What is this called?

[jsalcedo]

I'm at the range with my new (to me) ruger P90.

It is in basically pristine condition.

After familiarizing myself with the decocker, hammerdrop, single and double action, safety and disassembly I proceed to load up a couple mags.

Taking careful aim with a sandbag rest I fire double action first shot squeezing carefully I fire.

The recoil flips the gun up and back down as I am releasing the trigger the gun coming back down presses against my finger and
another round goes off.

The round goes down range into the backstop. but I'm a little shaken. No one around me was the wiser but it was very
disconcerting to say the least.

The double action trigger is a long 12 Lbs and the single action is a smooth 2lbs with a some take up.

Is this an ND? AD?

I've since learned better trigger control with this gun but I'm still not entirely sure if I should take steps to correct this or get rid of it.

 

[Thumper]

It's called a double tap.

Seriously, the high bore axis and flip/flop action of the P90 always was a little disconcerting to me.

Dead reliable, but they don't feel like they ought to be.

 

[Preacherman]

If the single action trigger is 2 pounds or so, as you state, that is WAY out of spec. for a Ruger, and dangerously light. Sounds like something is out of whack somewhere - perhaps an amateur gunsmith worked on it? Anyway, I'd check that pull weight, and if it is indeed that light, I'd send the gun back to Ruger for adjustment.

 

[Standing Wolf]

My personal preference has always been for very light single action trigger pulls, but they require more attention to shooting detail. A ten-pound difference between single and double action pulls strikes me as problematic.

I wouldn't call your shot a negligent discharge: every new firearm includes a surprise or two. As long as it was pointed in a safe direction, no harm was done, nor could any have been done.

 

[BallisticTip]

Bump fire.

 

[keyhole]

It's called a "oops!", and I agree, if the trigger is that light, you should have it checked.

IIRC there was an accidental shooting at a range in Texas some years ago, wher the guy had a 1911, and he had a "double" and the round went over the berm, richocheting thru a wall, and killed a kid sitting in the building, at an indoor range, in the same facility. Bad liability.

 

[El Tejon]

jsal, always used the term "bump fire", a form of ND. At least you know now how dangerous those double action pistols are.

 

[Erik]

I too have always used and heard the term "bump fire" regarding what you described. It's a ND which usually only happens one or two times before the shooter becomes aware of what he is doing wrong and self corrects the problem.

 

[winwun]

Although not partial to them, I have a few self-shuckers and on occasion take them to the range.

On the DA's, I am aware that all of them require an initial long trigger, but on the second and subsequent shots, a releasing of the trigger only sufficient to "relatch the link" is necessary, and can be determined by, if not the sound, by a distinct "feel" through the trigger.

This makes for a very short SA pull.

I have noticed people shooting who seem to release the trigger all the way back out.

This seems to me to be counter-productive to good control and accuracy.

Are there certain guns that require letting the trigger all the way back out to the original DA position ?

Is this a good way to shoot the autos ?

 

[PAshooter]

I'm a big fan of Jim Crews' techniques and training manuals (see http://www.marksmans.com/) and adopting the the following technique when range-firing my self-shuckers not only greatly improved my scores but virtually eliminates the possibility of bump-fires:

When the shot fires, keep the trigger pressed fully back until your front sight is back on the target. Once you've reacquired your sight picture slowly release the trigger until it resets - the distance required to do this varies from model to model, but you can usually feel the click when it happens. Hold your sight picture while gently squeezing off the next shot. Repeat. Done wonders for my shooting abilities. Thanks Jim.

 

[Feanaro]

The gun didn't malfunction it seems(trigger pulled, boom, trigger pushed by downward motion boom correct?) but neither did you. I call that need-a-new-trigger or hold-down-on-it-longer.

 

[jsalcedo]

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm going to weigh the trigger again. I've had folks surprised by
the lightness while dry firing.

I will try the technique you recommend MD shooter I'm surprised
I haven't heard of it before it seems like a no brainer that I should have been doing all along.

My other double actions VZOR 70, Makarov, PT99 have long heavy
double action triggers and gritty hard single action triggers that don't lend themselves to bump fires.

Thanks again.