Local man shoots himself in the leg with holstered Glock

[trucker76]

I didn't see a general shooting forum so I'm posting this here. Feel free to move it if needed. I just wanted to share this nugget. Anyway...

So I heard on the radio some guy shot himself in the leg while in his car. Later my friend tells me he knows the guy and visited him in the hospital. He was carrying a glock (my friend didn't know the model) 9mm in an IWB holster with a round in the chamber. He was digging for his phone in his pocket when it went off. Bullet travelled the length of his leg and I guess it split open the whole way down.

Thoughts?

Did some more digging and found this. Apparently the story I was told about it being holstered was not entirely truthful. Another case of some moron doing something he shouldn't have.


wrta.com - Altoona Police say a man who showed up at Sheetz on 58th Street with a gun*shot wound… acci*den*tally shot him*self while he was dri*ving. The uniden*ti*fied 29-year old man from Altoona was taken to UPMC Altoona just after mid*night. Police say the man was legally autho*rized to have the firearm, and was doing some*thing with it while he drove along Route 764, and acci*den*tally shot him*self in the leg. No charges will be filed.


Source http://www.altoona.com/news/altoona-local/man-shoots-himself-in-leg,1458894/

[TXGunNut]

Doesn't add up, hope he learned from this misadventure.

[Springfield]

So much for that safe action trigger.

[Love Life]

A retard shot himself and now this will be added to the tome of gospel about the failings of Glock.

[Grump]

Well, that trigger's action is always safe so long as it isn't getting PULLED.

I always treat those things and every other DAO/similar trigger semiautos just like a revolver. That dingie-thingy inside the trigger blade ain't worth a hoot AFAIC, because almost anything (including wadded up shirt fabric) that can move the trigger almost always also depresses that so-called safety lever or whatever. Fingers aren't the only things that can pull a Glock's trigger.

[GaryN]

A retard shot himself and now this will be added to the tome of gospel about the failings of Glock.

Hahahahahah, tell us how you really feel.:bigsmyl2:

[Catshooter]

That safety in the trigger isn't really a trigger safety. It's a drop safety. Without it if dropped hard enough the pistol will fire.

So he was driving and was doing something with his pistol. One way or the other, he pulled the trigger and the gun function normally.

Surprise, surprise. Let's all blame the gun/trigger for his mistake.


Cat

[Cmm_3940]

There's photos on the bulletin board at a local range of a LEO who shot himself in the leg. He was using a IWB holster that was worn out enough that the leather had lost its stiffness. The top edge of the holster caught on the trigger when he went to holster his weapon. There were photos of both the leg wound and the worn out holster. Keep your leather fresh...

[freebullet]

Well at least its not illegal to shoot yerself...yet, lol.

[Col4570]

I wonder how many people shot themselves in the old days when holstered pistols where every day wear.A young bloke here killed himself climbing over a gate with his .22 Rifle when the toggle strings on his Jacket went through the trigger guard.he managed to phone the emergency services before he expired.He was a friend of my grandson,his parents are still in deep shock.How many times do we tell others not to carry loaded guns when climbing over obstructions.He was most likely being carefull but who can account for a Jacket lace finding it way to the trigger.

[leftiye]

I wonder how many people shot themselves in the old days when holstered pistols where every day wear.A young bloke here killed himself climbing over a gate with his .22 Rifle when the toggle strings on his Jacket went through the trigger guard.he managed to phone the emergency services before he expired.He was a friend of my grandson,his parents are still in deep shock.How many times do we tell others not to carry loaded guns when climbing over obstructions.He was most likely being carefull but who can account for a Jacket lace finding it way to the trigger.

Back then it was common to carry pistols in a pocket. Probly half the gun deaths back then were accidental, very commonly when cleaning a gun (remember black powder). I have no actual evidence, just what I've read.

[Wildcat66]

The gun didn't malfunction the operator did.

Engage the trigger and guess what?

