All your guns are belong in this thread.

Two year old shoots mom and unborn child

A two-year-old accidentally gets access to a loaded gun, plays with it, shoots pregnant mom, mom and unborn baby die.
Baby gate and door to the bedroom were "accidentally" left open.

1. Your gun shouldn't be loaded and in the open
2. Your gun should not be accessible to children by "just happening to leave the bedroom door open"
3. Your trigger shouldn't be so easily pulled that a 2-year-old can do it.

"Guns don't kill people, irresponsible people not properly handling and securing their guns kill people".
 
#3 likely means it was stored cocked, which is bad for the gun mechanism AND for people nearby.

—Patrick
Many handguns, particularly Glocks, don’t really have a safety or any cocking mechanism. If it’s loaded, it will fire.

I think one of the most dangerous narratives going around the pro-gun circles is that seconds matter in a home invasion and having your gun locked up means you might as well not have one at all. There’s plenty of good fast access safes available now that can easily prevent this.
 
Many handguns, particularly Glocks, don’t really have a safety or any cocking mechanism. If it’s loaded, it will fire.

I think one of the most dangerous narratives going around the pro-gun circles is that seconds matter in a home invasion and having your gun locked up means you might as well not have one at all. There’s plenty of good fast access safes available now that can easily prevent this.
Or you can just get a dog
 
Many handguns, particularly Glocks, don’t really have a safety or any cocking mechanism. If it’s loaded, it will fire.
Yes…IF the person pulling the trigger has sufficient strength to overcome the trigger’s “weight.” SAO/DAO models aside, that means the first trigger pull will be noticeably more difficult than the ones that follow, as that first pull has to overcome spring pressure to move all of the mechanical bits into firing position before it can drop the hammer to fire that first round. This can easily require 12-15lbs of exertion. Most will then divert some of the gas flow from that fired round to power the work of setting up the firing position again, which means the only work required to pull the trigger the next time is the effort required to release the hammer, which can be as little as 3-5lbs. You might see this listed as “double-action first pull, single-action thereafter.”
But because of that whole “I must be ready for that first shot!” mentality, too many people leave their gun cocked and ready to fire, entirely skipping that first “heavier” pull.

—Patrick
 
Yes…IF the person pulling the trigger has sufficient strength to overcome the trigger’s “weight.” SAO/DAO models aside, that means the first trigger pull will be noticeably more difficult than the ones that follow, as that first pull has to overcome spring pressure to move all of the mechanical bits into firing position before it can drop the hammer to fire that first round. This can easily require 12-15lbs of exertion. Most will then divert some of the gas flow from that fired round to power the work of setting up the firing position again, which means the only work required to pull the trigger the next time is the effort required to release the hammer, which can be as little as 3-5lbs. You might see this listed as “double-action first pull, single-action thereafter.”
But because of that whole “I must be ready for that first shot!” mentality, too many people leave their gun cocked and ready to fire, entirely skipping that first “heavier” pull.

—Patrick
Right, what I’m saying though is that many handguns are striker fired now and will have about a 5 pound trigger weight all the time. There is no cocking or de-cocking the hammer.
 
Right, what I’m saying though is that many handguns […] will have about a 5 pound trigger weight all the time.
That’s…not mechanically possible. Whether hammer or striker action, if the gun is picked up UNcocked, and has to rely solely on the trigger pull to both cock and fire that first round, then it will either be a heavier pull every time (i.e.,double-action only), or heavy first pull, then light for the rest (double-action semi-auto). Some searching around shows that first pull can be as low as 7-8lb on a tuned semi-auto striker action with subsequent pulls being 3lb. “A 5lb weight for every pull” still sounds more to me like people are pre-cocking their weapon before stowing it.

I tried but could not find any data on pediatric hand strength below age 4 to see what a reasonable figure for the hand strength of a 2yr-old would be.

—Patrick
 
That’s…not mechanically possible. Whether hammer or striker action, if the gun is picked up UNcocked, and has to rely solely on the trigger pull to both cock and fire that first round, then it will either be a heavier pull every time (i.e.,double-action only), or heavy first pull, then light for the rest (double-action semi-auto). Some searching around shows that first pull can be as low as 7-8lb on a tuned semi-auto striker action with subsequent pulls being 3lb. “A 5lb weight for every pull” still sounds more to me like people are pre-cocking their weapon before stowing it.

I tried but could not find any data on pediatric hand strength below age 4 to see what a reasonable figure for the hand strength of a 2yr-old would be.

