My wife recently bought a .380 EZ for personal defense. We noticed if not perfectly held the grip safety will not allow the pistol to fire. I have been shooting for 40+ years and have never had a pistol with this issue. I sent it back to S&W and they returned it stating it passed their tests. It continues to do this even taking care to perfectly grip the pistol. Unacceptable for a personal defense weapon. Anyone else have this issue? Is there a fix? Thank you.

Bottom hinged grip safeties are picky about your grip, with the shape of your hand and how much flesh is on it being critical. The S&W EZ pistols and the Remington R51 are equally finicky in this respect. The only fix I know of is to fit a larger grip safety. There have been vendors selling such devices. Google is your friend.

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Release the Kraken

I don't have anything to offer, but what you state is very important to know.

I don't have an issue with any of my "grip safety" pistols - 380 EZ and Equalizer. However, that sounds like it may not be the case with everyone. Until reading the info in the thread thus far I was not aware of some people having issues with them.

On a different, parallel, note - this does go to highlight the importance of practicing with what ever pistol you choose to carry, and not just pick one up and roll with it. Even if a pistol is broken in and proven with a good amount of rounds with "no issues" - how it shoots for YOU may be entirely different.

Browning designed the Colt 1903 and FN 1910 pistols with bottom-hinged grip safeties before he made the 1911 with a grip safety hinged at the top.

There are some people whose hands are not a good fit for particular grip safety designs, hence the number of 1911 grip safety designs with 'speed bumps' on the bottom.

The grip safety for the Performance Center EZ is larger than the one used in the standard EZ. Check with S&W and see if they will sell you a PC grip safety or direct you to one of their authorized parts sellers to buy one.

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Bought the wife a standard EZ for the range and she loves it, but . . . occasionally she has to adjust her grip or run into that problem. So I bought her a PC model to carry and she's had no issues. I would go that route, or as gc70 recommends, have a PC grip safety installed .

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Qui plantavit curabit

No problems with the grip safety on my Equalizer. I suggest working on your grip. It is surprising the number of folks I run into at the range that don’t know how to properly hold a pistol. Ridiculously low grip…resting the butt of the pistol on the opposite flat outstretched hand…it’s like they got their pistol training from watching bad cop shows. High grip…both hands…thumbs forward.

No grip safety at all on the Ruger Security-380. Higher capacity too!

This might be a solution to your problem. Even though I've never had an issue I might buy one for my gun. Works for the EZ and Equalizer. Available at Amazon, cheaper at NDZ.

NDZ Performance Grip Safety for Smith & Wesson Shield EZ 9MM Performance Center in Black, Limited Design | NDZ Performance

Thank you all of the members for your responses. I understand practicing with the weapon you use for self defense. I have done so with her pistol and it is unreliable for self defense IMO. I have shot many pistols in my 40 years of collecting firearms and this is a problem design. My wife will probably sell it and buy a 42 which she was going to do in the first place until the salesman showed the EZ.

You can't effectively simulate what is a bad grip hold but you can exxagerate it to the point where it seems like a problem. This is also the reason for complaints about the XDM grip safety which is similar to the 1911 grip safety.

You owe yourself to sell it because you don't have confidence, but I don't think there is a problem with it.

The problem is using a grip from a bad cop show. Your grip is too low to depress the grip safety. Easy fix, and it’s free.

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Given the OP's stated decades of being around firearms I imagine his wife has plenty of guidance and gets a decent amount of range time. That isn't to say an instructor wouldn't have any critiques on their techniques if they were to get some input, but think of it like a golf swing - if you're confident in a technique you have used for a while, whether or not it is 100% "proper", then why change what works? In the case of the thread - whatever the said technique is of the OP's wife is apparently not compatible with the gun's mechanics.

There are lots of happy owners of EZ's and Equalizers so I doubt it is "the gun".

However, I will say, I have had issues with my Bodyguard dropping mags and came up with a solution to it that works (there is another thread on that subject). In that case - it was the fitment of the mag in the gun that was the issue for me, not necessarily my technique. I found a resolution to it. I am not sure how you would be able to rectify the grip safety issue. If it isn't getting depressed far enough then it won't come off of safety mode.

This...All. Day. Long.

This is the right answer! Move on to something else. There can be lots of discussion of the merits/deficiencies of the design or proper grip etc. But the reality of the situation is that any difficulty with a gun in casual range shooting makes it totally unsuitable for defense. Perhaps some training is in order, but if you can't depend on the gun to go bang when it has to, get something that does.

I own the equalizer 380 and 9mm ez models and never an issue with the grip safety ever.


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I received my new Grip Safety today from NDZ. It was about a 5 minute install and it works great. I had no trouble with the stock safety, but my wife had some issues…now those are resolved. It’s made of metal, not plastic, very well machined and a perfect fit. Eager to get some range time on Thursday and try it out.

This question seems to arise every 3 - 5 months. Lot of experts telling people why they're doing it wrong. I've always like Mark Twain's definition of an expert.

For me it seems that my hand's too large, and with the relatively short distance to the trigger I have to concentrate more than usual to make sure I engage the safety. I've thought about giving it away, but I don't know many people anymore. Also thought of selling it, but it's sweet little pistola, and doesn't eat anything, so I've still got it.

It’s not me telling you that you are doing it wrong…the pistol is. Use a proper grip and the grip safety works fine. There is no defect in the pistol design.

Here is an apparently little-known fact: your hands are unique, as are everyone's hands.

Hands fit other objects, such as gun grips, to varying degrees. If the fit between a hand and an object is poor enough, there is no amount of "proper grip" that will fix the problem. Nothing is defective about either the object being gripped or the way the hand grips the object - the two simply don't fit together well.