[Mik]

I wonder how many people shot themselves in the old days when holstered pistols where every day wear.A young bloke here killed himself climbing over a gate with his .22 Rifle when the toggle strings on his Jacket went through the trigger guard.he managed to phone the emergency services before he expired.He was a friend of my grandson,his parents are still in deep shock.How many times do we tell others not to carry loaded guns when climbing over obstructions.He was most likely being carefull but who can account for a Jacket lace finding it way to the trigger.

This actually happens more than you think. Usually with people practicing drawing from concealment. A lace or a zipper or a string gets into the holster and the gun gets holstered on top of it. You are usually OK to just unholster the gun, remove the jacket and reholster. Some people pull on the jacket, not good.

[FISH4BUGS]

I once (45 years ago) shot myself with an old Ruger RST4 before they had a magazine cutoff safety. I put one in the chamber and then inserted a full magazine . I shot what I thought was a full magazine and #9 was a dud. I pulled the bolt back and put #10 up into the chamber. Of course I wasn't looking when I did it.
I dropped the magazine and looked at it. Empty magazine equals empty gun, right? While reloading the magazine with my left hand (while holding the gun AND the magazine in my right hand) I somehow touched the trigger and BOOM!.
Bullet traveled the length of my leg (in high on the inside of the thigh, out after bouncing off the femur, then back in at the top of my calf stopping just above my ankle) and I still have the bullet in my leg.
Hey....it happens. I was lucky that I missed the femoral artery. Small price to pay for my carelessness.
The only thing that came out of it was an intense hatred for running and a new respect for guns. I did some damage to the nerves and muscles in the leg and the doc said I could run five miles a day or walk with a limp. My choice. I hated every step of it but did it.
The old saying about always pointing the gun down range no matter what is a rule I have followed religiously since then.

[bikerbeans]

I wonder how many people shot themselves in the old days when holstered pistols where every day wear.A young bloke here killed himself climbing over a gate with his .22 Rifle when the toggle strings on his Jacket went through the trigger guard.he managed to phone the emergency services before he expired.He was a friend of my grandson,his parents are still in deep shock.How many times do we tell others not to carry loaded guns when climbing over obstructions.He was most likely being carefull but who can account for a Jacket lace finding it way to the trigger.

A couple of weeks ago a man in NW Ohio was ground hog hunting and decided to cross a fence with a load 22-250. It was a mistake he can't make again.

BB

[dilly]

Glocks are great guns, but I prefer the grip safety. XD, 1911, etc. It is a personal preference for this very reason.

[Hickory]

The Number 1 safety feature failed.

[Love Life]

The Number 1 safety feature failed.

The brain?

[Rick Hodges]

When my department transitioned to glocks in the early 90's we had two accidental discharges. On both occasions the pistols were being carried in the waistband without a holster. One incident involved the pistol slipping down inside the pants and while heading down the pant leg the officer reached for it, grabbing the trigger in the process. The worst injury in either case was powder burns and charred leg hair. (not including badly bruised ego's ) Shortly after this we got a directive from Glock and the department to stop carrying the pistols without a holster.
It should be noted that officers carried all manner of handguns in waistbelts without incident for many years prior to this. Probably the most common way to carry the most common off duty weapon, a Model 36 S&W was to wrap a few rubber bands around the grip and shove it in your waistband. Never ever heard of one of those going off in the waistband. I am not condemning the Glock and other similar striker fired pistols only pointing out that they are different and have some liabilities. Touting the Glocks as being safe with a double action trigger like revolvers...(as Glock did, at least when they sold them to us) was wrong.

[Pb2au]

The brain?

Yup. The Brain, the first line of safety. Too bad using the brain seems to be going out of style these days.
Pop drilled and drilled and drilled this into my poor brain when I was old enough to start handling firearms. Use your brain.....

[tomme boy]

Happens all the time. A man last year or the year before did the same thing and died right in front of his two kids close to here. When this happens, it is usually always a Glock. The man it happened to here, had to take out his gun to put on his seatbelt. Putting the gun back in the holster, it went off. He had a cheap holster that the flap went in the trigger guard and when he pushed the gun in, it went off.

[garym1a2]

I worry mostly about those that do the cheap trigger jobs. The 3.5;lb trigger is not ment for CC.

