Conceal carry safety question/intro

[hb2u]

Howdy. I'm looking for some answers regarding pistols for Conceal Carry purposes.

Although I guess a bit of an introduction is in order.

I'm 43 and I've spent a lot of years hunting, but I have no experience with handguns. Due to a recent change in the atmosphere of our neighborhood, it has become necessary for my wife and I to be more proactive in protection of our family and property. The revelation of how prevalent the drug trade is has also driven our desire to explore our right to carry.

Prior to this, neither of us had much opinion of handguns, good or bad, aside from the fact that we were sure we would never have a need for one. It just wasn't something that we saw as a hobby we would pursue. Now we feel otherwise.

That being said, as I read and educate myself , I am seeing that a lot of handguns do not have a manual safety. Based on my hunting background, I am having trouble coming to grips with this.

When you carry a concealed weapon, what is preventing accidental discharge of the weapon? Is it so secure in the holster that it isn't an issue? Is there some other way to prevent accidental discharge?

I know that the reason you carry a weapon is to have it ready to go at a moment's notice, but are all of you carrying a gun that is one trigger bump away from firing?

I'm just having visions of driving in the minivan and somehow accidentally firing a weapon and hurting my wife or child, or picking up a child and bumping a trigger.

How does all that work?

Thanks for any input you can give, I'm at a bit of a loss with this.

HB

[ungawa]

Most modern handguns can be thrown out of a plane and they won't go off. High quality holsters protect the trigger from pretty much everything but a coathanger being stuck in there and manipulated until the gun goes off (like trying to break into your car). The danger is in handling the firearm or having substandard or worn out gear.

That being said, most carry handguns actually do have manual safeties if you feel you would prefer that. But that should not change the attention you give to handling a handgun whatsoever. The only near-guarantee of safety is never letting the muzzle cross something you wouldn't want to shoot, not even for an instant, and keeping your finger off the trigger and on the frame until your sights are on target. A manual safety may not make failure to obey those rules any more forgiving.

Handguns should be holstered at all times. Even at home. Even when the gun is not on your body. They are only handled for loading/unloading/checks, cleaning, and firing.

[scruff]

Yes, the holster covers the trigger, and the gun won't go off unless the trigger is pulled.

A great way to start is to take a class or two. Many classes will provide a gun if you don't have one. Go visit your local shop, tell them you're a newbie, and they'll be happy to show you a range of guns with different actions, safeties, etc.

[glock4life]

Handguns should be holstered at all times. Even at home. Even when the gun is not on your body. They are only handled for loading/unloading/checks, cleaning, and firing.

I know what you mean here, but some novices might think that you mean it's ok to store a handgun in a holster. I learned that "rusty lesson" the hard way. Pitted a nice revolver really good! Ouch!

[ColtShooter]

You might want to think about the old school 38 snub. Not an ultralight but something with a little weight and an exposed hammer. It allows you to practice using the single action and a heavier double action if you have concerns with carrying an auto. They were used for many years and are still carried by many. Not high capacity but 5-6 rds from a 38 is nothing to sneeze at.

[Jhaydeno]

Something else that no one has touched on is a double action trigger. If your rifles are like most of my rifles you've got some light trigger pulls, and that may be what you're expecting in a handgun. While some guns like the popular 1911 do have lighter pulls, they are single action: the hammer is already back, having had to be manually manipulated for the first shot, and they do have safeties for that reason. If you decide on a double action firearm the first portion of the trigger pull drives the hammer back, and it is usually pretty heavy and a long pull, negating the need for an additional safety like you may find on a lighter single action trigger where the hammer is already 'halfway' through the firing cycle.

I won't get into the whole discussions on double action, follow up shots, etc. except to say it is discussed in detail all over the internet. I will suggest you shoot as many different types of guns you can until you find one you really like, and remember the best gun to carry is the one you don't leave at home because its heavy or uncomfortable!

[sir Joseph]

I have the XDS and besides having a trigger safety it has a mostly pointless grip safety, but it won't allow the gun to fire unless you have a grip on the gun, which is 99.999% of the time impossible not to have.