—Patrick
Striker fired pistols put the firing pin under tension as soon as the slide is racked, or loaded. There is no hammer to cock or de-cock. The only way to remove the pressure on the firing pin is to pull the trigger, that’s it. You can never have a round in the chamber and not have the firing pin under tension and ready to shoot. So the trigger pull will always be the same.
 
Striker fired pistols put the firing pin under tension as soon as the slide is racked, or loaded. There is no hammer to cock or de-cock. The only way to remove the pressure on the firing pin is to pull the trigger, that’s it. You can never have a round in the chamber and not have the firing pin under tension and ready to shoot. So the trigger pull will always be the same.
In this instance, racking the gun and chambering a round (and leaving it that way) would be what Pat is talking about. The safer alternative would be obviously not having a round chambered
 
In this instance, racking the gun and chambering a round (and leaving it that way) would be what Pat is talking about. The safer alternative would be obviously not having a round chambered
No, he’s not. He’s saying that if you chamber a round and de-cock the gun, the initial trigger pull would be heavier than subsequent ones, which isn’t how striker fired guns work.
 
No, he’s not. He’s saying that if you chamber a round and de-cock the gun, the initial trigger pull would be heavier than subsequent ones, which isn’t how striker fired guns work.
I'm sorry, I forgot you guys like to argue semantics. Don't let me interfere.
 
I'm sorry, I forgot you guys like to argue semantics. Don't let me interfere.
Interfere all you want, but I’ll respond. If that’s ok.

Personally I think it’s an important distinction, as is knowing how these guns operate. All I was trying to get across is that if a gun like a Glock is loaded, there is nothing preventing a 2 year old from pulling the trigger and firing the gun. No safety, no heavy trigger pull, nothing.
 
He’s saying that if you chamber a round and de-cock the gun,
What I’m really saying is that you should not have a round chambered until you are ready to use it. None of this “+1” stuff. I am not advocating chambering a round and decocking, I am advocating not storing it with a round in the chamber in the first place. Ever! Seriously, it’s one of a fireman’s worst nightmares.
Which comes back to my original point, that in order for the trigger pull to be light enough for a 2yr-old, it must have been stored with the firing mechanism (whatever type it might be) already under tension, which is a colossally stupid way to store it from both safety and metal fatigue perspectives.
Other stupid examples which would follow the same logic “for faster access:”
-Leave your whole password typed in all the time but don’t hit the enter key until you’re ready.
-Carry around a full can of gas in your back seat “in case you run out.”
-The Stadium Pal(TM)

—Patrick
 
What I’m really saying is that you should not have a round chambered until you are ready to use it. None of this “+1” stuff. I am not advocating chambering a round and decocking, I am advocating not storing it with a round in the chamber in the first place. Ever! Seriously, it’s one of a fireman’s worst nightmares.
Which comes back to my original point, that in order for the trigger pull to be light enough for a 2yr-old, it must have been stored with the firing mechanism (whatever type it might be) already under tension, which is a colossally stupid way to store it from both safety and metal fatigue perspectives.
Other stupid examples which would follow the same logic “for faster access:”
-Leave your whole password typed in all the time but don’t hit the enter key until you’re ready.
-Carry around a full can of gas in your back seat “in case you run out.”
-The Stadium Pal(TM)

—Patrick
Well yeah, I agree with all that. I just wanted to make sure people are aware that some guns always have their firing pin under tension if a round is chambered.

I would even say that the mag should not be in the gun. Have it next to the gun in a safe if you really want to, but not in it.

Completely unrelated, but when I hit a deer a couple years ago a couple people stopped to check on me. The deer wasn’t dead, so one guy opens his glove box and hands a Glock that had just been rolling around in there with no holster to the other guy to kill it. He asks if it was loaded, and the guy responds that it would be useless if it wasn’t.
I wonder how many people rode in that truck with him and had no idea they were one unlucky bump or corner away from getting shot.
 
Interfere all you want, but I’ll respond. If that’s ok.

Personally I think it’s an important distinction, as is knowing how these guns operate. All I was trying to get across is that if a gun like a Glock is loaded, there is nothing preventing a 2 year old from pulling the trigger and firing the gun. No safety, no heavy trigger pull, nothing.
A Glock can still be loaded (magazine inserted) and not chambered
 
Want to watch some meatheads destroy their thumbs and shoulders?



Also, are you looking for a rifle with penetration? I mean serious penetration? These guys apparently have something they want to show you.



--Patrick
 
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That’s how my wife’s school is. They found there was a kindergartner functionally left alone a block away from the school with the only supervision being some 3rd graders who were also in line.
 
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