Taurus TCP Jammed, or so I thought

[Mousegun]

My friend's wife bought a TCP 380 wing.  The one with small tabs on the slide to assist in racking.

She let my wife give it a try in anticipation of a future purchase.  I cleaned it for her, polished the ramp and breech, lubed it and returned it better than before.

Yesterday she calls and said she couldn't rack it.  The slide only moved about 1/4 inch.  I had her bring it over this morning.

I played hates trying to get the take down pin out, but eventually it came.  I got the slide off and attempted to pull the trigger with no luck.  The hammer stayed back.

Bout that time my brain kicked in and I looked at her and said, "where is your key?"  The look on her face was priceless.  The TCP is one of the few semi-autos that can be locked inoperative as a safety measure.

She sheepishly reached in her purse and produced the repair device.  I unlocked it and showed her how to put the gun back together, while all the time she was apologizing and saying how she now recalled locking it.

I told her a gun in a locked condition is worse than a paperweight and we both had a good laugh.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Being able to disable a firearm is not a feature, it is a flaw.

[chances R]

1 hour ago, Dolomite_supafly said:

Being able to disable a firearm is not a feature, it is a flaw.

Not necessarily if one has kids around.

[felinesNfreedom]

15 minutes ago, chances R said:

Not necessarily if one has kids around.

Leave it locked up or unloaded. 

[RED333]

1 hour ago, chances R said:

Not necessarily if one has kids around.

 

1 hour ago, XxthejuicexX said:

Leave it locked up or unloaded. 

Better yet teach the kids about firearms, how and when to handle them. No need to hide what the kids know is there.

[Mousegun]

She locked it for an even worse reason than the above.  She had to into a gun free zone and leave the gun in her car.  She figured if anyone robbed it, the gun would be inoperative and cause no further harm.

It is the gun free zone that makes all the reasoning bad.  There should be none.

[chances R]

Just out of curiosity, what was the gun-free zone, especially where a lock would make the difference?  Red, not all kids in a household may be old enough to address firearms with certainty.  Also some may be visitors to a house that require additional measures of storage/safety; there are varying circumstances, some which may be unique.  I understand that most are simply trying to make the point that a gun should be loaded and ready for immediate use if it is primary defensive weapon.  However everyone has to make a judgement call on how that gun is stored and who can access the weapon.  Loaded weapons with easy access by the wrong people have made headlines numerous times, we don't need anymore.  Be safe.

[RED333]

Well I will get flack on this, but bad parenting is just that. I taught mine at a very young age not to touch a hot stove. No I did not put their hand on a hot stove, we taught them what hot is.  Firearms are the same way, do not touch. Visiting kids parents were giving a talk about what their kids knew. We knew the parents well and their kids to.

I dont care how well you keep stuff up and away and locked up, a kid will find a way to get at it. When someone new to us comes over we pull them to the side and tell the parents that their child is to be kept a very close eye on. We have a pool, way more danger then a firearm. Being a good parent is very tuff, not something to be made lite of. Some parents think it is OK to let a kid run wild, not in my house, all kids become mine in my house. I am not saying I just leave a firearm laying around. They are accessible to a point and they are loaded.

Edited May 1, 2017 by RED333
because I can

[Mousegun]

13 hours ago, chances R said:

Just out of curiosity, what was the gun-free zone, especially where a lock would make the difference?

 

I think it was a posted store and if she felt the gun should be locked to make it inoperative should it be stolen, so be it.  I know she will not make that same mistake again.

Some Smith and Wesson revolvers now have a locking capability.  The model 638 and 642 for instance are two of them.  The result of a "potential" lawsuit or something.  The company chose to stay ahead of the game.  I don't remember the exact details. 

 

[JAB]

On 5/1/2017 at 10:39 AM, Mousegun said:

 

Yeah, my 642 has a lock on it.  Don't ask me where the key is - I have never used it and never plan to.  If the lock had been optional when I bought it I would have gone with 'no'.  I think that the key is probably in the plastic case that came with the gun - I usually try to keep such things around somewhere in case the lock somehow, accidentally engages.

Edited May 2, 2017 by JAB

[bersaguy]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 8:46 PM, RED333 said:

Well I will get flack on this, but bad parenting is just that. I taught mine at a very young age not to touch a hot stove. No I did not put their hand on a hot stove, we taught them what hot is.  Firearms are the same way, do not touch. Visiting kids parents were giving a talk about what their kids knew. We knew the parents well and their kids to.

