I never paid much attention to the hinged trigger on my Shield 45. I was taking a closer look at it yesterday and it got me to wondering how having that hinge makes anything any safer. Virtually anything that could snag the trigger is going to bypass that feature anyway. What am I missing here. I'm not trying to poke fun at anything I'm just curious because I don't see it making anything any safer. I'm wondering about this now because I have been thinking about switching to my Shield for my EDC.

The function is similar to the function of the little blade on the Glock's (and most newer S&W's) trigger. It stops rearward movement of the trigger unless the correct type of pressure is applied to the trigger. (Namely your finger on the trigger).

The hinged trigger keeps the trigger from moving from momentum when the gun is dropped. So it passes the drop test. That's what it designed to do, and that is about all it does.
If you pull or snag the trigger, I'd expect the gun to fire.

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Science plus Art

I've always been of the opinion that the hinged trigger is more of a drop safety thing rather than being snag proof. If something hangs up on the hinged section, then it could result in the trigger being pulled. Is the Glock style dingus any safer? I cannot say, but both systems require a proper holster and care when handling.

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Release the Kraken

I keep seeing guys saying that their gun cannot fire unintentionally because of the trigger safety but, as has been pointed out, it's more of a drop safety than a snag safety. I've been carrying a J frame as my EDC for over a decade and never worried about an accidental discharge because of the long trigger pull. Seems like it would be pretty easy for a guy to "Glock" himself if he's not real careful.

And yet one genius managed to fire his J-frame revolver carried in a front pocket while lunching in an Oklahoma City Mall Food Court!
He said he "adjusting it to be more comfortable."

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Science plus Art

I imagine guys get over the initial concern after a while. But as I look at it now, it seems sort of like carrying a revolver with the hammer cocked and saying that as long as the trigger doesn't get pulled everything will be fine. I know there are lots of guys carrying Shields and similar pistols. Doesn't it worry anyone?

In a word no................

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S&W Accumulator

Why not. Why do you feel it is safe. Is it because of the holster you use that keeps it safe or is it something else.

A holster is the only thing that makes it safe.

That's kind of what I figured. I've owned a couple of striker fired pistols but never considered carrying one before now. Just never gave this any thought before.

While the hinged trigger does little to prevent an AD if the trigger is pressed or snagged, it keeps the trigger from moving to the rear if the gun is dropped on its backside. In other words, it's intended as a drop-safety.

There is, in fact, a disease of the leg that's named after Glock for that very reason.

The hinged trigger is designed to make the trigger pull as spongy as possible. Any safety issue can be addressed with proper training, as in: "Keep your finger off of the trigger until you're ready to shoot the gun". If you are worried about the trigger getting caught on something and the gun firing, then you need to think about how you are carrying the gun. And, yes, the holster is a part of the safety system. It is a misnomer to compare a striker fired gun to a cocked revolver. On the striker fired gun, the striker is not in a position to fire, cocked that is, until the trigger is pulled. They are not any less safe than any other system. Just different. In the end, you have to make your decision based on what you are comfortable with. If you feel safer and more confident with a revolver, then that's what you should be carrying. One more thought about the hinged trigger: I have replaced every one I have with a metal Apex trigger. An added expense but well worth it.

The hinge trigger is just an old design first seen on the s&w Sigma back in '93.

You have to ether common sense your way thru your head games over the hinged trigger or other "safe" striker fired trigger safety's to stay safe with or stay with your revolvers .

It may take hundreds or thousands of draw and fire drills while trying to increase your speed for you to work out until your comfortable. Hey maybe you'll find a Kahr trigger pull fits your needs do to the design of the trigger pull .

Then there's those of us that carry hammer fired SA pistols cocked & locked with thumb safety's. None are safe for carry with out practice over time .

Please correct me if I'm wrong, or you disagree, but I do not believe there is such a thing as an "unintentional discharge."

Keeping ones' finger off the trigger is the key. As to the OP, having that middle blade an extra safety pays off, since it is just one more thoughtful way of keeping the firearm extra safe.

I fail to see the difference. Both are cocked and in a position to fire once the trigger is pulled. There are a few striker fired pistol designs where a long trigger pull causes the striker to move rearward a considerable amount before it releases - think Kahr or the APX Carry, but most are held 95+% rearward upon the action cycling.

So with the exception of being drop safe, I see no significant difference with a cocked S&W revolver or even 1911 with the thumb safety off (though it does at least still have a grip safety). All 3 are ready to fire once the trigger is pulled.

Does this make them less safe... yes, sort of IMHO. While there is no question that the reason Glock's are responsible for the most negligent discharges is simply because there are so many of them being carried, there is no question in my mind that the vast majority of those ND's wouldn't have happened with non striker fired actions. That said I own quite a few striker fired guns, I just don't carry them.

On the M&P the striker is fully cocked when held by the sear regardless of pulling the trigger. The trigger merely disengages the firing pin/striker block and releases the striker via hinging the sear down.

The Glock is partially cocked unless the Glock performance trigger or some aftermarket parts are used.

I was always under the impression that racking the slide on a striker fired weapon was the same as racking the slide on a S&W 645. The hammer/striker is now back. My Walther P99c which is striker fired has a decocking button. GARY

Striker guns come in many flavors when it comes to how much the striker is cocked when the slide is racked. I have pistols where the striker comes back quite a way through the slide endplate before the sear trips. On others, the striker just seems to go with any rearward movement barely evident.

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Release the Kraken

Not high on my list of things to worry about. I haven’t carried a pistol with a thumb safety in 20 years. I take care when I holster and unholster. Nothing is going to snag my trigger with my trigger finger riding the trigger guard.

