From another forum
I shoot a lot of IDPA matches, and a few IPSC matches. At the conclusion of every stage, I end up unloading my pistol, showing clear, and then re-holstering. For a while I got into the habit of dropping the partial magazine, stuffing it my pocket, then cupping my hand over the ejection port, and ejecting the chambered round directly into my right hand. (I'm a lefty.)
Anyway, one time a range officer told me that he didn't recommend I keep doing that. He said that at some matches you HAD to let the cartridge from the chamber hit the floor before you retrieved it, or you'd be penalized. I sort of ignored him, but did remember that. Then somebody else told me about "the guy that had a round ignite as he was removing it from the gun with his hand over the ejection port." Then I heard about "that guy" again at another match. Sooner or later I read about "that guy" on the internet. I was beginning to wonder if "that guy" even existed.
Well fast forward to the Maryland State IDPA Championship. I was shooting the last stage of the day, and after we were done, I met "that guy." He's got scars on his hand to prove it, and apparently it took him months to regain functionality in that hand.
The more I ask around, the more I find out that there's likely more than just one "that guy." I'm beginning to think it has happened somewhat infrequently. I don't know if this is happening because an ejector is hitting a primer or something else is causing the ignition.
That said, I stopped catching the round. I just let it hit the deck. After I'm holstered up, I'll sometimes pick it up if it isn't in a pile of brass and I can easily find it. Otherwise I'll just let it go. I'm reloading, so if I chuck a round on the ground, that's the equivalent of me tossing $0.075 on the ground for every stage. Even for a major match, if I don't pick back up any of those rounds, I'm now out a total of $1.13ish. If there's even an infinitesimal chance that I can screw up parts of my body, I figure that's money well spent (wasted?).
So anyway, just something for you to consider....
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I'm not sure what would cause this malfunction (I suspect overtuned gun malfunction). But it does seem a better idea to just let the round hit the dirt anyway. Some of them can be quite warm after a match string. |