Not everything fits everyone, send it down the road. I tried the EZ when I got one for my wife. When shooting, hated the grip and it had the worst trigger ever. One range trip and it went to someone who appreciated it. Such is life, find something that works better for you and move on.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

A little thread drift. Your comments on the EZ trigger are interesting. The 380EZ we have has a so-so trigger with a bit of grit in the action. I dry fired an EZ9 a couple of weeks ago and found it had a great trigger. I don't know if this is down to an engineering change or that the EZ trigger mechanism can give varied a feel due to tolerance stacking.

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Release the Kraken

Mine wasn't super rough and gritty, just not terribly smooth, and the reset required the complete release of the trigger before it would fire again. I'm used to triggers that reset in 3/16" or less and then firing follow-ups from the reset. It just didn't fit what either of us expected so we opted for something that worked better.......for us. For her it was a Shield Plus with an optic, and for me my Shield 2.0's in 9mm and .45.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

That's weird. The reset on our EZ380 is not super short. but neither does it require complete release. This highlights the pitfalls of shooting to reset that I have tried to avoid due to my eclectic tastes in pistols.

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Release the Kraken

Yesterday was another Range day with my Equalizer. I installed the new grip safety from NDZ, as well as night sights from XS Sights. I never had an problem with the stock grip safety, but my wife did have a couple of occasions where the gun didn't fire when she pulled the trigger. This time out she didn't have any issues firing the gun at all. Overall 250 rounds were put through the gun without any failures. The slide locked back every single time.

The addition of the night sights was just something I wanted to add because all of my other guns have them...probably not necessary with the red dot. I turned off the dot to verify that the sights were centered on target. Easy to see in daylight and the shine brightly in the dark as well. The stock sights were very tight, but came off easily with my sight pusher. The new ones were also installed with the sight pusher.

Very impressed with this gun.

Smith and Wesson Night Sights | M&P 2.0 Night Sights

Sorry to hear about the OP's frustration. Different hands fit different firearms differently (is that too many differences?). I hope you can find a solution because the 380EZ is an outstanding firearm.

Can anyone advise the part number for the PC EZ grip safety?
Thanks.

It is a safety. Learn to grip it tightly, which you should do anyway. I have a 9mm EZ. You have to have a tight grip on it for it to fire, it's designed this way. There are small guns with a manual safety, Ruger for one. Maybe that's the answer for you.

Your wife will love the Glock 42...mine does. Just make sure she doesn't limp wrist it.

Yes, I know someone else who had this issue. The fix is to not carry this gun for personal defense.

Has she tried a revolver? Even some other slabside gun might be acceptable, although I generally don't recommend it for beginners, if in fact she is one.

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Formerly Model520Fan

This. My wife had a terrible time with the grip safety until I corrected her 'way-too-low grip. You can't expect a pistol to correct your own bad habits.

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Pisgah

Problem with the NDZ grip safety kit is that they don't list it for the .380EZ, only for the 9mmEZ and Equalizer. Several commentors on the NDZ website stated that when NDZ came out with one for the .380EZ, they'd buy one for the .380EZ their wives use.

NDZ Performance website lists their grip safety kit for the 9mm PC EZ grip safety. Unfortunately, they don't appear to have one for the .380EZ.

I got to thinking about your wife's problem. Why don't you try a SCCY CPX-3? It's DAO, holds 10+1 rounds, and you can get the ArmaLaser TR-10 laser for it. If you install the M-Carbo trigger kit in it (which is an easy install), the trigger pull will be less than 5 lbs. I have this exact set-up, which I used to use in my classes for anyone with grip strength issues. Lots of SCCY sales as a result. Sorry that I did not mention this option earlier. FWIW, my wife loves this SCCY.

I have a 9mm Performance Center Shield. Your wife is right you do have to get the 'right' grip on the grip safety. It's a nuisance until you get used to it.
I have sorta big hands and the top of the grip safety pinched the web of my shooting hand until I filed it down a little. This is a Performance Center gun that should not need such alteration.
If I had it over to do I would not buy a Shield with a grip safety!

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NRA & TSRA
Texas CHL Holder

I have a 9mm Performance center Shield. If I grip it too high the top of the grip safety pinches the web of my shooting hand. I had to file off the top of the Grip safety a little. That helped some.
I don't like the grip safety on this particular pistol. Just a personal preference.

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NRA & TSRA
Texas CHL Holder

There is a reason a popular modification of the original and the re-introduced Centennial revolver was to pin the grip safety. If I recall, S&W even provided the pin and pre-drilled the grip safety and the grip frame on the re-introduced Centennial to allow the user to deactivate the hapless device prior to discontinuing it altogether on the reintroduced Centennial after that initial run.

I wanted to like the 9mm EZ, but alas, it was not to be due to the grip safety not always deactivating for me. They figured this out on the 1911 decades ago by either having your gunsmith pin it shut (the pin was vertical, engaging the bottom of the grip safely and the top of the mainspring housing, thereby not spoiling the exterior appearance of the weapon) or by placing a hump on its grip safety to be certain of deactivation. I am not an engineer, nor do I play one on TV, but a “positive deactivation hump” seems like a good idea on the EZ Series.

The idea of a grip safety seems like a good idea, but upon closer study, I am not convinced since gripping the firearm deactivates it, or at least it is supposed to do so. If the idea is to prevent your opponent from shooting you in a gun grab, I think it only works if the opponent is a “Glock limp wrister,” who does not grip the weapon tightly enough to fire it. I prefer positive deactivation over imagined safety from a “limp wristing” opponent.