[PSUWaz00]

Mainly reiterating what most have said:

Howdy. I'm looking for some answers regarding pistols for Conceal Carry purposes.

Although I guess a bit of an introduction is in order.

I'm 43 and I've spent a lot of years hunting, but I have no experience with handguns. Due to a recent change in the atmosphere of our neighborhood, it has become necessary for my wife and I to be more proactive in protection of our family and property. The revelation of how prevalent the drug trade is has also driven our desire to explore our right to carry.

Prior to this, neither of us had much opinion of handguns, good or bad, aside from the fact that we were sure we would never have a need for one. It just wasn't something that we saw as a hobby we would pursue. Now we feel otherwise.

That being said, as I read and educate myself , I am seeing that a lot of handguns do not have a manual safety. Based on my hunting background, I am having trouble coming to grips with this.

When you carry a concealed weapon, what is preventing accidental discharge of the weapon? Is it so secure in the holster that it isn't an issue? Is there some other way to prevent accidental discharge? -Most guns these days are drop proof. I know I dropped my LC( from about 3 feet and aside from worring about scratches, I knew it wouldn't fire). Most carry guns are striker fired with either a trigger safety (Glock or MP style) or just have a way long trigger pull (like my LC9). Many do infact have manual safeties, which can be engaged or left off depending on user perference. A good holster will both retain through either friction (leather) or fit (kydex). Either way, the trigger will be covered and you won't have to worry about that, trigger saftey or pull aside. If you do get a striker fired pistol, most (correct me if I'm wrong someone) often rest at half cocked and won't have enough punch to fire a round if for some impossible your sear broke or something. The biggest deterrant to both AD's and ND's are you.

I know that the reason you carry a weapon is to have it ready to go at a moment's notice, but are all of you carrying a gun that is one trigger bump away from firing? - See above. I'll admit the first couple weeks I carried I went around with an empty chamber for the same reasons you list above. However, once you start to feel comfortable, you'll find that carrying with one in the chamber is not as big of a deal as you first thought and that it's actually providing what could be a few live saving seconds should you ever need your carry piece to go bang in a hurry.

I'm just having visions of driving in the minivan and somehow accidentally firing a weapon and hurting my wife or child, or picking up a child and bumping a trigger.

How does all that work?

Thanks for any input you can give, I'm at a bit of a loss with this.

HB

If you really want the extra measure of security without risking having to chamber a round under stress, look at guns like the LC9 or SR9C, as they do have a manual saftey in addition to a long pull (LC9) and a trigger safety (SR9C). Biggest thing I would recommend first is take a course or two and go shooting with buddies that own pistols. You need to become familiar with a how a pistol works/feels as well as become proficient in their use. As they say, when under stress, you revert back to your lowest level of training, so practice and become comfortable shooting all pistols, but especially your carry piece. Good luck in your search and I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Hokkmike]

WELCOME.

The longer trigger pulls and trigger safes are supposed to provide an adequate margin of safety. I believe they do.

But, except for revolvers, my semis all come equipped with manual safeties. I can choose to use them or not.

I ALWAYS know what (firing) condition my semi is in.

[hb2u]

Thanks for all the information. I did locate a range that offers rental guns and test drove a Smith & Wesson 9 mm subcompact. It seems like the grip was too small for me to adequately wrap my hand around it and control the gun.

It was a real eye-opener to see how hard it was to hit a target at 10 yards. I got halfway through a box of shells before I had a decent grouping.

I was also looking at a Bersa which has a manual safety but it's a single stack mag which I think will have the same problem for me that the Smith & Wesson had with the narrow grip. That being said I was thinking about looking at a Glock that has a wider grip. That's when I ran into the problem of a gun without a manual safety.

We are planning to take an eight hour course with an NRA certified instructor. We certainly won't be purchasing any guns prior to completing the course. The instructor does have several different calibers and models to test as part of the training. I'm hoping that will help me narrow down what I will be comfortable carrying.

Thanks again for your insight and input, I appreciate it.

HB