Accidental Firings Leads Massachusetts Gun Maker to Recall Pistols

Massachusetts-based gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson Corp. is recalling certain pistols that could fire without the trigger being pulled.

The gun maker said it was recalling all Walther PPK and PPK/S pistols that it manufactured from March 21, 2002, until Feb. 3, 2009.

Smith & Wesson posted a recall notice Friday on its Web site and offered additional details in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday.

The filing cited a problem in the affected pistol models that “may permit a round to be discharged without the trigger being pulled.”

The company said it was issuing the recall “because any unintended discharge of a firearm has the potential for causing injury.”

The online notice and regulatory filing did not say whether any injuries had resulted, and it did not specify how many guns were being recalled. There was no answer after business hours Tuesday at the company’s headquarters, and a call to a customer-service representative was referred to headquarters.

The filing said, “While we have no reason to believe that the condition affects every pistol produced during the designated period, we have chosen in the interest of safety to replace the hammer block in every pistol that is returned in order to make certain that each firearm is functioning in a safe, reliable, and proper fashion,” the filing said.

The notice on the company’s Web site says, “When the manual safety is disengaged, Smith & Wesson’s Product Engineering Group has determined that the possibility exists in certain firearms that lowering the hammer may cause a chambered round to fire.”

Customers with the affected pistols can send them back to the company, and have them returned with a new part, at no cost, the company said.

Smith & Wesson said it had established a financial reserve to cover recall costs it will book in its fiscal third quarter that ended Jan. 31. The company estimates the costs will trim $900,000 to $1.3 million from its quarterly profit.