ZDL
12-14-09, 07:52
http://officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=49728
Officials in Marshall County said they've learned it could have been the weapon -- not the ammunition -- that caused a gun to explode in a deputy's hand last week.
Chief Deputy Kevin Cecil said organizations from across the country have called him recently, saying they've had similar situations with their guns.
"It's a combination of them wanting to know what happened … along with possible problems with their firearms," Cecil said.
A deputy was using the .45 caliber Glock 21 for the first time at a firing range last week when the lower half exploded, breaking off the trigger, sending parts flying and injuring his hand.
Cecil said he initially thought it was the ammunition that caused the problem, but not he's not so sure.
He said, as time goes on, he's learned quite a bit about similar situations throughout the country.
"We're actually adjusting our thinking a little bit. It might not just be the ammunition. There may be a certain issue with the firearm itself, so we're going to send it off to have it independently evaluated," Cecil said.
At Shooter's in Bridgeport, Bill Monahan has a collection of guns that have exploded.
"I've seen lots of handguns blow up over the years. Usually it's an overload that causes it. There's many different factors that could cause it, but that's the most common," Monahan said.
He said he doesn't want to speculate on what happened with the deputy's gun, but said there are several reasons he's known a Glock to explode.
"(With) Glocks, you can't fire lead bullets. Not saying that's what he did, but that's one of the culprits," Monahan said.
He said he's like to take a look at the Marshall County weapon, but Cecil said he is preparing to send it to an independent evaluator to find out exactly what happened.
"They'll know when they get to examine this gun just exactly what took place," Monahan said.
Officials in Marshall County said they've learned it could have been the weapon -- not the ammunition -- that caused a gun to explode in a deputy's hand last week.
Chief Deputy Kevin Cecil said organizations from across the country have called him recently, saying they've had similar situations with their guns.
"It's a combination of them wanting to know what happened … along with possible problems with their firearms," Cecil said.
A deputy was using the .45 caliber Glock 21 for the first time at a firing range last week when the lower half exploded, breaking off the trigger, sending parts flying and injuring his hand.
Cecil said he initially thought it was the ammunition that caused the problem, but not he's not so sure.
He said, as time goes on, he's learned quite a bit about similar situations throughout the country.
"We're actually adjusting our thinking a little bit. It might not just be the ammunition. There may be a certain issue with the firearm itself, so we're going to send it off to have it independently evaluated," Cecil said.
At Shooter's in Bridgeport, Bill Monahan has a collection of guns that have exploded.
"I've seen lots of handguns blow up over the years. Usually it's an overload that causes it. There's many different factors that could cause it, but that's the most common," Monahan said.
He said he doesn't want to speculate on what happened with the deputy's gun, but said there are several reasons he's known a Glock to explode.
"(With) Glocks, you can't fire lead bullets. Not saying that's what he did, but that's one of the culprits," Monahan said.
He said he's like to take a look at the Marshall County weapon, but Cecil said he is preparing to send it to an independent evaluator to find out exactly what happened.
"They'll know when they get to examine this gun just exactly what took place," Monahan said.