What condition do you carry your S&W MP Shield in?

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plodder

plodder

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(and yes, I know I should not be ending a sentence with a preposition!)
As a long time (by Wisconsin standards) 1911 CCW guy, I have recently acquired a Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm as a "summer" carry pistol. My 1911 is always in "cocked & locked" when in my CCW holster. (round in chamber, hammer back). I am very comfortable carrying it that way because it has the thumb safety and the grip safety. It is a monumental screw up if a ND or AD occurred when removing the pistol from the holster.

With the S&W Shield and other similar compact "plastic" weapons, there is only the thumb safety. I am a bit squeamish about carrying a round in the chamber that way. Should I be?
 
Most people will say the safety on the Shield is unnecessary and it is perfectly safe to carry with a round in the chamber and the safety off.
 
The safety on many guns is purely to sell in the states with laws in the ****ter.

Its completely useless.
 
Whether the safety is necessary or not, it is there and it should part of your draw drill to swipe it off.

Every.

Single.

Time.

Safeties can, and do (especially ambidextrous ones) get knocked on or off unknowingly.
 
I carry a Springfield XD which has backstrap and trigger safeties, so I carry with a round chambered.

But really, if the gun stays bolstered until you actually need it, that's all you need. Every AD/ND I've read about involves someone unholstering when they shouldn't, like showing off their gun.

No thumb safety means treating the gun as always loaded and never being careless.
 
No, "no thumb safety".....

I for one, wouldn't feel unsafe with a M&P Shield with or without the manual safety. S&W has a few safety devices & features in the pistol.
Civil actions & bad PR tend to do that to most US gun makers. :D
I'm left handed & would buy a new Shield without the safety in 9x19mm. I used to push for the .40S&W but the fact that the pistol may need to fired one handed & the 9x19mm feeds/cycles great in shorter barrels led me to the 9mm.

You could buy a standard Shield model & carry it "cruiser ready" of condition III(loaded mag, empty chamber) but for my $, the "no thumb safety" Shield 9mm is a good bet. ;)
 
Loaded chamber, safety off.
Click to expand...
Wow! Am I overly cautious when I carry my 1911 cocked & locked with the thumb safety on? I practice sweeping the safety off when raising the weapon to the firing position and I am a bit concerned that in a moment of excitement & confusion grabbing the pistol from the holster could introduce the chance of a finger inside the trigger guard. Or, I also have this irrational fear that somehow my shirt tail or a piece of lint will snag the trigger as I unholster it.

Maybe I should have made this a poll: Who carries with round in chamber and safety off?
 
plodder said:
Wow! Am I overly cautious when I carry my 1911 cocked & locked with the thumb safety on? I practice sweeping the safety off when raising the weapon to the firing position and I am a bit concerned that in a moment of excitement & confusion grabbing the pistol from the holster could introduce the chance of a finger inside the trigger guard. Or, I also have this irrational fear that somehow my shirt tail or a piece of lint will snag the trigger as I unholster it.



Maybe I should have made this a poll: Who carries with round in chamber and safety off?
Click to expand...


Well I would say every Glock owner, m&p owner without thumb safety, and every other owner who's pistol doesn't have an external manually operated safety.

If your gun has one, use it. My 1911 obviously does so I carry it cocked with safety on(I hate the phrase cocked and locked anymore meatheads use it to describe any loaded gun). When I carry my Glock it's chambered and there is no safety. No big deal really.
 
If your gun has a frame mounted safety you can sweep down during the draw?

Use it!

If your pistol has a slide mounted safety you have to push Up during the draw?
Don't use it, your DA gun very likely has a trigger & also a drop safety.

In either case?
Use a good holster that completely covers the trigger.

And don't pull the trigger until the holster gives you permission too after the gun is drawn from it.

And even then, give it a great deal of thought very quickly first!!!

rc
 
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My Shield has a six pound trigger. If a Glock and others are safe to carry without a manual safety then the Shield is just as safe to carry without the safety on. Having said that, I do carry with a round chambered, safety on.
 
But, But, but?

Wouldn't that shirttail snagged coming out of the holster be pulling the trigger the wrong direction to make it fire?

It't not drawing you need to concern yourself with.

It's stuffing it back in the holster loaded with no rational thought that you need to make sure where your shirttail is!!!

That right there is the only time a snagged trigger is being pushed the right direction to fire it.

(And maybe also concern yourself with shirttails like that, if they are that long & likely to pull a trigger without your consent!)

rc
 
When I was active duty we carried (required) our M9 round in the chamber - decock - safety off - holster.

Not a problem.
 
