Safety or No Safety

[curmudgeon and anarchist]

I don't like safeties: it's just one more thing to think about. If I practice good gun safety (finger off the trigger, safe direction) there's no reason to have a safety. Of course, this limits me to certain guns. The only safety that seems to make sense for me is on a 1911 when you carry it cocked and locked.

Well, gee, I haven't really asked a question, have I?

 

[Lafeswede]

Safety

I guess you just communicated your view. I'd say it depends on yourself and your ability and utilisation of your gun. Only one of my guns is entirely w/o any safety. It's a Baikal target.22. It's only loaded on the range under controlled conditions. As I only shoot for competition, safeties are normally uninteresting.
If I should live where use of a gun for self defense was important, 1911 condition 1 is the maximum safety I would use. Why disadvantage your ability to survive? You cannot face liability charges if you died.
If you train properly, you can carry a hairpin trigger job safely.

Sail safe
Lafeswede

 

[GunNut]

Safety or not, it's up to you to decide if you want to use it.

I've owned DA/SA guns that had a safety and don't recall ever using them.

Now on a 1911 the safety is always used when the gun is loaded.

So I guess it's up to you.

 

[Halo is for Kids]

Some safeties render the gun drop safe when activated. Walther PPK I think it was. Maybe others.

MHO and I'm not a gunsmith or a licensed trainer: if you keep the finger off of the trigger you should be alright. (unless the gun is not drop safe and it falls for whatever reason)

it's just one more thing to think about.

Training enables you to take off the safety without thinking about it.

 

[curmudgeon and anarchist]

Internal firing pin safeties are okay. I meant an external safety you have to remember to flick off prior to use.

 

[Halo is for Kids]

I meant an external safety you have to remember to flick off prior to use.

Me too. IIRC the walther thumb safety renders the gun drop safe. When the safety is off the gun is no longer drop safe.

 

[S&Wfan]

Hi,

It matters not to me if it has a safety or not. Frankly, I LIKE the fact that there are so many different manual of arms for various firearms . . . for there's less of a chance for a bad guy to get hold of your weapons and be able to make the firearm shoot YOU!

I wonder how many times in history that a man has had his life saved because he ejected the magazine on his High Power just before someone got it away from him. A HP won't fire with the magazine out . . . and it gave folks a chance to draw their backup gun.

Ditto with a 1911. How many BGs have snatched a cocked and locked 1911 and turned it on the owner . . . only to not be able to make it fire due to the safety lever still being "Up?" Ditto on a S&W auto because the safety lever still being "Down!"

It truly is the responsibility of the owner of firearms to learn and master the use and the maintenance proceedures for each specific weapon . . . and then to remain practiced and familiar with each weapon throughout its ownership.

T.

 

[Crow61]

I have carried DA aotos and DA revolvers. With the auto, I never used the safety. I really prefer a gun without one. And, I detest the internal PC garbage that some gun makers have given in to.

 

[thebaldguy]

I prefer my semi-autos to have a manual safety. Just my preference.

 

[Conqueror]

SA guns need safeties. Most others do not.

 

[spentbrass]

I got to have a safety. One of the many reasons why I love 1911s.

 

[The Bushmaster]

The only TRUE safety on a firearm is the operator...

 

[Guitargod1985]

As far as a safety goes, I can take it or leave it. I used to insist on a manual safety, but after carrying for a while I've become more accustomed to, and comfortable with, a gun lacking a safety. The last five handguns I've purchased have not had a manual safety. One of them (XD45 Tactical) I no longer have, I use one (Ruger P90) as a bedside gun, and three (HK P2000SK, Taurus 605, Sig P232) for carry.

I don't think safeties are a necessity, but if it's more comfortable for someone to carry/shoot that way, then who am I to say otherwise? Different strokes for sifferent folks, as the saying goes. I also find that most safeties (with the exception of 1911 and HK USP) are difficult for me to operate with my shooting hand because of my hand size. It's hard enough for me to get a good grip on a doublestack .40 SW or .45 ACP.

Personally, I've become so used to carrying a gun without a safety that I'll probably never go back until I get a good 1911 for carry. But then it's going to be a matter of retraining myself.

Do whatever works for you, and train to deploy your gun in such a manner and you should be all right.

