Hacker News Reader

Comment by jasonpeacock | Hacker News Reader

A gun accidentally firing implies that it’s in condition 1 at least - a round chambered and hammer cocked.

Is that standard policy for everyday carry?

I’d expect at least condition 2 - uncocked.

Unlike other striker-fired guns, the P320 is "effectively fully cocked at rest", since its striker is under constant spring pressure, which is released when the trigger is pulled. Most such guns, including the P320's military variant, have external safeties (like thumb safeties), which the P320's civilian variant lacks. According to gunsmith James Tertin, this is a rare and "uniquely dangerous" configuration

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIG_Sauer_P320).

MCO 5500.6H (Arming of Law Enforcement and Security Personnel) requires Condition 1, which is magazine inserted, round in chamber, slide forward, safety on ... After reviewing the security camera video footage, the mishap investigator concluded that P1 did not mishandle the weapon at anytime while on duty at Gate 1 prior to the weapon discharging. From the evidence and statements from the persons involved, it is apparent that the weapon fired while on safe and secured in the holster.

(from https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/86/f5/d87374f8497a81db30e2463a..., linked to by the article)

most striker fired pistols follow glock's lead in using not a manual thumb safety but instead a trigger safety, which prevents the trigger from being pulled by something not shaped roughly like a finger

the us military version of the p320 does have a thumb safety, and the claim is that they are going off without trigger pressure anyway, so who knows what the issue is

If it's being carried for self-defense purposes, yes.

EDIT: Most modern pistols are operated this way without issues, and they don't go off without trigger being pulled.

For anyone else wondering what carry conditions are: https://www.thearmorylife.com/1911-carry-conditions-explaine...

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Cooper

Lovely guy, thanks for sharing

> In 1991, Cooper wrote in Guns & Ammo magazine that "no more than five to ten people in a hundred who die by gunfire in Los Angeles are any loss to society. These people fight small wars amongst themselves. It would seem a valid social service to keep them well-supplied with ammunition."[27][28] In 1994, Cooper said "Los Angeles and Ho Chi Minh City have declared themselves sister cities. It makes sense: they are both Third World metropolises formerly occupied by Americans."[29]

seems pretty fatalistic in my opinion, but i suppose that's a morbidly succinct way of describing a complex situation

not sure i would describe as 'lovely'

It depends on the firearm, but yes, there are tons of pistols that are explicitly designed to be carried cocked. The m1911 is the first example that comes to mind for me, as it’s been in service for over a century and is designed to be carried with the hammer cocked and the safety on - “cocked and locked”.

Modern striker-fired pistols like this vary a bit. As there isn’t a hammer to “cock” in the first place the same nomenclature doesn’t quite apply. That said, the firing pin is under tension in almost all of them.

Many striker (or internal hammer) fired pistols are basically “single action only” and when you have a choice of “condition one” or “condition three”.

For example: Glock. You either are carrying in condition one, or condition three.

I’ve not handled or even seen one of these Sig’s yet, so I can’t really comment on them specifically.

Yes. The bad guys aren’t going to sit around and wait for you to rack a round and flip a safety. Guns should be designed to be safe with a round chambered and no manual safety. This is why Glock is so popular.

I realize single-action is generally very safe, but this is the exact reason I fell in love with the P99 AS action (striker-fired SA/DA with a decocker).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com