Carrying a no-safety SA five-up may be a bad idea...

J

Jim March

New member
...in a motor vehicle crash:

http://imgur.com/wz8kYNr

(Note: image is VERY high res, better to view it on Imgur...)

This cylinder is from a Ruger Old Model that was carried in the door pocket of a truck that was involved in a crash severe enough to rotate the chambers across the firing pin. All five carried rounds went off. One of the empties was easily extractable, these four were not and the gun was destroyed per the guy who posted the pic on Reddit (username "thekevincollins"):

http://www.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/1b46qe/my_friends_ruger_blackhawk_drug_the_pin_across/

A New Model Ruger action with a transfer bar wouldn't have done this, obviously. Neither would a Beretta Stampede, Freedom Arms '97 series, Taurus Gaucho (a horrible gun by the way) or the transfer-bar equipped Pietta SAs. All other Uberti, Pietta and the like close clones of the Colt SAA *would* behave as the gun picured did :(.
 
I guess it would have gone off if it were hit by a meteorite, too.

I don't believe I would let that freak accident cause me to jettison a fine old Colt or other good example of the breed.
 
I guess it would have gone off if it were hit by a meteorite, too.

I don't believe I would let that freak accident cause me to jettison a fine old Colt or other good example of the breed.
Click to expand...
Agreed and it's about that far-fetched.
 
The hammer had to have been forced in/held down somehow by the accident. Just the normal hammer in the down position would not have enough force to score the cases like that and then set off the primers. (Yes, I tried it; only light scratches on the cases and no primers fired.)

Also, there had to be enough force to break the cylinder stop.

I think there is a bit more to the story, though. Strange things happen in accidents, with a lot of energy flying around, but how a revolver in a door pocket would sustain that kind of damage escapes me.

Jim
 
The caption on the photo says the gun was trapped between the truck and the ground (one could assume at decent rate of speed), so the forces exerted on it would have been pretty substancial. An argument could be made that any gun could be made to fire if enough force is applied to it, it wouldn't have to be a SA revolver either.

A curiosity for me, but doesn't bring up any design flaws.
 
I don't carry a SA anyway, but this seems on par with the guy who's safetied 1911 went off when it got sucked into an MRI.
More an interesting physics question than a cautionary tale.
 
wow.

ok, note to self, when planning on being in a motor vehicle crash, unload all firearms prior to crashing!:eek:

there you go, one more justification for my preference for New Model Rugers!:D
 
Lol. That could be the FIRST EVER SA revolver that had barrel heat damage from rapid fire... :D You might have set a record.
 
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