M&P Shield Safety vs. No Safety

S&M Sheild safety

I bought a 9mm Shield a few weeks ago and the safety is so stiff I can't even move it. Any suggestions?
 
I like the manual safety. Very easy to use. It's in exactly the right position to flip it with the side of my thumb. Never had a problem going in, or out, of the various holsters I have.
 
I bought my shield without a safety and just bought the new M&P Bodyguard without a safety. The best safety you can have is the one between your ears. The cops that shoot themselves usually have been trained with firearms that have safeties and they rely on them to protect negligent gun handling. When they go to a gun like a glock they don't use proper handling safety and have an issue. I don't trust my gross motor skills to turn off a safety when it's fight or flight but I do trust myself to handle a gun with the utmost care if I know when the trigger moves it will go bang no matter what. Don't be lazy.
 
I have a Shield with the thumb safety and I use it. You don't have to if you don't want to, but the option is there. When I practice draw and shoot, disengaging the safety is automatic for me.
 
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In a high stress situation you lose fine motor skills . Flicking off a safety is a fine motor skill. Training and practice will make it less likely that you fail to flick off the safety. A safety can be accidently left on. Safeties can and do fail . For me I prefer my carry gun to be without a safety
 
Lead Pipe said:
I bought my shield without a safety and just bought the new M&P Bodyguard without a safety. The best safety you can have is the one between your ears. The cops that shoot themselves usually have been trained with firearms that have safeties and they rely on them to protect negligent gun handling. When they go to a gun like a glock they don't use proper handling safety and have an issue. I don't trust my gross motor skills to turn off a safety when it's fight or flight but I do trust myself to handle a gun with the utmost care if I know when the trigger moves it will go bang no matter what. Don't be lazy.
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Are you referring to the Bodyguard .380 without a manual safety? I've been wondering when they would offer a model without one since it's like putting a manual safety on a DAO revolver. I don't see it on their website though.

For me the Shield safety doesn't flick on and off as easily as the one on the BG380 and the one on the larger M&Ps are angled to high and aren't wide enough to comfortably rest my thumb on like I do with 1911s. For these reasons I prefer my M&Ps without manual safeties and are not concerned at all. On an M&P they block the trigger from moving backwards, that's it. If you have bad gear or bad habits then a manual safety might be necessary.

Remember that not all manual safeties are created equal and do not work the same across all brands and models. Some make more sense than others which depends on the mechanics of the pistol itself.
 
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Such hate in this thread about safeties, lol. For everyone that's hellbent on sweeping the safety off like your 1911, fine, go for it. But I'd encourage you to recall that not all safeties work in that manner. For people that are used to the Berretta or 3rd gen Smiths manual of arms the safety would be backwards. Frankly, I don't carry those with the safety on anyways. Those safeties are decockers without the spring, but I digress.

Really, you should just do what is comfortable for you. Safety or not, always be sure to carry with the trigger covered, preferably with quality leather or kydex. Also make sure that your holster is clear when reholstering. I had a Shield with a safety, but currently I run one without it. The manual of arms matches my 9c, 9L, and Glock 19. My bodyguard's safety remains off, and hopefully when I get around to sending it back to Smith to get the mag hold open looked at they can replace the safety with a plug. It looks like that's what they are doing on the safetiless version...but you would have thought they would have done a new frame mold.
 
Lead Pipe said:
I bought my shield without a safety and just bought the new M&P Bodyguard without a safety. The best safety you can have is the one between your ears. The cops that shoot themselves usually have been trained with firearms that have safeties and they rely on them to protect negligent gun handling. When they go to a gun like a glock they don't use proper handling safety and have an issue. I don't trust my gross motor skills to turn off a safety when it's fight or flight but I do trust myself to handle a gun with the utmost care if I know when the trigger moves it will go bang no matter what. Don't be lazy.
Click to expand...

I agree! If anyone practices safety, it will be impossible to accidentally discharge a gun. the best safety is the one between the ears. It's the same argument against Blackhawk holsters with the locking mechanism. If you keep your trigger finger ABOVE the trigger guard while inserting and removing the pistol, the trigger can not be fired. Practice, practice, practice!
Or, to make it even simpler, if you order a hot cup of coffee from McDonald's, is it the cup's fault you burn yourself? If the person at the window who serves the hot coffee doesn't get burned, how does the customer get burned? Cheeez!
 
I have the no safety model and I carry C3 (unchambered). The likelihood of being ambushed is highly unlikely and I'm comfortable with small amount of time and trade-off of having to rack and chamber a round vs the the greater chance of ND. If my wife has a problem racking the slide (using proper technique), my children won't be able to (not that I leave it accessible to chance it).
 
ManoGod said:
I kinda like the safety. Shield is the only one I own that has a safety. I guess the short trigger on the shield makes me feel safe with the safety as all my other handguns have a longer/stiffer trigger pull and no thumb safety. Like they say....just leave dang thing off if it bothers you. The guy I buy some guns thru said it could be removed. Not sure tho.
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If it can be removed, DON'T. If you ever have to use it in a self-defense situation some attorney will have a field day portraying you as a reckless maniac.
 
The use of a safety is a personal choice; I wouldn't make that choice for anyone but myself, & I expect the same courtesy from anybody else. I prefer a safety. I see on this page a lot of people parroting the same phrases about the "best safety is between your ears". And "In a high stress situation, you may forget to turn the safety off". When I got back into pistols a few years back, the self defense instructors I worked with to get my CCL worked with us individually, of course, & one of the main things was developing a draw that worked for the individual & the type of firearm he or she planned to carry. I learned to make sweeping the safety part of my draw, & have practiced it every since. I'm waiting for my Shield 45 to be delivered, with thumb safety of course!
 
