Manual Safeties Yes or No?

[voodoo54]

Being a lefty I despise "safties" because nine times out of ten they are on the left side and very difficult to manipulate. They are an unneccessary additional step you have to take to put your weapon into action. Yes you can train to manipulate the safety and fire quickly but why add the extra step, espicially with a pistol where you probably have fractions of a second to employ your weapon.

[jocko]

back years ago, until the glocks made their entrance,most semi's had some sort of manual safety. People to me knowledge never complained..

[muggsy]

and as u know people can and do alsop fail. My bet ismore people can and do fail more than any safety device failing in a gun, expecalloy maual safetys...Just sayin.

Noting beats common sense but as u know alot of gun owners have no common sense either..

People with no common sense can forget to engage a safety. Gun safety is best exercised by the person holding the gun. Ya can't fix stupid or make stupid safe.

[ParabellumJ]

Its all training. If you train with a manual safety, then there shouldn't be a problem. Personally I prefer DAO without manual safty on a carry gun.

[JohnInFlorida]

Unlike some others who have posted on this thread, I specifically looked for and bought "no manual safety" as a feature.

If under pressure, point ... press ... BANG! just makes a whole lot of sense to me.

Of the 4 handguns I might conceivably carry, 3 have no manual safety. One is snubby revolver and of the 3 pistols, 2 are DAO "point and shoot". The third (w/manual safety) I could carry concealed, but I just never do.

[les strat]

I am usually a "no saftey guy" on pistols with long trigger pulls, although it is a good option to have for those new to carrying or feel they wouldn't carry without one, like my wife (owner of an LC9).

Like jocko said, people are more prone to fail than any safety. Chances of something going wrong when drawing, aiming, and firing in a SD situ is off the chart compared to a safety malfunction, and if someone is worried about gun malfunctions, they best carry a revolver.

[Ken_K]

I personally don't like manual safeties on DAO pistols. The BEST safety we have is the one between our ears. If you don't want to accidentally shoot yourself or someone else just keep your finger off the trigger until your on target.

[jocko]

allgood points, I am a lefty and I have neve rhad any issues engaging or disengaging a safety. U train to do that. Nice thing about a safety is THAT U DON'T HAVE TO HAVE IT ON EITHER. A option that surely can't be a fault. they don't go on accidently. If I had a choice back when I bought my PM9 5+ years ago, I would have opted for the manual safety. I have never read of anyone getting shot becu7ase they couold not get the safety off in a SHTF scenario. It is a choice but in some guns, it is not a choice, I am glad to see kahr has given shooters a choice. at m age, I seem to error more on the side of caution.

Sure u can't fix stupid, but you can maybe help it somewhat. Just sayin. probably been far more AD/ND with glocks than any other semi combined. Humm!!1

[Barth]

I have seven handguns and they all have no manual safety.
This is by choice as I adhere to the KISS method of Self Defense shooting.
With an adrenalin dump, and the associated loss of fine motor skills,
I'm a big advocate of SD guns you can draw, point and squeeze.

SA guns demand a manual safety.
I don't own one.

[jocko]

wonder why it is that most all 22's semi's have an external safety??Just askin, Is it because the makerrs determined that this is not a defense gun wheter we think so or not. I never seem to see the call to take manual safety's off of 22's semi's. I guess that is why we can all have a difference of opinions to.

I have zero issues with the KISS method FOR SOME PEOPLE, certainly not for all and I do think it was a very wise decision by kahr to offer a couple models with manual safety's. Now we all have a choice, which I am sure in the past might have drove some gun people to a brand that did offer such.

My son who is 23 and never realy been around guns like I have and basically is not caught up on the gun world like I am has no real basics in gun sh1t other than what his dad hs tried to teach him. I bought him a G19 a few years back and I had the siderlock trigger safety installed in it strictly for safety reasons. If he wants the safety off , he still has the glock SAS. He really knows no difference, in his mind a gun should have some sort of manual safety, so he is cool with it. Just sayin.

[Barth]

I have zero issues with the KISS method FOR SOME PEOPLE, certainly not for all and I do think it was a very wise decision by kahr to offer a couple models with manual safety's. Now we all have a choice, which I am sure in the past might have drove some gun people to a brand that did offer such.

I believe Kahr produced guns with manual safeties to allow sales in the Communist state of California.

[Ken_K]

I believe Kahr produced guns with manual safeties to allow sales in the Communist state of California.

^
This

[jocko]

possably so, , and why not? makes good busness sense to, and also now opens up the door to any purchaser in the cuntry to buy a kahr with a manual safety, so IMO they killed two birds with one stone: Just sayin

[Markis82]

Unlike some others who have posted on this thread, I specifically looked for and bought "no manual safety" as a feature.

If under pressure, point ... press ... BANG! just makes a whole lot of sense to me.

+ 1 Yes! What he said. Even though I'm the OP, I have neglected to offer my opinion until someone said it first.

I'd add that even though people train with safeties, mistakes happen. The mistake that strikes me is if the SHTF you accidently miss clicking the safety off or some other safety mishap you don't get your shot(s) off. Having no safety take one variable or unknown out of the picture. I'm not worried about an AD one tiny little bit. I'm worried about an accident and not having a discharge when needed! That can be one costly safety!

[O'Dell]

Okay, I'm in the minority here and I expected to be. I much prefer a manual safety! In fact, I have refused to buy a pistol in the past because none was available. Although I no longer have either, [not the gun's fault - it's a fine pistol] both of my M&P's were ordered with a safety. It's no surprise to anyone here that I am a fan of Kahr's and SIG's. These are the only pistols I own without a safety because they are either unavailable or hard to get. That means that one SIG, one LCP, [a gift] and four Kahr's that don't have a manual safety, but the other ten do. They are HK's, 1911's, and S&W's.

Let's go back to the beginning; for the first fifteen years of my handgun involvement, I had nothing but Browning HP's and Colt 1911's. These are the guns I was trained on and the ones I shot in competition. Swiping off a safety was part of the process and is still second nature to me. I still do it even on my Kahr's and SIG, even though it's not there. It's certainly not something I'm going to forget. However if I lose my pistol in some kind of conflict, the BG might. In over 45 years of shooting handguns I have never had a ND, and probably would not have had one w/o a safety because I am very careful, but you never know.

Speaking of ND's, and as Jocko said people are much more likely to fail than a safety, BUT, how many of those holstering accidents would have been avoided if the safety was set on safe before holstering the weapon. I know, I know, the finger shouldn't be on the trigger, but we all know it happens.

All right, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!