TTAG Commentator GeneralPatton6 emailed a heads-up on a story from concordmonitor.com.

How do you accidentally shoot your wife, twice, through a wall? The man responsible, Mark Hilson, says he’s “never seen a gun discharge that way.” Me neither. My understanding of firearms tells me there’s only one way for a gun to go off. Trigger, hammer, firing pin, primer, bang. The reports say the gun was a Beretta; I don’t know how adjustable the triggers are. I’ve heard of 1911’s going “full auto” by adjusting the trigger too much, but not DA/SA guns. I’ve also heard of “open chamber discharges” in 1911’s, but that’s it. (I had a friend run a bullet down his leg from one of those.) Obviously, Mark Hillson broke two or more “gun rules,” so he definitely qualifies for an IGOTD. The grand jury doesn’t see it that way. Neither do I.

17 COMMENTS

  1. Often, after my wife and I have a “discussion” that is not an argument (really!), we go to separate rooms, shut and lock the doors, and I pull out one of my guns and “wipe it down”. I mean, who doesn’t?

  2. I believe an “open chamber discharge” ocurrs when you have a double feed jam and you have a primer up against the firing pin and somehow the firing pin contacts the primer while the chamber is open. I have a couple emails out to get more information so I will post when I get more info.

  3. He looks so cute in his orange jump suit. Jail guuuurrrrll.
    the gun was a Beretta;
    says he’s “never seen a gun discharge that way.”
    Must be a high tech weapon that is beyond his mental capacity.

  4. Like a boss, that’s how.

    Seriously, am I the only one that’s impressed that this guy is using liberals fear of guns magically “going off” to try and beat a murder charge?

  5. Wait a second, what about “fire following”?? This would account for multiple shots but he still would have had to do a “press check” or accentuate the slide somehow.

  6. How do you adjust the trigger on a 1911 to go full auto? On the surface it sounds like it might be fun to fire a full auto pistol, but given how much my muzzle flips with one shot, I suppose that if it happened to me, I’d have several rounds into the ceiling.

    • Basically, you adjust the trigger travel so much that after you fire the first round the sear won’t be able to re-engage the hammer and the hammer continues to fall, firing every shot till the gun is empty. It isn’t true full auto, it is an uncontrolled emptying of the gun. Not recommended.

  7. I’m not saying I believe this guy but my Springfield Armory XDm .40 has double fired on me several times. It isn’t the first gun I’ve seen double either. Weird things do happen. That doesn’t mean I believe the guy accidentally shot his wife through a wall.

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