carrying with safety off?

[True Grit]

Does anyone know of a reason why I should carry with the on all the time? I have a Beretta 45 with a slide safety you have to push up with the thumb to take off safe. I have practiced this maneuver a lot at the range to get smooth but when under stress during competition this becomes clumsy and time consuming. I think in a self defense situation that could get me killed. I have a long trigger pull in this DA/SA pistol.

[xRUSTYx]

DA/SA or DAO I would say, keep the safety off .... SAO, keep it cocked & locked

[Guest tnxdshooter]

Not being able to use a thumb safety OH THE HORROR! I dont know how I would carry my Springfield XD 40 with nothing more than the grip safety, drop safety, and what not. Heck you just pull the trigger and it goes bang like a glock. I have never shot myself with it. I carry my 1911 without the thumb safety on. The only time I use the thumb safety on my 1911 is if I am in the house or something laying on the couch and I have the 1911 laying on my chest or on the table other than that I never use it.

[Guest Guy N. Cognito]

I used to carry a 92F and I never used the safety.

[Guest archerdr1]

my safety is only on when the gun is not on my person. If it is in it's holster, my finger is the safety. I don't know why anyone would carry with the safety on. That is simply something else to remember to do if I need to use it.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Not being able to use a thumb safety OH THE HORROR! I dont know how I would carry my Springfield XD 40 with nothing more than the grip safety, drop safety, and what not. Heck you just pull the trigger and it goes bang like a glock. I have never shot myself with it. I carry my 1911 without the thumb safety on. The only time I use the thumb safety on my 1911 is if I am in the house or something laying on the couch and I have the 1911 laying on my chest or on the table other than that I never use it.

The thumb safety on a 1911 locks the sear, this prevents the sear from coming off the hammer notch and accidentally firing if the gun is jarred or dropped. The grip saftey on a 1911 only prevents the trigger from being pulled and doesn't lock or prevent the sear from being knocked off the hammer if the gun is jarred or dropped. A 1911 will fire when jarred or dropped if the thumb safety is off even if the grip safety and/or the trigger isn't depressed. This applies to 70 series 1911's.

The reason I know this is a fellow officer dropped his holstered 1911. The thumb safety was not engaged and it fired, hitting me in the leg. Again, the gun that fired was a holstered gun that did not have the grip safety or the trigger depresssed. I also have plenty of experience building 1911's and know the relationships of the parts inside the gun.

I know you are safe in how you handle your firearms but strange things do happen. I would hate for you or someone else to get hurt over something as minor as not applying a safety when it is as easy as the 1911's safety is to operate.

Dolomite

[dralarms]

I also am carrying a Beretta 45. Mine is the 8045 Cougar. I modified the safety/decocker into a decocker only (went from a model F to a model G), carry it that way every day. To me safety's are ok for a range gun but I don't want to have to remember the safety in a life or death situation.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Dunno about a Beretta 45, but on Beretta 92FS, if the safety is on, it rotates the firing pin transfer bar (or whatever the little thing is called) out of line with the hammer and firing pin. With the safety on, as far as I know the gun would have to be seriously mishandled or dropped with great force to talk it into accidentally firing. It is very close to an inert brick with the safety on.

The 92 safety is also not the easiest thing to thumb off if you have short thumbs. But if I carried a 92, I'd want it as inert as possible until it is needed for use. Stupid handling mistakes are not impossible. Dropping a gun and it getting scratched up is one thing. Having it go off is something else entirely.

[LazyAce]

That is why I carry a Glock. You don`t have to worry about the safety. Just grab---point---shoot

[Fallguy]

Does anyone know of a reason why I should carry with the on all the time?

No

[Fallguy]

That is why I carry a Glock. You don`t have to worry about the safety. Just grab---point---shoot

+1

[East_TN_Patriot]

There is a reason that virtually all law enforcement officers either prefer a firearm without a manual safety of carry it with the manual safety off. It's a carry-over from the days when firearms didn't have all of the passive safety features they do now. The military was especially paranoid - and still is from what I hear since they generally require soldiers to carry their firearms without a chambered round and the manual safety engaged (I would hope this doesn't apply in a combat area). Heck, there are still some folks so paranoid that they still follow the old Colt SAA trick of carrying without a round behind the hammer even if their revolver has the firing pin disconnect/hammer block. If you are using a properly maintained and quality built modern firearm and you use proper gun handling practices, you will have no need to carry with the manual safety engaged unless it just makes you feel better. Most unintentional discharges are the result of people not following the two most basic firearms rules: 1) Always assume the firearm is loaded and check and recheck it before fooling with it; and 2) Keep your finger off of the trigger until actually ready to fire.

