Opinion
Ft Collins, CO –-(Ammoland.com)- Students and trainers around the world will now and then report a rare slam-fire-engendered unintentional discharges (UD) when chambering a round on pistols, even pistols from reputable manufacturers, manufacturers that I recommend!
Some of this is “urban legend,” of course, but not all.
Fire-control parts can become so worn-out, from lots of shooting, combined with user-level neglect, that slam-fires have been licitly recorded.
Flat spots and burrs on badly-worn parts can allow firing pins to become “stuck” in a forward position. Thus, the nose of the firing pin can protrude from the bolt-face, and this can result in a slam-fire as the slide is vigorously cycled when chambering a round, absent any pressure on the trigger.
Periodic detail-strip and inspection by a qualified armorer, particularly with pistols that are shot a lot, will almost always preclude the foregoing. When excessive wear is detected, armorers will routinely replace the firing pin, firing-pin safety, trigger bar, and install a full set of new springs, particularly the recoil spring/spring assembly.
It’s the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy!
Slam-fires do not happen very often, and even when they do, the pistol in question is usually pointed in a relatively safe direction (as it should be), so only minor property damage results. In fact, most such recorded incidences of slam-fires happen on gun-ranges as the pistol is pointed downrange, so there is no property damage at all.
Because there is usually little or no damage, this species of UD mostly goes un-noted and unrecorded, only rarely reflecting on any statistic.
Yet, for serious guns, owned and carried by Operators for serious purposes, this kind of extreme neglect
