What's wrong with slide mounted safeties?

[Coal Dragger]

This is easily solved on the Beretta 92 series by converting the pistol to a G variant. That is Ernest Langdon's preference, as well as Bill Wilson's and several other notable trainers. There is no reason the 92 series needs a safety, the lever should only act as a de-cocker. That way there is literally no way to accidentally on safe the pistol manipulating the slide under stress.

 

[eazyrider]

Well, I learned on the 92, I carry a 92 ( a WC) and I love the 92. To me, a 1911 safety is backward. While I love my Wilson, I mean really love it, the whole de-cocker only thing isn't much of a selling point to me. I have never had the safety engage when I didn't want it too. I mean I'm sure it can happen but a weak grip on a 1911 can cause that safety to not engage. It's all a matter of training and getting use to what you carry.

 

[HoosierQ]

Nothing wrong with them. Just a configuration that some people don't care for. Just a matter of preference really. Arguments will be made for both. I'd say the case is a little stronger "pro-frame" than "pro-slide" but at the end of the day, it's personal preference and/or design choices made. My favorite safety equipped pistols are both slide mounts.

 

[Grunt]

I never had a problem with finding the decocking lever on an M9 to be awkward to use. However, I have taught many a class while going over immediate action, I have accidently turned the decocking lever down to the safe position leaving me with a dead trigger. It was a good teaching point for the class to show them what can happen with this design.

 

[socalbeachbum]

Part of my asking this is that for some years now I have primarily fired a Glock, and not dealt with decocking. But I've also had more than one accidental discharges, taking me back to a higher trigger pull weight.

BTW, the P226 2016 California style puts the LCI on top of the slide, to where with a perfect sight picture, the Red paint on the bar is visible in your sight picture. I'm told some grind down this bar and paint it black.

I'll go looking this weekend to see if the available SP2022's have the indicator or not. I also want to see the CZ frame mounted lever and understand how it operates.

And I'm thinking when my question on slide mounted safety, when it is a slide mounted decocking lever, it then becomes an issue of convenience, since you can't 'safe' the pistol accidentally.

 

[ATLDave]

The problem with a slide mounted safety isn't really a problem... it's just that it's not as optimal as a frame-mounted safety. A frame mounted, down-to-fire safety can (indeed, should) be ridden while shooting. The shooter takes the grip and the dominant thumb gets on top of the safety and stays there.

With a frame-mounted safety, taking the safety off isn't an extra motion. It isn't something that one can forget. No matter how flustered one gets, no matter how much "fine motor control degradation" is occurring, the safety is a complete non-issue. It adds literally ZERO additional time to the draw, and ZERO risk of failure. It takes some conscious effort NOT to take off the safety.

The slide-mounted safety... not as much. It requires an extra motion beyond taking a firing grip to deactivate it. All the criticisms that the "keep-it-simple" crowd (the Glockophiles and such) direct towards safeties are really directed at the slide-mounted (or suboptimally arranged frame-mounted) safeties.

Is it a big deal? That's up to the individual to decide. It may or may not be notable that frame-mounted safeties are very, very common on guns in speed/practical pistol sports, but slide-mounted safeties are a comparative rarity.

 

[basicblur]

You could just swipe the safety down. http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=15317

While that may work on the Beretta (which I don't own or have any interest in) I don't think it's going to work on my 4013TSW since there's nothing at the rear to hook your thumb on.

After buying said 4013TSW, I decided I wouldn't buy any more guns with slide mounted safeties, especially ones that did not operate like a 1911 safety.

 

[MICHAEL T]

They really suck if left handed

 

[rskent]

DUH !! they’re upside down.

 

[SSN Vet]

they go back and forth

 

[huntsman]

The first semi-auto I bought was a BDA and it has a slide safety/decocker, I liked it so much I bought a 3rd gen S&W.

I'm a lefty and if I had to have a safety it was going to be an ambi-safety, when I carry said guns it's with safety off.

 

[Paladin7]

Slide Mounted Safeties/DeCockers require a different Manual of Arms than other pistols that lack this feature. You need to ensure you swipe the safety up EVERY TIME you draw your pistol, to ensure it goes bang every time. This has to be ingrained by constant practice if you wish to carry a pistol with this feature for serious social purposes.

Personally, I don't like slide mounted safeties at all. I much prefer the Glock system or 1911 if you want a manual safety on a defensive pistol.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I have experience with owning, shooting and carrying "old-school" S&W autos with slide safeties. I don't use them. Not as safeties, anyway. They are just to decock the gun, which doesn't really have to be done in a hurry. Then I push the lever back up and carry with the safety off. Almost all of these guns also had magazine disconnect safeties, which is another topic.

 

[JTQ]

Paladin7 wrote,
You need to ensure you swipe the safety up EVERY TIME you draw your pistol, to ensure it goes bang every time.

You would if you carried the gun with the safety engaged. However, as ...

The Lone Haranguer wrote,
I have experience with owning, shooting and carrying "old-school" S&W autos with slide safeties. I don't use them. Not as safeties, anyway. They are just to decock the gun, which doesn't really have to be done in a hurry. Then I push the lever back up and carry with the safety off.

I suspect nearly everybody carries their safety/decocker pistols with the hammer down and the safety off.

 

[meatballs]

It's a personal preference thing. Try them out, and see what you like. You will be fine either way.