Why are so many people so dead set against thumb safety's?

[theishkid]

I've been going over this same issue for the past month trying to decide between a sig p238 vs ruger lcp. I keep coming back to a few issues...

How many times are people literally in a situation where you just draw and shoot and you have no time whatsoever for any sort of preparation?
What I mean by that is this... If I have a gun with a safety and I am in a very scary place, say I feel like someone is following me or something. I keep my hand in my pocket, disengage the safety, and do whatever else I need to do to be in a more prepared state.
If I live in a crappy part of town in an apartment and go out to get my mail at night with a bunch of punks hanging around, I put my gun in my hoodie/pants, take the safety off and go get it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... I feel like if I were in a situation where I had only a split second to respond, such a short amount of time that I couldn't disengage the safety, well I probably wouldn't be able to get the gun out of my pants/holster in time either.
I mean, if you're in the type of situation where you wouldn't have time to flick your thumb on the safety, are you really going to have any time to get a halfway decent aim? Or are you going to be blind shooting and running away at the same time?

I don't discount that this is a serious issue, especially for a LEO or other security type person. But for me, I'm getting a CCW for when I feel like I might be in a dangerous situation. For those scary times when I feel like someone is eyeballing and following me. I mean after all, if I only have a split second to do something, the other guy will probably have me down before I could even get the gun out of my pocket.

 

[grwd]

brother, if you are disengaging the safety in your pocket, you need training..
Your life is depending on it.

 

[ez bake]

brother, if you are disengaging the safety in your pocket, you need training..
Your life is depending on it.

More important than your life, your weewee is definitely depending on it.

 

[twoguns?]

Please get some training , or just move I think

 

[theishkid]

You're absolutely right... I do need training. And will get it before I make my decision on the gun and will train with whatever I get before I start carrying my gun. Honestly I do not know much about the 1911 style gun. I don't pretend to. But is the trigger that much more sensitive on a SA that the gun is going to go off if the safety isn't on compared to a DAO?
I mean everyone's talking about how they don't want a gun with a safety... how is taking the safety off with your hand on the gun any different? It's a legitimate question... I do not know.

 

[ez bake]

You're absolutely right... I do need training. And will get it before I make my decision on the gun and will train with whatever I get before I start carrying my gun. Honestly I do not know much about the 1911 style gun. I don't pretend to. But is the trigger that much more sensitive on a SA that the gun is going to go off if the safety isn't on compared to a DAO?
I mean everyone's talking about how they don't want a gun with a safety... how is taking the safety off with your hand on the gun any different? It's a legitimate question... I do not know.

Well, the answer to this complicated question is complicated - the sliding 1911 style trigger is different than a single-action lever-style Sig, CZ, Beretta trigger, etc... (and all of those triggers are different from each other).

The Sig P238 is pretty light on the trigger - and you should never carry a gun with that particular trigger in it without the safety (mostly because of safety, but also because that's how it was deigned).

If you're defeating the safety in your pocket, that's a no-no, the safety shouldn't be defeated until you're ready to fire the weapon (and your finger shouldn't be in the trigger guard until that time either). This means when you're ready to fire the weapon - not before.

 

[twoguns?]

^^^^ Smart Guy, lots of info there, and on this board. Plus if youre carrying only when theres danger, you should not be in that sitation. Get away .
Lots goes into the decision to shoot/dont shoot.
If you can avoid the bad situation you Probably should.
Oh and Welcome

 

[theishkid]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm very rarely in a situation where I don't feel "safe". But if everyone felt safe all the time then I guess there would be no point in carrying anything.

So here's another question regarding the 1911 style... what would be the disadvantage to carrying condition 2? Chambered but not cocked.

 

[zzz333]

^^^^ Smart Guy, lots of info there, and on this board. Plus if youre carrying only when theres danger, you should not be in that sitation. Get away .
Lots goes into the decision to shoot/dont shoot.
If you can avoid the bad situation you Probably should.
Oh and Welcome

Well said.
After going through the arkansas law enforcement training academy, I gained new respect for gaining ground. Action is always quicker than reaction. A person can be surprised and overtaken, their training will dictate what happens next. It is very easy for someone to take your firearm if they surprise you. The difference between you being able to get your gun back before they shoot you with it could be the fact that your safety is engaged. They more than likely hardly know which end the bullet comes out of much less how to disengage the safety. People can say, "oh if you loose your gun, well darwins law in full effect." Being prepared is good, having the chips in your favor is better.

 

[ez bake]

So here's another question regarding the 1911 style... what would be the disadvantage to carrying condition 2? Chambered but not cocked.

Mostly because its not designed to be carried this way - in fact, if its designed as the original A1 was (like a Springfield or Colt Series 70), its much more dangerous since there is nothing between the firing pin and the primer of the live shell in the chamber (except for a spring) - drop it on the muzzle hard enough, and you risk a KB.