Originally Posted by BB57

One of the posters above got it exactly right. A few thoughts in that regard:



1. "My finger is my safety":



I can count on encountering at least one of the "my finger is my safety" crowd at each and every gun show, and on many trips to the range it's not uncommon to encounter an under trained striker fired fan boy wearing his safety less striker fired pistol as a badge of honor while spouting the "my finger is my safety" line.



The problem with that is that it's a very narrow and non systematic view that does not take the real world into consideration.



2. The upsides and downsides of a Glock or similar striker fired system:



Glocks and other striker fired pistols are all the rage currently and their fans will quickly point out the positives.



The Glock did solve two immediate problems when it was introduced - it reduced the training requirements in terms of not having to train people to use a manual safety, and it gave a consistent trigger pull for each and every shot, eliminating the need for shooters to become proficient with both SA and DA trigger pulls.



For American law enforcement the Glock had the added bonus of operating more or less like the DA revolvers many departments transitioned from (and many departments had already bobbed the hammers on their SA/DA revolvers to limit them to DA use only).



What many Glock fans leave out and/or are not aware of is that the Glock was designed with military and European police use in mind, with most troops and officers carrying it with an empty chamber most of the time, racking the slide when they drew it.



They'll quickly point out that's not the case in the US where it is very popular with police, but they'll also leave out the fact that it is not without problems as the lighter and shorter trigger pull, compared to a DA revolver. This led to a significantly increased number of ADs, particularly when re-holstering the weapon. In a OWB duty holster it's nothing that can't be addressed with adequate training, but the training given is often not adequate nor is the practice frequent enough to maintain the required level of skill.



There are also the unexpected type of problems that may not be well covered in training. For example, an Indiana police chief shot him self in the leg after re-holstering his Glock in an OWB duty holster. He managed to holster it with the cord lock for his jacket draw string in the holster, when he tugged on the cord to free it, he fired the weapon. Obviously, he assumed it was just wrapped around or tucked under the outside of the holster, but because he could not see it, he could not verify it, and he obviously lacked the training and insight to recognize the potential threat.



3. Concealed carry poses additional hazards with a striker fired pistol lacking a manual safety:



Concealed carry of the newer and smaller Glocks and other striker fired pistols with no manual safeties take the potential problems to a whole new level. Many of the concealed carry users do not understand or recognize the need to fully protect the trigger while carrying the pistol, and in particular while re-holstering the pistol in an IWB holster to ensure the trigger and holster are free of obstructions.



The shorter, lighter trigger on a striker fire pistol, along with the lack of a hammer places it at a serious disadvantage compared to DA revolver, or an SA/DA pistol carried with the safety off. For example, when re-holstering a J-Frame .38 or a Walther PPK/S I can place my thumb over the back of the hammer. With my thumb in that position, if the trigger is in anyway obstructed entering the holster, I'll feel the hammer starting to come back. That, combined with the long and comparatively heavy DA trigger pull gives me ample warning that I have a problem. You don't get that same level of tactile warning with a striker fired pistol due to the lack of a hammer, and the lighter trigger pull gives you less margin of error to detect the problem based on the force needed to holster the weapon.



4. Holster design is paramount to safety with a striker fired design, but is not fully understood by many striker fired pistol users:



The irony here is that at the last gun show I was at, a vendor selling what is one of the best available IWB holsters for a concealed carry Glock was spouting the "finger is my safety" line.



I commented that the very well constructed and reinforced mouth of the holster, along with the belt clip design, allows a Glock shooter to remove the entire holster from the belt quickly and easily to enable them to insert the pistol in the holster out of the waist band, where they can ensure the trigger is not obstructed and the stiff holster mouth ensures it won't fold over and obstruct the trigger. I suggested he should be selling those features, not discounting them with his "my finger is my safety" line, and in the process ignoring the flaws in that logic, as there a lot of other things besides a finger that can unintentionally activate a trigger



5. "A" safety versus "THE" safety:



Everyone's finger should be a safety, but making it the only safety in a larger system of potential safeties and safety practices is really stupid and short sighted.



6. Sweeping yourself is never a good idea, regardless of what you carry:



The final consideration, in addition to protecting the trigger, and visually observing the re-holstering process to ensure it is un obstructed, is whether you can carry the handgun in a manner that lets you draw it without swiping parts of your body you don't want to shoot.



Carrying on the hip on the strong hand side at 3 to 5 o'clock is ideal as you won't sweep yourself or others during the draw, or of you do it will be minimal.



Shoulder holsters and cross draw holsters on the hip also allow for a sweep free draw, but you run much more risk of sweeping others.



Appendix carry and specialty holsters like bra holsters make it very difficult to draw without pointing the weapon at yourself.



If you're going to carry that way, and you want to carry a Glock or similar pistol, you're really putting an unacceptable amount of reliance on "my finger is my safety" and you're betting that nothing unforeseen will ever happen.

