Manual safeties on carry weapons: yes or no?

[Vern Humphrey]

I'm not sure I understand this. Some of the fastest pistol shooting in the world is done with single action automatics -- there is a photo somewhere of Jeff Cooper shooting in competition, and there are six cartridge cases in the air simultaneously. And Jeff won that match, as I recall -- so he was both fast and accurate.

There are very few men who could shoot a single action revolver that fast!

 

[CorpITGuy]

I carry mainly WITHOUT a safety. That said, I like to have one as an option.

 

[searcher451]

I've used a Walther PPK/S for my primary carry gun for a long time now and appreciate the thumb safety. Once you practice with it get used to using it, it becomes next to automatic and doesn't slow down your ability to fire a round quickly and accurately.

 

[msb45]

Yes for a 1911, otherwise no

 

[tipoc]

The lack of a manual safety on a gun slows me down. If I can't flick off the thumb safety as I draw then rest my thumb on top of the safety, I have to stop and look at the gun to see what is wrong with it and why it is broken.

Wheelguns I have no problem with.

tipoc

 

[ndh87]

All i shoot are 1911s so i dont have much of an option.

 

[Guns and more]

My finger is my safety.

That's why I like Glock.

I'm surprised it took 46 posts to have a "I like Glock" post.

All I can say is, "If Plaxico Burress had a 1911, he'd be playing today."

 

[zombienerd]

I prefer my guns to have a manual safety, as long as it's ergonomic and can be disarmed on the draw without slowing down draw time.

I only want my guns to shoot when I want them to. I don't want to fall down a hill, have a branch poke through my holster leather, and pull the trigger. I know this is a one in a billion possibility, but it has happened.

I don't want a weapon to fire if it is accidentally dropped, transfer bars and decockers with firing pin blocks are my preferred safeties. I have been known to drop things occasionally, luckily I have never dropped my sidearm, but I would be stupid to say that it couldn't happen.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Manual safety...I carry a 1911. Is there any other way?

 

[dondavis3]

"All I can say is, "If Plaxico Burress had a 1911, he'd be playing today."

Does anyone know what kind of gun Plaxico Burress was carrying?

I don't care a lot, but I'd like to know the brand.

 

[tipoc]

Does anyone know what kind of gun Plaxico Burress was carrying?

It was a Glock. Not sure what model. Google the incident it will turn up.

tipoc

 

[Cosmoline]

Can't stand external safety switches on a carry handgun. That's the main reason I don't care for 1911's. Between that stupid grip safety and the switch I'm liable to forget something or neglect to hold it just right.

almost 100% of the AD/NDs reported here and other forums apparently occur when somebody did something stupid or without thinking.

So? An external safety is not a replacement for a frontal cortex. People who are stupid and shoot themselves with a Glock can just as easily be stupid and shoot themselves with a 1911.

Obviously the safety is essential if you're carrying a 1911 cocked and locked. But with modern decockers there's no need to carry that way anymore. It's just one more thing to forget to put on or forget to take off in a pinch. Count me out!

 

[Nick5182]

I prefer a manual safety on single action autos, but I stopped carrying SA firearms. When I carry a double action or striker-fired weapon, I don't need a manual safety. I like the de-cock feature of my Beretta 92fs, and even though the lever also acts as a safety, I always carry with one in the pipe, de-cocked, safety off ready for DA. I like the Glock, personally, because of (mostly) complete safety of the safe-action trigger system with no need for a manual safety. I stopped carrying my 1911 because of the 3lb trigger pull, and I was worried that if the safety was accidentally disengaged, there could be some potential for an accidental discharge.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I was once holstering my pistol when a little bunch of my T-shirt magically made its way into my trigger guard, and when it was trapped between the holster and the trigger, I'm sure a generous amount of force was applied to the trigger.


Carrying a 1911 with both the grip and thumb safety prevented the trigger from being activated.

I'm almost certain that had I carried a safety-less gun, there might have been an accident.



That said safety =/= safety.


The brain is the only prevention.

 

[Gelgoog]

I carry a beretta 8040 DAO. It has no safeties and the firing pin is never cocked. It is as close to a revolver as I have seen. seems to work pretty darn well. Nothing but draw and pull. No decocker is needed.