunner]

A decocker failing is pretty rare, but I have seen it happen with my own eyes one time. It happened to be a fairly new and well maintained Ruger P89. My friend loaded and inserted a full magazine, racked a round in the chamber, and pushed the decocker...BOOM! A round went off as soon as the hammer dropped, fortunately into the ground out in front of him. Its is very rare with quality firearm but just be careful like the others have said and keep it pointed in a safe direction at all times. I wouldn't take the fact that the decocker will work for granted.

 

[Lonestar49]

...


As mentioned above, "very rarely" and to always point the gun, when decocking, in a safe direction, key..

Just don't fall into the_trap of not trusting them nor using them and trying to decock the hammer back into DA mode "with your thumb" holding the hammer while you pull the trigger and think you'll, only, let it down gently.. Many a ND has occurred using this very unsafe method. As it only takes but one slip and BOOM along with, where the gun is pointed, many times, at a leg, or foot, while somewhere in your thinking, "it will never happen.."

It happens all the time.. and accounts for MANY AD's/ND's

Use the decocker, only, every time, anytime, if the gun has one.

Luck,


Ls

 

[Supertac45]

I can't see anything happening if it fails on a Sig. Looking at my Sigs, it appears that the firing pin is blocked by steel unless the trigger is pulled. That block only gets pulled if the trigger is pulled and doesn't rely on the decocker.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

It would take a most unlikely cascade of parts failures, in the right sequence, for a decocker to allow the hammer to strike the firing pin at all, let alone hard enough to fire the cartridge. You should still check its function on occasion and point the pistol in a safe direction when decocking.

 

[2nd 41]

Safety's fail. That goes for any kind of safety. Never trust them. Be careful every time.

 

[Phydeaux642]

Maybe it's just me, but cocked-and-locked seems safer to me than using a decocker. Or, maybe I'm just used to my XD9.

 

[capttom]

Back in the late 70s-early 80s, I bought a gently used S&W 39-2. Over at the range, I was running some "combat" drills, two targets at 7 yards from the low ready, two shots each, safe and holster the weapon. Somewhere in one of the strings, the decock lever jammed in the down (decock) position. It wouldn't disengage. I unloaded the piece and fieldstripped it. I couldn't find anything wrong with the lever, but with the slide removed from the frame, the safety worked. I put the gun back together and it functioned fine for the next box of ammo. Back home, I pulled the gun apart, found nothing wrong, reassembled it, and sold it to a buddy who wasn't bothered by the unique glitch I'd experienced. As long as he owned the gun, he never had a problem.
As far as DA/SA etiquette goes, I learned to always ease the hammer down with my thumb via the decocker, not just let it slam home. No longer - all my current DA/SAs are spurless Smith & Wessons. It still gives me the willies seeing the hammer drop. Eventually, I guess I'll have to have the hammers swapped out, I suppose.

 

[Walter]

De-cockers do fail. The current recall on all S&W PPKs is due to the
de-cocker. The guns MAY fire when the de-cocker is activated.

From what I've read, it is probably a failure of the firing pin block,
but then that is what allows de-cockers to work. If the firing pin block
fails, the gun fires.

I always push my de-cocker lever down with one thumb while easing
the hammer down with the other. With the muzzle pointed in a safe
direction. No such thing as too many safeguards.

Walter

 

[Mags]

Story Time. On my base there is probably 1-200 Security Forces members armed with the M9 at one given time. Now the Air Force procedure for loading the M9 is mag in, chambered round, decocked, and safety off. I have never heard of a discharge at the clearing barrel due to the failure of the decocker on the M9 on my installation. That has got to be at least about 73000 times a year that a decocker is used on my base alone to safely decock the M9.

 

[gwnorth]

Most current production pistols have a trigger activated firing pin block anyway (CZ, SIG, FN, - I'm not sure of any that don't?). So even if the decocker fails, unless you are holding the trigger back, the weapon should not be able to go bang anyway.

 

[armoredman]

CZ with firing pin block will not fire if the decocker drops the hammer all the way to the firing pin, unless the booger hook is on the bang switch. Most important safety of all is the Mark One Mod One Brain, all else is a safety device.

 

[Boats]

You won't hear of a Beretta decocking failure because their designs take a "belt and suspenders" approach.

Not only is the firing pin blocked until the trigger is pulled, the slide mounted safety physically rotates, covering the firing pin's interface with the hammer.

I dare say it is mechanically impossible for a decocking Beretta to accidentally fire because the rotation of the safety happens before the hammer is released--resulting in no linkage between the hammer and the firing pin, even if the hammer falls prematurely.

 

[30mag]

trying to decock the hammer back into DA mode "with your thumb" holding the hammer while you pull the trigger and think you'll, only, let it down gently.. Many a ND has occurred using this very unsafe method. As it only takes but one slip and BOOM along with, where the gun is pointed, many times, at a leg, or foot, while somewhere in your thinking, "it will never happen.."

Perhaps the community of people who don't have decockers on the firearms would disagree with you. I have never owned a pistol with a decocker and never had an AD.
As long as you aren't being stupid, and paying attention, there is nothing wrong with lowering a hammer manually.

 

[DougDubya]

Perhaps the community of people who don't have decockers on the firearms would disagree with you. I have never owned a pistol with a decocker and never had an AD.
As long as you aren't being stupid, and paying attention, there is nothing wrong with lowering a hammer manually.

On the SIG Sauer, manually lowering the hammer overrides the drop to the safety notch, resting the hammer on the firing pin, making it dangerous if it is dropped.

 

[DougDubya]

You won't hear of a Beretta decocking failure because their designs take a "belt and suspenders" approach.

Not only is the firing pin blocked until the trigger is pulled, the slide mounted safety physically rotates, covering the firing pin's interface with the hammer.

I dare say it is mechanically impossible for a decocking Beretta to accidentally fire because the rotation of the safety happens before the hammer is released--resulting in no linkage between the hammer and the firing pin, even if the hammer falls prematurely.

That's what I always thought about the Beretta and Smith and Wesson style of slide-mounted decockers.