Decocker Question.

[Herr Walther]

There is absolutely no way the Walther P5 or P88 will fire when decocked. The firing pin is in a lowered position and can only be raised to a firing position by pressing the trigger.

Pressing the trigger raises the firing pin the last third of trigger travel.

 

[carguychris]

If I put a pencil down the barrel, on any handgun, and pull the trigger, the pencil had darn well better go flying!
If the firing pin is thrust forward, by hammer or striker, with enough energy to pop a primer, it will eject a pencil from the barrel.

Just for kicks, I tried this with a random sample of guns from my safe, albeit with the barrels pointed near-vertical. Brand new #2 pencil, eraser end down. DA/SA pistols were tested using the DA pull. The DA/SA revolver had to be hand-cocked because the cylinder won't turn with a pencil through it.

S&W M&P9 full-size, S&W Model 15 revolver: Pencil jumped almost 2".

SIG P226: Pencil jumped about 1".

Beretta 84BB: Pencil jumped about 3/4". Note that this pistol has an inertial firing pin.

NONE of these guns would eject the pencil, yet NONE of them have ever had an ignition-related malfunction when I've fired them.

My S&W M3904 (which I recently sold) would fling pencils nearly to the ceiling, and you could practically play pencil Airsoft with it if you held the barrel horizontal. That said, this amount of firing pin force obviously isn't necessary to set off most primers.

 

[Yung.gunr]

The only thing I liked about the Beretta 9000S that I had was the safety/decocker. You push the safety down to put it on safe, then while on safe you push the safety farther down and it decocked it. I REALLY liked that. So many different ways to carry it with that system. But yeah, the decocker would not fire the gun.

The whole shooting the pencil thing, I have a Mosin Nagant (91/30) and it puts those pencils a ways out there. I'm talking beyond the mile long barrel. They were not messing around with those firing pins.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

My S&W M3904 (which I recently sold) would fling pencils nearly to the ceiling, and you could practically play pencil Airsoft with it if you held the barrel horizontal.

My 5906 will send a pencil about 3'. I have noticed the strikes on my primers to be heavy and deep as well. CCI primers in my reloads that is.

Speaking of the overkill on the 3rd Generation S&W's firing pin, I wonder if there was a reason for it back then? Harder primers more common back then?

When you have the mag loaded in the pistol and pull the slide back and put a round into the chamber when you press the decocker will it fire that round in the chamber?

I use my decocker on a regular basis on my 5906. I also have on the P90.

Both of these have blocks that rotate in front of the firing pin. But the 5906 disengages the trigger whereas the P90 locks the trigger on reset.The blocking mechanisms are stainless solid through. Extremely hard to break, if breakable given the location and design.

I don't know about your design, but I use my decokers purposefully for practice. It allows me to shoot the first round in DA and transition to SA Just as I would have to going live for SD.

I am not saying to trust yours given different design however. There is no amount of money that can bring back a life. But there is no reason you can't decock the gun while pointing at the target.

 

[Bart Noir]

The difference in "pencil jump" distances is easily explained:

Some people put the eraser against the firing pin, and some don't.

Bart Noir
Who has a hard time explaining the mechanical pencil firmly stuck in the .32 barrel (kidding, of course).

 

[44 AMP]

But there is no reason you can't decock the gun while pointing at the target.

If your target is paper down range, perfect. If you are aiming at a person who was the target, until things resolved, its a very bad idea.