Safeties... Who needs 'em?

[General Geoff]

I might be called crazy and/or unsafe because of this, but..

I do not use firearm safeties. I keep all of my firearms with the safety OFF at all times. To me, it's an unnecessary device that complicates and confuses what could be simpler. I don't like safeties, because I want to know exactly what condition my firearm is in at all times, and that pulling the trigger will result in the hammer/striker being dropped. I do store my long guns either unloaded or loaded with an empty chamber (in the case of my HD shotgun). But all the safeties are always off. I don't want to be in need of a firearm in my house, and lock/load one, only to pull the trigger without result. In my opinion, the trigger is the only safety mechanism needed or desired. You should always be handling the firearm as if it were loaded and ready to fire anyway, and always pointing the muzzle away from anyone/anything of value. I might go so far as to say that safety mechanisms are foolish devices, as they may possibly lull you into a false sense of security ("the gun isn't loaded, and even if it were, the safety's on!")

Ok, now i'm ready to be chastised.

[Skuggi]

My sigma has no real safety and I perfer it that way. I see no need for them especially on a carry piece if you follow the rules of handling ANY weapon. No safety will help you if you do not follow those rules anyway.

As to my shotgun, it has an ambidexterous thumb safety that I usually keep on, because it's so simple to turn off by pushing up that it's a reaction before i pull the trigger even if I did not engage it, i still push up. The AK I keep unchambered, because it can eat though my house, safety off, god forbid I need to ever use that for home defense but it's not hard to just pull back and rock.

Also to note, I do not have any kids in the house, except my cousins on occasion. My Sigma stays on my hip almost always, and when they're going to be around, I make sure the long guns are locked up. They know the rules, but I know when I was a kid, I still got to one of the old .22LR rifles but I did know how to operate it. Makes me wish the damn liberals in the family would let me TEACH their kids about guns. So even if they do ever get a hold of one, they wont do anything dumb.

[Steve in PA]

Safeties have their purpose. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they are no good.

I carried a Beretta 92FS on duty for many years and I never had a problem flicking off the safety as I drew the pistol.

Whay does having a safety on of off have to do with knowing what condition your pistol is in?

Saying a safety is a foolish device proves nothing more than ignorance.

[Skuggi]

Originally Posted by Steve in PA

Whay does having a safety on of off have to do with knowing what condition your pistol is in?

Saying a safety is a foolish device proves nothing more than ignorance.

I think what he's getting at is how I see it, a safety lets people feel safe and some get lazy (Ref: Thread where guy shot his hand).

I'm not saying it's foolish, but I dont like how "Safe" people feel with safeties.

[jdlv4_0]

How you like to carry your gun is your business, pending on platform I agree, when I carried a Beretta 92FS I carried it hammer down (not cocked), safety off. I carry my Bersa .380 in the same manner.

Now that I carry mainly single action guns, mostly 1911's I use the thumb safety.

I look at like this, some guns need them, some don't. Revolvers have been around A LONG time without safeties, and they shouldn't have them, just like DAO autos.


**edited to add, when I carried my Beretta it was in combat and if I ever had tp pull it I wanted to make sure it would go bang as quick as possible. Now when I do carry the Bersa (harldy ever) I carry it in that fashion mainly because after "X" years of pushing a safety down on a 1911, I don't want to try the same thing on the Bersa, and I'm to lazy to retrain myself for the one gun that I hardly carry any more, my Smith 642 has replaced it.

[General Geoff]

My carry weapon (Smith & Wesson SW99 .40, it's a Walther P99 clone) does not have any external safety. It's DA/SA, with a decocker. I always carry with a round chambered, striker decocked (DA).

Upon further consideration, a SA-only carry pistol is an exception to my "safeties have no use" idea.

[jdlv4_0]

Originally Posted by General Geoff

Upon further consideration, a SA-only carry pistol is an exception to my "safeties have no use" idea.

Well that I am relieved to hear...

[jsb889]

I don't really care for safties either, but I like to have them on my semi-autos. When I set it down, I hit the safety. The bolt action, I usually let the bolt hang open. I always figure, if the bolt is closed its loaded, and if the saftey is on its loaded. I always check chamber to make sure anyway, but its a general rule. In fact, when I did some trigger work on my bolt I didn't even bother putting the safety back on because I never use it. Personal prefrence IMHO. As long as you're safe, you don't need to worry about a safety device.

I see your point in them making thing complicated. For when I eventually do carry, it'll be a glock, so it'll have no manual safety anyway . If I were carrying one with a manual safety, it'd be a SA/DA with it uncocked, round chambered. I see no reason why a safe person can't carry a pistol with a decently high trigger pull cocked and unlocked.

False sense of security is wayyy too correct.

[Emptymag]

The whole "might forget to take the safety off when I need it" thing is crap.
Training/practice tells you to take off the safety.

That being said, my first handgun was a Glock(had nothing to do with the safety)and I have since decided that any carry gun I own will be DOA/no safety since it's what my mind already knows. No need to muddy the waters and confuse my simple brain.
A 1911 for target shooting? Sure, I'd use the safety... but as was mentioned elsewhere, I don't replace safe firearm handling with faith in a mechanical device.

[Siobhra]

I was on a range next to an off-duty police officer. He was talking to himself as he prepared to shoot.
"Relax, aim, squeeze trigger, SHIT release safety, (at that point the clip was ejected)".