[gregintenn]

I carry either a Smith and Wesson revolver or a Ruger LCP. For the life of me, I can't locate the safety on either.

[Fallguy]

I carry either a Smith and Wesson revolver or a Ruger LCP. For the life of me, I can't locate the safety on either.

Same place as on my and LaxyAce's glock...

At the end of the palm, between the thumb and and middle finger. As long as it is not in contact with the trigger....the safety is on.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

That is why I carry a Glock. You don`t have to worry about the safety. Just grab---point---shoot

Good answer!

[dralarms]

Dunno about a Beretta 45, but on Beretta 92FS, if the safety is on, it rotates the firing pin transfer bar (or whatever the little thing is called) out of line with the hammer and firing pin. With the safety on, as far as I know the gun would have to be seriously mishandled or dropped with great force to talk it into accidentally firing. It is very close to an inert brick with the safety on.

The 92 safety is also not the easiest thing to thumb off if you have short thumbs. But if I carried a 92, I'd want it as inert as possible until it is needed for use. Stupid handling mistakes are not impossible. Dropping a gun and it getting scratched up is one thing. Having it go off is something else entirely.

well on the 8045 it's a simple matter of removing 1 little ball bearing and spring and it becomes a decocker only. The 92 is more complicated than that. I actuall don't think you can do it to a 92/96 series but you might be able to.

[WhatUpWitchU?]

There are two ways in which I carry my Glock:

Way 1) Whenever I am outside of my house, it is inside my Supertuck Holster, Chambered and Ready to Go, because you never know what will happen....

Way 2) Whenever I am at home, and there is someone else, not including me, that is inside of my house that doesn't really know guns well, or frankly, doesn't enjoy them, my grandmother for one, I always take the bullet out of the chamber, drop the mag, pull the trigger (dry fire it), replace the ejected, non-fired round, and put it back in the magazine. This way... If something happens, all I have to do is pull the slide and it's ready to go. Like I said, 96.4% of the time, it's Way 1... But that other 3.6% it's Way 2, and its just for the safety of those around me, even though I always have it put up and locked away, you never know what could happen.

[Schadenfreude]

WhatUpWitchU?

So in way one you go around with 1 less round than you could have in the gun?

[Fallguy]

WhatUpWitchU?

So in way one you go around with 1 less round than you could have in the gun?

....and why not just keep it in the supertuck under your control and it shouldn't matter who else is in the house?......

[WhatUpWitchU?]

WhatUpWitchU?

So in way one you go around with 1 less round than you could have in the gun?

Whenever I'm at home, yes... But I have extra in the closet....

....and why not just keep it in the supertuck under your control and it shouldn't matter who else is in the house?......

My Supertuck won't hold onto my basketball shorts... I burn up 90% of the time, and my thermostat is on 66 year around... I can't wear jeans inside.

Edited October 24, 2010 by WhatUpWitchU?

[Fallguy]

My Supertuck won't hold onto my basketball shorts... I burn up 90% of the time, and my thermostat is on 66 year around... I can't wear jeans inside.

Fair enough...

[Oh Shoot]

... I always take the bullet out of the chamber, drop the mag, pull the trigger (dry fire it), replace the ejected, non-fired round, and put it back in the magazine..

So in way one you go around with 1 less round than you could have in the gun?

Whenever I'm at home, yes... But I have extra in the closet.... .

You miss the point. According to your procedure, you are carrying with one less than the gun can hold all the time -- otherwise you would have had no room in mag to put the ejected round.

- OS

[WhatUpWitchU?]

Yeah, yeah... I screwed up the procedure.... I'm always 9+1 in my 27 when I'm out and about....

(You all are sooo critical....)

[Fallguy]

Everyone needs a hobby

[WhatUpWitchU?]

Yeah Yeah...