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Urban gun myth about the slide flying off
thecatsfan
Member Posts: 6 ✭✭
How many of you have heard the same urban myth from so-called experts about the slide flying off a cheap gun and nearly killing somebody? I saw this here recently about a Hi-Point .45. Well, guess what? It's an urban myth - complete hogwash.
Just consider the design of the Hi-Point. It's a solid steel slide that mounts around the barrel - which is fixed to the frame. For the slide to come off, the entire slide would have to break in half, or the barrel would have to come with it. Bottom line, numerous things would have to go wrong, far too many to ever be feasible, for this to actually happen. Even if shooting drastically overloaded rounds, this is not likely to happen. Yet I've seen this ridiculous myth posted in several "expert" forums and never has it been substantiated or even made logically feasible. But people who don't know these guns automatically believe it.
Notice that the vast majority of experts who bad mouth inexpensive gun brands on this forum (particularly the one who recently posted this tall tale), are typically dealers who make a living selling more expensive brands. I guess if I sold Lexus cars for a living, I might say bad things about Chevys to every customer that walked by as well. "I saw an Impala explode while the driver was putting in gas on a hot day. I would never drive one of those death traps."
Talk to gun owners who actually own the brand you want to buy and make your own informed decision. You will be pleasantly surprised. And never trust a salesman to tell you the truth about a product he doesn't sell.
Just consider the design of the Hi-Point. It's a solid steel slide that mounts around the barrel - which is fixed to the frame. For the slide to come off, the entire slide would have to break in half, or the barrel would have to come with it. Bottom line, numerous things would have to go wrong, far too many to ever be feasible, for this to actually happen. Even if shooting drastically overloaded rounds, this is not likely to happen. Yet I've seen this ridiculous myth posted in several "expert" forums and never has it been substantiated or even made logically feasible. But people who don't know these guns automatically believe it.
Notice that the vast majority of experts who bad mouth inexpensive gun brands on this forum (particularly the one who recently posted this tall tale), are typically dealers who make a living selling more expensive brands. I guess if I sold Lexus cars for a living, I might say bad things about Chevys to every customer that walked by as well. "I saw an Impala explode while the driver was putting in gas on a hot day. I would never drive one of those death traps."
Talk to gun owners who actually own the brand you want to buy and make your own informed decision. You will be pleasantly surprised. And never trust a salesman to tell you the truth about a product he doesn't sell.
Comments
I came close with a cracked slide stop on a '96 Mauser pistol.
Look into the history of the Beretta 9mm model 92. They thinned the slide in an area that needed to be thicker and made it a casting to boot.
First of all, it is always somebody's buddy's guns. Is that the same buddy that tore up your science report in the 5th grade? Come on. The first sign of a fake story is when it starts out with the words "this friend of mine."
Second. If the slide does fail and come off during recoil with enough force to fly back 2 feet or more, where will it go? If the slide has enough force to fly that far, it will come straight back in the opposite direction as the bullet trajectory and is likely to hit the shooter square in the face - just as V35 pointed out. But the myth will always claim that it zoomed past their ear. Why? Is the shooter aiming with his ear? Did the slide magicly jump to one side during flight? No. One, because it's more dramatic to say "he was almost killed but it barely missed him." But more importantly, if no one was hurt, there likely won't be any record of the incident. In other words, that helps explain why the myth can never be verified. It makes the lie more believable.
Finally, as you pointed out, the most likely way this is going to happen is from shooting really hot loads. All the "experts" here seem to unanimously agree that these cheap guns are beginner pistols, meaning they probably haven't had many rounds fired through them, and are less likely to have been exposed to reloads or high powered ammo. I don't necessarily agree with this, but I am just recanting the "popular opinion of the local experts."
I am not saying a slide failure on a Hi Point cannot happen. I am claiming that this particular recount, and almost all of the recounts that sound exactly like this one, are completely fabricated. The design of the Hi Point is such that this is not the likely area of failure.
Not to mention the fact that anyone can go to their favorite search engine and type in "hi point slide failure." They can see for themselves that not a single recount of this scenario comes up. Yet if I search "baretta slide failure" I instantly find tons of documented evidence that this has actually happened with a Baretta.