I dont care how well you keep stuff up and away and locked up, a kid will find a way to get at it. When someone new to us comes over we pull them to the side and tell the parents that their child is to be kept a very close eye on. We have a pool, way more danger then a firearm. Being a good parent is very tuff, not something to be made lite of. Some parents think it is OK to let a kid run wild, not in my house, all kids become mine in my house. I am not saying I just leave a firearm laying around. They are accessible to a point and they are loaded.

You won't get an argument out of me when it comes to other peoples children. Any friends that come to my house make sure they keep their chldren under control and never let them out of their site. I guess that is why I don't get a lot company that have children in tow. I don't have guns down where child can gain easy access to them and if I do people coming to visit know to call first and any room that has guns down low are locked prior to their arrival. I live alone and my home is my castle and I live in it the way I choose to...........................

[Murgatroy]

On 4/30/2017 at 6:06 PM, RED333 said:

 

Better yet teach the kids about firearms, how and when to handle them. No need to hide what the kids know is there.

My daughter is 10 and able to handle a firearm better than many adults and has been for over half of her life. She is an accomplished shooter with many trophies to her name. I have NEVER worried about leaving a loaded firearm around her. She knows when to touch one, and when not to touch once.

 

And that is because she was taught from a young age about use and care of firearms.

[chances R]

Good, well, and proper as it should be.  However you have her untrained and uneducated friends to deal with at home and elsewhere .  As she gets older then the influence of at least lipstick and gasoline.

Education / training is essential but proper storage is insurance and peace of mind.

[Camaro_nut2001]

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 3:21 PM, bersaguy said:

You won't get an argument out of me when it comes to other peoples children. Any friends that come to my house make sure they keep their chldren under control and never let them out of their site. I guess that is why I don't get a lot company that have children in tow. I don't have guns down where child can gain easy access to them and if I do people coming to visit know to call first and any room that has guns down low are locked prior to their arrival. I live alone and my home is my castle and I live in it the way I choose to...........................

This is the way I am. I live alone as well and everybody that knows me, including my female friend, calls or texts me before they come to my house. I have 3 nephews ages 6, 8 and 10 and one of them comes with Pap's, my Father, every Tuesday morning. He calls me EVERY Tuesday morning when he's about 5 minutes away to let me know which boy he has with him. The oldest hunts with Pap's, has taken the hunter safety course, has his own gun and knows every gun is loaded and not to touch it unless he is given permission. The other two haven't started hunting yet but the 8yr old has his own BB gun that stays in the safe at my parents house. He get's to shoot it, supervised by Pap's, when he comes over to visit sometimes. I'm in a wheelchair now, have MS, and have a gun, that is "hot", on me at all times in an ankle holster. Also I may have one or two laying on the table that have just been cleaned or I am going to clean. If he has the youngest one with him I do put any gun's that are laying out back in the safe and also unholster my carry gun and put it in the drawer that's in a table beside my recliner until they leave. He likes to sit in my lap and drive my chair so I don't take any chances of his foot accidentally kicking the gun while he's in my lap. I was raised around gun's and started hunting with my Father when I was around 10yrs. old.

[Grayfox54]

Back in about 1999, the Clinton administration basically declared war on gun manufacturers threatening lawsuits for making "unsafe" products. In early 2000, S&W (owned by a British company at the time) signed an agreement with the Clinton government which caved into their demands and supposedly freed them from litigation. (it didn't)  Thus the infamous "internal lock" was born. They were the first company to do so, but a few others were thinking about it. The shooting public was outraged and boycotted S&W products and pushed the company right to the edge of bankruptcy. S&W finally very publicly canceled  that agreement to save their butts. Time passed, S&W was sold to an American company, all was forgiven and S&W bounced back. Yet, the internal lock is still there in all but a very few S&W revolvers.

Opinions on S&W's internal lock vary. Its a bad design right from the start. While it does work perfectly well most of the time, there have been enough documented cases of the lock engaging accidentally by itself and  freezing the gun during firing, that many people will not trust a gun with it. I do believe S&W now has the bugs worked out of it as I haven't seen a report of a Smith "locking" in several years now.  However, there's always that little bit of lingering doubt. Some people buy S&Ws with locks and think nothing of it. Some buy the gun and disable the lock immediately and others just won't own a S&W with a lock. I belong to that latter group.