While spending time on the range qualifying members of my department with our Glock 23 duty weapon, I am reminded of a problem I see again and again.
As a firearms instructor, you make the statement, “Make your weapon safe.” I look around and watch officers eject the magazine (good) and then place their hand over the ejection port (bad) while racking the slide so they can “catch” the round from the chamber. Heck, this is much easier than having to bend down and pick it up right?
Unfortunately, you trap the round in the ejection port and push it back toward the ejector, which is a sharp metal object quite similar to the firing pin. I know it’s a one-in-a-million chance that the primer will strike the ejector hard enough and flush enough to discharge the round, but I would hate to see it happen. In fact, I personally never have but I’ve been told about two such instances. In both, fingers were not lost but they were damaged quite a bit.
Next time, remind your officers to get a good overhand grip and rip the slide back when clearing that round. Let the round fly and hit the ground. It’s not going anywhere and if it does get damaged, no big deal. One round isn’t that expensive. It’s certainly not worth your hand.