So how come when somebody asks if a Baretta is a quality gun, they don't hear all the horror stories about "somebody's buddy that was nearly killed shooting his Baretta"? Probably because the "experts" here sell Barettas.
When these myths come up, no one ever offers a single photograph of the break, even though the entire population has a cell phone camera with them everywhere they go.
Basically, because the gun is cheap, we are expected to just buy the BS and assume the recounts are true. Well, sorry, but I say bring evidence or be prepared to be challenged as BS. There are just too many reasons not to believe the "my friends gun broke" stories any more.
Yes, absolutely it can happen. But almost never the way the urban myth describes.
First of all, it is always somebody's buddy's guns. Is that the same buddy that tore up your science report in the 5th grade? Come on. The first sign of a fake story is when it starts out with the words "this friend of mine."
Second. If the slide does fail and come off during recoil with enough force to fly back 2 feet or more, where will it go? If the slide has enough force to fly that far, it will come straight back in the opposite direction as the bullet trajectory and is likely to hit the shooter square in the face - just as V35 pointed out. But the myth will always claim that it zoomed past their ear. Why? Is the shooter aiming with his ear? Did the slide magicly jump to one side during flight? No. One, because it's more dramatic to say "he was almost killed but it barely missed him." But more importantly, if no one was hurt, there likely won't be any record of the incident. In other words, that helps explain why the myth can never be verified. It makes the lie more believable.
Finally, as you pointed out, the most likely way this is going to happen is from shooting really hot loads. All the "experts" here seem to unanimously agree that these cheap guns are beginner pistols, meaning they probably haven't had many rounds fired through them, and are less likely to have been exposed to reloads or high powered ammo. I don't necessarily agree with this, but I am just recanting the "popular opinion of the local experts."
I am not saying a slide failure on a Hi Point cannot happen. I am claiming that this particular recount, and almost all of the recounts that sound exactly like this one, are completely fabricated. The design of the Hi Point is such that this is not the likely area of failure.
Not to mention the fact that anyone can go to their favorite search engine and type in "hi point slide failure." They can see for themselves that not a single recount of this scenario comes up. Yet if I search "baretta slide failure" I instantly find tons of documented evidence that this has actually happened with a Baretta.
So how come when somebody asks if a Baretta is a quality gun, they don't hear all the horror stories about "somebody's buddy that was nearly killed shooting his Baretta"? Probably because the "experts" here sell Barettas.
When these myths come up, no one ever offers a single photograph of the break, even though the entire population has a cell phone camera with them everywhere they go.
Basically, because the gun is cheap, we are expected to just buy the BS and assume the recounts are true. Well, sorry, but I say bring evidence or be prepared to be challenged as BS. There are just too many reasons not to believe the "my friends gun broke" stories any more.
You forgot about RECOIL which may point the rear of the pistol away from the face.
As Perry says.....PRAISE THE HARDBALL GUN!
"he was VERY lucky he didn't get it in the eye"
You are correct that recoil can change the point of the weapon after fire, but that much? When you fire, does the weapon recoil towards your ear or towards the top of your head? Mine definitely does not come back towards my ear.
But, if the slide breaks off from the recoil, it would take essentially all of the recoil energy with it. The slide is designed to use the recoil energy to cycle the action. If the slide never stopped, there would be virtually no felt recoil in your arm.
Besides that, if your arm came up from the recoil, the vertical trajectory of the slide would also change, possibly making it hit your shoulder or chest. It would not change only the horizontal trajectory.
Possible? Yes. Likely? Not at all.
And here's one more flaw in the original "story". Supposedly this happened at a gun range. And as I mentioned above, the witness stated the shooter "was VERY lucky he didn't get it in the eye." Don't ranges require shooters to wear safety glasses? All ranges must require ranges here by law. My glasses would definitely stop a slide. Yes, it would probably injur my face, but my eyes would be safe.
Carries more weight if you spell it correctly.
CP
Spelled Beretta.
Carries more weight if you spell it correctly.
CP
Thanks for pointing that out. [:D]
You even helped me make my point stronger. Even someone who can't spell BERETTA can quickly find documented evidence of the problem with the model 92s, yet the issue with the Hi Point is still untraceable.
Right up there with the original scare tactic false post. [8D][8D][8D]