M&P thumb safety conversion?

[NasHouston]

I have a shield and just recently ordered the full size with the thumb safety. I like it on my shield, but on the full size it's different. It's too big, it's on both sides, can easily clicked up or down by accident and get in the when I cock the gun back.

Is there any alternate aftermarket safety?

Can a gunsmith make it like the one on the shield, or do I need to just completely remove it?

[scattershot]

On mine, I deepened the detent for the safety to make it more positive. Watch when you take it out to work on it, tiny parts fly everywhere!
I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I plan to trim those canoe paddles down some, too, and maybe remove the one on the right side altogether.

[NasHouston]

Originally Posted by scattershot

On mine, I deepened the detent for the safety to make it more positive. Watch when you take it out to work on it, tiny parts fly everywhere!
I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I plan to trim those canoe paddles down some, too, and maybe remove the one on the right side altogether.

Deepened the detent?
So you made the bar that runs through the middle shorter?
I'm sorry I don't know a whole lot.

Tiny parts fly everywhere.
Yeah I saw the youtube video. I'm not sure I wanna do that myself, maybe just take to a gunsmith.

The canoe paddles.
Yeah that's what I was thinking, they don't need to be that big and right side can easily be cut off like in the video. I'm wondering how clean they can make it look. Can a gunsmith chop it and make it look natural. Also if they can machine a groove and push the latch deeper in so it some what resembles the safety on the shield.

[Rastoff]

A little food for thought...

I've posted this many times, but it bears saying again; the thumb safety on an M&P is largely superfluous. All it does is block trigger movement. It doesn't block the sear or striker like a 1911 does.

So, removing it doesn't make the pistol any less safe. If the trigger is covered while carrying, the gun won't fire. If you want to just remove it, the pistol is still extremely safe.

[scattershot]

That's true. The pistol is sold either way, and the thumb safety is kind of an afterthought. I like a thumb safety, though, and that's why I ordered mine that way.

To NasHouston, if you look at the trigger assembly, you'll notice "teeth" on the trigger safety that engage with a little springloaded pin. That's what I deepened, the notch on the end of the safety bar.

[shooter1911]

I ordered my 45C with the thumb safety because I am primarily a 1911 shooter (check my name), and I use the thumb over safety hold while firing. Unfortunately I found the 45C safety was too high for my thumb to ride. I checked with several well known M&P gun smiths about a mod to lower the safety, and they all said it was a waist of time. I removed my safety and plugged the holes and it works fine for me.

[Bowserb]

Some people say the thumb safety is what keeps the M&P line from having the well-deserved reputation that Glock has for ND's and AD's. You know..."Glock leg". Yeah, I know, there are also a lot more Glocks in use. I won one, a G19, and sent it immediately to Cominolli for installation of their thumb safety.

[Don 73]

Originally Posted by Bowserb

Some people say the thumb safety is what keeps the M&P line from having the well-deserved reputation that Glock has for ND's and AD's. You know..."Glock leg". Yeah, I know, there are also a lot more Glocks in use. I won one, a G19, and sent it immediately to Cominolli for installation of their thumb safety.

You don't need a thumb safety to stop "Glock Leg," ADs or NDs, just keep your finger OFF the trigger until you're aiming at the target.

[Bowserb]

One day, I hope to achieve the level of 100% attention to multiple things and events at one time. I hope to be perfect and anticipate someone grabbing my handgun as I draw or reholster. I hope I never experience a piece of broken kydex or debris in my holster, or a twig I didn't see in the dark snag the trigger on my drawn handgun or rifle. And I hope the stress of a circumstance that causes me to actually draw a gun (other than the last time, which was in Vietnam a long time ago) and use it, and causes my focus to be momentarily broken, doesn't compromise safety.

Of course, I know I'll not achieve those things 100%, so instead, I just hope that I'll not ever develop the "smarter than thou" self image that causes me to make smart alec and unnecessary replies on Internet forums.

Like the U.S. military for over a hundred years, I recognize that with enough people and enough time, everything that can be done wrong will be done wrong. Therefore the belt and braces approach to safety that I prefer, is the one I learned from the U.S. Army, and that has served that organization well for a very long time. I don't expect to ever make a mistake in handling a handgun, rifle, or shotgun, or have an outside force cause the trigger to be pulled on a gun I am carrying, but then neither did, I imagine, the 120-and-counting U.S. law enforcement officers whose Glocks have shot them so far (plus a couple in LAPD shot in the last year by their new M&P handguns, purchased without the available thumb safety.)

I consider FOR ME a thumb safety, as employed by S&W, Ruger, FN, and others, to be a valuable secondary (after my own brain) precaution. A grip safety is my second favorite, as used by Springfield Armory in its XD/XDM line of striker fired pistols. Then of course, there is the 1911, which incorporates both a thumb safety and a grip safety. I own both an XDM-45 and a Colt XSE, so I am familiar with both of those systems. I prefer a positive safety on a gun. You may not.

[NasHouston]

Hey guys,

So S&W sent me the plugs (free of charge) in case I remove the safety. Thanks Smith!

Now I was talking to a gunsmith at the local range and he told me that if I have the safety latch on right side removed, the safety will not work and the left side would just be for show.

Anyone know anything about that?

[Rastoff]

Originally Posted by NasHouston

Now I was talking to a gunsmith at the local range and he told me that if I have the safety latch on right side removed, the safety will not work and the left side would just be for show.

Anyone know anything about that?

Yes, I know all about this.

Here's how the thumb safety works:

The red arrow is pointing to the part of the thumb safety that blocks trigger movement. The green arrow is pointing to the part of the trigger bar that is blocked.

Note the proximity of the thumb safety block (red arrow - I don't know what else to call it) to the frame cut out.

Here is a pic of the frame plug installed:


If you were to cut away enough of the right of the thumb safety so the frame plug will fit, the thumb safety won't work anymore. So, if you want the thumb safety to work, but don't want the right paddle, the factory frame plug won't fit.

The plug can be modified, but would then need to be glued in place. If it were me, I'd just leave the frame plug off.

[moose1953us]

i wish my core had a safety, that hinged trigger setup just doesn't inspire any confidence ....

[scattershot]

I was thinking about narrowing the safety levers on mine, anyone done this? Any advice?

[rcp1936]

After having the Apex installed I knew I needed a TS
I didn't want the capability on the right side so the armorer at the LGS took it off and there is no plug
Works OK

Here are pics