Good morning or afternoon depending on where you're from! Question for all you striker fired carriers out there. I currently carry either a sp101 or Glock 27 appendix style. Probably 8 out of 10 times I pick the sp due to the DA trigger. I like the Glock and the capacity and even how it fits my hand, I know weird right
. Anyways maybe I read to much about the idiots who shoot themselves in the leg with a striker fired gun. I know more often than not these are ND instead of AD, most likely due to the booger hook.
I know it's all about trigger and trigger guard safety and keeping it clear from any obstruction. I've even tried to purposefully trip the trigger with keys and other things in my pocket, gun unloaded of course. Haven't had an AD trying that so that does help put me at ease. How safe do you feel while carrying your striker? Does it ever cross your mind?
I used to carry a Glock 19 appendix, but decided several years ago I will no longer carry a striker fired pistol in the appendix position. Strong side OWB, sure, all day long. Many unintentional discharges occur with administrative handling of the pistol - loading, unloading, drawing, reholstering, etc, and having that happen at the appendix position poses a substantially greater risk of severe injury than at other carry positions. The risk is amplified when you start training extensively, particularly with simulated stressful situations, when the pistol is going in and out of the holster for many, many repetitions like in a multi day class.
On a hammer fired traditional DAO, DA/SA pistol, or SA w/ safety, this is less of an issue as you have both visual and tactile (e.g. thumb on hammer when reholstering) confirmation of the status of the hammer (or safety on a SA only) when administratively handling the pistol. For example, if upon reholstering, I see and/or feel the hammer starting to come back on a DAO or DA/SA pistol (or I feel the safety is down on a 1911), that is immediate feedback indicating something isn't right and I need to stop my current action. Aftermarket devices nonwithstanding, you do not get this tactile or visual feedback with any striker fired pistol. There is the argument that forgetting to decock a DA/SA hammer pistol and holstering is an unsafe possibility...which it is...but when you think about it it's not any less safe than holstering a chambered/cocked striker pistol -- especially some of the newer ones that have very short, light triggers -- or accidentally holstering an unsafed 1911.
I also think many gun owners don't really understand how striker fired pistols actually work. If you ask any of these people whether they would carry a Series 80 1911
cocked and unlocked with a round in the chamber, they would look at you like you're crazy. But a chambered, striker fired pistol with a fully cocked or near fully cocked striker, ~5lb trigger, and no safety? Most of them won't have a problem with that.
While vigilance and appropriate training are important, people also make mistakes. If we didn't, we wouldn't have car wrecks, plane crashes, or medical errors. Having an additional layer of hardware safety to backup the software is not necessarily a bad thing - especially when the cost of making a mistake can be extremely high.