A defense of thumb safeties.

DangerZone98 said:
Switching to decocker-only? Nice. Always thought Beretta safeties were awkwardly positioned. I vastly prefer 1911 safeties. The heavy DA trigger should prevent any accidental discharges anyway.
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If you are comfortable with the 1911 safety, the Beretta was actually designed to mimic the thumb movement. It takes a day or so of practice to get it, but once you familiarize yourself with this technique it's easy to repeat.

1. Place your thumb straight up with your shooting grip.
2. Swipe your thumb forward and down (swiping the slide safety)

The safety pops off with authority and your shooting grip is maintained.
 
Scott321 said:
If you are comfortable with the 1911 safety, the Beretta was actually designed to mimic the thumb movement. It takes a day or so of practice to get it, but once you familiarize yourself with this technique it's easy to repeat.

1. Place your thumb straight up with your shooting grip.
2. Swipe your thumb forward and down (swiping the slide safety)

The safety pops off with authority and your shooting grip is maintained.
Click to expand...
I see. Might try that sometime then. Thanks man. The location is still a bit awkward though. I appreciate the 1911’s thumb safety for being close to the base of my thumb. Makes for easier manipulation.
 
Before I even start this post, just want to say, I actually like 1911 pistols, qualified with one more than once before the US army went to the Beretta. So don't take this as I don't like 1911 pistols, I've never shot one, I don't know what I'm doing with one, cuz that's not what it is.
My biggest issue with 1911 pistols carried for self-defense, as in a CCW or CHL isn't necessarily the pistol, it's the person carrying it. Everybody I know that trains with a 1911 first thing they do when they yank it out of the holster is flip that safety off. Which is what you're supposed to do, but in a self-defense situation or just toting that thing around town cocked and locked, I think they're just maybe a little too much or a little too little trigger pull.
everybody says the same thing Glocks don't have a hammer they're always cocked, your revolver doesn't necessarily have a hammer if it's a hammerless it's always cocked what's the difference. The difference is I pull out my revolver I don't instantly slam the hammer back and have a single action trigger pull.
As far as Glocks go, you pull that out you put your finger on the trigger you still got 3/8 of an inch to a half inch of trigger pull and 5 1/2 lb if stock. 1911 style pistols were made for combat in a war zone where single action trigger pull isnt an issue, nowadays if that's what you want to carry fine, don't be surprised if you yank that thing out and the adrenaline's flying and you touch that trigger that you've so meticulously polished you don't squeeze a round off when you don't want to. now people are going to say you don't put your finger on the trigger until you're actually going to pull the trigger, you are correct, but sometimes when the shit hits the fan your finger will sometimes touch the trigger. You won't even know it's there until you see that flash and hear that bang.
I am in no way saying that it is not a viable self-defense gun, what I am saying is you better damn well be paying attention because when you flip that safety off you got a single action trigger in your hand and probably about two and a half pounds of pressure and zero movement before it goes boom.
Watch some YouTube, there's a bunch of videos of people putting rounds into the ground or putting rounds into their leg because they flip that safety off and squeeze that trigger. Just my opinion, you are more than welcome to yours.
 
I'll take my Glock and let others fumble about with their decockers and safeties. When my finger is off of the trigger, the safety is on. When my finger is on the trigger, the safety is off. Easy peasy...
 
It's not a safety per se, but there is something called the Striker Control Device for Glocks. It's aftermarket, but it has excellent reviews.

The re-holstering issue is a real one.
 
kamagong said:
It's not a safety per se, but there is something called the Striker Control Device for Glocks. It's aftermarket, but it has excellent reviews.

The re-holstering issue is a real one.
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What re-holstering issue? I've been carrying Glocks for many years and have never had an issue with them.
 
Some people have trouble keeping their booger picker off the trigger. It's a problem that is highlighted when holstering their guns.

You ever go on YouTube and watch the Glock Fo-Tay classroom video?
 
That's not a glock issue it's a dumbass issue.
If a person isn't smart enough, yes, I said smart enough, my opinion, it has nothing to do with training, it's being to stupid to keep their finger off the trigger when re holstering.
A lot of people rattle off the "needed more training" bullshit when it's more of an intelligence thing, like being an adult and someone telling you a knife is sharp and the first thing you do is run your finger down the blade.
With a knife, you cut yourself, and feel stupid, with a gun, it's a bit more final, think before you act, untill you don't have to, and then still think before you act.
Or not, as long as you only hurt yourself, good luck.
 
kamagong said:
Some people have trouble keeping their booger picker off the trigger. It's a problem that is highlighted when holstering their guns.

