Glock Against A Body

[seniorshooteress]

That last guy will be missing some fingers (and possibly a hand) in his next video.

I kept waiting for him to shoot himself in the arm. He needs to lay off the Red Bull beverage.

[OldCannon]

lkd,

Thanks, that's the information I was seeking.

Why did I ask this question?

Sometimes scenarios occur wherein up close and sudden encounters happen and one needs to know if the handgun of choice, in this case a Glock, will still fire.

No question such a scenario as I've limitedly outlined is to be avoided - if it can be...

Yeah, I kinda thought that's what you were asking. Most semi autos will go out of battery like this, and it's a legitimate defensive maneuver put your hand over the muzzle of a barrel and push backwards enough to take the gun out of battery (although the first rule is, "Never let a bad guy get close").

I highly recommend taking a class like this one (http://insightstraining.com/view_course.asp?courseID=16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ). You get a lot more confidence about how to handle yourself in situations like that, PLUS you learn some really interesting facts (like the whole, "Put on your 'mean face' and jack up the bad guy's gun" maneuver )

[amber]

If, in the awful event one has to put a Glock barrel against, that is pushed into contact with the body of a deadly assailant - will it still fire?

Or, will it not fire, as the slide is now pushed slightly out of proper alignment?

Anyone know?

Thanks

There's one sure way to find out but you can probably simulate it pretty close with a rump roast in an old pair of jeans on a private range.
I want to see that youtube video!

[jbirds1210]

I will only add that the slide can be prevented from travel due to pressure by placing your thumb firmly against the slide plate. The rear travel is easily stopped allowing the gun to fire, but not extract brass. A rack of the slide while retreating and you are back in business.

Jason

[Abraham]

Jason,

Thanks for the for the very welcome tip.

[fm2]

I will only add that the slide can be prevented from travel due to pressure by placing your thumb firmly against the slide plate. The rear travel is easily stopped allowing the gun to fire, but not extract brass. A rack of the slide while retreating and you are back in business.
Jason

Yes, good point. I'll add that the slide travel can also be kept from functioning properly by catching/rubbing on clothing, being grabbed by the VCA, or other incidental contact with the environment (car seat, ground, bodies, etc...). I've seen this happen in training scenarios with training guns. In order for Abraham's question to make sense, they would have to be arms length away or closer. There's lots of options for both at that distance. We want to be careful about putting our gun within the VCA's reach.

Abraham, I'm not sure what you are thinking about when you asked the question, but a contact shot, has trade-offs. A good retention shooting position may be what you are interested in.

[03Lightningrocks]

All I have to add here is.............. LOL.

[Abraham]

fm2,

Sometimes life hands us a situation where there's no other choice but a contact shot and that's why I asked the question.

Would all of us prefer an ideal scenario, that is, one in our favor, if an assailant means us harm? Of course we would, but shouldn't we be prepared for the unexpected, unwanted situation and have an understanding of what would happen if...?

The response by some has been along the lines of: You don't want to make a contact shot, what you should do is....sigh, that isn't the point and doesn't address my question.

Ideally, one never has to use a handgun to defend him or herself, but that doesn't address the question either.

[juggernaut]

There's one sure way to find out but you can probably simulate it pretty close with a rump roast in an old pair of jeans on a private range.
I want to see that youtube video!

I'm surprised the youtube tactical dude hasn't done that yet.

[fm2]

fm2,
Sometimes life hands us a situation where there's no other choice but a contact shot and that's why I asked the question.
Of course we would, but shouldn't we be prepared for the unexpected, unwanted situation and have an understanding of what would happen if...?

The response by some has been along the lines of: You don't want to make a contact shot, what you should do is....sigh, that isn't the point and doesn't address my question.

Abraham, thanks for the reply. I agree with what you are saying about ideal situations. When you narrowly define a problem you freeze the timing and distance component in a dynamic/fluid situation. I understand that's what you were interested in, a specific technical answer. So, If you take a contact shot, you may or may not get the first shot fired (depending on the pressure of the muzzle in contact), the gun will likely go down after the first round fired, then you'll need to clear the malfunction, and get the gun up and running again.

If we are preparing for an unexpected event, I am with you, we should consider what if's and have contingency plans. One thing to consider is "when" we choose to trigger the shots. If we think about moving up and down the timeline of the situation, we may have many opportunities to trigger shots. We may or may not act or even recognize those opportunities, based on timing, distance, speed, training, confidence, experience, etc.... My intention was to expand a little on the conversation and offer a more robust alternative.

[alpmc]

The response by some has been along the lines of: You don't want to make a contact shot, what you should do is....sigh, that isn't the point and doesn't address my question.

Um, just to be clear, it takes about 1/4" of rearward slide travel to take a Glock out of battery. All safeties engage and the pistol won't fire.

Do a test. Completely unload the pistol in question........double check to be sure, visually inspect the chamber. If you have to replace the empty mag.........make sure it's empty. Go to your couch and press the muzzle into the seat cushion.......pull the trigger......if it goes click, try again by pressing harder until you don't get a click. This should give you some idea of how hard you can push before the gun will not fire. As Amber suggested, you might try the dryfire or live fire on different materials that proximate a BG. As fm2 pointed out, after a muzzle pressing contact shot, the slide may not cycle the next round and you may not have a free hand to rack.

Close quarter contact shots are not the best scenario but in the event that they do happen, you need to know your weapon!
Gabe Surez teaches contact shots in his Close Quarter Gunfighting vids. He says, make contact and pull away while squeezing off the round(s). Here is a Tube Vid showing Gabe defending SUL position.