Safety or no safety?

[Maximinus Thrax]

I prefer to keep my EDC as simple as possible. No external safeties and striker fired for consistency. I firmly believe in keeping the amount of steps I have to accomplish in a high stress situation to an absolute minimum. This allows me a wide variety of guns to choose from which will all have similar characteristics so I have some wiggle room as my preferences develop.

 

[JettaKnight]

Da/Sa with no safety is my preference. No extra steps and I can keep my thumb over the hammer when holstering, so no Glock leg.

"Glock leg"?

You mean some people not knowing how to keep their %*&$^#@ finger off the %*&$^#@ when holstering? Is this common?

Sorry, just haven't heard the term.

Maybe we could have Tex Grebner give a guest lecture on "1911 leg."

People have been managing to shoot them selves with just about ANY firearm for a long time, "safeties," or not.

A bit of a strawman, cosermann. 'Ole Tex was doing quick draw tricks. However, Connersville Police Chief David Counceller was simply putting his Glock back into his holster in a smooth manner - except the draw string of his pullover was caught inside the trigger guard. Now if his thumb was on the [non-existant] hammer then he would have instantly detected something was amiss.

For the record, carry booth types. (and I don't pull out a loaded gun at a gun shop)

 

[strokin7.3]

A bit of a strawman, cosermann. 'Ole Tex was doing quick draw tricks. However, Connersville Police Chief David Counceller was simply putting his Glock back into his holster in a smooth manner - except the draw string of his pullover was caught inside the trigger guard. Now if his thumb was on the [non-existant] hammer then he would have instantly detected something was amiss.

For the record, carry booth types. (and I don't pull out a loaded gun at a gun shop)

He is probably one of those over sensitive glock owners who doesn't like it if somebody says anything bad about his baby.

 

[Motorhead302]

sorry but this seems appropriate for some reason.

 

[japcat]

I prefer to keep my EDC as simple as possible. No external safeties and striker fired for consistency. I firmly believe in keeping the amount of steps I have to accomplish in a high stress situation to an absolute minimum. This allows me a wide variety of guns to choose from which will all have similar characteristics so I have some wiggle room as my preferences develop.

Same for me

 

[Scouse]

A bit of a strawman, cosermann. 'Ole Tex was doing quick draw tricks. However, Connersville Police Chief David Counceller was simply putting his Glock back into his holster in a smooth manner - except the draw string of his pullover was caught inside the trigger guard. Now if his thumb was on the [non-existant] hammer then he would have instantly detected something was amiss.

For the record, carry booth types. (and I don't pull out a loaded gun at a gun shop)[/QUOTE]

The bolded!!

 

[Birds Away]

Da/Sa with no safety is my preference. No extra steps and I can keep my thumb over the hammer when holstering, so no Glock leg.

Its not real common, but it does happen, and not always from the finger on the trigger.

I'm just...traditional, I guess, barely above the Amish. I don't like Kydex holsters, and I like wearing a sports coat or suit jacket. As such, I feel more comfortable with something that's forgiving of a collapsing leather holster, cover garment getting caught up in the trigger housing, etc. I'm a lot less likely to keep shoving hard enough to touch off my revolver or Sig P220 than I am a Glock, especially with my thumb on the hammer.

What BBI said. I carry my CZ at half cock in one of three leather holsters. Thumb on the hammer will tell you all you need to know when reholstering.

 

[cosermann]

A bit of a strawman, cosermann. . . .

Nope, not at all. How many examples do you want? Tex is just the one of the most recent high profile examples.

The real point of my post is this, quoted below, once again for emphasis. Applies to all firearms.

... People have been managing to shoot them selves with just about ANY firearm for a long time, "safeties," or not.

 

[cce1302]

[h=2]yea[/h][SUP]1 [/SUP] [yey] Show IPA
adverb 1. yes (used in affirmation or assent).

2. indeed: Yea, and he did come.

3. not only this but even: a good, yea, a noble man.


noun 4. an affirmation; an affirmative reply or vote.

5. a person who votes in the affirmative.




[h=2]yay[/h][SUP]1 [/SUP] [yey] Show IPA
interjection Informal. (an exclamation used to express joy, excitement, etc.)


Origin:
1960–65; perhaps alteration of yeah




Also, I like guns.

 

[CaveMan58]

The easiest answer...whatever you're most comfortable with.

I prefer no external safety as I feel the trigger safety, grip safety, and firing pin block provide plenty safety until I'm actually ready to pull the trigger.

 

[cbhausen]

G19 here for me... I like the consistent trigger pull and no fidgeting or twiddly things to remember to do when SHTF. And I've sung the praises of the Safariland ALS system many times here on INGO. I simply won't carry any "safe action" type pistol without a 6378 or 7378 holster, period.

 

[Collin]

I'm a fan of both 1911 and Glocks. Good debate here and good article. Personally, I carry the Glocks for capacity, weight, and so I don't have to remember anything.

 

[nashfred01]

NO SAFETY!!!

 

[Hookeye]

Safety. Auto sweep for it even on rigs without 'em.
No big deal IMHO.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I personally hate manual safeties. I carried a 92FS in the CG. We carried with the hammer down.

 

[rhino]

Not all manual safeties are created equal.

On double action guns, they have limited value, are difficult to operate for people with small hands, and can cause troubles for people who are not vigilant about the status of their weapon at all times.

The thumb safety on a 1911 is a non-issue if you hold and operate the gun in one of the accepted ways that involves gripping and shooting with your thumb riding on the safety. If you're waiting to deactivate the thumb safety as a separate, distinct action, then you might want to consider learning a bit more about how to use the 1911 a bit more efficiently.

The grip safety is actually more of an issue. Some people's hands won't depress it adequately (on a consistent basis) when they get a grip as high on the gun as they can. That's not an issue for me, because my palms are fleshy enough that it doesn't happen to me. Maybe that's God's way throwing me a bone to make up for for also giving me these stubby raccoon fingers that can barely reach a trigger on a derringer.