Glock

S

Steel

New member
Just thinking aloud...

I like Glocks (not my first choice), but their trigger safety system has always struck me as not a real safety at all. Granted, their drop safety feature is consistent with other manufacturers, but the trigger "safety" is merely a secondary button/trigger/release built into the trigger. Glock praises this feature for its ability to prevent the trigger from being inadvertently engaged, unless the trigger release button is pushed. How can this "release" NOT be engaged. In other words, is it not very easy or unavoidable in just merely grabbing the gun and putting one's finger on the trigger to render it ready to fire...with no trigger safety at all?

Maybe I'm missing the point...Glocks ARE kool guns and I might get a 10 mm on of these days...feel free to throw some feedback my way (not intended to be a Glock-bashing, but a knowledge quest)
 
Is the Glock more safe than the Kahr? Or a Smith & Wesson 629 (last Smith round gun I shot - I think that was the number)
Its simple - Keep your fing off the dang trigger until your ready to fire.
 
Hi,Glocks are very ssfe guns and will not fire unless the trigger is pulled. Yes the Glock safety is easy to "disengage",but it was designed with the intent of having the gun loaded yet only having to point it and pull the trigger. Also if one is following gun safety rules,which we all should,your finger should NEVER be on the trigger until your sight are on target. If your not at a shooting range or god forbid,about to fire on someone who is a threat to your life,you should never place your finger on the trigger.
Most "Accidental Discharges" are the result of poor gun handeling. If I get into my car and start it up then put it in gear and step on the gas and ran over somebody,would it be the cars fault? No GM built safety fetures into that car.Once I put and gear it is simply doing what it was designed to do. Ditto for a gun.
How many time have you heard on the news that the gun "just went off"? It's a joke guns just don't go off anymore than cars just drive themselves.
Sorry for the rant. This is not directed toward you in any way. I'am just explaining things the way I see them.
Please don't be offended.
45automan
 
Steel may not have been disparaging the overall safety of the Glock but rather the point of the trigger lever. As a fan of Glocks, I too have sometimes wondered what the point is of that little piece of plastic. My Kahr, my 92D, or my revolvers are no less safe than my Glocks but they do not have the trigger lever. If my clothing should happen to snag the trigger well it's probably gonna snag the lever too. So I understand where he/she is coming from on that point.
 
"AndABeer" has correctly summarized my question...the point of a trigger lever (i.e. pull the trigger and the gun will fire, as with any other gun. It WOULD be an advantage in the area of a glancing blow to the trigger; however, I don't see how, in that cirmstance, the trigger lever could be avoided, and thus the trigger engaged and the gun fired)
 
Try it

With an unloaded Glock and all ammo away from the pistol, cock the pistol. Now try to make it fire without fully depressing the lever in the middle of the trigger. It takes full pressure to the lever and full rearward pressure to actuate the firing mechanism.
 
I think steel is asking an honest question. I have often thought about the trigger but as George Hill aptly put it if you have no aversion to carrying a double-action revolver, you will be fine with the Glock.

No a Glock is not the be-all; end-all weapon. The accuracy is only good but the durability/reliability is exceptional. Glock has built a Armorer/Parts/Distribution pipeline that deserves to be a case study for the Harvard School of Business.

With a Glock you get a very consistent product with very accessible service and spare parts. I think of Glocks as the Ford Trucks of handguns. Maybye they don't have all the amenities, they don't ride as well as others but dangit they make one heckuva work truck!
 
FWIW, I think it helps that the Glock trigger safety is in the front center of the trigger. IOW, whatever releases the safety has to be well inside the guard--accidental rearward pressure at the side of the trigger will not release the safety. Also, the trigger pull is somewhat lengthy.

Anyway, as a rule, I think safety depends much more on the person holding the gun than on the gun itself. For my part, over years of handling Glocks, which are my primary personal defense sidearms, I've never come anywhere close to an unintentional discharge. But, then, I try to be religious about keeping my finger or anything else out of the trigger guard of *any* gun--regardless of the safety system--until ready to shoot.

Just my 1 1/2 cent. :)
 
Safety Alternative

Take a look at the SAF-T-BLOK. It fits behind the trigger, and can quickly and easily be pressed out with your trigger finger when you are ready to fire. Cost = about $20. I would be uncomfortable putting a glock inside the waist band of my pants.
 
