Baltimore, FNS Exclusive video reveals unexpected gunfire from police weapons

[rocket500]

I had an FNX 9mm for a time and the thing was a dumpster fire. Turned me off to FN pistols forever more.

 

[Zappa]

Now that I finally found some time to dig my own FNS out of the safe and fondle it, here's what I found:

Yes, I have managed to duplicate this glitch as described above.
However, it wasn't really easy to do.
As you push back on the slide and pull the trigger, the exact slide travel distance needed to duplicate the unwanted condition seems to be critical. I didn't measure it, but I'd guesstimate it's between 1/4" and 3/8". Push it too far and the trigger does nothing, which is normal because it's completely out of battery. But if you don't push the slide back far enough, it fires as normal.
There's a really fine line between in or out of battery, but there is a tiny sweet-spot where you can pull the trigger and it'll go click, but the trigger won't return to it's forward position. Here's where it gets funky, the gun is now ultra sensitive to having the striker unintentionally fire. From here, all it takes is a light touch on the slide and it fires. Or pretty much anything you do will make it fire. I replicated this condition about six or seven times, but it took me about 100 tries to do it.
While replicating the glitch, once achieved, I tried a few different things attempting to return the gun to a safe condition.
I tried pushing the trigger blade forward, it fired.
Then I tried pulling back the slide, it fired as soon as I touched it.
Next I tried to engage the manual safety, it would not engage.
I also tried it with an empty mag in the gun, same results, but now it would fire when you pushed the mag release. Did I mention how touchy this thing is once the undesired condition is present ???
Anyway, the odds of it happening in the real world are extremely low.
Two things have to happen, and one of them requires total disregard for basic gun safety practices to begin with. I'm not going to worry about it or do anything unless there's a recall, to me it's just a range toy, I don't carry it and don't intend to.

 

[BTSDOG]

WTF? Why did they choose the FN when they admit it scored 3rd out of 4 pistols? Price?

So when they shoot someone, they can blame the GUN and not the COP.........

 

[Drix]

Popo shouldnt be using striker fired guns at all IMHO....proven to discharge more frequently/accidentally than non striker

 

[HuntMaine]

Well that’s not good at all. An officer just trying to provide some cover for himself at a simple traffic stop could blow someone’s head off. Never mind all the other situations that would end bad. F&N must be huddling to figure out this sh*t show

 

[drgrant]

Under stress you actually going to assert that folks are not more prone to discharging more rounds/accidentally with a SAO gun than a DAO or a DA/SA?

First shot of DA/SA or a DAO requires a great deal more deliberate action on the part of the shooter

Lol let's blame a training deficiency on the gun.... there have been tons of NDs with non striker fired guns, too, the difference is they weren't as popular before the advent of the 24hr news cycle and internet, as well as widespread surveillance....

 

[Wrench75]

Forgive my lack of experience but does anyone else trust carrying a striker fired pistol with one in battery? I sometimes carry my CM9 in this condition due to the long heavy trigger pull but I’ve not heard any issues with this particular small pistol. I don’t think I would ever carry even my G17 like this.

Think about how many PDs carry Glocks. Glocks have 3 internal safties that have to disengage in sequence for the gun to fire. There is physical striker block in place until the trigger moves X distance. As long as nothing snaggs the trigger, you can pound on them with a hammer and not set it off. I'm not a Glock fanboy by any means. I don't even own one. But after the training I had on their tech when working for Academy I have a serious appreciation for the engineering.