Safety On or Off?

[C-dub]

Glocked-n-locked!!!

[martywj]

Decock then safety back off before I holster.

[stroo]

I carry my Hipower cocked and locked with the safety on. Having said that, I don't see the difference between carrying a Glock with no safety and carrying my Hipower with the safety off.

[mikeintexas]

PT145 one in chamber, safety off.

[chabouk]

Minor diversion but I think it's related - for you DA/SA people - do you decock before holstering?

Absolutely! If you don't decock, you've got a single action with no safety, which is not any way I'd care to carry.

[Salty1]

I do not own any handguns with a safety, from my perspective it is another mechanical device that could fail. If a person carrying a handgun feels they need a safety I would wonder exactly how familiar they are with firearms..... keep the booger hook off the bang switch until one is ready to actually fire and there are no issues, those who curl their finger around the trigger at any opportunity then maybe they should have a safety.... but please stay away from me.....

[marksiwel]

Funny as this may seem, by myself, Round in the Chamber saftey off.
With Wife, Round in the Chamber saftey on, she feels more comfortable that way.
I've practiced my draw enough that it slows me down by a Millisecond.

[bizarrenormality]

Safety on if the hammer is cocked. Safety off otherwise.

[joe817]

Minor diversion but I think it's related - for you DA/SA people - do you decock before holstering?


Most of the classes I've been to teach the officer to decock when they go from the high ready/on target position to the low ready/sul position as they index their finger.

I have a Ruger P-95, and it doesn't have a de-cocker per se. It's more like dropping the hammer on the firing pin block. That's the only "safety" there is on a P-95 in SA mode. Dropping the hammer on the firing pin block cycles the gun back into DA mode. THEN it has a safety, preventing the full action of the trigger to hit the firing pin. And yes, I carry in DA mode , with the safety off.

[jmra]

being a Glock guy the safety is not something I have to worry about much. Point and shoot. I love my glock.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

Cocked and locked with my CDP and USPc. Otherwise no safety. The 1911 and USP have similar thumb safeties so the muscle memory is the same in practice. I feel there is no one way that everyone will feel comfortable carrying, whatever works for that person works. It all comes down to practice, practice, perfect practice.

[TexasGal]

XD9 with one in the pipe; the grip safety is all you need. Point and shoot.

[frazzled]

Cocked and locked with my CDP and USPc. Otherwise no safety. The 1911 and USP have similar thumb safeties so the muscle memory is the same in practice. I feel there is no one way that everyone will feel comfortable carrying, whatever works for that person works. It all comes down to practice, practice, perfect practice.

+1

Its what YOU are comfortable doing, and could even change between guns or situations.

[57Coastie]

Good old John Browning designed a handgun intended to be carried by troops when combat might be just around the corner. He designed it to be carried, in those circumstances, cocked, locked, with thumb safety on. I really can't think of any other reason for that safety to be there. I find there to be no noticeable delay in its use caused by instinctively releaing that safety with your thumb as your 1911 comes up and your finger approaches the trigger. Notice the word "instinctively." That comes only with practice -- practice at the range which includes firing the weapon after the draw, not just competing with Roy Rogers practicing a fast draw.

If gaining the additional safety to yourself and others has no appreciable downside. why would one carry a 1911 with the safety off? If I had holstered my 1911 with the safety off at boot camp many years ago I would still have a gunny's boot you know where.

Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

Minor diversion but I think it's related - for you DA/SA people - do you decock before holstering?

Most of the classes I've been to teach the officer to decock when they go from the high ready/on target position to the low ready/sul position as they index their finger.

My USP Compact has a decocker, but I seldom use it, preferring instead to carry the pistol cocked and locked, just like my 1911s. I do this for the sake of consistency. Consequently, I follow the "1911 drill" with the USP.

If it were my only carry pistol, I would likely carry it decocked and follow the drill you suggest above. But keep in mind that a decocked pistol is not a safe pistol. It is merely a pistol which requires more pressure on the trigger to discharge than if it were cocked. That's why the drill still requires indexing the trigger finger.

And when reholstering the decocked pistol, I still do it with the safety on, only unsafeing it after it is holstered. But like I said, I rarely ever carry it that way, preferring cocked and locked carry.