Keep you finger off of the trigger. BTW - many guys got shot with external safeties. and I love my Glock 20 in 10mm. 16 rounds of 175 grain Win Silvertips.
 
the whole idea behind glock's safety is that there is no way possible for a glock to fire unless the whole trigger along with the trigger safety is pulled all the way back. i suppose the little trigger safety could prevent the gun from going off if the trigger gets snagged on something but i don't feel that's the main safety reason for it being there. as long as i keep my finger outside the triggerguard until i'm ready to fire my glock won't fire. any revolver is the same way, you rarely hear people saying revolvers aren't safe but glocks are even safer than they are.
 
I always thought the main point of the trigger safety was so that you didn't pull the trigger when you went to holster it (or something along that nature). You know... so that anything that brushes against the SIDE of the gun doesn't catch the SIDE of the trigger and pull it.

That's always the way I saw it anyway.
 
Steel,

I understand your point exactly. First off let me say that I am a die hard fan of Glock pistols. All of the points brought up so far have been valid.

Let me just add to the thread by relaying what it says in an older copy of a Glock Armorer's Manual. Page 8: Trigger Safety, says in part "If the trigger safety is not depressed, then the trigger will not move to the rear and the pistol will not fire. This is designed to prevent the trigger from going to the rear when dropped"

So it appears that the real intend, at least to me, is that the trigger safety acts as a "drop type" safety. I agree with you Steel, it probably will not stop anything from pulling the trigger if something gets caught in the trigger guard.

As a matter of fact, this is one reason that many years ago I used to not like Glock pistols. But having thought through the issues and becoming much more familiar with pistol handling I have come to appreciate the safe and simple user friendly function that Glocks provide.

I know there are many people out there who will never own a Glock pistol for the simple reason that they do not have a user manipulated safety such as the thumb safety on the 1911 style guns. To them I say more power to 'ya. Use what you feel most comfortable and competent with. Keep in mind the basic safety rules and everything is groovy man ;-)

(Side note - allegedly there was a run of Glocks made for some Australian LE agency that does have a thumb type safety installed).


Take Care,

Rob
 
I have always viewed the trigger safety lever with a suspicious eye. I guess it would prevent an AD if something partly snagged the trigger. I wonder, though, how many AD's it has actually prevented.

Glocks are fine guns, and as I have said in other posts, it is one of the only 2 good semi-auto designs out there, and my comments are not intended to be derogatory.

My G30 has about a 5 lb trigger on it, about like a 1911. I think it is less safe than a DA revolver or semi auto with a 10 to 12 lb trigger.

I think it is really more like a cocked and unlocked 1911 with the grip safety deactivated.

I bought a Safe T Block for mine... might be unnecessary but makes me feel a little better.
 
I wish life was as easy as "keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot". Well, it's not as easy or as straight forward as that. By their very design Glock's are meant to be HOLSTERED pistols, period. Holding a Glock pistol is the same as holding a 1911 design with the safety OFF. With a round in the chamber one doesn't put a Glock under your pillow, on your nightstand, in a fanny pack (without a holster inside), in your waistband, under your truck seat, in your tackle box, or use a holster that doesn't completely cover the trigger guard. I wouldn't have a problem doing any of that with a conventional DA pistol. IMO, there's a HUGE difference between a 51/2lb. trigger and a 12lb. trigger. Best Regards, J. Parker
 
not at all like holding an unlocked 1911

malarkey. 5.5# pull with an 8# or 12#? options. .5" of travel. an unlocked held 1911 has all safeties disengaged. a held glock has none. i carry a g26 in my rear pocket when out hunting, nothing to pull the trigger there. i have it on top of a bookshelf close the door now sans holster, nothing to pull the trigger there. carry it my trucks console, nothing to pull the trigger there. carry it in a door pocket of another vehicle, nothing to pull the trigger there.
 
I agree that safety depends more on the person than the mechanism. Suppose I forgot to decock my Beretta 92 or SIG P220 (not a far-fetched scenario). The trigger would then be more sensitive to unintentional discharge than the trigger of a Glock. In this sense, the Glock trigger would be less vulnerable to the forgetfulness or carelessness of the user.

JMHO.
 
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