HOW TO SAFELY DECOCK A PISTOL WITHOUT A DECOCKER

[pkaran]

Hi,

A few days ago, I went to my Rifle Club to take a few shots from my Ashani MK-III, which was fully loaded. When I finished firing 4 shots, had decided to pull out the magazine and expel any bullet already chambered. However, to my dismay I noticed that the magazine ejector would not work (probably because the pistol was still loaded). Ashani MK-III does not have a Decocker. In this condition, how would you safely decock the Pistol, because I consider it unsafe to carry a Pistol in cocked position? Please exclude the ‘thumb squeeze’ method which too is considered unsafe.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

moved post to appropriate forum - modertor

[dev]

In my Mark 2, I work the slide till all the bullets are ejected. Work the slide back and lock it with the safety. Ensure that the magazine and barrel hold no cartridges in them. Then I take the safety off, release the slide and squeeze the trigger while keeping the barrel pointed in a safe direction. Remove the magazine and reinsert a loaded one if need be. This is what works for me. I am not an expert and have owned a real pistol for only seven or so years. So you may want to wait for more experienced people to weigh in.

[Peacefulguns]

Excellent question. I am thinking of replacing my revolver with a pistol. Critical info.

[Vineet]

Hi,

A few days ago, I went to my Rifle Club to take a few shots from my Ashani MK-III, which was fully loaded. When I finished firing 4 shots, had decided to pull out the magazine and expel any bullet already chambered. However, to my dismay I noticed that the magazine ejector would not work (probably because the pistol was still loaded). Ashani MK-III does not have a Decocker. In this condition, how would you safely decock the Pistol, because I consider it unsafe to carry a Pistol in cocked position? Please exclude the ‘thumb squeeze’ method which too is considered unsafe.

What do you mean by ‘magazine ejector’ ?
Do you mean ‘magazine button’ ?

Firstly, there is no such thing that you can not remove the magazine if the chamber is loaded. If such a thing happened, get your pistol checked by a good gunsmith.

Secondly, if you remove the magazine, the trigger won’t work because these pistols have a safety feature that won’t let the pistol fire if there is no magazine in it.

Thirdly, never decock the hammer of IOF pistol on loaded chamber because there is no half cock feature in it. If you put down the hammer on loaded chamber, the hammer will rest on firing pin and the firing pin will rest on primer of the live round. The pistol can go off on slight bump to the hammer.

[rahulbdelhi]

Thirdly, never decock the hammer of IOF pistol on loaded chamber because there is no half cock feature in it. If you put down the hammer on loaded chamber, the hammer will rest on firing pin and the firing pin will rest on primer of the live round. The pistol can go off on slight bump to the hammer.

A very valid point Vineet ji. However I was wondering, wouldn't we have the same problem in the IOF revolver if its fully loaded?

[Vineet]

IOF revolver won’t go off on slight bump to the hammer but it will go off if it falls down and hammer takes all the hit. This has happened many times. Sometimes people were lucky, the bullet missed them and sometimes people have got hit.

The best way to carry IOF revolver is to carry it with five cylinders loaded and keep the cylinder aligned with the firing pin empty.

Making a revolver fall safe is not a rocket science. Foreign companies have been making fall safe revolver 100 years back. It’s a shame that IOF is so much behind.

[pkaran]

Dear Vineet,
Thanks for responding!

Your Question:
What do you mean by ‘magazine ejector’, do you mean magazine button?

The ‘button’ acts as an ‘ejector’ which is the appropriate term. So, we both mean the same thing.

Question No.2:
Yes, it happened when there were 6 more rounds, one of which in the barrel and the remainder in the magazine. The ejector (button) refused to operate until the magazine was fully unloaded.

When I fired the whole ten rounds, I was able to eject the magazine. I know that it was not safe to carry the gun in cocked position.

I know that the trigger would not operate when the chamber has no magazine, which is a safety feature.

There are several videos on Youtube showing how to decock a gun by gradually squeeze-sliding the left-hand thumb, but this is not 100% safe as the hammer is under pressure and can still go off accidentally. Some people advise never to buy a gun without a decoker but most handguns in India still do not incorporate this feature.

[Vineet]

Question No.2:
Yes, it happened when there were 6 more rounds, one of which in the barrel and the remainder in the magazine. The ejector (button) refused to operate until the magazine was fully unloaded.

Get your pistol checked by a good gunsmith.

Some people advise never to buy a gun without a decoker but most handguns in India still do not incorporate this feature.

If you know how your pistol works, you understand it’s working completely then decocker is not required. Colt 1911 which is most famous pistol of 20th century did not have a decocker nor does Glock (one the most famous current pistol) has a decocker.

[pkaran]

There are several videos by Europeans strongly recommending not to buy a pistol without a decocker. I know that millions have been sold but when you identify a glitch, you need a solution. This is called technology upgradation. As a firearms seller who has stocked uncountable pistols without this device, I know that you definitely do not want people to look at this safety feature as anything important but it does matter!

