Possible?

[hubris]

In court the defendant says he fired a single shot from a Hi Point 9mm to scare someone. But the trigger 'stuck' and the pistol went full auto wounding two. I was sceptical.

[Shadow9mm]

Improbable yes, possible, also yes. But hard to say without more information. Could be anything from a worn or broken part to a stuck firing pin causing a run away slam fire.

[JustJake]

Wow!

Sounds gangsta-ish.

[Pahoo]

Improbable yes, possible, also yes. But hard to say without more information. Could be anything from a worn or broken part to a stuck firing pin causing a run away slam fire.

I've had one handgun that did this and you could never predict when and how many. It was a mechanical problem that no longer exists and neither does the handgun. By the way, when they go this way, the problem will keep showing up. Never heard of one time only. ..

Be Safe !!!

[jar]

Admitting in court that you fired a shot to scare someone is not a winning tactic; full stop.

[44 AMP]

Every semi auto has the potential to MALFUNCTION and go full auto. There are multiple possible reasons.

Claiming the trigger "stuck" and it fired twice instead of once is generally something that can be determined by a competent forensic firearm technician in a lab exam of the gun.

It is, however, possible that some bit of something could have caused the firing pin to stick (resulting in a slamfire) and be dislodged in the process so the lab could not get the gun to reproduce the double fire.

MUCH more likely is that in the high stress of the situation, the shooter simply does not REMEMBER pulling the trigger a second time, and therefore believes he didn't and the only explanation he can come up with is "the trigger stuck".

If it is due to a mechanical flaw, the lab will find it. IF its due to something else, the lab MIGHT figure it out. If its due to the faulty memory of the shooter, the lab won't find anything wrong with the gun.

[Willie Lowman]

I've never heard of a Hi-Point going fullauto but I guess it could happen.

Years ago my stepbrother had a Jennings that would fire fullauto till it would jam. Usually 3 rounds. I convinced him to destroy it by cutting it to pieces with a torch as it was a legal nightmare.

[hubris]

Originally Posted by jar

Admitting in court that you fired a shot to scare someone is not a winning tactic; full stop.

He had already taken a plea. This was a sentencing hearing.

[D-Ric902]

Generally a “double” is just that.
Not a full magazine

[Captain Nice]

I have a Colt Gold Cup purchased in 1975 which I had fired several thousand rounds through without a blip. On one occasion while shooting at my local range the gun doubled on me. At first I thought it was me as the gun is tuned with a three pound trigger. I continued firing the gun and it happened again. At that point I grew suspicious, stopped shooting and a few days later took it to a Gunsmith to have it inspected. The Smith said there was no problem with the trigger or disconnecter and everything else with the gun seemed okay. I continued to have the problem. After firing the gun at the range I took it home and disassembled it for cleaning and noticed that the firing pin was sticking in its recess with the pin exposed through the breech. The light bulb went on. I pulled the pin from the slide and sure enough the rear end of the pin had expanded due to the battering of the hammer over the years and caused it not to recoil back through the firing pin retainer before the next round was chambered. This was the reason for the slam fire double discharge. I am fortunate to have an Atlas metal turning lath which I inherited from my father. On the lathe I trimmed a slight amount of metal from the rear of the pin with a fine file. I also cut a slight bevel at the rear of the pin to mitigate any continued expansion. I reassembled the gun, took it to the range and the problem has not occurred since.

[44 AMP]

Just out of curiosity, did you tell the gunsmith what to look at, or suggest anything, or did you say "this is what it does, figure out what's wrong and fix it"??

If the latter then I'd say the smith failed.

Now, he SHOULD have noticed a stuck firing pin, but its not impossible, IF you told him what to look at, that he ONLY looked at those parts and nothing else.

If it were me, I'd either be looking for another smith, or if he were a nice guy and amenable to instruction, I'd be giving him lessons (not on how to use his tools, but on inspections and troubleshooting ). Even the pros miss things sometimes...

[reynolds357]

It can happen with a Glock.

[reynolds357]

Originally Posted by jar

Admitting in court that you fired a shot to scare someone is not a winning tactic; full stop.

They could say they were doing what President Biden told them to do. (serious, not political) Joe said fire a shotgun in the air a couple times to scare a burglar off. He was V.P. when he said it. Following the instructions of the V.P, Now President, sounds like a sound legal strategy to me.

[Captain Nice]

Just a quick response to 44 AMP
The issue related in my post happened a number of years ago. I do not recall exactly what I told the Smith but I am certain I did inform him of the doubling issue. As for the Smith, he is a well-known and highly respected Gunsmith in my area. As a matter of fact, he did a trigger job on my Colt Gold Cup which had a very annoying trigger creep. I do not know for sure if he test fired the gun before arriving at his conclusion. The issue did not happen every time I fired the gun, so I'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt as to the thoroughness of his inspection. Also in my post, I failed to mention that my Gold Cup is a series 70 model which is without the firing pin drop safety parts. So I subsequently did replace the original firing pin which I had corrected the problem with a light weight titanium firing pin from Brownell's to mitigate the possibility of an accidental discharge if the gun is dropped.

Thank you for your input.