[gunsmoker]

I just noticed that the owner's manual of my new Bersa Thunder .380 says that it is inherently unsafe to carry it (this particualr gun? or any handgun?) with a round in the chamber. Bersa strongly advises that the weapon be carried chamber-empty, unless one must keep it loaded due to an imminent threat-- a "clear and present danger" that forces an exception to the general rules of gun safety.

Of course this "advice" is bogus, as the whole point of carrying a DA/SA handgun like the Bersa Thunder is so that one can fire the round from the chamber with just a DA trigger pull, with all shots to follow with SA trigger pulls. If carrying "chamber empty" were the norm, nobody would be interested in buying double-action automatics or "safe action" automatics like the Glock.

Does anybody else know of examples where the manufacturer of a weapon that is clearly designed and intended for defensive use tries to insulate themselves from liability by saying that their firearm is an item of "sporting goods" only (i.e. Kel-Tec's new AR-15 pistol, which they say is made only for "handgun hunting and long range target shooting) or that the firearm should not be kept loaded and accessible for use in self-defense?

Do you think gun owners or the NRA should put some pressure on manufacturers and distributors to take the B.S. out of their owners manuals and just face reality with honesty?


P.S. I heard somebody say that those tiny little "Chipmonk" .22 rifles that are as small as Daisy Red Ryder BB guns come with a warning that they are for adults only, not to be used by children! Even though the gun was obviously designed and marketed with the intended user (not purchaser) to be age 5-10! Does anyone have one of these guns? Did it have such an instruction or warning label with it?

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

I think every owner's manual I have ever read said something about keeping it unloaded and separate from the ammunition . . .

:shakehead:

 

[kkennett]

I would hope that most carryers of firearms for self-defense would have enough common sense to be able to process the owner's manuals for what they are: legalese interspersed with the occasional handy fact about how to service that particular weapon. The fact that we must have such legalese is, of course, the direct result of the rare possession of the aforementioned common sense.

 

[Gunstar1]

The only strange one that comes to my mind right this second isn't gun related. Q-tips say they should not be inserted into your ear canal... I found that funny because ever since I was little I thought/assumed that they were made to clean your ear.

 

[Macktee]

It all comes down to fear of being sued. Every product has an instruction manual chocked full of weasel words to the effect if you do something really stupid, you'll get hurt. If you do anything at all, and there's the slightest possibility you'll get hurt, our corporate attorneys have advised us to print (in LARGE red letters) advice to you that you not do it.

We have completely and totally abandoned any pretense of personal responsibility. As a consequence, manufacturers are simply trying to protect themselves. Sad, but necessary. That's just one example. Here are some others:

http://www.geocities.com/be_alternative ... tions.html