#wheelgunwednesday

In my “Off-duty Shootouts of the LAPD” presentations, one section is devoted to Notable Incidents – Unintentional Discharges. The LAPD still authorizes snub revolvers for backup and off-duty carry. Unintentional Discharges occur to both revolvers and autoloaders, although there are no reported on-duty UDs with revolvers. Off-duty is when they occur. I’ve written about this before. https://thetacticalprofessor.net/2020/08/19/dry-practice-safety/

No doubt someone will comment that the correct term is Negligent Discharge. The LAPD uses the terms Unintentional Discharge, Negligent Discharge, and Accidental Discharge in very specific context, so I will use their terminology here.

A common cause of Unintentional Discharges is Impromptu Dry Practice and faulty unloading procedures. Another is attempting to clean/maintain loaded weapons. Upon conclusion of the investigation, such incidents will be adjudicated by the Board of Police Commissioners as Negligent.

NON-TACTICAL UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGE – 040-19     UD at home

NON-TACTICAL UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGE – 076-08      UD at hotel

NON-TACTICAL UNINTENTIONAL DISCHARGE – 014-23      UD at Rampart Station

Example Proximate Cause of UD

Officer A placed his left hand under the open cylinder and used his left index finger to depress the ejector rod, releasing the live rounds into his left hand. Officer A did not count the live rounds and placed them on top of the kitchen counter directly behind him. Officer A then closed the cylinder and pressed the trigger twice.

According to Officer A, believing his revolver was still unloaded, he placed his finger on the trigger and pressed it a third time, which caused the revolver to discharge a single round. No one was injured by the discharge.

Since my previous post, an even better solution and accompanying procedure has become available. The solution is the SafeSnap™ Training Disc for 5-Shot J-frame Size Revolvers. https://zetasix.com/product/safesnap-5/

Fair disclaimer: I was involved in the development of the SafeSnap™ but I receive no compensation for commenting about it.

The procedure works as follows. Have a SafeSnap and a twist knob speedloader such as HKS, 5 Star, or Lyman of the correct size for your revolver. Keep both of them readily available.

When you decide to dry practice or do maintenance on your revolver, get them before doing anything.

1. Take the live cartridges out.
2. Count and secure them in the twist knob Speedloader. If there are any empty holes left in the speedloader, the FBI calls that ‘a clue.’
3. Put the SafeSnap™ Training Disc in the revolver.
4. Do your dry practice or maintenance.
5. When finished, don’t reload the gun.
6. Do something else to occupy your mind and remove dry practice from your thoughts.
7. When you do reload, say “This gun is loaded” out loud three times.

Using such a procedure will go a long way toward preventing Unintentional Discharges. Nevertheless, muzzle direction is still the Primary Safety; always has been, always will be.

The SafeSnap™ is also available for K frames and LCRs. There are other procedures appropriate for autoloaders but this post is specific to revolvers.

Other causes of Unintentional Discharges

• Administratively carrying or handling loaded handguns without a holster
• High stress tactical situations
• Drunkenness

Final note: It’s also inappropriate to dry practice using your girlfriend’s cat as a target.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/04/17/brief-gillette-man-didnt-know-gun-was-loaded-when-he-shot-pet-cat-dead/ Not only will it sour your relationship with her but could conceivably lead to Animal Cruelty charges, which are a Felony in most States.

If you are interested in more in-depth commentary about shooting and Personal Protection incident analysis, please consider subscribing to my Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/TacticalProfessor