BALROG,
It comes down to training and myths.
THE MYTH: John BROWNING put the safety on the 1911 at the rear of the frame, so NO OTHER PLACEMENT CAN BE CORRECT!
The fact is early BERETTA 92 pistols had the safety on the rear of the frame just like the TAURUS 92/99 and 1911 style pistols. Like the 1911, when you switched the safety to the on position, it locked the hammer in the cocked position. Having the safety frame mounted seems to defeat the whole purpose of a double action pistol, since it encourages "cocked & locked" carry. Why use a double action pistol if you are going to carry the pistol cocked?
Jim
A point I wish to make, Cult Cocked and Locked frequently speak their wishes, as though they were fishes. One of these, of which I have read ad nauseam, is that the 1911 thumb safety positively blocks the hammer. It does not. The thumb safety is a sear blocking safety only.
@1911Tuner on the safety:
1911 safety
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/1911-safety.777474/#post-9866215
1911 safety
It's a little unnerving, but it's not as bad as it seems on the face of it.
The trigger still has to be pulled in order to fire the gun, and the grip safety has to be depressed before the trigger can be pulled.
The thumb safety only blocks the sear. It doesn't lock or block the hammer.
If the sear were to suddenly disintegrate, the hammer would fall, and it would wipe the safety off faster than you can do it with your thumb...and the odds of that happening are about as good as winning the powerball three times in a row.
If the hammer hooks were to fail, the sear would grab the half cock and stop the hammer.
If the sear crown cracked, the sear would still grab the half cock and stop the hammer.
And if it happens to be equipped with a Series 80 or Swartz system...the firing pin is blocked unless the trigger is pulled or the grip safety depressed...respectively.
So, breathe easy and keep your finger off the trigger until you want the gun to fire
About half of this is hyperbole by 1911tuner, gotta remember, his handle is 1911tuner!, so he is quite optimistic about the half cock safety. The half cock safety may or may not engage a falling hammer. I am aware of a Bullseye Pistol Match Director, (Frank) who was shooting in a Bullseye Pistol match who had his sear fail. He dropped the slide at the load command, (timed or rapid fire) and the sear broke. The pistol fired five rounds, with the fifth round went through the brim of Frank’s hat. Sears break. Sears also fail, when the hammer/sears wear enough, I have had doubles. That half cock is not an infallible, perfect safety. It may catch the hammer, it may not. The modern curl around beavertail is obviously designed to protect the hammer from an impact. I did read in a gun magazine, someone carried cocked and locked, the door knob from a double door hit the hammer, sheared the sear, and the 1911 discharged. I am sure if there was a collecting house on negligent discharges, we would have heard more about them.
John Browning understood this. This is a page from his “1911” patent where he put the thumb safety on. The 1910 pistol, which was the one accepted by the Army as reliable as the revolver, did not have a thumb safety. In his patent John Browning is quite aware of the consequences of sear breakage, which does happen when the hammer on a cocked 1911 is hit hard enough. Incidentally, sears just wear out, and then the hammer falls, and the thumb safety ain’t going to do nothing about that either.
John Browning claimed this feature would prevent sear failure from a blow. It has not been incorporated in the military pistol, or any other 1911 that I am aware of.
you can watch the whole video on how a 1911 works,
How a 1911 works, Thomas Swenke
and at some point, you will see this. The thumb safety is a sear blocking type safety. Not a hammer blocking safety.
So a slide safety that positively blocks the firing pin, is a more positive safety than a thumb safety that just blocks the trigger bow from touching the sear.
Since Cult Cocked and Locked is all about quick draw games, a slide mounted safety is slower to engage than a thumb safety, and they won't have one. Instead, they make up stories about how the 1911 thumb safety functions, to make themselves feel safe.