Pistol able to fire from inside jacket pocket: ONLY a revolver?

[MikeGoob]

For winter carry to keep in thick winter jacket pocket, and when the need arises to fire from inside the pocket. I have a heavy J frame that might fit the bill (exposed hammer though)... but I was wondering if any other 'pocket gun' would be able to fire from inside a pocket without getting snagged. 2 shot derringer... ok sure. anything else? Are all semi's to be ruled out... ie, one or two shots then they'll be hung up in cloth...?

[UncleEd]

Even if a revolver is generally considered able to successfully five multiple rounds from a pocket, I'd hate to have my bare hand in the pocked, what with escaping gases from the forcing cone area as well as the blast at the muzzle not totally escaping through the hole the bullet creates.

[Overkill777]

After the first round I can't imagine there will be much of the pocket left.

[AK103K]

Get an old coat and try it out.

I understand the thought, Ive tried it myself, and I dont like the idea of having my hand trapped in a pocket, especially at the distances youre talking about having to use it here. If you think youre going to need it, better to have it out.

[TheDevilThatYouKnow]

Anything with an exposed hammer or a reciprocating slide risks getting bound up in whatever material the pocked is made from (to a greater or lesser extent.) I can't think of any semi-autos with non-reciprocating slides but I can think of a number of revolvers with shrouded hammers.

If one is forced by circumstance to fire through a pocket, I believe the common wisdom is to force the muzzle forward and through any hole created and lessen any blast during a follow up shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GtCkwcNjn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V3x_7OZw84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eegOK1CdkTI

[James K]

I once gave that idea some serious thought and the only feasible option would seem to be something like a concealed hammer J frame (e.g., a 642).*

The pocket will be burned by the flash from the b/c gap, but the muzzle blast will likely rip it right open. In a real emergency, that might be OK, but also note that the motion of the gun is pretty restricted - to aim the gun, you have to aim the pocket, which means twisting your body.

There might be some idea that firing from a pocket would hide the source of the shot, but that probably wouldn't be true, unless there are a whole lot of folks standing around with smoking pockets.

*Yes, I know about the High Standard derringer, but it is .22 LR or .22 WMR; and a Schwarzlose blow-forward has the same problem with a moving barrel that a conventional auto has with a moving slide, plus they just aren't reliable.

Jim

[michael t]

Old model 49 S&W Best to have coat open Then you can push pistol forward a bit when firing . It will blow a nice hole and your hand will survive
Go buy a old coat and try it . I feel it a 1 shot surprise As soon as you have fired should be clearing pocket . For any follow up.

[TXAZ]

The videos above are good. There could be a major personal safety issue here. There is a YouTube video of shooting from a purse, which catches on fire, amongst other problems, including great difficulty aiming.

[heyjoe]

while working from time to time depending on circumstances i would keep either a S&W 638 or a S&W 940 in a jacket pocket with my hand on it. I was fully prepared to shoot through the pocket if i had to. I never did.

[Pond, James Pond]

I've shot a snub from inside a pocket: it was a sort of competition limited to pocket pistols and snubs at my club. One stage was point shooting from a coat pocket.

Yes, the gases were warm, but only that: warm. First shot vents the pocket nicely and you can even then drive the muzzle out of the hole, but it also then pushes the lining taught, giving cylinder gap gases less room to disperse in before you knuckles feel them.

I don't think any of the Baby Brownings or LCPs fired more than one shot before they jammed due to slide restrictions. Snubs were fine although a shrouded hammer would have been better.

Don't use a Burberry raincoat.

[Auto5]

I tried this a number of years ago with an old coat and a snub revolver. The coat actually caught fire. I don't mean smoldering, I mean actual stop, drop and roll flames. In my case, I put the gun down, whipped off the coat and stomped on it until the flames were out. (Yes, there was video, but due to the rather extensive adult language, I won't show it.)

[44 AMP]

What is the point of shooting through a pocket, or a purse???

The point is to conceal, until the last moment, the fact that you are armed. To take the bad guy by surprise when you don't have the element of surprise or where draw and present runs you the serious risk of getting shot, first.

it is, literally, shooting from the hip, and one can only expect a hit at about double arms length. MAYBE its a good hit, maybe its not, maybe even a miss. The point is to get a shot, maybe even more than one, in order to change the situation, with the intent of giving you the time needed to draw, aim and fire, or run, or whatever else you feel is called for.

The conventional semi auto is at a serious handicap inside a pocket, and not JUST from restricted slide movement, but also, where is the fired case going to go??? conditions might be just right so the fired empty doesn't clear the ejection port, even IF the slide is not hung up on clothing.

Here is where the DA snubnose shines, especially those with an internal or shrouded hammer.

One friend I know recommends a baggie, too. Not the good ones with the ziplock, NOT freezer bags, but the thinnest, cheapie sandwich baggies. Easy to poke through with your trigger finger, and unlikely to hamper the mechanism of a DA revolver, and shredded on the first shot, generally.

Your call, of course, but the lint, grit, (actual tiny rocks) that somehow gets in my coat pockets could mess up even a revolver's function, of course at the worst possible time...

If you are going to practice this kind of thing, I suggest you practice getting your gun OUT of the pocket (after firing) as rapidly and smoothly as possible. This may involve getting you out of the coat. If that first (or second, if you get one) surprise shot doesn't end the problem, you are going to want that gun OUT of that pocket, really quickly.

And, that's not considering the possibility of fire...

[Deaf Smith]

I can visualize where one is walking to their car at night, hand in their coat pocket (around their S&W 642 Centennial) and if grabbed just fire through the coat.

Does not happen often but the Centennial excels at that kind of work.

