As a general rule you use the term “Negligent Discharge” when an “oops” happens with a firearm. That isn’t always the case
I lock the slide open, pull the mag, shake out the round in the chamber and replace it in the magazine. Grab the slide, pull it back and release and *boom*. Gun goes off. Now, my finger was nowhere near the trigger when this thing went off. Bullet impacted the ground about five feet in front of me. (Because we always, always, always keep the muzzle in a safe direction NO MATTTER WHAT.) Now Im curious.I dump the mag, lock the slide back, and examine things closely. Amazingly, the firing pin is protruding from the bolt face with the slide locked back. I poke my finger in there and push on the exposed firing pin…no travel, the thing is frozen in place. Somehow the firing pin locked in the forward position and when I dropped the slide the gun slam-fired the next round. Unbelieveable. I have read of such things happening but never experienced it myself, and I’ve shot more guns than most people ever will. I gave the guy back his gun, pointed out the firing pin issue, and said “Do not load this gun. It *will* go off if you load it. Find the instructions and disassemble the slide and see why the firing pin is locked up in the forward position.”
Scary stuff! The gun was an AMT Automag in .45 Win Mag. A pretty serious heater. I’ve heard many horror stories of AMT quality control issues, and I’ve shot a fistfull of really sucky AMT guns. Who knows what’s wrong with this one, but its not safe to use until its fixed.
The Moral of this story is Always follow the 4 rules of gun safety whenever a firearm is in your hand
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET
Not only do these rules keep you aware of negligent handling that can cause serious problems, but it also keeps things safe in the odd event that a gun malfunctions and discharges.
Another “common” (I say that because guns that fail in a way that the gun discharges is quite rare) is firing pin blocks getting worn and the gun discharging when the hammer is dropped by means of the decocker. The most common culprit of this I’ve read about is the CZ-52 Whenever you decock a firearm ALWAYS keep it pointed in a safe direction. Also if you carry a DA gun like the CZ-82/83 or a CZ-75 that doesn’t have a decocking lever (dunno why only CZs are coming to mind) it might be a good idea to have your “Safe direction” be a clearing barrel that way if your finger slips and the hammer falls with enough velocity to ignite the primer the round will quickly be captured by the sand or dirt in the barrel.
It actually doesn’t take a lot of sand to stop most rounds, and I actually like the way the CZ-82 is set up for carry, as you can engage the safety or lower the hammer, but not both which would be redundant in my book.
Just be safe people, it doesn’t take much effort if you keep your mind about it.
I’ve discussed it with many before and I believe rule I is wrong as it creates a logical disconnect. If you follow the other three rules and start with “make sure whether or not the firearm is loaded” you still won’t accidentally shoot people.
Because in PRACTICE, people check to see if a gun is or isn’t loaded when they are working with them or on them and they DO handle them differently depending on condition after they have checked.
Even “never point the muzzle at something you do not wish to destroy” is problematic if you gunsmith. How does a person examine the target crown cut at the end of the rifling in the expansion chamber bored into one of my ported contender barrels? You point it at your face. I’ve dealt with people that were really anal about the four rules to the point it was ludicrous, in one case I was showing a customer the porting in the muzzle of a Broken Open UNLOADED break action gun and he said I violated the “sacred four rules.” Like an empty barrel is gonna shoot him in the face, and he was the one that was curious as to what the expansion chamber and crowning internally looked like.
General gun handling rules by Thomas:
If in doubt, assume a firearm is loaded, and lean heavily on doubt.
There are times a firearm is not loaded. I bet you’ve pointed a 1911 at your face removing the spring plug at least once 🙂
Always have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction when cycling an action.
If it’s not double action, it better be on safe unless you are about to fire.
Be sure of your target and what is behind it (to the best of your abilities, because if you’re Elk Hunting in a Canyon there might be something you don’t see behind your target. It happens.
Be sure of the location of any and all people you may be hunting or shooting with, is a good idea. Ask Dick Cheney.
Exercise safe gun handling skills.
Sometimes one point shoots, so sights don’t necessarily factor in.
The “four rules” are sorta four rules and sorta four lies and they get “violated” all the time by people who are safely handling firearms because you are saying somethings are true or untrue that you don’t actually know to be true. If I am shooting a squirrel in a tree with a .22, or one time a .45-70 because it was handy…that bullet could go a long way, so you need to be cognizant of where people and buildings are around you and likely to be around you, but squirrel hunting would be rather limited if people had to be entirely sure of where the bullet might land. Limited to the point that nobody would ever shoot a bullet at an animal in a tree…
Even Col. Jeff had some misgivings about the wording of “the four rules”. It was the best he could do as to general principles of safety in a concise form.
A CZ-82/83 can be decocked very safely if you know how it works.
The CZ-82/83 has an “automatic safety” that blocks the hammer from the firing pin if the trigger is not pulled fully to the rear.
To safely decock, put your off hand thumb between the hammer and the firing pin. With your firing hand thumb, hold back the hammer. Pull the trigger until the sear releases, your off hand thumb will prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin if you slip. As soon as you begin easing the hammer forward, release the trigger. This places the automatic safety back into the blocking position at which point the hammer cannot strike the firing pin. It is then safe to remove the off hand thumb from between the hammer and firing pin and finish lowering the hammer.