You ever go on YouTube and watch the Glock Fo-Tay classroom video?
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No. Some people are just stupid. So you have to jump them like a Marine Corps drill instructor every time they do it. My stare is so cold that people can feel it without looking to see if I'm watching.
 
Both are fine if your training and what you carry are consistent. If you do choose a manual safety, I prefer a 1911 style safety that is natural for your thumb to engage when acquiring your grip.

As far as some of the misconceptions in previous posts...

All modern handguns have internal safeties that prevent accidental discharges from dropping, impact, etc.

Long guns require manual safeties because they are slung and the trigger well is exposed. A holstered handgun should not have an exposed trigger well. If your pack carrying and the gun is loose, double action, manual safety, or a trigger guard should be used.

The which is safer argument will forever go back and forth. A manual safety does add a step prior to the decision to fire, thus allowing more time to process information. However, the “safety” or the “more dangerous lever” allows one more excuse for the negligent discharge (I didn’t think it was loaded, I didn’t know it was real, I thought it was unloaded, I THOUGHT IT WAS ON SAFE, etc.).

The real answer is simple, TRAIN. “You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to your training”.
 
tueller said:
Both are fine if your training and what you carry are consistent. If you do choose a manual safety, I prefer a 1911 style safety that is natural for your thumb to engage when acquiring your grip.

As far as some of the misconceptions in previous posts...

All modern handguns have internal safeties that prevent accidental discharges from dropping, impact, etc.

Long guns require manual safeties because they are slung and the trigger well is exposed. A holstered handgun should not have an exposed trigger well. If your pack carrying and the gun is loose, double action, manual safety, or a trigger guard should be used.

The which is safer argument will forever go back and forth. A manual safety does add a step prior to the decision to fire, thus allowing more time to process information. However, the “safety” or the “more dangerous lever” allows one more excuse for the negligent discharge (I didn’t think it was loaded, I didn’t know it was real, I thought it was unloaded, I THOUGHT IT WAS ON SAFE, etc.).

The real answer is simple, TRAIN. “You don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to your training”.
Click to expand...

More than just train, you need to train properly. If you don't train properly then you are just reinforcing bad habits. People need to train properly until the good training becomes automatic.
 
000Robert said:
More than just train, you need to train properly. If you don't train properly then you are just reinforcing bad habits. People need to train properly until the good training becomes automatic.
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semantics. I don’t think anyone was arguing that you should train improperly.
 
I prefer a thumb safety. I learned to use them early on as a kid. I see no down side having an extra safety.
..talkin about not single action pistols. on those ya need one. I carry a 1911 typically so its really a non-issue to me personally.

on the flip side I'm fine with the glock system too. its good to be comfortable and safe on both setups. I get other disagree that's fine.
 
After reading the first few posts, it seems some basic things are being overlooked. If a manual thumb safety is preventing you from shooting yourself while holstering, either your $4 Chinese holster is a total fail or you are not paying attention.

I carry a Glock and shooting myself is not a concern because I keep my finger off the trigger and don't cram my pistol into a pocket full of pens, car keys, etc. A good holster protects the trigger so, if you can manage to get the muzzle into the holster without covering your own body, even if you have DON'T have your finger off the trigger, other than ringing ears and the need for clean underwear, you are apt to be physically ok.

Modern pistol designs, ignoring the cheaper disposable pistols, are built to function properly without a thumb safety. They also don't have 2# trigger pulls, though a "New York" trigger is a different problem IMHO.

1911's and Hi-Powers had thumb safeties for reasons that aren't applicable today. Ignoring the US Border Patrol, I don't see many people on horses carrying modern pistols. ;)

The legacy of the 1911 has many bureaucrats thinking that thumb safeties are the answer but, they also forget that those old worn out 1911's were single-action pistols. Even New York City didn't expect the S&W double-action revolvers to have manual thumb safeties.
 
I agree that the “reholstering issue” is a training issue, not the fault of the gun itself. You have to train to keep finger off trigger when reholstering, and do it thousands of times so it becomes automatic.

If I do become a 1911 owner in the future, I don’t really mind the thumb safety. Just another component I have to train with. Although a Glock 21 is also fairly tempting.
 
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