[dkf]

No matter what some "genius" will manage to shoot himself.

In a city close to where I live a guy shot himself while digging around in his pocket for change while he was at the checkout line in a grocery store. He was carrying an S&W .357 revolver loose in his pocket. Not a firearm with a short and light trigger pull.

I was at a grocery store myself at the checkout when a lady was routing around in her purse for something. Mid routing a J frame plopped out of her purse onto the conveyor belt. Did not go off but the look on the faces of the cashier and bagger were entertaining. The firearm should not have been loose in a purse full of junk.

I have been carrying a Glock IWB for years now. Use a quality holster and don't be an idiot and you will be fine.

[waynem34]

glock leg.

[bnelson06]

Second page and no one has made a bullshop jr crack........ We're slipping

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I was on the firing line at a pistol range many years ago and I noticed the man next to me had a cast on his right leg from the knee to his toes. He was shooting a Ruger SBH and a S&W model 29. Both guns were 44 magnums. I asked him what happened to his leg and he said he shot himself while practicing quick draw in his living room. He went on to tell me the gun was loaded with his bear loads. I took that to mean the cases had all the powder they would hold. His buddy was with him and rushed him to the hospital. The man also said the bullet took out the bones in the three right toes. After his buddy took him to the hospital he came back to the house, stuck a along stick thru the hole in the floor, crawled under the house and dug the bullet out of the ground. It went 18 inches into the dirt. The man who shot himself had his six year old daughter with him at the range and after standing her on a box was about to let her fire the model 29. I hurriedly packed up and left. To this day I regret that I didn't tell the range master what the idiot was about to do.

[oldred]

Years ago when I was in my early twenties we all (well most anyway) carried guns at work at the mine where I was employed, it wasn't illegal and we were working outside at night on a mountain top in Kentucky. There was no real need to but we got the chance to shoot a lot and do some trading, the mine owner was a huge sportsman and actually encouraged the practice. Late one night I had just attempted a swap with a S&W 38 special revolver that I had, the fellow had declined so I started to slip it back into my hip pocket but the cylinder was hanging on the pocket lining- or so I thought! I shoved it kind of hard while I was still talking about the gun the other fellow had when,,,,,BOOM!!!!! It evidently was the hammer spur snagging instead of the cylinder as I had thought!

I wasn't hurt except for severe injury to my pride and the ribbing I took for the fact it ripped out the seat of my pants and left powder burns on my butt! It actually turned out to be worth a laugh but in retrospect there was absolutely nothing funny about it, it could just as easily been tragic since there was a crowd standing around and it was the result of a series of acts of carelessness and more than a little stupidity on my part! In the first place there was zero reason for the gun to have been loaded and all of us in the group were much to causal (I guess a better word would be careless) in the way we were handling these firearms but that incident led to a profound change in my attitude and the way I treat firearms to this day. It's kind of embarrassing to tell this but anyone dumb enough to pull a stunt like that deserves to have it told on them, I learned a lot from that valuable lesson but unfortunately with firearms it sometimes don't allow for a chance to learn.

[Seabee1960]

Last year a goof here in Utah shot himself in the **** the exact same way. Claimed he was robbed by a gang of Mexicans but had to confess when the sheriff figured it out by putting a pen laser through the hole in his pants.

[histed]

I grew up in Altoona and the rest of the world has no lock on stupid. According to relatives who still live there, he was messing with the pistol, had his finger on the trigger and "hit a bump". As was already said, the primary safety failed to engage. MANY years ago, at a ripe old age of 17, I managed to shoot myself in the leg while hunting. Again, it was failure of the primary safety device, not the gun. In my case, once was more than enough. Some never learn

[Hickok]

Keep your booger picker off the bang switch!:idea:

[histed]

And that's exactly what I learned, Hickok. 53 years later I still get reminded every time the weather gets cold or damp or both.