Originally Posted by BE Mike

The fact of the matter is that incidents like this always seem to occur when something unusual happens, i.e. weapon malfunction, holster malfunction or new unfamiliar equipment and/ or accessories. One helpful thing is for people to practice drawing, re-holstering, exchanging magazines, etc. with unloaded pistols. Dry firing is also helpful. The more one trains to instill safe gun handling, the less likely these type of accidents are likely to occur when a surprise or unfamiliar situation occurs.

Originally Posted by BB57

One of the posters above got it exactly right. A few thoughts in that regard:

1. "My finger is my safety":

I can count on encountering at least one of the "my finger is my safety" crowd at each and every gun show, and on many trips to the range it's not uncommon to encounter an under trained striker fired fan boy wearing his safety less striker fired pistol as a badge of honor while spouting the "my finger is my safety" line.

The problem with that is that it's a very narrow and non systematic view that does not take the real world into consideration.

2. The upsides and downsides of a Glock or similar striker fired system:

Glocks and other striker fired pistols are all the rage currently and their fans will quickly point out the positives.

The Glock did solve two immediate problems when it was introduced - it reduced the training requirements in terms of not having to train people to use a manual safety, and it gave a consistent trigger pull for each and every shot, eliminating the need for shooters to become proficient with both SA and DA trigger pulls.

For American law enforcement the Glock had the added bonus of operating more or less like the DA revolvers many departments transitioned from (and many departments had already bobbed the hammers on their SA/DA revolvers to limit them to DA use only).

What many Glock fans leave out and/or are not aware of is that the Glock was designed with military and European police use in mind, with most troops and officers carrying it with an empty chamber most of the time, racking the slide when they drew it.

They'll quickly point out that's not the case in the US where it is very popular with police, but they'll also leave out the fact that it is not without problems as the lighter and shorter trigger pull, compared to a DA revolver. This led to a significantly increased number of ADs, particularly when re-holstering the weapon. In a OWB duty holster it's nothing that can't be addressed with adequate training, but the training given is often not adequate nor is the practice frequent enough to maintain the required level of skill.

There are also the unexpected type of problems that may not be well covered in training. For example, an Indiana police chief shot him self in the leg after re-holstering his Glock in an OWB duty holster. He managed to holster it with the cord lock for his jacket draw string in the holster, when he tugged on the cord to free it, he fired the weapon. Obviously, he assumed it was just wrapped around or tucked under the outside of the holster, but because he could not see it, he could not verify it, and he obviously lacked the training and insight to recognize the potential threat.

3. Concealed carry poses additional hazards with a striker fired pistol lacking a manual safety:

Concealed carry of the newer and smaller Glocks and other striker fired pistols with no manual safeties take the potential problems to a whole new level. Many of the concealed carry users do not understand or recognize the need to fully protect the trigger while carrying the pistol, and in particular while re-holstering the pistol in an IWB holster to ensure the trigger and holster are free of obstructions.

The shorter, lighter trigger on a striker fire pistol, along with the lack of a hammer places it at a serious disadvantage compared to DA revolver, or an SA/DA pistol carried with the safety off. For example, when re-holstering a J-Frame .38 or a Walther PPK/S I can place my thumb over the back of the hammer. With my thumb in that position, if the trigger is in anyway obstructed entering the holster, I'll feel the hammer starting to come back. That, combined with the long and comparatively heavy DA trigger pull gives me ample warning that I have a problem. You don't get that same level of tactile warning with a striker fired pistol due to the lack of a hammer, and the lighter trigger pull gives you less margin of error to detect the problem based on the force needed to holster the weapon.

4. Holster design is paramount to safety with a striker fired design, but is not fully understood by many striker fired pistol users:

The irony here is that at the last gun show I was at, a vendor selling what is one of the best available IWB holsters for a concealed carry Glock was spouting the "finger is my safety" line.

I commented that the very well constructed and reinforced mouth of the holster, along with the belt clip design, allows a Glock shooter to remove the entire holster from the belt quickly and easily to enable them to insert the pistol in the holster out of the waist band, where they can ensure the trigger is not obstructed and the stiff holster mouth ensures it won't fold over and obstruct the trigger. I suggested he should be selling those features, not discounting them with his "my finger is my safety" line, and in the process ignoring the flaws in that logic, as there a lot of other things besides a finger that can unintentionally activate a trigger

5. "A" safety versus "THE" safety:

Everyone's finger should be a safety, but making it the only safety in a larger system of potential safeties and safety practices is really stupid and short sighted.

6. Sweeping yourself is never a good idea, regardless of what you carry:

The final consideration, in addition to protecting the trigger, and visually observing the re-holstering process to ensure it is un obstructed, is whether you can carry the handgun in a manner that lets you draw it without swiping parts of your body you don't want to shoot.

Carrying on the hip on the strong hand side at 3 to 5 o'clock is ideal as you won't sweep yourself or others during the draw, or of you do it will be minimal.

Shoulder holsters and cross draw holsters on the hip also allow for a sweep free draw, but you run much more risk of sweeping others.

Appendix carry and specialty holsters like bra holsters make it very difficult to draw without pointing the weapon at yourself.

If you're going to carry that way, and you want to carry a Glock or similar pistol, you're really putting an unacceptable amount of reliance on "my finger is my safety" and you're betting that nothing unforeseen will ever happen.