What Are M&P Pistol's "Proven Safety Features"?

On Glock's web-site, they describe, with some detail, their "safe action" system, which consists of three (3) passive safeties: trigger safety, firing pin safety and drop safety. They also include an interactive illustration which demonstrates how each of these passive safeties operate. I must say that it's very well done and very edifying.

On the other hand, in each of Smith & Wesson's descriptions of their M&P semi-automatic pistols, there is language which reads, "proven safety features", yet nowhere does it describe those features in any detail.

Before I purchase my first Smith & Wesson M&P pistol, I would like to know what "proven safety features" means.

What are those proven safety features?

Thanks for your assistance.

Trigger safety-bottom half must move before trigger will move.
Striker won't move without trigger pulled.
Drop safety keeps the striker from moving.

Any current striker fired pistol will/should have these three safety systems in order to compete for commercial, military, and law enforcement contracts/sales.

Thumb safety's are usually available (or not) to augment internal safeties (or confound them)!

Roccaas said:

Trigger safety-bottom half must move before trigger will move.
Striker won't move without trigger pulled.
Drop safety keeps the striker from moving.

Any current striker fired pistol will/should have these three safety systems in order to compete for commercial, military, and law enforcement contracts/sales.

Thumb safety's are usually available (or not) to augment internal safeties (or confound them)!

Click to expand...

So, the M&P9 has the same 3 passive safeties as the Glock, plus an optional manual thumb safety, correct? Is this spelled out anywhere on Smith & Wesson's web-site? I couldn't find it anywhere!

An LEO/Armed Forces guy may know this by the nature of his/her job, but
to a neophyte like me, this is important stuff! I'm very surprised that this information isn't readily available.

Thanks for your assistance, Roccaas.

TeleGuy53 said:

So, the M&P9 has the same 3 passive safeties as the Glock, plus an optional manual thumb safety, correct? Is this spelled out anywhere on Smith & Wesson's web-site? I couldn't find it anywhere!

An LEO/Armed Forces guy may know this by the nature of his/her job, but
to a neophyte like me, this is important stuff! I'm very surprised that this information isn't readily available.

Thanks for your assistance, Roccaas.

Click to expand...

All modern striker fired guns have basically the same safeties. Obviously there are variations due to copyright infringement but the basic drop safety and lack movement by the striker without pulling the trigger. ..is there.

This goes for Glock, M&P, Sig 320, HK VP, Walther PPS and PPQ, S&W 99, Canik, and anyone else I may be forgetting. Some even have a decocker

"........As the slide of the pistol enters battery, the striker engages the sear. At this point, the sear is held back in a partially cocked condition. When the trigger of the M&P is pulled, the trigger bar first engages the firing pin safety plunger, lifting it upward, and releasing firing pin safety. At the rearward extreme of the trigger bar's travel, it engages the sear. The sear is rotated downward by the trigger bar, fully cocking, then releasing the striker. The striker makes contact with the primer of the chambered round, which in turn ignites the gunpowder and propels the bullet forward"

All those are great but never forget that the best safety is between our ears

Arik said:

All modern striker fired guns have basically the same safeties. Obviously there are variations due to copyright infringement but the basic drop safety and lack movement by the striker without pulling the trigger. ..is there.

Click to expand...

Music go my ears, Arik. Thanks!

As as soon-to-be, new gun owner, I am trying (very hard) to do my "due diligence". My goal is to find a pistol which is not only capable of doing its intended job, but also capable of doing so in a manner which is safe to me and those around me.

TeleGuy53 said:

Music go my ears, Arik. Thanks!

As as soon-to-be, new gun owner, I am trying (very hard) to do my "due diligence". My goal is to find a pistol which is not only capable of doing its intended job, but also capable of doing so in a manner which is safe to me and those around me.

Click to expand...

Just remember that with those guns the safeties are passive. Meaning the gun can't go off by itself. Put your finger, or anything else, in the trigger guard and the rules change.

TeleGuy53 said:

Music go my ears, Arik. Thanks!

As as soon-to-be, new gun owner, I am trying (very hard) to do my "due diligence". My goal is to find a pistol which is not only capable of doing its intended job, but also capable of doing so in a manner which is safe to me and those around me.

Click to expand...