Of course, this does not relieve you of the responsibility to keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times, any mechanical safety can fail so you can’t completely depend on it, but mechanical failures are relatively rare so as long as the gun is functioning correctly, you can safely decock a CZ-82/83 in this manner without having to set up a clearing barrel to be reasonably safe. IMHO.
BTW: I carry a CZ-82 as my normal “summertime” concealed carry piece. In the winter when I’m wearing heavy enough clothes or when open carrying, I carry a 1911. One of the things that I like about the CZ-82 is that the controls are similar enough in operation to the 1911 that I don’t fear going into mental vapor lock under stress from trying to remember which gun I’m carrying and how to operate it properly.
Yeah I’ve loved your posts on the ’82. Great tip, I was aware of the hammer block safety, and I believe the ’82 has a rebounding hammer from my observations.
Personally I prefer DAO or SAO for a carry gun, and if DA/SA I like the kind with no external safety like Sigs or the Walther P99.
The only difference I have with the 1911 and the ’82 is that the gun is smaller and my thumb is too long to easily reach the mag release so I use my trigger finger. That being said its the DAMN best gun to teach a lefty on.
I’d still get a 20 gallon bucket and some playground sand just for “insurance” if I was manually decocking loaded guns outside of the firing line.
I’d still get a 20 gallon bucket and some playground sand just for “insurance” if I was manually decocking loaded guns outside of the firing line.
No argument there, you can never be too safe.
I carry my ’82 cocked and locked just like I do my 1911 so lowering the hammer isn’t an issue for me…but because of the lack of grip safety, I wouldn’t recommend carrying an ’82 in condition one loose in a pocket or purse. Too much chance of the safety being knocked into the off position by accident, then you’re just a “lipstick inside the trigger guard” from an ND.
The big thing for me is that the safety operates the same way on both my carry guns. Most likely, in a defensive situation, a reload won’t be required so the mag release being slightly different doesn’t bother me (and it operates the same, just in a very slightly different location)
Being a lefty myself, I know exactly what you mean by the ’82 being perfect for us. (I have an ambi safety on my 1911). The funny thing is that the ambi mag release on the ’82 doesn’t do anything for me. I’m so used to right handed mag releases that I’ve gotten into the habit of using my middle finger to press the button on the left side of the gun anyway. Plus, the grip is so wide on the ’82 because of the double stack mag, I can’t reach the right hand mag release button with my thumb without compromising my grip, so the middle finger on the left hand button is the best solution.
It is a great little gun though. A bit complicated which can be intimidating in a used gun that may need some work, but there’s nothing that requires an engineering degree or fancy, thousand dollar tools to work with. Complexity notwithstanding, it seems to be a very reliable design. I sure do like mine. It’s easy to conceal and carry, goes bang every time I pull the trigger and makes the holes right where I’m pointing it. What more can I ask?
BTW: thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you found the posts useful.
Yeah I carry a 1911, cocked-and-locked, just as God and John Browning intended. That being said, I think the only reason why I have the 1911 as my go-to gun is #1. Because I’ve run more rounds through a 1911 than any other pattern of a firearm. #2. There are lots of models of the same gun out there, as well as a plethora of parts, also EVERY self-respecting gunsmith can diagnose just about any problem with the gun and can do most work needed done. #3. While there are plenty of guns as good as a 1911 out there, there aren’t any that are BETTER.
That being said, on a technical standpoint guns that function like a DA revolver are much easier to manipulate in a defensive scenario, so if given a chance to carry a gun DA with no safety to engage (while the ’82 does have a thumb safety, when the hammer is down it might as well not exist)
Blah blah, all splitting of hairs.
As for my kind words, no thanks needed, you put up some great posts for all to read, and very helpful for those of us with CZ-82 pistols and SKS rifles to tinker with.
FEEL FREE TO “NOT DEBATE”, as Grant Cunningham NAILED IT already 🙂
http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/01cd852e1047ef52554640508d2bf118-258.html
http://grantcunningham.com/blog_files/1bdc97486525e65dcfeea14ad69a1afe-263.html
Read and THINK.
You might LEARN SOMETHING. Unless it’s against your religion to be rational…
For THOSE TOO LAZY TO CLICK.
Grant Cunningham, brilliant smith:
While Rule #1 logically admits that there is such a thing as an unloaded gun, it asks us to pretend that it doesn’t really exist. This is important, as the rule only makes sense if the state of being ‘unloaded’ exists, but it implores us to make believe that such a state doesn’t really exist. This situation is called cognitive dissonance: holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously. It’s a state of mind that humans don’t tolerate all that well.
If one accepts the fallacy that an unloaded state doesn’t exist, it becomes clear in the mind that the remaining three rules apply only to loaded guns. After all, the first rule says that there is no such thing as an unloaded gun; therefore, the other three rules can apply only to loaded guns, because – remember! – unloaded guns “don’t exist.”