Tuesday, August 25, 2009

What's wrong with this picture?

Other than being held by a posturing buffoon, can anyone tell me what's wrong with this man's pistol?

Highlight For Spoiler -> He did not check his weapon upon chambering a round. The slide does not appear to have gone completely into battery. It will not fire like that. He is holding a small and ineffective club.

29 comments:

Revolver Rob said...

Out of battery Taurus for the win!

Kevin said...

First thing I thought: "it's out of battery". Next thing I thought: "it's only good FOR battery!".

Sigh.

Anonymous said...

I know tellers are trained to just give money to end the situation.. but are they allowed to giggle at him while they do so?

Anonymous said...

*Eddie Murphy voice*

Hey, man, someone stole your battree.

Shootin' Buddy
Keepin' it real

NotClauswitz said...

Nice haircut - but how come he's not wearing a baseball cap?

Mikael said...

Nice trifecta... holding an out of battery gun sideways with the finger on the trigger.

WV: fachot (I'm not sure what that is, but sounds derogatory)

og said...

"what's wrong with this man's pistol?"

You mean besides being wielded by a dumbass?

B Smith said...

I'm just surprised CNN didn't report that he was, "brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle"

Tam said...

Silly! That's an assault pistol. ;)

Anonymous said...

What's with the slide? It looks funny.

Anonymous said...

Ah.

Kristophr said...

Where is the shoulder thing that goes up?

Only thing missing is the person CCWing behind him dumping 5 rounds of .38 from a smith in his back. That'l wipe that snear off of his face ...

Erik said...

I'd like to have seen someone else in the bank go: "That's not a gun! *This* is a gun..."

Anonymous said...

someone should tell CNN tha the only "help he needs" includes a 8x9 room with bars for a door!!

James R. Rummel said...

I'm not sure that is an actual firearm. Does anyone know of a handgun that has a large ring in place of the rear sights like that?

Tam said...

I'm not seeing a large ring, I'm seeing a Taurus Millennium rear sight.

Tam said...

It's getting too pixellated when I blow it up with the poopy software I'm using, tho'...

James R. Rummel said...

"It's getting too pixellated when I blow it up with the poopy software I'm using, tho'..."

I might have a slightly better resolution on the pic I used on my blog. It seems reasonably clear when I view it using Windows Picture Viewer.

http://hellinahandbasket.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/bank-robber-with-gangsta-hold.jpg

It could be an artifact of the image, or it could possibly be something in the background that just lines up with the gun by some fluke. But it appears to me that there is a big fin sticking out the back of the gun where the rear sights are normally attached. A big fin with a hole through it, like something your finger would go in.

I carry a Taurus Millennium, and I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. In fact, I don't think I've seen anything like that on any handgun, Taurus or not.

Which lends credence to the idea that it is an image artifact of some kind. But it does look peculiar to me.

cma said...

Looks like the slide is on backwards. If it could be made to fire that way, it would be the perfect gun for that moron.

Sarah said...

Oh, I see the problem now, after pondering this for a few moments. The dude doesn't have HomeBoy Nyte-Sytes on his gat.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/08/22/sideways_gun_sight.jpg

Reputo said...

Self Defense dilemma,

If confronted with this perp, would you legally be allowed to draw on him and shoot him dead with the knowledge that his firearm is out of battery? Or can you only draw and show him what a firearm in battery looks like?

Crucis said...

Shoulda chosen a wheelgun. But then, he'd probably forget to latch the cylinder.

WV: hooti

Yep, it surely is.

Chris M said...

What looks like an overly large rear aperture sight is part of the sofa behind him, one of the dark stripes.

TOTWTYTR said...

The only thing wrong with this picture is that the nitwit isn't lying, well ventilated, on the floor of the bank.

I'm not sure that if I were actually there, I'd be in a position to tell if the weapon was in battery or not.

Unknown said...

I don't know about the battery, the rear seems OK but the front looks weird, almost like a Taser. And that big triangle thing doesn't look like a part of the sofa. Maybe a toy? Homemade modifications? Sure could use some quality magnification...

Robert said...

Yeah, that guy robbed 2 banks here. They know his name now and he's not gonna stay free for long.

Anonymous said...

so...forgive me for being a noob, but what does it mean that it's out of battery? did he leave his fresh AA's at home?

Crucis said...

Probably someone will beat me in replying. "Out-of-battery" means that the pistol didn't fully seat the cartridge. Unlike a revolver, to load a cartridge, the slide is pulled all the way back and let go. As the slide moves forward, it strips a cartridge off the magazine, seats it into the chambers and locks into place. The backward movement also cocks the pistol as well. If the slide is not fully seated, in battery in other words, it won't fire.

azlibertarian said...

Reputo
"...If confronted with this perp, would you legally be allowed to draw on him and shoot him dead with the knowledge that his firearm is out of battery?...

First, a huge caveat...I am not a lawyer or a judge and I do not play either on the intertubes. Neither am I a professional in the world of carrying or instructing on guns. For every hundred people who will read this comment, there will be a thousand differing opinions. None are necessarily any better than the others. This one is just mine.

Firstly, I think it would be unreasonable for even the most professional a gun-nut to observe the out-of-battery situation in the moment in question. My guess is that this robbery took 30 seconds start to finish. We're here looking at a static picture and still can't definitively say if it was out-of-battery or what the sight thingi is. In the moment, with him moving around, and perhaps only flashing that gun a couple of seconds, and with your own adrenaline running, I'd be surprised if someone could pick that up.

Now: Could you shoot him?

I think: Yes, you could shoot him. If I were a juror watching this robbery film, and was asked if it was reasonable to believe that this guy was posing a threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury, then it sure looks to me that he was.

He has clearly displayed this gun in the act of a robbery. I've always believed that I'm not going to wait until he points that thing at me to take action. My mere presence in that bank lobby while he's there waving that thing around means I perceive I'm in danger. But, I have to keep in mind that not everyone else--including the jurors who will judge me--will see this the same way.

Also, what is in the background of my shot? Do I have a reasonable escape available? There would be these and a thousand other questions to answer in an instant, and how I might say I'd respond on some blog comment may turn out to be quite different from how I will actually respond in real life, if I'm ever unfortunate enough to be there.