Do us all a favor, if you plan to, or already do, carry a gun … please know what you're doing with the thing. On December 5, 2016 a Weiss customer in Reading, PA dropped his gun while buying groceries. When the gun hit the ground it discharged and sent a round toward an employee.
Thankfully the bullet just grazed the worker.
Let's dissect this. First, guns are not supposed to fire when dropped. This one did and that is a cause for concern. Nobody is saying what kind of gun this concealed gun carrier had, but the public needs to know what kind of gun this was. If it is a Taurus, I can't say as though I'm surprised because some of their guns are notorious for this.
But, if it is another manufacturer, we need to know because this sort of thing can be extremely dangerous.
However, what's even more dangerous than a faulty gun is a gun carrier who removes his gun from his holster while shopping—whether done on purpose to get his grocery list out of his pocket, or because it fell out “accidentally.”
Let's say it was a faulty (or new) carry system. It's always a good idea to inspect your gear from time to time to make sure it's still in working order. Some of my holsters have adjustable retention. Sometimes the screws back themselves out just enough that the gun slides out easier. Because I inspect everything on a monthly basis, I caught it before it became a problem.
New holsters need to be tested a bit before you run with them. I recently received a gun to test and perform a review on for you all to read. I almost always carry my guns around with me to test their concealability, etc.
What I don't do is just slap something onto my hip with an untested holster (or gun, for that matter). This gun that came with a holster was an OWB style holster with a small paddle. While the clip wrapped around my belt, it didn't always stay in position.
When I practiced the draw I noticed that about 3 out of 10 times, the holster came off with the gun.
Not good.
Now, it's not likely the holster's fault because it looks good otherwise. The culprit is probably my belt.
So, instead of using that holster, which would have been great, I stuck with a Sticky Holster. I know that while it doesn't have the best retention, I conceal it in my pocket where it isn't going anywhere.
It's always better to use a system you know works while you test another system out at home. Then, once you've used it for a bit and are confident that you know how to draw properly, that it's broken in right, that it holds your gun the way it's supposed to, etc., you can begin to carry it.
How about you? Do you inspect your gear periodically? Do you make sure your holsters do what they're supposed to do before you actually wear them out in town? Let us know in the comments below. Then, make sure you like our Facebook page.
Source Article and Photo Credit.
Incidents like this are one of the reasons some stores feel justified in banning guns. This is like the guy who had a gun in his pocket with no holster and fired a shot in a restaurant while looking for his keys, which he apparently had in the same pocket as the unprotected fun.
Both of these clowns shouldn’t be carrying.
modern pistols should not go off when dropped but I tell all my students that Murphy’s Law follows those who carry firearms, SECURE that piece with an ACTIVE RETENTIVE HOLSTER, Blackhawk, Safariland, and a few others come to mind.