[leeggen]

Friend of mine shot himself in the leg with a 22mag revolver, dumb--- was doing quick draws and the last one never cleared the holster. Went in lower thigh and stopped at the back of his ankle. Everyone was laughing and thought he was joking about shooting himself till the blood showed on his levis. That was the last quick draw he ever done.
CD

[MtGun44]

Another reason to have a thumb safety and exposed hammer. EVERY time I reholster
my 1911 in an IWB holster, I check the safety is on and hold my thumb between the hammer
and rear of the slide until it is fully holstered. No way to do either with a Glock.

Most common mistake with Glock is finger still in the trigger guard when reholstering - holster pushes
finger, finger pushes trigger - bang. Many folks that shoot themselves come up with some
BS way of explaining it so it doesn't sound like they are a dummy for doing it. Since most
folks know nothing about pistols, they swallow the story and the fool keeps a bit more false
dignity about the event.

Bill

[MaryB]

"Can't cure stupid" friend has a bad habit of putting his finger on the trigger. Caught him doing it last time we went shooting and I chewed his butt. Last week he had an accidental discharge when he was pointing the pistol at the ground, one of his mutts ran up and hit him behind the knees, as he stumbled he tightened his grip...

[Springfield]

I wasn't really Glock bashing, LL, I guess I am just old fashioned and like pistols with hammers I can see. Glocks are accurate high quality guns, they just aren't for me. And I always hated them calling it a "safe action" , because there really is no such thing and to call it that just discourages safe gun handling, IMHO. I worked as an Armored truck driver for 13 years and at least once a year someone would shoot a hole in something.The walls, the lockers, the trucks, the bullet proof windows. Themselves. And believe me, Glock owners had no monopoly on this.

[Lead Fred]

Sure glad My SIG dont have a glock safety on it, heck it doesnt even have any safety on it.

Hope that guy never buys a SIG

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

more than a few cops have had accidental discharge when re-holstering , stuff gets in the way or fingers get left in the trigger guard

but this sounds like the guy was doing more than fastening his seat belt unless he had a really bad holster


however i think there is a clear difference between a guy who just had a very humbling experience and an Idiot , the idiot blames the gun or the this or the that anything but his bad procedure or carlessness

[Love Life]

I just don't understand the finger on the trigger, or in the trigger guard, on holstering. It just baffles me and I can't wrap my mind around why that happens. I also have a hard time wrapping my mind around the finger on the trigger, or in the trigger guard, when drawing.

Finger straight and off the trigger until ready to fire...which means keep your finger off the trigger until the pistol is presented and you have aquired your target/sight picture.

Something so simple....

[gbrown]

Some years back there was a reserve deputy during annual qualification with a Glock. Accidental discharge, projectile went into the upper/outer calf and pulverized the lower leg. Ended up losing the leg below the knee. Really tragic for him. He sued Glock and in the trial, evidence was put on that the only way the weapon would fire is by rearward movement of the trigger. The deputy lost the trial. Something moved that trigger rearward, but there was no failure of the safety features on the weapon. A part of the holster? A piece of a stick that got in the trigger guard? Or maybe his finger in a moment of forgetfulness? Who knows. I own Glocks, I've taken them down to itty bitty pieces, know how they work. I think they are really good guns and will probably own more. As said here, primary safety of any weapon is between the ears.

[Love Life]

If there is no mechanical failure, then an "Accidental" discharge is in fact a negligent discharge.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

If there is no mechanical failure, then an "Accidental" discharge is in fact a negligent discharge.

your correct , I should have said unintentional discharge

and by the way unintentional discharge is an extremely humbling experience , I wish everyone could experience it once in a way that no one got hurt (except that deafening silence of your ears ringing that follows the loud noise) but that could open their mind up about what they should have done or not done.

some feel that just because it hasn't happened to them, it can't happen , humans are imperfect beings who come up with ways to do just about everything there is wrong , and why we teach multiple points of safety so that you have to screw up 2 or more of them at once to hurt yourself or someone else

[Love Life]

Reminds me of the "Do not dispose of by running over with a vehicle" warning on the AT-4 Rocket.

