I am a professional in the firearms industry and currently working in an advisary and investigative capacity in an upcoming case involving a severe gun malfunction. I will not discuss the details here so please dont ask. The firm I am working for is seeking a professional witness. An extensive firearms background focused on semi-auto pistols is needed with experience in such cases. Please send me a pm with your background and credentials.

I believe Massad Ayoob does this sort of thing.

Here's a link:

http://www.ayoob.com/ContactUs.html

Came back to edit and add the following: Ayoob has been an expert witness on firearms related litigation for more than twenty years and was on the forensic evidence committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for a couple of years.

By the way, a Google search gives a ton of links.

http://www.google.fr/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=fr&ie...ert+witness+firearms

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
I believe Massad Ayoob does this sort of thing.

H

And Al Gore is an expert on global warming.
And Rosie Rosie O'Donnell is an expert on gun control.

Sheesh, Ayoob is a non technical huckster.
He would not know how to do a stress analysis or controlled stress experiment if his life depended on it.

But I am sure he would take the money.
There is a sucker born every day.

My father is a retired Federal Agent living near Casper, WY. Send me a PM if your interested in using him as a witness and I will ask.

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
I believe Massad Ayoob does this sort of thing.

H

Sheesh, Ayoob is a non technical huckster.
He would not know how to do a stress analysis or controlled stress experiment if his life depended on it.

I am not an expert on what Ayoob does or does not know. But I did not know he was a "huckster". Thanks for informing us. Since the problem described is a firearm "failure", with no details, I don't know if it is a user error, a design flaw, a metallurgical defect, faulty ammunition problem, or a combination of any of the above. How did someone know it's a problem involving stress analysis?

Without more information it sounds like you are attacking a gun manufacture. It may or may not be justified. I don't think an internet gun/shooting forum is a good place to solicit a "expert". I would suggest contacting SAAMI or the Firearms Manufactures Association. Bad litigation caused by one manufacture could cause unnessary regulation on another quality manufacture. There are plenty of whore engineer/lawers, doctor/lawyers, chemist/lawyers, "gun experts"/lawyers etc. It is amazing what you can buy in this country.

Just my two cents worth.

Longshot

If knowing what end of the hollow tube the lead thing is SUPPOSED to come out of qualifies one an expert I is one.

http://www.azballistics.com/wst_page10.html
Ronald Scott

I can see this splitting in three directions:
1) Ronald Scott with forensic ballistics to figures out who shot who.
2) Ayoob, huckster, writing books that read like, "With my 1911 magazine still full of glistening cartridges, I ease the safety down with my thumb, as I feel the surge of adrenaline and know that it is either my life or his, so I put two rounds through his cranium and two through his crotch and two..." And sell tickets to the seminars to be a concealed carry killer through Sportsmans Guide.
3) A mechanical engineer who designs guns and can do calculations and experiments on guns jamming or blowing up. i.e. malfunctions



The way that expert witness biz works, is that there may be a guy out there that testifies all the time, and knows just how give the same spiel, slightly tailored for your case.

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:
2) Ayoob, huckster, writing books that read like, "With my 1911 magazine still full of glistening cartridges, I ease the safety down with my thumb, as I feel the surge of adrenaline and know that it is either my life or his, so I put two rounds through his cranium and two through his crotch and two..." And sell tickets to the seminars to be a concealed carry killer through Sportsmans Guide.

-mike

Thank you for the thoughtful responses. Just to note I'm not out to "attack" anybody or any manufacturer and believe me when I say this is no ambulance chasing event. If you knew the details it would make you sob for the gun owners and their families who are involved. I've been involved with firearms in a professional and competition manner most of my life and value gun rights higher than most. I choose my battles accordingly. I'm just trying to find the best folks to help with a very difficult situation and while I regularly post on MANY gun forums I felt the best referrals would be found here. Thank you for the referrals and directions sent.

Ultraman: Can you not narrow the field a bit, at least by category of firearm? ie: rifle, pistol, revolver or shotgun? From there you may get suggestions as to which highly competent smiths, instructors, engineers, etc. that may fit the bill.

Ultraman, based on your last post, it sounds like this is a plaintiff's case. While I certainly recognize that there are legitimate and worthy plaintiff's cases, if it is a plaintiff's case, then you ought to disclose that in fairness to the members of the forum.

quote:

Originally posted by Ultraman:
I am a professional in the firearms industry and currently working in an advisary and investigative capacity in an upcoming case involving a severe gun malfunction. I will not discuss the details here so please dont ask. The firm I am working for is seeking a professional witness. An extensive firearms background focused on semi-auto pistols is needed with experience in such cases. Please send me a pm with your background and credentials.

What you need is is a good mechanical engineer experienced in failure analysis. Specifically a PE meaning licensed by the state to practice engineering for the public.
Call the the dept head at UT and ask him/her for some direction.

HP White Laboratories. FWIW, Dutch.

You might also try a call over to College Station, Bill Wiseman is a most knowledgeible fellow who might well steer you right.

If it involves a fracture and you think it is a materials flaw you need a metallurgical or materials engineer with a background in failure analysis. Likely your regions' Stork or Intertek lab should be able to take it. YOU should feel comfortable the individual knows what they are talking about first though. I would not let anyone touch it that isn't certified in some way (A2LA..something) and has done legal work in the past. Preservation and documented control of evidence is paramount. You may want a couple of labs to take a non-destructive look at it first. One's with environmental SEMs are likely your best bet to start. Even cleaning or sputter coating is considered alteration by some nowdays. A lot of metallurgists from industry will cut it up right away for testing (even before photos sometimes!), they are used to having lots of samples instead of one. Make sure the quote says you will give permission (maybe specify in writting) before they cut it! If I was doing it I would ask for a second identical gun to cut up first, to make sure the plan of destructive analysis (if I felt it was needed) works as planned. Depending on what the analysis points to I would ask for a third gun to duplicate the failure. It does get a little expensive to do it correctly.

If you think it is a design flaw...I don't know what to tell you. If it's a design flaw that caused a fracture you will still need a failure analysis, but likely a mechanical engineer to "do the math" and make a case that it is a design flaw.

There are plenty of "expert witness" hacks out there, some of them in certified labs. They will tell you what you want to hear and take your check. Many put on a good bluff, but if you run into someone with cash who hires a real lab on the other side you may be in trouble. They will have a few wins in their history, that's likely more of a testament about our legal system than their skill. If they don't point out problems with your "case" or inform you they may not conclude what you would like to hear, I would be concerned. If they tell you what the root cause is in the quoting process, go elsewhere.

Good luck, it may be a longish ride.