SCCY Self Discharge?

[Reno380]

My youngest son did what I feel was a bad trade.....he traded his Ruger LC9 for a SCCY CX-2. I kept asking him why?!! Well after about 3 days of ownership he went out to eat with his wife and his older brother and wife on their once a month dinner time to keep up with each other, when they get back to my oldest sons home he takes his sccy out and places it on the dining table for a moment (he has a ccw) I think they were spending the night and just for the moment put his belongings there i.e. keys, wallet, etc..., he was going back outside to help with getting his daughter (my grand daughter, picture in my avatar), diaper bag, pillows, blankets, etc.... they hear a BANG!!! The SCCY went off by itself. I don't understand either how it was positioned but it shot through the dining table and into the floor, found the bullet in the wood flooring. This could have been worse, it could have went off while in the iwb holster and shot him, or randomly shot one of them or went through the wall and hit a neighbor. Has anyone here heard this issue with the SCCY? He has it boxed up today and is contacting SCCY to return it for service to see what went wrong, I have not heard anything else as of yet. If he was at his home the pistol would have been placed in his biometric safe ( the one where his wife or himself can open it with fingerprints), he never leaves it out, until last night, for 5 minutes tops.

Reno

 

[Capt. Ct.]

As I understand this he placed his pistol on the table and went outside. I would assume the SCCY was flat on its side. It majically discharged all by itself and sent a round through the table into the floor. Now how could this be possible? If it was on its side the bullet would have gone into a wall not the floor. I also find it highly unlikely it went off all by itself.
Were there any other people in the house while he was outside? Lets say a child. I would think someone picked it up had it pointed down at the table and floor and pressed the trigger. Sounds kind of like something a child would do and not want to admit it. To me that is what make sense.

 

[Liquidring]

The SCCY cpx2 is DAO pistol, so to sit it on the table and it go off, is "strange" to say the least. I carry one everyday. The trigger pull is NOT lite. It's not a striker fired gun, so something doesn't smell right with this. Are you sure it's not a CPX1? There's are difference in the guns, but both are non striker fired. Only thing I can think of is someone has done a "trigger job" on the gun and did it wrong, but they both are hammer fired guns, so this doesn't pass the smell test.

 

[hdwhit]

Reno380 wrote:
...BANG!!! The SCCY went off by itself. I don't understand either how it was positioned but it shot through the dining table and into the floor, found the bullet in the wood flooring.

What else about this is your son not telling you?

Just think about the physics involved; a gun laid flat on the table (we can assume he didn't intricately balance it on the front of the frame and the magazine floorplate) somehow managed to levitate until it was above the table so that the trajectory of the bullet would be through the table and into the floor.

Unless his story is that the house was haunted, the only answer that passes Occam's Razor is that someone handled the gun in his absence and negligently discharged it. This is also an object lesson in why under most state laws, leaving a gun where a child can get to it - even for a moment - is a crime.

 

[zaitcev]

Yeah, that's the thing. SCCY is not a single-action gun, and there's no pre-cocked hammer on it. The trigger pull cocks the hammer first, like a revolver. Even if something broke inside, there's no spring tension at rest anywhere in it, so nothing can snap and hit the primer.

But I'm glad that the "nobody" who pulled the trigger didn't point at his sibling when he did it. It could be much worse.

 

[tarosean]

I would assume the SCCY was flat on its side. It majically discharged all by itself and sent a round through the table into the floor. Now how could this be possible?

Unless it was in a holster and the belt loops/clips propped it up at a angle... Still awfully fishy.

 

[Reno380]

Still in the belt and holster when he laid it down. SCCY asked for the pistol and both mags, they are paying shipping both ways. He was on the phone for about a half hour and they did most of the talking. He said the operator he was talking to asked if he would mind if decided, to accept a completely new pistol in return. I asked him if it was a Gen 2 and he said yes, he traded his Ruger LC9 at the same GS where he bought the Ruger, the trade was even, he paid taxes and background check. He said the same thing to me, it is like my Taurus, a D,A. my oldest son and wife confirmed, no one was inside, they were getting the baby and sleeping items out of the car, just locked it and was walking up the sidewalk to go back inside. Only a 12 yr old boxer and a 4 yr old shih-tsu was inside, and they were looking outside the window watching them. Believe me, I went through the same questions as to, are you sure it did not go the very second you took it out and maybe your finger was on the trigger (he knows I'm a stickler on this as was my D.I.) that caused it to go off? But the other 2 confirm what he said, actually 3 counting his wife.
Reno

 

[MedWheeler]

Assuming his story regarding others being present checked out, I'd like to have inspected the holster right then and there. Perhaps something had gotten into it, or its own shape got in the way, partially (almost completely) setting the trigger back. Then, as the "pile" (keys, wallet, gun-holster-belt rig, etc.) settled, it snapped the rest of the way.

As far as the Ruger-vs.-SCCY comments go, I feel the CPX-II is a more-comfortable gun to shoot, and holds three more rounds. In addition, it's a "true" DAO pistol, meaning every trigger stroke drives the hammer from fully-at-rest all the way to the rear, then releases it. This makes for a heavier and longer trigger pull, but it offers "re-strike" capability, something that is important to many people. The Ruger is probably easier for most shooters to be accurate with.

Now, I'd never trade a Ruger I already owned for a SCCY. I've considered trading my Kel-Tec PF9 for one, or at least getting the SCCY without the trade, but haven't done it yet, and probably won't. To me, the three-round advantage isn't enough to do that. If I wouldn't trade a Kel-Tec for one, I certainly wouldn't trade a Ruger for one.