[Menner]

Was shooting Quals one day with service revolvers and friend of mine was running the range and had one of his competition guns a ss 4" L frame with one of the smoothest triggers I have ever pulled I had already qualified and was sitting around he asked me if I wanted to run the course again with the next group I said sure if I could use his L Frame no problem says he after shooting those stock revolvers all morning we get up to the 3 yard line and when the fire command is given I draw and start bring pressure on the trigger and the damn thing went off and hit the ground a foot in front of the target stand scared the hell out of me and I dropped 3 rounds in my pocket I was so careful about that trigger the rest of the course close as I have ever been to shooting myself was close enough

[Love Life]

So, the gun fired as it was designed when the trigger was pulled by the shooter through it's full range of motion.

[DR Owl Creek]

A few years back there were a couple of photos posted on the back-stop at a range where I'm a member. The local PD & SO use the range too. The caption someone put on the photos was "What Not To Do With Your New .45". The holes (top & bottom view) were pretty impressive. It was one of the guys on the local PD. "Glock Foot" would have been a good caption for that one too.

A few years before that, the was another similar incident. Didn't see any photos of that one, but the caption could have been "Glock Butt" on that one.

[Love Life]

A few years back there were a couple of photos posted on the back-stop at a range where I'm a member. The local PD & SO use the range too. The caption someone put on the photos was "What Not To Do With Your New .45". The holes (top & bottom view) were pretty impressive. It was one of the guys on the local PD. "Glock Foot" would have been a good caption for that one too.

A few years before that, the was another similar incident. Didn't see any photos of that one, but the caption could have been "Glock Butt" on that one.

I believe "Idiot foot" and "Idiot butt" would be the correct terms. Can we please stop vilifying an inanimate object?

[Catshooter]

Very true LL. I've had both.

I was doing a chamber check on my 1911 (second year production Colt) once and when I snapped of the safety it really did snap off. That discharged the gun. Glad it was pointed in a safe direction.


Cat

[Stephen Cohen]

These shootings are the fault of the operator not the firearm, Had the trigger been covered by the holster he could not have touched it. In this country when Police changed over from Smith an Wesson revolvers to Glocks, they had a large number of Police shooting themselves while holstering the pistol, because they had their fingers on trigger while holstering. My son is a cop and like me he dislikes the Glock but one cant really argue that they are not a good and safe pistol.

[Crank]

Okay, I have to chime in. I totally agree that there are way to many stupid discharges. However, like any mechanical device, they can fail. Many years ago, I bought a really nice Mauser 1910 in .25ACP. It was gunked up and needed a good cleaning along with a safety check, but seemed fine otherwise. I got it clean as a whistle and decided I was going to check to make sure that it fed okay. I put one round in the magazine, kept the gun pointed at the floor and as I seated the magazine, the slide automatically released (odd design feature). BANG! I quickly did a check of my lower extremities and found no leaks. I tore the gun back down and found that the sear on the striker picked that moment in time to snap part of the tip off (it was fine when I inspected it). The kicker was that if you manually released the slide, the striker would hold, but if the slide released automatically it would have a delayed follow down. This reinforced one of the teachings from gunsmithing school, only load one round when initially testing a semi-auto, because this one was capable of firing the entire magazine as a runaway (I might have verified that:mrgreen:). Someday, when they replace the carpet in my old house, somebody is going to find a divot in the slab and a .25 slug. I am just reinforcing the experience that Catshooter had with a mechanical failure. NEVER LET YOU GUARD DOWN!

Mark

[monadnock#5]

There is a fundamental conflict of interest here. On the one hand "Practice makes perfect!!” On the other "AD's/ND's are no ones fault but your own". And one more, "it is extremely difficult to practice anything which can only be done wrong once".

These statements are ultimate truth. Inescapable logic. So how do you practice your quick draw from that new IWB holster?

The major concealed carry manufacturers are really missing the boat when it comes to training. Every LCS in the universe should carry a full line of the blue plastic training pistols, and also the airsoft line. It would sweeten their bottom lines somewhat, and perhaps, just perhaps might contribute to safer gun handling practices.

I picked up a S&W Shield a couple of weeks ago. It features a thumb safety. Since it will be pointed at my femoral artery when seated, the safety is a good thing.

[Love Life]

Or....when practicing people can make sure the gun is unloaded. True story...

