What do you consider a "safety"?

A safety is something that prevents the gun from firing when the shooter turns it on, and allows the gun to fire when the shooter turns it off.
 
The best safety is The Four Rules to prevent a bad negligent discharge. You must break at least two of the rules for a bad day. Still not good but much better than the alternative. My opinion. At some point all of us will have a negligent discharge, it’s just when. Follow the four rules all the time. None of us are perfect every time.
 
It seems to me that the safeties on a 1911 is what I think of. Such as a flip up and down lever, for the thumb. And a grip safety in addition to that, and those are two pretty good devices.
 
I distinguish between an "officially" designated safety and safety "features". My Browning HP has a hand safety that must be manually engaged to be punt on safe or off, then a floating firing pin and a magazine safety that require no action by the shooter. Plus a half cock, usually considered a safety feature. Not intended to take the place of the manual safety. My Star Model B allows the safety to engage with the hammer at half-cock.
 
Honestly ... The best safety is what is located between your ears .
A firearm is only as safe as the person holding it and using you head when handling a gun will keep every one a lot safer than any mechanical gizmo .
Gary
 
I consider a safety to be common sense coupled with a finger off the trigger - doesn't matter if a rifle, shotgun or handgun
 
My thoughts:

A safety is a selectable mechanical switch that prohibits the end user from firing the firearm. It is consistent, definitive, and repeatable.

While the brain is an important component under the umbrella of safety, it is not, IMO, a valid safety. The brain is a mysterious organ that is not always predictable even when its not "broken".

A safety is a safety feature, but a safety feature is not necessarily a safety.
 
I’m a revolver guy, so I don’t deal with a “safety” much. :)

But I do own a handful of 1911’s. I consider the thumb safety a “safety”, in my opinion. I don’t really think of the grip safety as a “safety”, though. I know they perform the same function (preventing the gun from being fired), but for some reason I don’t think of the grip safety as a “safety”. I carry revolvers, but I would have no problem at all carrying one of my 1911’s cocked and locked.
 
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