Hard to think of a modern, properly functioning pistol that doesn't meet those two requirements . . .

tbgunner88 said:

All those are great but never forget that the best safety is between our ears

Click to expand...

Agreed!

That said, when it comes to "safeties", redundancy is a GOOD thing.

Arik said:

Just remember that with those guns the safeties are passive. Meaning the gun can't go off by itself. Put your finger, or anything else, in the trigger guard and the rules change.

Click to expand...

And as it ought to be. Understood.

I would have to say that Glock's marketing people are really good at what they do. I have run into a lot of people who feel that the Glock is a far safer pistol than other manufacturer's striker fired products. As was said, all striker fired pistols have essentially the same safety mechanisms built in.

The safe use of a firearm does have something to do with the gun itself but is more a function of safe handling and following all the safety precautions available. Nobody should simply rely on the mechanics of a firearm to keep them safe.

Sigsavvy said:

I would have to say that Glock's marketing people are really good at what they do. I have run into a lot of people who feel that the Glock is a far safer pistol than other manufacturer's striker fired products. As was said, all striker fired pistols have essentially the same safety mechanisms built in.

The safe use of a firearm does have something to do with the gun itself but is more a function of safe handling and following all the safety precautions available. Nobody should simply rely on the mechanics of a firearm to keep them safe.

Click to expand...

If you compare the S&W and Glock web-sites, it's very obvious that Glock did its homework, IMHO. The site is very well-conceived and easy to navigate. Further, there's plenty of useful "information" contained on those pages! As a retired IT Professional, I appreciate Glock's effort.

That said, I wouldn't make the jump fto say that Glock's are safer. Beware of the Glock Koolaid!

Maybe S&W should put an asterisk next to their
"proven safety features*"

*see Glock website for specifics

rsrocket1 said:

Maybe S&W should put an asterisk next to their "proven safety features*"

*see Glock website for specifics

Click to expand...

Well, they should do SOMETHING! I don't think one could be more vague by using a statement like "proven safety features". What does THAT mean?

It makes one wonder...

....and the holster. Next to a well practiced shootist, the holster is probably the best safety. Blocks the finger from the trigger (well, most of them), prevents a muzzle-first and rear slide/hammer-first drop (see:1903 Colt .33ACP that killed its owner on rear drop).

Exception may be the Beretta 92 where one "rides the trigger".

Roccaas said:

....and the holster. Next to a well practiced shootist, the holster is probably the best safety. Blocks the finger from the trigger (well, most of them), prevents a muzzle-first and rear slide/hammer-first drop (see:1903 Colt .33ACP that killed its owner on rear drop).

Exception may be the Beretta 92 where one "rides the trigger".

Click to expand...

What are some good OWB holsters for the M&P9?

always a good place to start

Uncle Mike's Holster Selector - Preferences

Thanks for the link, Roccaas. I'll check them out.

Roccaas said:

Exception may be the Beretta 92 where one "rides the trigger".

Click to expand...

What do you mean by this?

This is an excellent cut away view of the operation of the Glock. The M&P is very similar and they both have the same two mechanical safety features:


You'll notice that I said "two" mechanical safety features because they really only have two; trigger safety and striker block.

The striker block only does one thing, it prevents the striker from moving through the firing pin hole. This has two benefits. First, should the sear accidentally release the striker, the striker is blocked by the striker block. Second, if the gun is dropped on the muzzle, the striker block prevents the striker from hitting the primer through momentum. Thus the firing pin (striker) and drop safeties are handled by the same device. It just makes people feel better to say there are three safeties.

The trigger safety has always been a mystery. Most think it's there to prevent the movement of the trigger by an accidental finger. Obviously, a finger, or anything else, that gets in the trigger guard will depress the trigger safety first and therefore, won't prevent the trigger from moving. So, what's the purpose? I'm glad you asked. The answer is momentum prevention.

If the gun were to be dropped on the rear of the slide, it's possible that the momentum of the trigger could be enough to cause it to move rearward. This would have the same effect as if it were pressed intentionally. If that happened, the gun would fire because the striker block would be defeated by having the trigger back.

This is where the trigger safety comes in. That little lever prevents the trigger from moving should the gun be dropped on the rear of the slide. This is the same in every gun that has a trigger safety.