[monadnock#5]

Didn't you hear? More people have been killed and wounded with unloaded guns than.....

[Love Life]

That is because people are idiots.

[MaryB]

My carry pistol is a Walther PK-380. Even though it is safe to carry safety off because it is a double action I still carry safety on, takes me 2 seconds to thumb it off as a draw it.

[LUBEDUDE]

Didn't you hear? More people have been killed and wounded with unloaded guns than.....

That's why every gun in my Dad's safe is loaded!

Sounds dumb, but here is his reasoning and training of his sons:

Every time we picked up a gun we checked it, and unloaded it before coonfingering it.

He always told us that it was the unloaded guns that would kill ya.

To this day, even though I know most of the guns in MY safe are unloaded, I do a visual before handling.

Yeah, he could have trained us as well without loaded guns. But think about the IMpact and ingrained habit from childhood on up.

Thanks Dad

[DR Owl Creek]

I believe "Idiot foot" and "Idiot butt" would be the correct terms. Can we please stop vilifying an inanimate object?

They may be IDIOTS, but at least it usually doesn't happen a second time.

[Smoke4320]

That's why every gun in my Dad's safe is loaded!

Sounds dumb, but here is his reasoning and training of his sons:

Every time we picked up a gun we checked it, and unloaded it before coonfingering it.

He always told us that it was the unloaded guns that would kill ya.

To this day, even though I know most of the guns in MY safe are unloaded, I do a visual before handling.

Yeah, he could have trained us as well without loaded guns. But think about the IMpact and ingrained habit from childhood on up.

Thanks Dad

I agree ..
probably going to get creamed for this but here goes.. I don't believe in safeties....
Treat Every gun as though its loaded and ready to fire ..
Finger on the trigger ONLY when ready to fire..
if handing or being handed a gun Open it to be sure its unloaded.. load it yourself and unload it yourself..
PS I have carried a holstered judge for about 3 years now and a 1911 for many years before and neither ever fired themselves...
Did have 1 accidental discharge once with a 22 LR Pistol.. customer brought one that he was having feeding issues with ..
took the gun down, cleaned and inspected.. reassembled, had cycled it about 20 times with no issue.. walked inside started to call him and decided to try 1 different ammo 1 rd only .. loaded mag, released the slide and promptly shot my credit card machine . firing pin decided to hang at that very moment...

[Land Owner]

The Walther PPK 380 safety snaps forward "with authority". The first time I handled mine, that right there scared the **** out of me; made me stand up and take notice. Prior to their recall, unmodified PPK's could slam-fire just setting the safety on a chambered round.

Buddy with a 45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk Old Model holstered and hammer down on a chambered round slam fired it with the butt of his 12 ga shotgun shooting from the hip at squirrels (in the 1970's). Same top of thigh to just above the ankle type of injury. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

As a young adult, walking a vine laced trail toward a pond - WITH FINGER ON THE TRIGGER - of a 30-30 Win Model 94, I tripped and discharged a round into the dirt immediately ahead of me. Shaking and dismayed, I went back to the truck, put the rifle away, and sat for a LONG while thinking how STUPID WAS THAT and how fortunate I had come hunting by myself that day. Should one of my friends and hunting partners have been in front of me, the question of contemplation was the consequences and the outcome of shooting someone in the back or back of the leg. Cured me.

The most dangerous animal in the woods is your armed, loaded, and "locked" hunting partner.

[Love Life]

I won't even step foot into the woods during hunting season. It's safer in Ramadi Iraq.

[MaryB]

I lower the hammer with my thumb when I put the safety on... that distrust of mechanical things that can and do go wrong. Keep it pointed at the floor or ground too

[monadnock#5]

When I was 14 or 15, circa 1970, I went for my Hunter Safety Certificate. Part of the process was demonstrating firearms handling skills in a room, apart from the class, with one of the instructors. Long story short, the tongue lashing I got for putting my finger inside the guard for no good reason has lasted a lifetime. I wish I new where the old f@rt was buried, I would put flowers on his grave at the end of the month. But for the Grace of God and one old DI, who knows...?

