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This is proof that a 45 dropped from waist high on the barrel can discharge,My shirt snagged my gun pulling it from the holster and the gun dropped straight down on the barrel on a tiled concrete floor,notice powder burns around tile shrapnel chipped the tub and i found the copper jacket in the tub and the lead slug in the toilet,and I got a slight gash on my ankle that a bandaid fixed,I'm just glad it wasn't worse,everything is fixable.the thumb safety was engaged,but after landing on floor was disengaged prior to discharge,I believe the firing pin inertia struck the primer resulting in the discharge

I'm glad that nobody was hurt seriously. Are you sure the thumb safety isn't what snagged and was diengaged in the process?

ScubaSigGuy wrote:I'm glad that nobody was hurt seriously. Are you sure the thumb safety isn't what snagged and was moved to the off postition in the process?

That's very possible but I believe firing pin inertia set the primer off,All the safetys work on this gun,but a sudden stop on the barrel from 3 feet up on hard concrete is apparently enough force to set the primer off

dukalmighty wrote:I got a slight gash on my ankle that a bandaid fixed

Judging from the blood stained towel in the 1st pic, you must have used a pretty big band-aid.

I see the blood soaked rag, but the important thing is, Was the Gun Hurt in any way.

Jungle Work

Jungle Work wrote:I see the blood soaked rag, but the important thing is, Was the Gun Hurt in any way.

Jungle Work

Sounds to me like the gun is broke. I don't think they should go off like that supposed to go off like that when dropped.

Good Lord Man! Thank god you or someone else did not get seriously hurt. If that were my gun it would be on it's way to the manufacturer for a good going over. Thanks for posting up about this. Things do happen and reminders like this can help us all to stay on our toes when handling our guns. You didn't mention changing your shorts. I know that's the first thing I would have had to do.

Without the 80 series firing pin block the 1911 can fire,and I know for a fact from about a 3 foot drop on a concrete floor,after looking at the impact I don't think i could of got the gun any straighter if i had intentionally held the barrel against the ground and lined it up,I have been told a heavier firing pin spring will eliminate the problem and have some ordered for all my 1911 platforms,Somebody posted on another forum that they did laboratory tests to get the 1911 to fire after being dropped on the barrel and until they built a jig to drop the gun perfectly straight on the barrel couldn't get it to fire,I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket.I actually am very safe with firearms by the time i felt the resistance on my shirt when i pulled it up to unholster my gun the gun was already out and falling and all i could do was watch it,when the gun fired it was surreal.One thing I will say is that it was not overly loud my ears weren't ringing I could hear normally,so if you shoot a 45 in self defense in you're home without ear protection if my experience is anything to go by you shouldn't be deafened by the gunfire

Is the RIA 45 even advertised as being drop-safe? I know my Springfield GI has an extra-heavy firing pin spring combined with a titanium firing pin to prevent this kind of stuff, but I don't know if the basic RIA has this or any of the newer firing pin block mechanisms.

I'm also curious: was the thumb safety on during the discharge? Did the slide stay in place, or did it somehow force its way back?

Wow. I am glad you didn't get hurt. I've done the exact same thing on my sprinfield, except I missed the holster completely when I tried to reholster. I try to be a lot more careful now. lol. But the SA didn't discharge. I guess the extra powered firing pin spring they put in there worked.

mdek wrote:Is the RIA 45 even advertised as being drop-safe? I know my Springfield GI has an extra-heavy firing pin spring combined with a titanium firing pin to prevent this kind of stuff, but I don't know if the basic RIA has this or any of the newer firing pin block mechanisms.

I'm also curious: was the thumb safety on during the discharge? Did the slide stay in place, or did it somehow force its way back?

From the way the gun fired and jammed the thumb safety became disengaged during the incident either my shirt pulled it off or if it clipped the holster on the drop and flipped it off all i know is for the slide to partially cycle the safety had to be off.I swear to god the gun looked like it stopped when it hit the floor then a fraction of a second later the bang.

Wow! Glad you're OK Duk! Could have been a lot worse...

What kind of holster?

MoJo wrote:What kind of holster?

It was a crossbreed IWB,since tha accident I have heated the are around the trigger guard and indented it in more to where it requires a stiff jerk to draw from it,I'm not blaming the holster,I'm not blaming the gun,I'm just saying this happened to me and so all the stories you hear about 1911's dropping on the muzzle and discharging well I had it happen to me,there were some people on another forum questioned whether I had pulled the trigger and then dropped the gun which is ridiculous.I posted the incident to prove it can happen and it's not a myth,the powder burns on the linoleum proves it was a contact shot.I also noticed about a dozen red bumps from linoleum splattering my inside right calf

Does the primer look like a light strike compared to what you normally see from this gun?