Posted by RX-79G:
Nom,
I was referring to plexi getting inside the trigger guard. Like holster straps sometimes do.
The absolute majority of Glock accidental discharge is not caused by that.
Also, there are also incidents of pistols with manual firing inhibitor thumb levers that are also accidentally discharged exactly the same way because people can and did fail to manipulate the lever.
You may try to argue that it would have not happened with pistols that you advocate if people are properly trained, but in that case, I can also argue that it would have not happened with Glock or M&P if people are properly trained to clear the trigger area when holstering.
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As for the rest, up until the introduction of the Glock, there were three ways to carry a weapon with the round chambered:
With a safety on to block a light trigger.
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As I stated, people also shot themselves countless times with pistols with manual firing inhibitor thumb levers and there is no proof that such incidence is significantly lower with them.
With a trigger of sufficient weight.
There is no proof that the 2.5~3 kg resistance of Glock and M&P type pistol trigger resistance is insufficient.
They are sufficient to have enough resistance without hindering speed and accuracy. Increasing it beyond that comes at a risk of increased probability of missed or not fast enough shots.
Also, human fingers are plenty capable of generating force well over 5 kg when they are startled to max degree. So, it is just not practical or realiistic to try to prevent accidents just by keep increasing the trigger resistance and pull distance. There has to be a compromise between how hard it is to pull and how easy it is to hit targets at speed.
With a SA trigger and the hammer lowered.
There is a known risk to carrying a pistol in a way that you need to rack the slide or thumb cock the hammer in order to make it able to fire.
The net result is that most of the pistols sold today have no safety lever and trigger pulls that are 2/3 to 1/3 of previous DA systems.
The prevalence of those systems and their sales numbers alone are proof positive that consumers are largely "reassured".
The real question is whether everyone became much smarter or better gun handlers sometime in the mid-80s and realized that they were being unnecessarily safety conscious; or whether the net safety level of firearms has been lowered and the current Condition Zero carry trend is a kind of madness.
There will always be people who cause accidental discharge no matter what the system.
Glock and M&P type systems at least gives improved effectiveness to people who are safety conscious. Although even they are not perfect, they are also not prefect with the pistols you advocate and can and did have accidental discharges with them also.
There is no shortage of stories of accidental discharge with 1911 or DA/SA with or without manual firing inhibitor thumb levers prior to Glock era.
There will always be people who do unsafe stuff due to stupidity. However, designing pistols around them to make them seafe cannot be done. Some might say more devices installed on guns will at least make it less likely for them to cause accidents, but actually there are incidences related to manipulation of those devices. For example, a stupid person with a Glock cannot say, "I pulled the trigger when I was not supposed to fire because I thought it was on 'safe'." If there are more things on guns, stupid people have a tendancy to fiddle and play with them.