There was a local man that I used to work with, who was seated at a table filled with friends and relatives. Cleo's son pulled out a .38, opened the cylinder, dumped the cartridges and put them in his shirt pocket. Then he passed the gun around the table. When it got back to him, he took careful aim at his dad's head and..... No one was ever prosecuted since it couldn't be proven who loaded the gun.
So yes, there definately are a bunch of idiots out there, AND, just because YOU KNOW you checked it 5 minutes ago is no reason not to check again.

[merlin101]

I worked as a armored car driver for a few years and one guy had a "accidental discharge" in the truck while showing another driver how his gun wouldn't fire when the slide was back even "a little bit".
The next day he was in the office explaining how it happened and DID IT AGAIN!!! That was his last day (thank god).

When I started that job there was a truck that had an outward bow to the drivers door, I asked about it and was told that a guard sitting in the passenger seat had a Mossberg 500 in his lap and the muzzle pointed towards the driver! It fired and by the grace of god and dumb luck almost all of the shot went above the drivers legs and in front of his belly. I also heard that the driver came close to shooting the guard.

[Mik]

I worked as a armored car driver for a few years and one guy had a "accidental discharge" in the truck while showing another driver how his gun wouldn't fire when the slide was back even "a little bit".
The next day he was in the office explaining how it happened and DID IT AGAIN!!! That was his last day (thank god).

When I started that job there was a truck that had an outward bow to the drivers door, I asked about it and was told that a guard sitting in the passenger seat had a Mossberg 500 in his lap and the muzzle pointed towards the driver! It fired and by the grace of god and dumb luck almost all of the shot went above the drivers legs and in front of his belly. I also heard that the driver came close to shooting the guard.

Holy Christ. That first story would be hilarious if it weren't so dangerous.

[dakotashooter2]

I just can't bring myself to believe Glock's are child OR idiot proof. Common sense tells my that if the greatest chance of an AD or accidental shooting is going to come from someone having their finger on the trigger, having the safety on that same trigger probably isn't a good idea.

[plmitch]

Interesting stuff. Just amazing to hear of idiots shooting themselves.

[FergusonTO35]

At the LE agency I used to work, an old sergeant told me that an AD happened at every station he had ever worked in, at some point while he was on duty and in the station. A friend of mine used to work for the largest armored car outfit in Kentucky. He said the training they received was barely more than the contents of our state CCW course and he was amazed at how low their standards for employees actually were.

[dakotashooter2]

I'm not trying to knock Glock because in most aspects they are very good guns but my impression is that law enforcement has gone to them not necessarily because they are that great but because they reduce training time. It takes some people longer than others to get used to a safety or de-cocker. With the Glock you don't have to worry about that .....All you have to teach them is to keep their ^@#$* finger OFF the trigger......

[tengaugetx]

Back in the nineties there was a Miller county Arkansas deputy sherriff who put his glock in his back pocket. The trigger caught on the corner of his wallet causing the pistol to discharge shooting himself in the buttocks and thigh.
I know there are alot of glock lovers and the glock is a reliable pistol. Having said that I have owned well over 200 guns in my lifetime would not own one if it were given to me free. I have no use for a gun with a short trigger pull and no safety. You will never convince me that little lever on the trigger is a safety.

[Mik]

I'm not trying to knock Glock because in most aspects they are very good guns but my impression is that law enforcement has gone to them not necessarily because they are that great but because they reduce training time. It takes some people longer than others to get used to a safety or de-cocker. With the Glock you don't have to worry about that .....All you have to teach them is to keep their ^@#$* finger OFF the trigger......

Its not just training time. Many cops have been found shot to death holding a pistol with the safety on. They panicked, forgot to disengage the safety, and the gun didn't work.

Back when departments used revolvers, cops would finish gun fights with pockets full of brass because they had been trained to do that on the range to reduce clean up time.

A safety is great for a range gun or a gun carried with the trigger exposed (a long gun).

My personal opinion is you don't need one on a self defense handgun carried in a holster. It necessary on a 1911 so you can carry cocked and locked, but there will never be another gun designed that requires you to carry that way, it just isn't necessary anymore.