Definitely not good...

[Stressfire]

Not terrible, but not good.

So, I have been carrying my Bersa thunder 45UC for about a month now as an edc in an, admittedly, el cheapo Blackhawk IWB holster at about 4 o'clock position (behind crest of hip, just above right butt cheek).

I never usually remove it from the holster when I take it off but since no one was home yesterday (ie the wife) I decided to do some practice drawing (unloaded).

After a couple of draws, I noticed that the safety was off. Ok, no big deal, so I engaged it, reholstered, and continued practice - walking around and drawing from various positions. After the second, I noticed safety off again. At first I thought maybe disengaging it had simply become second nature and I did not notice myself doing it.

Now I slowed everything down, walked and drew.....the safety was off again....

This is decidedly not good. Yes, the safety feels like it switches off easier than when I first got it. But as I carry chambered, I do not feel comfortable carrying loaded if the safety will not stay put.

So I am wondering, is it the holster? the gun? position on belt? (I tried 3 o'clock too, same deal). ideas, thoughts, opinions?

 

[Don H]

Is the safety off before you draw it or does the act of drawing wipe the safety off? Is there a holster sweat guard between your body and the safety?

 

[aarondhgraham]

Something is moving the safety lever,,,

Unless you can make the lever move by maybe shaking the gun,,,
Something has to be touching it to make it move.

Unless you believe in Gremlins.

So, put the lever in safe position,,,
Holster it and mess with it while watching,,,
You should be able to determine what is touching the lever.

Aarond

 

[kraigwy]

The problem many people have, is they assume a mechanical safety work. They assume the holster is safe, the assume the gun wont double, or slam fire.

Safeties can fail, or we can inadvertently disengage the safety while drawing or many other reasons.

What does not fail is the Four Basic Safety Measures.

If a safety fails, so what. No finger on the trigger, no point at anything you don't want to shoot, we know the gun is loaded, we know what's being the target if we are pointing at the target.

Guns fail, guns double, guns slam fire, but, if the four basic safety rules are followed, no one gets hurt, no damage to anything we don't want damaged.

Don't trust any pistol, don't trust any holster, don't trust anyone (telling you the gun's unloaded), trust the four basics.

Added to the four basic's I add another, unless you're actually involved in shooting a rifle, it should have an empty chamber indicator in the chamber. That way anyone can see that the gun is safe.

 

[spacecoast]

Added to the four basic's I add another, unless you're actually involved in shooting a rifle, it should have an empty chamber indicator in the chamber. That way anyone can see that the gun is safe.

That's an excellent idea Kraig. Our public range doesn't require it, but I always try to use an ECI to make it easier for the ROs to ascertain the status of my guns. ECIs are required at the local club's bullseye range, of course.

 

[Stressfire]

Is the safety off before you draw it or does the act of drawing wipe the safety off?

Both, I think. When I stood still and drew slowly, it was fine. Stationary quick-draw, safety was off. Was off for both speeds after walking around for a few seconds.

When it is holstered but not on my person, the safety stays on even when stripped from the holster. When worn, I can't tell if it's switching off in the holster or as a result of being drawn. Possible that I'm just an idiot and its supposed to do that?

They assume the holster is safe, the assume the gun wont double, or slam fire

I'm not one of them. I just like to keep as little margin for error as possible. Main reason for the query is that I would prefer not to end up like this guy and definitely not this one.