Safety or no safety?

Depends on the trigger and action. I had a Bersa thunder 380 that I took to carrying with one in the chamber, hammer down, safety off. Being a double action, hammer fired gun, i felt just fine with the heavy and long double action trigger pull being the "safety". My Taurus TCP is striker fired, but again, long heavy pull, so it gets carried with one in the chamber, no safety available...no problem. The Springfield 911?...single action, short crisp trigger...you bet that got carried with the safety on. I haven't felt the trigger on the p365, but the shield 2.0 is right on the edge for me, that trigger is getting pretty close to where I would want a manual safety.

Depends on the gun, some don’t have a safety. If they are single action/lever action, I keep them at half cock.

In my opinion the first rule if thumb safeties is: Thou Shalt NOT have a thumb safety that cannot be actuated from a full firing grip. If you need to break your fully engaged firing grip to engage or disengage the switch, you have the wrong gun.

This disqualifies every single striker fired poly-pistol thumb safety I've ever handled. None are extended far enough forward for me to reach.

I can live with or without a thumb switch on double action- ish/striker fired guns. I wouldn't want a 1911 without it, even though John Moses' (PBUH) first design depended on the grip safety and lacked a thumb switch.

Well, the best "safety" is the one between the ears.
You should generally follow your own feelings in this, as you are the one counting on such practice.

What other people do is of no consequence.

We have all manner of nomenclature for various ways to carry; and an equal number of paper doctrines on what is right.

But, it really comes down to what each of us actually does. (Within reasonable limits--loaded chamber, hammer back, stuffed in waistband probably a sub-ideal scenario).

I carry a 1911 cocked and on safe, as it is intended. My S&W shield is available both with and without a safety. I ended up with the version with the safety, which I don't engage. I also carry Glocks with a round in the chamber, with all safety devices engaged.

I carry my 1911 cocked and on safe. When I carry it. Which is rarely anymore.

My P365 has no thumb safety. I carry it ready for use. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

I have a P365 without thumb safety that I carry daily. What's important is to use a good holster that covers the trigger completely and holds the pistol securely. When I take my pistol off at the end of the day, it stays in the holster. In my experience, a Kydex holster is better for pistols like the P365 because Kydex holds the pistol more securely, releases cleanly when the pistol is drawn and holds its shape better. Every leather holster I've owned has stretched over the years.

Phillip Farney said:

I have always carried one in the pipe and safety on. Not sure I can convince myself to carry with no safety.

Click to expand...

I think you just answered your question right there.

Phillip Farney said:

Can anyone enlighten me on this? Am I just being paranoid?

Click to expand...

Not at all. I think you're being prudent. Other than a revolver, I want no part of a gun with no external manual safety.

As a civilian defender, you will handle and manipulate your sidearm far more than you will draw and fire it. As we all know, holstering, drawing, reholstering are the danger zones. All it takes is for any piece of debris or clothing to get inside your trigger guard to cause an ND. A Glock may be safe to throw out of a helicopter, but how many times in a month are you in a helicopter? The safety on the trigger that deactivates anytime the trigger is pulled is not a safety.

I prefer a thumb safety, and as such all but one semi-auto handgun I own has one. My Ruger LCP II that I use for pocket carry is the lone exception.

Unless the gun has a true, full- stroke DA, it gets a safety. There is a reason why the P99AS is a the only "modern" striker gun I own. I agree that most of the safeties on striker guns seem like afterthoughts, and I generally don't like them

If you don't want a safety, there are many ideal carry platforms on the market (probably second hand)- P250 sub-compact, P290RS, P239, 3914DAO (NYPD), original LC9, etc.

My guns have 4lb short pull triggers I have a thumb safety on all of them

Phillip Farney said:

When carrying one in the chamber do you prefer a manual safety on or no? Am purchasing a p365 xl and debating this issue with myself. The non safety version is easier to find. I have always carried one in the pipe and safety on. Not sure I can convince myself to carry with no safety. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Am I just being paranoid?

Click to expand...

I have always carried a pistol with a round in the chamber. Professionally, I carried 1911s, M9s, S&W 5906, and H&K USP pistols always with the safety on as mandated by my employer. Subsequently carried Glocks and S&W M&Ps. What do I prefer? I'd rather not have a manual safety on (with the exception of the 1911). A DA/SA can be quite safely carried in Condition 1, de-cocked in DA mode, with a round in the chamber.

Do you own a quality belt and use a quality holster? If so ... yeah, you're being paranoid. Pistol stays in holster. Unless you're confronted with a lethal force situation.

D.B. Cooper said:

As a civilian defender, you will handle and manipulate your sidearm far more than you will draw and fire it.

Click to expand...

What?? Why would you be handling and manipulating your sidearm far more than you're drawing it? Put clothes on, holster pistol, go out and do your business, come home, take pistol out, undress, relax ...