 

[Srigs]

All my carry guns are DAO guns. Just keep your finger and anything else off the trigger and your completely safe.

 

[Prince Yamato]

I don't care one way or the other. I have semi-autos and I carry a revolver often.

That said, if you're too stupid to remember to unclick the safety, you're too stupid to own a firearm.

 

[Jesse H]

I wouldn't go as far as calling somebody stupid...but if you've carried and trained with guns that didn't have manual safeties most of your life; I could see how in a stressful situation one would neglect to swipe off a safety.

That's probably why I no longer carry my PPK/S and replaced it with an XD40 SC.

 

[KenRocks]

This is actually a debate I've been having with myself quite a bit lately.

Grew up shooting a 1911, and so I've become accustomed to that extra step in between drawing and firing, and very much like the presence of a safety just as one extra confirmation step between touching and firing. On the other hand, I recently got a bersa 380 to use as my truck gun, which began my foray into DA/SA. Unfortunately, it has one of those safeties on the side of the slide that you have to push up and forward to disengage. Its hard for me to do while keeping a good grip on the gun, and it seems incredibly counter-intuitive...I debated carrying it with the thing turned off, but decided that since I pocked carry it sometimes that I can always click it off in my pocket, and I wont have to worry about it somehow shooting me in the leg (Murphy's Law...). The rest of the time it spends rattling around in the console of my truck...figure the safety should stay on in there too.

I recently came across a Beretta 92F...after a few range sessions, its becoming one of my new favorite guns...despite being 9mm and gigantic. It has the same awful safety that I hate...since I carry it in a holster, I'm thinking its gonna be safety off.

 

[DrDavidM]

I will only carry a gun that can be fired double action. I have nothing against single action, I just don't want to have to think about a safety. It's all what you are used to and comfortable with.

 

[45auto]

All my shotguns, rifles and handguns have safeties...except one revolver I own.

As mentioned, it really depends on what you were brought up on IMO.
I think it's odd for a pistol not to have a manual safety to be honest.

And, I must be "odd" because many of the best selling pistols don't have safeties...so "that horse is out of the barn".

 

[RNB65]

I don't like manual safeties on handguns. My 1911 is the only handgun I own with a manual safety and I only use it as a range gun and never engage the safety.

 

[mekender]

sigh, this is a debate ive been struggling with... i for one, like the extra step of a manual safety... but the problem is, actually wanting one, limits the brands and types of guns that you can look at buying... so let me ask this... for a gun that would primarily be kept in a quick access safe, would you need one or not? any other use of said gun would be at the range, or in a holster (iwb) concealed...

 

[joffe]

I don't see the difference either way - if you use a safety, you need to practice to make the engagement and disengagement second nature. If you don't, you need to practice to make trigger discipline and vigilance regarding the trigger guard in general second nature.

For a duty cop or others who carry openly, a manual safety can change the outcome of a disarmament of any kind. I've read several cases where the BG didn't know how to use the gun he just grabbed, to then be taken down by the cop with his BUG.

And then there are those who steal Glocks and carry them 'OG style' in the waistband with no holster, and end up shooting themselves.

So, uh, if you're leaving any handguns unattended lying about, make sure they're Glocks. They might make up for that mistake by themselves later on..

 

[TimboKhan]

It's only loaded on the range under controlled conditions.

Solely out of curiosity, what does this mean?

 

[Beatnik]

SA guns need safeties. Most others do not.

Not really true. There's at least one example, the H&K P7, which is a single action with no safety. But it's inherently safe because you have to grasp it to cock the striker.

I wish more companies would put clever ideas like this into practice: I think the XD is the only pistol other than the 1911 I've seen that has a grip safety, which I really like.

And remember, GLOCKs have three safeties on them, just not a lever.

In short, I'm generally with the DAO crowd, but I don't have a problem with safeties that I don't have to think about or train to deal with. Besides, every course will tell you that a safety is just a mechanical device which can fail. Trigger discipline is more important IMO.

 

[Alan Fud]

Mas has reported on cases where safeties have saved the lives of LEOs when their gun was grabbed and the BG attempted to fire but the gun won't shoot because the safety was engaged. The few seconds that it took them to figure out how to disengage the safety was enough time for the LEO to get the gun back or get the drop on them with a back-up gun.