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I purchased my Shield with a safety a couple years ago, don't know if the no-safety was on the market yet. On my last 2 trips to the range I loaded my Shield, brought it up to fire and both times I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Forgot to take the safety off. I figure if I can't remember it at the range there's no way I'll remember it in a stressful SD situation. For this reason I no longer use the safety. The Shield is the first handgun I've owned with a safety, just can't retrain myself to remember it so it now stays off.
 
Tradewind36 said:
I purchased my Shield with a safety a couple years ago, don't know if the no-safety was on the market yet. On my last 2 trips to the range I loaded my Shield, brought it up to fire and both times I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Forgot to take the safety off. I figure if I can't remember it at the range there's no way I'll remember it in a stressful SD situation. For this reason I no longer use the safety. The Shield is the first handgun I've owned with a safety, just can't retrain myself to remember it so it now stays off.
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I carried and trained for many years with a revolver. My old head is not programmed to sweep off a safety on a handgun. I have a 1911 that I have shot quite a bit, and I find that I remember to sweep off the safety most of the time. I even remember to sweep it on most of the time. MOST of the time! So I so not use this gun for my personal protection. I am very fond of striker fired handguns, the Shields and M&P models in particular. Drawing and firing them is very similar to drawing and firing a revolver. Handling and carrying them is little different beyond the different reloading procedure. I have no qualms about carrying these guns fully loaded in a proper holster. I am very careful about re-holstering either type of handgun.

I can pitch or catch with respect to a manual safety on the Shield and M&P models. I personally just don't use it at all on my guns equipped with the safety. I have never had my safety move positions without a deliberate effort to change it's position. I just simply ignore the safety unless I have some reason to use it. That is a very seldom occurrence for me. The safety does not negatively affect the guns in any way for me. I don't mind having it present, and I would not mind it if my guns didn't have it. I think it is much ado about nothing. It's good to have a choice, especially when with or without is good to go!
 
I have a 9 with safety and 45 without.
After many years carrying revolver and third generation autos, I just can not remember to move the safety down on the M&P.
So I wish the 9 didn't have the option.
For me, it comes down to what you are used to.
 
It all comes down to what you have trained for. Forgetting to disengage a manual safety is a training failure - period.

Manual safety manipulation is no different than other aspects of running your weapon; acquiring a proper grip, making a clean presentation, gaining proper trigger finger placement, etc.

We act as if this manual safety operation is some kind of left field outlier that is so difficult to overcome, especially when the chips are down.

If ya don't train for it you'll screw it up. There was a day when you had no choice but to train with a manual safety and guess what? We all remembered to disengage it before we fired our weapons even in the heat of battle.

The option of a manual safety on an M&P pistol is a personal one - there's no right or wrong. Just train with what you carry.
 
You're correct about the training, all my years of handgun training has been without a manual safety. Now I have one with the manual safety and it has been difficult retraining myself. I've decided to stick with what I know and leave the safety off so I can operate all my handguns the same way. I don't feel any less safe.

Guess this old dog can't be taught new tricks.

I
 
Holmes375 said:
The option of a manual safety on an M&P pistol is a personal one - there's no right or wrong. Just train with what you carry.
Click to expand...

^^^Yes. As I wrote earlier, a manual safety is important to me and my method of carry. I installed a thumb safety in my M&P 9C because the Apex FSS trigger is about 4 lb. and feels like a 1911. I also carry a Sig P938 cocked & locked.

So I'm happy to have the .45 Shield with thumb safety and use it religiously every day now.
 
I think a fellow (or gal) ought to use whichever platform lets them sleep at night and the one they have the most confidence in. I still carry my revolvers. I've had several decades of training with them. I like some of the advantages of the semi autos, especially the ones that draw and fire with the same exact steps I took for all those revolver years. I'm too old and do not have the time nor the desire to retrain myself to another system where I have to remember which platform is in my holster. Yes, training is very important, but so is the "keep it simple, stupid" axiom, especially when operating under severe stress during which time your brain is very likely to revert to whatever method has been solidly programmed within it. For me, that's a weapon that does not require swiping off a manual safety, which in my mind is redundant on these weapons. I have also trained most of my life to keep my booger hook off the trigger until I intend to fire. That's what makes 'em go off, you know?
Nothing is fool proof and anything can happen. But what is most likely to happen is what is firmly programmed in the computer. I am loathe to try to start a new operating system for the times my life depends on it most.

As I said before, the manual safety on most striker fired weapons can be used or not without fear of that weapon just going "OFF" on it's on. My manual safeties have not and ever moved from "on" or "off" unless I have purposely moved it. So I don't mind if my Shields or my M&P's have it installed or not. I will happily buy either way, and happily use either platform. I just choose to leave the manual safety off all the time, unless for some heretofore unknown reason I should decide to use it, after which I pray I will remember to move it to the "off" position again. I DO NOT say anyone else should do as I do. I just do not see why this topic generates such discussion. If you want a manual safety, please get one and use it in good health and happiness. If you think for some obscure reason that having a manual safety in place will make your weapon less safe or less efficient, then please don't get one!

There is surely room for all of us on either side of the question Ain't it grand that we have the choice? I'll happily let you chose your extra safety if you'll give me the room to chose none or not to use the ones I have! Thanks for listening.
 
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