Why do people overthink this stuff? I rather believe that there's a lot of folks who simply don't trust their own knowledge and skill level. No safeties on these bad boys ... oh yeah, I carry them often.

D.B. Cooper said:

As a civilian defender, you will handle and manipulate your sidearm far more than you will draw and fire it.

Click to expand...

I can't speak for other people but my carry gun stays in the holster unless I'm cleaning it or shooting it.

Currently I'm carrying a Glock 26 in a pocket holster. When I go home from work this morning the entire rig will come out of my pocket and go on top of the gun safe without ever leaving the holster. When I leave for work tomorrow (really tonight) night the process is reversed.

I keep the unnecessary administrative handling to a minimum.

D.B. Cooper said:

A Glock may be safe to throw out of a helicopter, but how many times in a month are you in a helicopter? The safety on the trigger that deactivates anytime the trigger is pulled is not a safety.

Click to expand...

I thought it was an airplane

I carry Glocks, in kydex holsters.

I don't want a safety on my SD handguns.

I prefer DA or DAO with a minimum of controls.

(The Beretta is a rare example: DA/SA with no safety or decocker.)



View media item 1867

On semi-automatics I prefer safeties; multiple if available.

What I prefer is what I have done for well over 40 years and that is to ALWAYS carry with one in the chamber and NO safety. All my Beretta PX4s have been converted from Type F to Type G models (very easy procedure). When I carried SIGs/H&Ks No safety. Only exception is my H&K P30SK that has a safety, but it is never in safe mode.

HOWEVER, the decision is totally up to the person carrying the weapon not what is comfortable for someone else. As stated, I had over 40 years and was well trained and carried under conditions a person will never carry (hope you don't anyway).

I prefer no safeties, or manual safeties I should say. I have seen to many fail over the years, and when the need occurs, it simply needs to fire. Keep your finger off the trigger, things will work out well...

D.B. Cooper said:

The safety on the trigger that deactivates anytime the trigger is pulled is not a safety.

Click to expand...

Therefore, any safety that deactivates when the pistol is gripped isn't a safety. That means a grip safety isn't a safety.

One problem I've had with manual safeties is they can get deactivated during carry in the holster.

In general, it's easier to find a good holster for pistols without a manual safety than those with.

MistWolf said:

One problem I've had with manual safeties is they can get deactivated during carry in the holster.

Click to expand...

For a while, I carried my Colt's Government .380... a single-action with a thumb safety, but no grip safety like a standard 1911. The Safety detent was so weak, I would find the safety knocked off after a day of carry. Didn't care for that. So I started carrying it chambered, hammer down (Series 80) with the safety off, but while doing presentation drills with it... drawing it, thumbing the hammer back, and firing it, I realized what a dumb idea that was, on several different levels. I finally retired it for a Kahr CW9... no external safety, no 'safe trigger', no nothing, just a long DA-style trigger pull. I'm not sure why DA triggers on a revolver are so much safer, and don't require any sort of external safety... than a pistol like the Kahr. Responsible firearm handling is better than any external safety with a properly designed firearm.

This question has no right or wrong answer as it's purely a personal decision. I won't carry a pistol without a thumb safety but will agree it has to be properly designed or it could be a problem. I have a Shield 1.0 and it's safety is IMO too small and kind of recessed so that it's not easy to flip off after a draw. The safety on my M&P compacts, both 9mm and .45 are much better. I can disengage those without losing more than a small fraction of a second as they are larger and positioned so the thumb finds them quite naturally from a firing grip. When practicing a draw I thumb the safety off as I bring the muzzle to bear on target without even thinking about it.

I do understand the guys who say my trigger finger is my safety but I like the redundancy of a manual safety as well.

How much do you practice with the gun in question? Having carrying and shot a Glock from the 90's till now, in competitions and classes, I prefer the gun to just work when I draw it. I also shot a 1911 quite a bit and have the safety manipulations down pat. Either works. I guess my conclusion is that if you are not comfortable with the gun, practice more.

Carrying a revolver is a no safety carry mode. The difference being trigger pull. It is also the case that human factors research has demonstrated that the causes of a ND with finger on the trigger will overcome the heavier pull of a DA/SA semi or revolver.

One thing about taking off the safety in extremis. Yes, you practice and practice that but that motor pattern may be ingrained more for the specifics of your square range or competition draw. If you are not in that situation, the odds of screwing up the safety increases. However, my experts buddies say that they haven't seen highly trained folks do that in a fight. Are you highly trained? I've seen competition 1911 folks do that in nonstandard retrieve the gun and shoot situations.

FL-NC said:

I carry a 1911 cocked and on safe, as it is intended. My S&W shield is available both with and without a safety. I ended up with the version with the safety, which I don't engage. I also carry Glocks with a round in the chamber, with all safety devices engaged.

Click to expand...

The 1911 was NEVER intended to be carried cocked and locked.