And yep, I have several Centennials and I use one regularly. True I prefer my Glock 26 but the Centennial has it's place. Stoked with something like DPX 110 gr or Buffalo Bore 'non plus p' standard 158gr SWCHP at 850 fps and it will do well at close quarters.

Deaf

[849ACSO]

I tried this a number of years ago with an old coat and a snub revolver. The coat actually caught fire. I don't mean smoldering, I mean actual stop, drop and roll flames. In my case, I put the gun down, whipped off the coat and stomped on it until the flames were out. (Yes, there was video, but due to the rather extensive adult language, I won't show it.)

Since you won't show the video, I am forced to imagine............... And I find myself laughing out loud, almost uncontrollably.

[gyvel]

You can't go wrong with a Smith 640 or 940 for this.

[Hunter Customs]

I tried this a number of years ago with an old coat and a snub revolver. The coat actually caught fire. I don't mean smoldering, I mean actual stop, drop and roll flames.

Auto5, that was my concerns about doing this.
Some clothing material can catch on fire pretty easy, my chore coats always have to much hay in them for me to consider firing a gun inside one of their pockets.
I don't like the though of being a human torch.

[kraigwy]

I was in LE in Anchorage. It gets nippy up there sometimes. We were issued parka's that had a side zipper that was "suppose" to allow you access to your service revolver.

So I went to the range and tried drawing while wearing the parka. I wasn't impressed. It was slow at best, but more often the revolver got hung up.

So I stuck a J frame in my coat pocket and in calls where I might need my revolver I just had my hand in my pocket holding the revolver.

Never had to shoot from the pocket but it did give me great comfort.

Now, many years later I just carry my 642 in my pants pocket, and most times my hands are in my pocket.

I'm certainly not going to shoot from the inside of my pants pocket but with a bit of practice I've found it relatively easy to draw, fire and hit the A zone at 3 yards in about 0.4 seconds.

But if I was to get back in LE (not likely) and worked in a cold environment I probably would go back to carrying a J frame (non exposed hammer) in my parka pocket.

What I would recommend is getting one of those little Blue Training guns (J frame w/out hammer) and practice drawing from your pocket.
When you gain a bit of confidence, practice with your UNLOADED J frame.

after more confidence go to the range with a shot timer and work to get your times below a half second while hitting the target.

The go to the range, set up two targets, one for you, one for your shooting partner. Have your partner aim at the target, ready to fire. Your hand is holding your revolver in your pocket.

Have your partner fire when he sees you start to draw. After a bit of practice you'll find you can get your shot off first.

You can act faster then you can re-act.

Before you flame me, try it.

[wogpotter]

I know someone who tried this as a test years back.
A thrift store jacket was hung on a post at the firing line & some kind of shrouded hammer snubbie was fired several times.
It seemed to be working very well but then someone noticed the smoke was getting thicker even though the test was over.

Then we saw the flames start!

[tallball]

It is a sudden emergency thing. I can't imagine shooting through a coat pocket as a PLAN, but if you have a concealed hammer snubby in a coat pocket, and someone suddenly grabbed or grappled you before you could draw, you might have the option of shooting through the pocket if you absolutely had to.

It's not a great option, but it's nice to have it available in an extreme emergency.

[T. O'Heir]

"...fire from inside the pocket..." That'd be Hollywood stunt work. With a typical nylon encased winter coat, you'll melt. Ditto for polyester. With a cloth winter coat, you'll catch fire. And you'll be sending the shot to unknown places.
Common wisdom does not involve discharging a firearm in one's pocket.

[AK103K]

Thats the whole conundrum there. If they are close enough to force you to have to use it that way, unless they are a real twit, they are close enough to trap your hand in that pocket, and disable the gun, with a simple grip.

And at that point, why would they continue to stand there in front of you anyway, waiting to get shot? Even if you were to get a round off, if you missed, they are basically already on top of you, and your hand is now tied up and trapped in that pocket.

I guess I could maybe see it if I was not paying attention, and in very dire, last ditch straights, because I let them get that close, but I REALLY dont like the idea of my hand being in that pocket if they are anywhere in "effective" pocket shooting range. Take it out and palm it if need be. It'll be a lot more effective from there, than from that pocket. Depending on whats going on, and if "they" are paying attention, doing so might just stop things cold.

[Deaf Smith]

AK,

If they have you pinned to the floor, or wall, or car, etc... and you can get your hand in your pocket THEN you can empty the 640 into 'em.

I know of several altercations that were finished by the other guy getting a knife out and sticking them. So no doubt, as Zimmerman found, you might have a free hand to get that gun and let them have the contents (and unlike what may have happened to Zimmerman's gun, the Centennial won't jam.)

Deaf

[Kosh75287]

The question's far from pointless. IDEALLY, we will always have our sidearm out and ready to use, before the bad guys make it necessary. But sometimes, LIFE happens.

IDEALLY, I will always reload my 1911 before the slide locks back on an empty magazine. In the REAL world, I have an extended slide release on it, just in case.

I think it's worth some time (and old coats) to find out what happens if, by some unfortunate happenstance, we are forced to fire through a pocket. We're talking about the same distance at which quiet conversations are held, so reaction time could be crucial. If an aggressor has gotten closer than I like, and beats me to the start of the draw, I WILL, upon seeing his weapon's muzzle move toward me, fire through my coat.

I'll probably engage in all sorts of self-recrimination about faulty strategy and tactics after the event, but one MUST first SURVIVE the event, for the self-recrimination to happen.

[Ocraknife]

One could probably get one round off from an auto loader couldn't they?

[skizzums]

Although not an ideal situation, that new Honor Defense(?) pistol has that silly FiST thingy on the front, may make the situation slightly smoother, maybe not.