[astocks2622]

at about 5 am this morning I woke to my alarm, the smell of smoke, and ringing in my ears . It took me a bit to get my bearings, and i started trying to figure out why i woke up, why my ears were ringing, and why there was smoke near me. I then realized that the smoke was actually burnt gunpowder. i checked my pistol, and it had been fired! all i could figure was that the gun had fired all on its own somehow. I immediately cleared the chamber and field stripped the gun to make sure it could not fire again. i checked to see where the bullet went, and thank God I had it pointed into the corner of an outside wall (common practice, but still). it went harmlessly into the ground. I found the spent shell (still warm) and looked at the primer. it had a firing pin strike, but also had a funny looking defect. there was a raised section of metal shaped somewhat like a teardrop, with the firing pin strike right in the middle of the fat end. I looked at the slide face where hole for the pin is. there is the exact same shape imdented around that hole... it looks like the maybe the primer wasn't seated fully and was crimped by the slide closing. is there any way any f this could simply go off by itself, after several hours of sitting there?



The only other conclusion i can come up with is that i reached to turn off my alarm and somehow grabbed the pistol. this seems unlikely though, because i store the gun loaded two shelves lower than the alarm clock for home defense. it's where I can get to it quickly, but, i thought, wouldn't be able to advertently grab, or even touch it... also, i woke up, and the gun had already been fired. I usually remember turning off the alarm clock, so I would have been awake enough, i think to realize immediately what happened..



Needless to say this all scared the crap out of me, and now i can't hear very well out of my left ear...



any ideas what happened?

 

[TOF]

Sounds to me like you grabbed it in your sleep. I have not known a gun to fire itself in my 67 years. You might want to put it in a place that requires at least minimal wakefulness to access it.



Also, don't move in next door to me!



:twisted:

 

[YukonGlocker]

You probably grabbed it in your sleep.

The pistol should not be in direct access to you while sleeping. You should at least have to get up, or open a drawer, or something to wake up.

 

[PatM&P]

as for the tear drop shaped "keyhole" primer strike, that is normal

 

[BateleurRGB]

+1 on you shooting it in your sleep.



I've seen people get up, walk around the house, and go back to bed, all while they were asleep. When questioned later, they didn't remember any of it.



Compared to that, just grabing a gun that is right by your bed and pulling the trigger (perhaps while having a dream) is very plausible. Far more so than the gun going off by itself for no reason.

 

[ToddG]

I'd say it's practically impossible for the gun to have fired spontaneously. However, if you're concerned, have a certified armorer check the engagement surfaces to make sure they haven't worn away on the striker and the firing pin block (both would have to fail for the gun to fire).



Since the gun went off at the same time you would normally be reaching for the alarm, it's hard to imagine any scenario other than a mistake on your part. Luckily, other than some ringing of the ears, no one was hurt.



My advice (and my personal practice) is to keep the pistol in a holster at bedside. This requires almost no extra time to get the gun into play, but provides an added level of wakefulness before the gun is in your hand and weapons-free.

 

[astocks2622]

That is the conclusion I'm coming to. maybe i just had a freudian slip and actually took a pot shot at my alarm, while still under the influence of my subconcious....



I was also wondering if it'd be a good idea to leave the mag loaded in the gun, with the slide locked open. I will be leaving it well out of the immediate arm's reach from now on.

 

[ToddG]

Another possible "solution" -- though not my personal favorite -- is to leave the gun with a loaded mag but chamber empty, slide closed. The act of racking the slide will serve the same purpose as drawing the gun from a holster ... it requires a very conscious act to get the gun into "fighting condition."



My main objection to this is purely a matter of habituation. Since I carry a gun chamber loaded, I have a gazillion reps practiced drawing the gun from a holster; I have few reps of racking the slide as a fight-starting move. When bleary-eyed and tired, I don't want to have to remember a special combination of actions to get my gun ready.

 

[choochboost]

I keep my pistol in a Comp-Tac belt holster on a SSHMI mount on the side of my bed. The gun is accessible, yet out of the way where I'm not going to confuse it with anything else like an alarm clock on my nightstand. I love this set up.

 

[f-bomb]

Sounds to me like you grabbed it in your sleep. I have not known a gun to fire itself in my 67 years. You might want to put it in a place that requires at least minimal wakefulness to access it.



Also, don't move in next door to me!



:twisted:

me either.



i'm glad no one got hurt... but think how easy it could have been worse.



just be careful...

 

[ToddG]

i'm glad no one got hurt... but think how easy it could have been worse.

Instead of turning off the alarm, he may have tried to answer the phone ...