[pkaran]

Vineet,
Honestly, I do not know whether there is a revolver with a decocker ever built. Ashani MK-III is not a revolver, for your kind info!
Please read the post carefully before attempting to respond to it. No offence meant.

[pkaran]

Also, I request you to speak with particular reference to Ashani MK-III whose behaviour was the point of discussion. A Colt or a Glock may behave differently in the situation where Ashani MK-III does.

[Kittu]

Hi,

A few days ago, I went to my Rifle Club to take a few shots from my Ashani MK-III, which was fully loaded. When I finished firing 4 shots, had decided to pull out the magazine and expel any bullet already chambered. However, to my dismay I noticed that the magazine ejector would not work (probably because the pistol was still loaded). Ashani MK-III does not have a Decocker. In this condition, how would you safely decock the Pistol, because I consider it unsafe to carry a Pistol in cocked position? Please exclude the ‘thumb squeeze’ method which too is considered unsafe.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

moved post to appropriate forum - modertor

Rotate slide six times this will eject all live cartridges from magazine now you can pull magazine out.
MK III is also a revolver model.
many pistols have safety on slide on these models you can engage safety and lower your hammer thats what you are calling decocker?
double action pistols like ppk,htc mauser have safety on slide that blocks firing pin from falling on primer asahani blocks hammer and it will not
engage if hammer is down it will engage only if hammer is cocked.if you keep a round chambered and hammer down firing pin will rest on primer.
carrying pistol in this manner is also not safe.sorry i mistook your pistol with hammer less model.

[Vineet]

Vineet,
Honestly, I do not know whether there is a revolver with a decocker ever built. Ashani MK-III is not a revolver, for your kind info!
Please read the post carefully before attempting to respond to it. No offence meant.

Can you please point out where I have called the Ashani mk 3 pistol a revolver ?

[Vineet]

As a firearms seller who has stocked uncountable pistols without this device, I know that you definitely do not want people to look at this safety feature as anything important but it does matter!

Gun shop is not my family business. I got gun shop license in 2014 out of love for weapons. Money is the last thing that I think when it comes to firearms. I am a landlord and god has given me enough. Gun shop is my side business as a hobby.

Coming to decocker, it’s not that accident won’t happen if a handgun has a decocker. Accidents can happen with a decocker as well. It was first introduced in 1938 and if it would have been something very useful then all the other companies would have copied it.

Companies like Glock believes that lesser the parts in a pistol, more reliable the pistol is. They don’t give manual safety, magazine safety or grips safety in their pistols.

IOF pistol has all the three safeties mentioned above. If you still don’t feel safe with it then believe me you need to learn more about firearms. As they say in US, the best safety is between your ears.

[shooter50]

Hi,

A few days ago, I went to my Rifle Club to take a few shots from my Ashani MK-III, which was fully loaded. When I finished firing 4 shots, had decided to pull out the magazine and expel any bullet already chambered. However, to my dismay I noticed that the magazine ejector would not work (probably because the pistol was still loaded). Ashani MK-III does not have a Decocker. In this condition, how would you safely decock the Pistol, because I consider it unsafe to carry a Pistol in cocked position? Please exclude the ‘thumb squeeze’ method which too is considered unsafe.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!

moved post to appropriate forum - modertor

Interesting original and subsequent posts. As I infer from what you have posted - your pistol (Ashani Mk iii) did not eject the magazine when you pressed the magazine release catch. You have not mentioned that the slide was jammed so I presume it was working fine. Please do not take offence, a decocker or a side safety has nothing to do with the solution of your problem.
All pistols (except some made for special purposes) should eject the magazine on the press of the magazine release catch or button. Your Ashani did not do so therefore you need to take it to a competent Gunsmith. If this was your first time with the pistol or you used it after a very long time a through cleaning of the magazine recess may help.
If faced with a situation in which there is a loaded magazine which does not release and also a live cartridge in the chamber what you need to do is to move the slide manually back and forth keeping your finger outside the trigger guard, with a firm grip and the pistol pointed in a safe direction. Easy to describe but difficult to do, believe me requires a lot of practice. You keep moving the slide until it ejects all the cartridges that the magazine holds. it should lock open when all the cartridges have been expelled but then there could be another malfunction and this may not happen. In that case move the slide back and forth till it has no cartridge to expel and look inside the chamber to see that there is no cartridge. Pick up your live ammunition from the ground, clean the dirt and you are good to go again.
If there is a live cartridge in the chamber, the magazine does not drop and the slide is jammed as well, then you have a serious problem. Leave the pistol pointing in a safe direction and call an expert.
In my own experience of carrying a loaded pistol for almost 40 years and firing more than 50 thousand rounds in different pistol calibers, I have never felt the need for a decocker. A side safety is good enough. In fact I have used the side safety also rarely. But then it is all a matter of training and personal preference. My final word of advice would be to practice with your pistol as much as is possible.
All the best.