External Safety on Striker Fired Pistol

G

GoPappy

New member
I recently got my CHL (now called a License to Carry - LTC - in Texas since we have open carry as of 1/1/16). So I'm deciding what I want to carry. I've got a Glock 27 (along with some full size pistols that are too big to CC in my opinion). But I'm just not sure I want to carry a striker fired pistol without an external safety.

So, I've been thinking about a S&W M&P 9c with an external safety. But I see a lot of people that dislike having a manual safety on a striker fired gun, and I wonder why? Oh, I know that it's one more thing that could go wrong in a SD situation. But that seems like a training issue.

I know some people CC a 1911 or other hammer fired gun in Condition 1. So what's the difference? I know the striker fired guns are technically considered DA, but the triggers on my Glock and my PPQ are a MUCH shorter and easier pull than my Beretta PX4 or Bersa Thunder Pro 9 in a decocked condition.

I may decide to go with a DA/SA subcompact instead, but I thought I would ask here. Sorry if this has been discussed 10,000 times already.
 
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I should add one more thing. I'm left handed, so something like a Shield that has a safety only on one side won't work for me. The M&P 9c is one of the few compact guns that offers an ambidextrous safety.
 
Personal decision. Train with what you choose. Me personally I have never trained to disable a safety and don't have the muscle memory to do it under stress. I mean I shoot 1911s etc. and always start from safe but nowhere near as much as I would need.

I like DA/SA but am fine with striker fired as well.

There may be right and wrong answers on paper but that amounts to magazine racing and in the real world, like caliber, it all comes down to what works for YOU. and what YOU train with.
 
Nothing wrong with a safety on a SF pistol obviously or they would not even be made.

I bought a DA/SA HK45 and it comes with a safety. I don't usually use the safety so I just leave it off.
 
I have several different guns that I use to carry. My two favorites are my Glock G27 and Ruger LCP. Neither have an external safety and I wouldn't want one. The last thing I want if I even needed to use my weapon is the stop and think, "gee, did I flip the safety selector?".
 
Don't worry about what anyone else likes, you do what works for you. I don't carry any gun with a safety, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Practice deactivating it as you draw and you will be fine.
 
Long before the striker fired pistols came into being, a 1911, (a Commander preferably) was the go to gun for CCW and it worked for many of us quite well. The manual safety was no problem as you built it into your muscle memory during the draw. Today, I still prefer my M&P9 with a manual safety and have no issues with it.
 
I'm going to go with "it's a training issue." My impression is that folks either want an external safety, or they don't, but that's unrelated to whether the gun is hammer or striker fired.

GoPappy, if you want a striker fired pistol with an external safety, go for it. In my honest, 40-something, Fat Boy opinion, there's nothing inherently or irredeemably unsafe about it.
 
I agree with Spats it's a training issue. My right hand is trained to sweep a safety off on the draw and while I prefer a safety on striker guns I have no issues carrying a gun without one IE Sigs DA/SA. However my left hand is not trained to sweep the safety as I never belt carry on my left side I do however pocket carry in my left front pocket a lot so the pocket guns are DAO ish without a safety.
 
Nothing wrong with a safety unless you're not willing to spend the time learning to use it. But the same is true with any platform you choose.
 
Somebody adds safeties to Glocks.
Anyone know who?
Ruger SRs have ambi safeties, do they not?
They're nice and thin for easy carry, too, especially the smaller C series.
 
I'm new here but have researched this topic a bit and agree with the others that say its a personal preference. Each positions has Pros and Cons. No safety means your quicker to engage under stress but the addition of a safety can give you that extra measure of conscious thought before you attempt to shot another human being. It also adds another level of safety from accidental discharge while carrying it. Some also say it will help you if an assailant takes your gun away from you and they don't know how to disengage the safety.

I think with training disengaging a safety becomes second nature. I have not trained for it with handguns yet but I've been hunting with shotguns since I was a kid and all had safeties. It's become ingrained muscle memory to disengage the safety as I rise to shoot and I don't have any issues with that.
 
My wife likes having a manual safety on a pistol.
She got a Beretta PX4 compact which has an ambidextrous safety, different backstraps to change the grip, and 15 round magazine capacity.
It is DA/SA, not striker.
http://www.beretta.com/en-us/px4-storm-compact/
Click to expand...

I've got a PX4 full size. Great gun, and one of the reasons I bought it is the ambi safety. It is my HD gun and stays loaded in the decocked position. It's the softest shooting 9mm I have.

Interestingly, the PX4 Compact also has an ambi slide stop lever, which the full size does not have. If I had realized that when I bought mine, I'd have bought the compact. But it's not a big deal to me. I've learned to deal with non-ambi slide stops and mag releases. It's just the safety that has to be ambi for me.
 
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Hey folks, thanks for all the responses so far. I've read a lot of people talk negatively about the safeties on guns like the Shield, Ruger SR series, etc., so I thought that opinion might be widespread and that there might be a reason for it that I was not aware of.
 
I personally choose a DAO with no manual safety.
Some manual safeties on small pistols are not so natural to operate -- this kind I would avoid.
I have an M&P full size with a 1911-like safety -- this design is easy to use.
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Consider how you plan to carry it (loaded chamber, safety on/off).
 
Read through the extensive posts on numerious threads here on TFL on the subject to get perspectives from both sides. It's a personal choice, and trade off. If you feel more secure with a safety, and are confident you will be able to operate it under the extreme stress of an actual assault, then that is what to choose.
If however you are confident in your training to keep your finger off the trigger until you want to shoot, but are also concerned that physically missing the safety, slipping past the safety without releasing it, or mental stress (buck fervor times a thousand) will cause you to forget even trying to take the safety off, then you might choose one without a manual safety.
Tyere is one option in between. Springfield Armory XDs Striker fired, trigger safety similar to the Glock, but with a grip safety like a 1911.
 
It is a training issue. The problem is people don't train.

I've seen it time and time again, you can train someone to disengage the safety all year, 2 hours week. Yet in a panic situation where they don't get time to think, the forget the safety.

Changing pistols is another big problem. I shoot different types of action pistol shooting where I change pistols. For example, with pins or heavy steel I like the heavy 45s as in a 1911. When I go to run 'n gun, where I shoot a hi cap Beretta with an 18 round magazine.

As we know, you push down the safety of the Colt, and push the safety on the 92FS.

When pushed for time I get it wrong and it ends up costing me a second or two.

Being mainly a revolver guy, I've never had that problem. I just forget about it and pull the trigger. So I carry revolver for SD.

If you don't train, and that's a huge majority of the people who carry, stay away from external safeties. Go with a revolver or striker fired pistol. Nothing unsafe about them if you keep your finger off the trigger.

If you want a safety and TRAIN with it, don't be changing carry guns. I don't care how much training or practice you do, you shoot a match or shooting session with one gun, and switch to a different gun, under pressure and time, your going to get it wrong. A second or two cost you points in a match. It could be serious in a SD situation.

If a shot timer causes panic and pressure, imagine what someone charging with a knife threatening to cut off your head will do.
 
As you see there are many trained, skilled, and experienced folks on either side. Some are very adamant and believe anyone that disagrees is either untrained, unknowing, or unable to understand the issue. I carry an SR9c. I like the external safety and am comfortable with its use. I could get by without it if need be, but given the choice I prefer an external safety on a strker fired weapon or a de-cocker on a SA/DA pistol. The choice really depends on preference.
 
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