Thoughts on carrying modified guns

[thughes]

This has come up in more than one training class so I'll ask for opinions from the peanut gallery:

It is always recommended NOT to modify any mechanical aspect of the gun that you carry, the thought being that if you were ever in a position to have to justify a self-defense shooting that the Prosecution would tear you up for modifying the gun so it could kill better/faster/easier/more efficiently, etc. I have had legal council advise me that trigger jobs, modifying the trigger pull with aftermarket connectors, replacement triggers or spring kits, etc., all add a level of complexity to your legal defense should you be involved in a criminal or civil case related to a shooting. There is also a concern about affecting reliability when modifying the factory design.

I carry an M&P BG380 almost all the time as a b/u gun. I love the gun but hate the rotten long pull trigger that doesn't break until the trigger is basically touching the rear of the trigger guard. I recently installed a Galloway Precision trigger kit (new trigger, hammer spring, and connector) which does not affect the trigger pull weight but does reduce the required travel by 30%. I opted for the plain black trigger (as opposed to the cool colored or polished/milled ones) in order to keep it looking as "stock" as possible. I have also installed the Galloway zero length +1 magazine kit which gives me an extra round in the stock mag (and functions flawlessly, I have tested the PePeshittata out of it).

Yeah...I know..."better judged by 12 than carried by 6" and the odds of ever actually having to defend myself are (hopefully) astronomical but there is now that seed of concern that has been planted regarding carrying a modified gun.

ready...set...discuss!

[GUNSICK]

I have never seen someone's firearm scrutinized in court over a legal modification. I would be more worried about reliability.

[usmcveteran]

I think its all BS. If prosecution wants to say I made it better to kill quicker I would say I made it better in order to defend my life by stopping threat faster.

Also what does gun modification have to do with the price of tea in China? Modifying a firearm is not illegal in a lot of cases. Like gunsick said my only concern would be reliability.

Also I have heard you should use the ammo your local police force uses so prosecution can't come at you for man killing bullets which is also BS in my mind .

[thughes]

Yeah, I agree it's all BS but you would be dealing with a Prosecutor representing the sheep and judged by folks that have been fed anti-gun crap by the MSM for most of their lives. These jurors would likely swallow the BS about "deadlier" bullets (those scary hollow point things) and the "modified trigger making it easier to spray rounds into that poor misguided child who, by the way, was just getting his life turned around...."

I'm just sayin......

[GUNSICK]

Nobody knows what mods you made unless you tell someone about it. Loose lips sink ships.

[thughes]

ooops, too late for me I guess.

[RandallOfLegend]

Nobody knows what mods you made unless you tell someone about it. Loose lips sink ships.

Massad Ayoob disagrees with you. He says in a shooting incident they send your gun to an armorer and pick it apart.

I will probably remove my SR40Cs magazine disconnect. I have had the mag pop loose while out and about. I blame the ambie mag release. I think I can defend that choice in court.

[usmcveteran]

I think a modified gun could come back to haunt you if you have a negligent discharge but not really if you intend to shoot someone for a legally justifiably reason.

[ADK2ndClub]

I would find HP ammo the safer round to use, I put HP rounds and FMJ rounds through a frozen pumpkin this winter. The FMJ bullets I found the other day few feet behind the pumpkin completely unmarked almost look like they could be reloaded in new brass and fired again. The hollow point ammo, created a bigger cavity, but did not pass through the other end of the pumpkin. So a defensive scenario outside with other people around the hollow point ammo is by far the better choice to eliminate collateral damage.

[Cgrutt]

Your OP pretty much sums up everything I've been advised in formal training. Do I think its BS sure but why add a layer of complexity to your legal defense should it come to that. I added the GP trigger to my LC9 but immediately took it off the carry roste . Anything I carry is stock except for sights. I also only carry with factory ammo for same reason. Good thread.

[usmcveteran]

Are there any cases in which a modified legal firearm caused issues with defense?

[dwa12479]

I thought I remember hearing about the prosecutor in the Martin/Zimmerman case mention something about a hair trigger, but I don't believe that GZ's gun was modified. I think it was mixed in with the discussion that there was no external safety on his PF9, which I think was somewhat of a shock to a lot of people not familiar with carry guns.

If you had some sort of hacked up kitchen gunsmith type trigger job I could see the possibility of it hurting you. I've been wanting the Apex kit for my M&P Shield for a while now, I'm waiting for the G43 to come out. If I don't end up with a G43 as an EDC, the Shield is getting the upgrade. Fukk it.

About the only thing I've seen recently that I thought was cringe worthy is the G2 RIP ammo that was introduced last year. It stands for Radically Invasive Projectile, but I can see a prosecutor focusing heavily on the acronym not being a coincidence. "This ammo is not to stop a threat but to kill, kill, kill.......""""