When I first started carrying my Colt Commander concealed I carried in a Milt Sparks Exec Companion. A year or so later, I added a light rail to my CC and my gun no longer fit in my inside the waist band holster. Since I had a Galco IWB holster to carry my Glock 19, I began carrying it on a daily basis. My Galco is no different than any other holster, in that my trigger is protected by the trigger guard has I holster and nothing should be able to pull my trigger inside my holster; additionally, I carry my Glock in with a round in the chamber and ready to go. I typically where untucked short-sleeved, button down shirts, and anytime I holster and get a piece of the shirt in the way of the gun, it doesn't get any further than the lower of the gun in front of the trigger guard. That said, I don't have any concerns about an AD or anything with the way I carry my Glock.

Additionally, I have begun to carry my Keltec 3AT .380 on a metal clip (like those on a knife that sits inside your pocket with the clip on the outside of your pocket). I still carry it with a round in the chamber and ready to go. The 3AT has a pretty hefty trigger pull, and I still don't have any concerns carry it that way.

One last thought, I would not carry any of my weapons concealed in any condition other than a round in the chamber. If I'm ever attacked, it will most likely be fast and very violent; I will not have time to chamber a round and fight for my life or those I'm defending.
 
my 1911 is my only handgun that has a safety...

i carried my m&p for a week with no round in the chamber. Every night i would check to see if my gun had "dry fired". nope... Near the end of the week, i tried doing everything i could that i though "may" make my gun go off... anything from sprinting, jumping jacks, riding my motorcycle on the highway rumble strips etc etc. didnt go off once. Been carrying with one in the chamber with no safeties on the gun ever since.
 
I also have this irrational fear that somehow my shirt tail or a piece of lint will snag the trigger as I unholster it
Click to expand...

I have a rational fear that I would draw my gun and miss the safety resulting in my death.

The answer is however you do it is to practice and do it every week.
 
Glocks....

Glocks have what's called "safe action". :D
If you look closely at the trigger, you see you need to press that down, then pull the trigger back. ;)
I carry my Glock 21 gen 04 .45acp loaded chamber, loaded magazine.
Id feel safe with it & would carry it concealed or OC without worry.
If I owned or packed a SAO SIG model or a 1911 format Id use a loaded chamber & safety on(frame mounted type).
I would not stroll around or go on duty with a 1911a1/1911 SAO model with a cocked hammer, safety off. :uhoh:

If SAOs or 1911 safety designs rattle you, look into the after market SFS feature from Cylinder-Slide in Fremont NE. The gunsmiths can fit a ambi safety that moves the hammer back when you lower the safety. It's fast, secure & gives some 1911 owners(Hi Power too) piece of mind.
 
Glocks have what's called "safe action".
If you look closely at the trigger, you see you need to press that down, then pull the trigger back.
Click to expand...

Springfields have that as well. I never really saw the point of it since you can't avoid pulling it when pulling the trigger, i.e., there is no separate action of pulling the safety and then the trigger. Maybe that's for a drop safety?
 
RustyShackelford said:
Glocks have what's called "safe action". :D

If you look closely at the trigger, you see you need to press that down, then pull the trigger back. ;)

I carry my Glock 21 gen 04 .45acp loaded chamber, loaded magazine.

Id feel safe with it & would carry it concealed or OC without worry.

If I owned or packed a SAO SIG model or a 1911 format Id use a loaded chamber & safety on(frame mounted type).

I would not stroll around or go on duty with a 1911a1/1911 SAO model with a cocked hammer, safety off. :uhoh:



If SAOs or 1911 safety designs rattle you, look into the after market SFS feature from Cylinder-Slide in Fremont NE. The gunsmiths can fit a ambi safety that moves the hammer back when you lower the safety. It's fast, secure & gives some 1911 owners(Hi Power too) piece of mind.
Click to expand...


I love my Glock and think it's a great carry gun(who wouldn't love 13+1 of 45acp?) but I always laugh when a Glock rep talks about the safety on the trigger.
 
Safe?....

Is the small lever not a safety device?
Try to pull the Glock trigger back without the center safety part.
It won't work. :rolleyes:
Does this mean it's a "manual safety"? No. But it's worth noting.

When Ruger first rolled out the SR9 9x19mm about 4 years ago, they recalled the guns & re-engineered the stock trigger to be more like the Glocks & XD models. ;)


Glocks aren't perfect but they are darn close. :D
 
plodder said:
Wow! Am I overly cautious when I carry my 1911 cocked & locked with the thumb safety on?
Click to expand...

No you are not, but, a 1911 and a M&P Shield do not function the same way so treating them the same is not always appropriate.
 
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