Defensive Carry banner

Are rifles "drop safe"?

5926 Views 27 Replies 22 Participants Last post by  farsidefan1
If I understand correctly, virtually all modern pistols and revolvers will not fire based on an impact such as being dropped and landing on a hard surface. Is this also true for rifles and shotguns?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
If I understand correctly, virtually all modern pistols and revolvers will not fire based on an impact such as being dropped and landing on a hard surface. Is this also true for rifles and shotguns?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I wouldn't bet my life or any others on it. Good luck in a court of law for a defense. The only safe firearm is an unloaded one!
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Handguns tend to have firing pin blocks that only release at the trigger break. I don't think rifles have such a block.
  • Like
Reactions: 2
I wouldn't bet my life or any others on it. Good luck in a court of law for a defense. The only safe firearm is an unloaded one!
Not true loaded weapons are perfectly safe as long as they're in proper working order, used, and handled properly. Weapon can't go off by itself. It needs some type of human interaction. Even have to pull the trigger or Miss handle it.
  • Like
Reactions: 2
They shouldn't, but as already mentioned, I wouldnt bet my life on it.
In two of the sports I shoot in You are required to have a "Safe Trigger". One of them even describes the method of testing the trigger as dropping the cocked but unloaded rifle a measured number of inches butt first onto a carpeted and padded 2x4. I guess that would be considered "Drop Safe". Most of the guns being used have aftermarket adjustable triggers. The other requires you to have more than a certain pull weight . Each class has different weight requirements. DR
You need to ask someone from France.
  • Like
Reactions: 4
No rifle that I have ever heard of is drop safe.
I don't know, but I don't want to find out. Contact Myth Busters.
All mechanical devices can fail. Also remember a fall from 6 feet can cause 200 g force of impact. So if you multiply the physical weight of the trigger say 1/2 ounce by 200 g you get 100 ounces or 12.5 lb of force. That's enough to pull a trigger if a saftey isn't on. Now a rubber butt pad would dampen the force so it might not be 200 g also grass would do the same. A Gun with a floating firing pin I wonder if the weight of the pin going forward if the gun was dropped muzzle down might be enough to discharge the round also. Someone should get some blanks and a crap gun and test it out.
Not true loaded weapons are perfectly safe as long as they're in proper working order, used, and handled properly. Weapon can't go off by itself. It needs some type of human interaction. Even have to pull the trigger or Miss handle it.
That's a pretty definitive statement. Remington Model 70 variants have all KINDS of well-documented "mysteries" calling that definitive statement into question, with lawyers & juries to prove it. Me? I've tuned target triggers, uhh...too far, and had the rifle "click" when I test-bounced the butt on the floor. It was "working properly" until that exact (and rather embarrassing) moment. So (IMHO) we'll have to agree to (respectfully)...disagree. :biggrin2:
  • Like
Reactions: 2
When I put together my AR, I didn't see any mechanism to stop the firing pin and the trigger from moving, other than the manual safety. When the safety is disengaged, I can totally see an incident where the trigger is moved by inertia to let the hammer fall, thus firing the rifle.

Compare this to a Glock:
- Striker is blocked until the trigger bar moves to disengage it.
- Vertical movement of the trigger bar (which releases the striker) is not possible until the bar is moved horizontally by trigger pull.
- Inertia alone can't move the trigger because the little lever in the trigger stops that. The safety lever only moves when your finger engages it.

Or to an M&P:
- Striker is blocked until the trigger bar moves to disengage it.
- The sear block is spring loaded to push against the striker tab, it can't let the striker move until enough force is applied to tip it by trigger bar horizontal movement.
- Inertia alone can't move the trigger because the little hinged part of the trigger stops that. The hinged trigger part only moves when your finger engages it.
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Most rifles and shotguns have a hammer that drops on the back of a bolt with the firing pin exposed. The only thing that blocks one from hitting the other is the sear. If the sear fails in any way there is nothing to stop it from firing. Pistols usually have either a striker block that is only deactivated when the trigger is pulled, hammer fired guns like the M9 or 92f roll the pin out of the way with the safety and revolves use a transfer bar which requires the trigger to be fully depressed. So is short, no hammer fired rifle is truly drop safe imo. That said I wouldn't hesitate to carry a rifle or store it in a condition 1 status as long as it's been well maintained and inspected from time to time. I keep my shotgun un-chambered due to others experiences with firing while safety was on and trigger never being pulled. All of which involved the gun being slammed down on the buttock.
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 1
I don't plan on throwing any of my firearms off a 3 story building.
That's a pretty definitive statement. Remington Model 70 variants have all KINDS of well-documented "mysteries" calling that definitive statement into question, with lawyers & juries to prove it. Me? I've tuned target triggers, uhh...too far, and had the rifle "click" when I test-bounced the butt on the floor. It was "working properly" until that exact (and rather embarrassing) moment. So (IMHO) we'll have to agree to (respectfully)...disagree. :biggrin2:
I never said they were drop safe. What I said was they need some type of human interaction have to be dropped , trigger has to be pulled or they have to be missed handled. so I don't understand what you're disagreeing with me about . Are you trying to tell me that a loaded rifle sitting in a closet in proper working condition, never dropped and nobody ever touched it, going to go off by itself ? There are plenty of weapons that of the when dropped can cause the firing pin to strike the primers and cause them to fire. Older single action revolver's for one. In addition there's quite a few rifles and shotguns I wouldn't drop on the ground and expect them not to go off . So once again I don't know what you disagreement with me about unless you're trying to tell me that a loadedweapon, sitting in a corner, never been touched, can go off all by itself. I'd like to see that.
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 1
You need to ask someone from France.
The French don't count. Was it a Frenchman invented the needle gun?
It all depends on the rifle. Certain rifles, such as the SKS, are infamous for firing if dropped or otherwise mishandled. A gun with a spring retained firing pin, such as the Remington 870, is less likely to fire if dropped, but such a mechanism wouldn't do anything if the sear released rather than the firing pin simply rattling around. That doesn't even cover guns which have been modified from their factory configuration, which may interfere with some safety features.
Not true loaded weapons are perfectly safe as long as they're in proper working order, used, and handled properly. Weapon can't go off by itself. It needs some type of human interaction. Even have to pull the trigger or Miss handle it.
Customer shot himself in his leg when his loaded .380 fell out of his pants pocket and hit the floor while trying on pants in the dressing room. Not all safeties are as reliable as you might think!
Customer shot himself in his leg when his loaded .380 fell out of his pants pocket and hit the floor while trying on pants in the dressing room. Not all safeties are as reliable as you might think!
Dose anyone actually read a post before they comment on it. Or do they just read what they want to here!
Weapon can't go off by itself. It needs some type of human interaction. You have to pull the trigger or Miss handle it.
I don't know about anybody else but DROPING YOUR WEAPON ON THE FLOOR sure sounds like human interaction or mishandling it to me! Once again I never said it was safe to drop your gun on the floor or that certain rifles can fire because they were dropped. I never said it was safe to drop a weapon on the floor! What I said was guns don't go off by themselves they need to be miss handled or some type of human interaction that's it that's all I posted. Eagle7840 in you had read a little further you could have read were I addressed another post quote and explained my original post. So please stop chastising me for something I never said.
Thank you.
See less See more
1 - 20 of 28 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top