Decocker misfire?

[sawdust]

Just curious. Has anyone heard of an incident in which a pistol has fired (misfired?) when its decocker was used to lower the hammer/striker? I know that there are several safeties involved to prevent this, but Murphy makes his own Laws periodically.

[seamusTX]

Walther PPK and PPK/S pistols had that problem recently: http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/ ... onId=10506" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would have to say the vast majority of unintended discharges of that sort are unrepeatable and caused by fumble-fingers.

- Jim

[Embalmo]

I use the decocker constantly with my Bersas, but I always point it in a safe direction when I use it just in case. When I bought my Bersa Thunder .380 I'd never heard of a decocker and so when I engage the safety and watched the hammer drop I almost wet myself.

My only accidental discharge happened when I de-cocked my .22 revolver with my thumb-I will never make that mistake again.

Embalmo

[ericlw]

i have a s&w 4513tsw their is no way the manual decocker would allow the firing pin to be struck.

[Embalmo]

I don't know if it's about the safety/de-cocker with the Walther recall. The problem exists "When the safety is disengaged". Do Walthers have a manual safety/de-cocker like the Bersas? If not, I suppose the separate safety could be disengaged and the separate de-cocker activated to cause a problem; but if it were a Bersa, and the manual safety and de-cocker have the same switch, the only way to lower the hammer with the manual safety disengaged would be pulling the trigger.-What do you guys think?

Embalmo

Smith & Wesson has identified a condition that may exist in certain PPK and PPK/S pistols which may permit a round to be discharged without the trigger being pulled. When the manual safety is disengaged, Smith & Wesson’s Product Engineering Group has determined that the possibility exists in certain firearms that lowering the hammer may cause a chambered round to fire.

[seamusTX]

Do Walthers have a manual safety/de-cocker like the Bersas?

I don't know. I never handled one.

- Jim

[joe817]

Do Walthers have a manual safety/de-cocker like the Bersas?

I don't know. I never handled one.

- Jim

No, the PPk/S does not have a true "de-cocker" mechanism. It has a hammer block safety. That is to say, when you engage the safety, the hammer actually drops on a block of steel that come into play between the hammer and the firing pin. That is the same mechanism that the Ruger P95 series uses, and a Walther P-38(or P-1, if you will). The Mauser HsC uses the same type of safety.

As I understand it(and remember), a true "de-cocker" safety actually lowers the hammer into a "half-cock" mode and doesn't actually drop the hammer on a steel block.

Correct me if I'm wrong someone, but doesn't the Sig P220,P226 and P229 have the classic "de-cocker" mechansim?

[seamusTX]

Most SIG P-series pistols have a decocker that lowers the hammer to the full rest position. The hammer cannot contact the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled. There is a disconnector that is moved into the path of the hammer and firing pin by pulling the trigger. They do not have a manual safety that blocks the trigger.

(I say "most" because some SIG variants are DAO or have manual safeties.)

- Jim

[gemini]

Most SIG P-series pistols have a decocker that lowers the hammer to the full rest position. The hammer cannot contact the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled. There is a disconnector that is moved into the path of the hammer and firing pin by pulling the trigger. They do not have a manual safety that blocks the trigger.

(I say "most" because some SIG variants are DAO or have manual safeties.)

- Jim

P-238 ??

[CrimsonSoul]

Smith & Wesson’s Product Engineering Group has determined that the possibility exists in certain firearms that lowering the hammer may cause a chambered round to fire.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this what I want to happen when I lower the hammer on my firearm?

[seamusTX]

P-238 ??

If you're asking me, I don't know. I've never seen a P238.

- Jim

[mr surveyor]

Jim

He's jerking your chain . The P238 is a clone of the Colt Mustang...S/A (1911 style-but no backstrap safety) pistol. I wonder why Sig didn't give it another letter instead of the "P"?


surv