 

[George Dickel]

I have shot the SCCY and it has a very heavy trigger and a very long pull, it's like shooting a revolver. There is something missing here, I can't think of any way that pistol could fire all by itself. MedWheeler has the only logical theory that I can think of that could cause the gun to fire but the trigger would have to be almost at the release point to drop the hammer.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

I agree with MedWheeler. There's no way a DAO pistol is going off "by itself". Either someone handled the gun, OR something got into or was wrong with the holster.

 

[Oldschool shooter]

I, too, own a CPX2. With that heavy trigger pull, sorry, it didn't happen that way.

 

[LoonWulf]

If the holster was still attached to the belt i could see the pistol sitting upright. Could something have fallen on it and set it off?
Im unfamiliar with the design of these guns.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

The only thing I can think of is that when he chambered a round the hammer got stuck in the cocked position.
If this is what happened, he is lucky that the gun did not go off while he was carrying it.

 

[oss117]

The only thing I can think of is that when he chambered a round the hammer got stuck in the cocked position.
If this is what happened, he is lucky that the gun did not go off while he was carrying it.

This is the same thing I was thinking. The SCCY's hammer is recessed in the back of the slide so one would probably not notice if it were stuck back.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Your son is lying to you. He shouldn't own guns if he's so careless. I'd be embarrassed too about firing a gun negligently so I suppose I don't blame him for trying to place blame on the gun.

 

[PabloJ]

.....he traded his Ruger LC9 for a SCCY CX-2.

Reno

Ok, time to move on.

 

[Kano383]

The only thing I can think of is that when he chambered a round the hammer got stuck in the cocked position.
If this is what happened, he is lucky that the gun did not go off while he was carrying it.

That's exactly what I was thinking while scrolling down. If the story went as told, then the only logical way for the gun to go off by itself is if the hammer was cocked. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of that particular handgun, so I can't even try to figure out how this can happen.

If SCCY offered straight away to send a new pistol in exchange, they may know something that did not make the morning news...

 

[LoonWulf]

After watching a few disasembly videos, and looking at more pictures. I agree the hammer getting caught back is plausible, especially if it pinched something against the slide, or the tolerance/machining was off.
If he hasnt sent it back already you might pull the slide and manually move the hammer back and see if you can feel it catch on anything. If alls smooth try operate the slide and see if anything sticks.

Nother thing that might help stop some of the speculation, or prove it correct...is there powder burn on the inside of the holster.
Unless of course the muzzle sticks thru the holster.

 

[sequins]

What an interesting scenario. I'm also sceptical of your son's story, simply because an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and a DAO design (The SCCY uses the same action as the Keltec P11, right?) can't fail in such a way as to cause an AD. That said the offer of a brand new gun out of the gate from SCCY is extraordinarily suspicious.

I'm interested to hear if the action is unsound. The hammer sticking being the only theory thus far that seems plausible from a mechanical perspective, but I suppose I could see the holster pile and a bad holster being possible... What holster was he using? I don't know of many holsters which remain attached to the belt even after the belt is removed, though, and even then I'd expect an instant AD the second he dropped the additional items on top.

I think it's far more likely this is an ND. With all respect your son has strong incentive to not be entirely truthful, and a man's wife isn't a compelling witness. Are you really 100% certain this was an AD?

 

[kcofohio]

Even if the hammer was stuck in the full cock position, which i doubt, (because the hammer fired DAO uses a strong tension spring). The firing pin blocker would still have to be over come for the firing pin to make contact with the primer.

There are 3 things that have to happen in unison, when the trigger is pulled, for a successful ignition.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

The only thing I can think of is that when he chambered a round the hammer got stuck in the cocked position.
If this is what happened, he is lucky that the gun did not go off while he was carrying it.

If that is possible, I would find a new gun to carry.

For all those who are calling OP's son a liar: knock it off.

Be suspicious all you want (I am) but you weren't there and if this was my son, I would believe it happened as he said it until proven otherwise.

 

[Kano383]

Even if the hammer was stuck in the full cock position, which i doubt, (because the hammer fired DAO uses a strong tension spring). The firing pin blocker would still have to be over come for the firing pin to make contact with the primer.

There are 3 things that have to happen in unison, when the trigger is pulled, for a successful ignition.

As far as I can tell from the drawings available online, the SCCY does not seem to have a firing pin block.........

 

[kcofohio]

As far as I can tell from the drawings available online, the SCCY does not seem to have a firing pin block.........

I agree that the sketch and parts list doesn't show it. But I don't believe that it is a full exploded view and complete parts list.

I read a write up and it stated the CPX2 has the pin blocker. Not that that is true, but hey, I read it online.

 

[LoonWulf]

I agree that the sketch and parts list doesn't show it. But I don't believe that it is a full exploded view and complete parts list.

I read a write up and it stated the CPX2 has the pin blocker. Not that that is true, but hey, I read it online.

I read that as well, but all the pictures i could get of the bottom of the slide dont show anything that would be activated during trigger pull so it would have to be some sort of passive device. Im betting its just got a heavy firing pin return spring or something like that.

 

[kcofohio]

I read that as well, but all the pictures i could get of the bottom of the slide dont show anything that would be activated during trigger pull so it would have to be some sort of passive device. Im betting its just got a heavy firing pin return spring or something like that.

Could be. I'm curious now, but not enough to go buy one to see.
I also can't help but wondering if somebody tried their hand at gunsmithing.