I carry striker fired guns IWB daily, either an M&P of some flavor or a CZ P10C. I only use kydex holsters that completely enclose the trigger, and don't remove the gun when inserting or removing from the waistband. The thought of the pistol going off while I'm carrying it never crosses my mind. I'm sure it would be possible if there was an internal component failure, but I see the odds of that about the same as AOC becoming an intelligent and thoughtful being.

The hinged trigger is a passive safety that prevents inertial discharge if the weapon is dropped on its rear. It serves the same function as the firing pin safety which prevents inertial discharge if the weapon is dropped on its muzzle.

Agreed, which is why I installed an extended safety on my 9mm Shield.

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Richard

Where’d you get that? Homemade?

Absolutely correct. I tend to lump all striker fired guns into the Glock basket. It still is not the same as a cocked revolver.

The issue is too many people view the trigger, hinged or with a dingus, as the safety. Unless your firearm has a manual safety, which many striker fired guns don't, they rely on a "safety system" which includes the trigger, trigger bar, striker block (plunger), sear, and its engagement with the striker itself.

The hinged trigger or whatever version you have, is primarily a drop safety. In the event the firearm is dropped, it prevents the trigger bar from moving enough to disengage the safety plunger, which in the event the striker slips off the sear, allows the striker to move forward and hit the primer. There are a lot of actions that would have to happen at the same time for that system to fail. Whether the gun uses a fully cocked striker such as the Shield, or a striker under partial tension like the Glock, makes no difference as long as the system is functional. Adding a holster that covers the trigger just adds another layer to that safety system.

Aside from the safety between your ears, the most important is following the safety rules, like keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. Preventing foreign objects from entering the trigger guard falls into that same category, hence why a good holster is a good idea. Relying on just one part of the system is why NDs happen.

If you're not comfortable carrying a striker fired gun, don't. Just know if you carry with a manual safety and it gets tripped off, the results can be the same. I've carried cocked and locked 1911's and I've carried striker fired guns, and quite frankly I feel more comfortable with a striker fired firearm in a good holster than I do with just a manual safety in a good holster.

OP, good luck with whatever choice you make.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

My personal opinion is the hinged trigger was borne of an attempt to emulate a Glock like design but changing it enough so S&W didn't have to pay Glock for copping their patented design. Like any other trigger from a 1911 to a Beretta to a Glock, the actual 'trigger' is only as good as the linkage that enables the movement of that trigger to activate release of the sear to allow the action to fire the pistol.

I own or have owned most all of the modern designed trigger variations and actions, and because I'm a Luddite dinosaur my favorite is John Moses Browning's 1911 creation. My carry preference is usually a sub compact 9mm or 40 caliber Glock for reasons of weight, comfort and concealment, but during less than warm weather many times my choice will be a 1911 design (easier to conceal when I'm wearing more clothes). The S&W M&P semi-auto 45 I have (with a hinged trigger) is one of the best shooting and comfortable 45's I've owned.

I prefer a good 1911 simply because I have fired tens of thousands of rounds through them and I tend to handle and shoot them better because that's what I'm used to.

Mechanical safeties or a lack thereof are only as good as the safety between your ears.

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Qui plantavit curabit

I've been around concealed -carry folks for 50 years and I've never heard of anyone carrying a revolver cocked. I'm pretty sure if there was one, Darwin removed him from the picture. There is no comparison, safety-wise, bewteen a DAO J frame and any other handgun. And that's why I consider the 638's the most dangerous thing to put in the hands of a novice carrier.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

Yes, but Glock has been pretty successful blaming the user.

I carry revolvers or guns with a thumb safety.

From Brian at: [email protected]

Saw it on another forum.

Super nice guy, great to work with.

They come too wide for me so I ground it down to where I like it.

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Richard

Totally disagree with your first sentence............Were you one of the engineers on the design team? If not you are are conjecture.............

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S&W Accumulator

That's sarcasm but you don't have to be an engineer to know that the hinged triggers are sloppy. That's why the "engineers" at S&W dumped them in later versions of the M&P.

The design was intended as a drop safety. That said, my training has led me to believe that the ultimate decisions regarding safety are made by the individual, based upon how one handles, carries, and trains with their firearms, making each one of us the ultimate safety device. Just my opinion. Learn, Train, Shoot...Repeat!

1) The “hinged trigger” or trigger shoe or trigger within the trigger (Glock) actually is a drop safety as others have said.
2) If you don’t think about the possibility of something, anything, getting inside the trigger guard you need to re-think having a gun. Of course you take steps to eliminate that possibility, but there are reasons why some people like a thumb safety.
3) When a cartridge is loaded into the chamber of a Glock, the striker is partially cocked. Pulling the trigger only completes the cocking action. With a bolt action rifle, the striker is fully cocked when a cartridge is loaded into the chamber. Often the striker is fully cocked upon opening the bolt. However, it is possible to have a striker fired firearm where pulling the trigger completely cocks the striker. IOW single action, 1-1/2 action or double action is NOT a function of using a striker instead of a hammer striking a firing pin.

IIRC, the Glock strikers are ɓrought to 60% of fully cocked position when the slide returns to battery and the manipulation of the trigger provides the remaining 40% and at the end of its travel, trips the sear to release the striker to fire a cartridge.

The S&W M&P strikers are fully cocked by the slide returning to battery, however, when the trigger is pressed, the movement of the sear during the release of the striker also sends the striker rearward roughly 7/1000 of an inch.

The minute rearward movement of the striker enabled S&W to describe the pistols as "double action " for purposes of competition in which single action pistols cannot compete.

I carry striker fired guns with no manual safety all the time - but only in a holster that covers the trigger and trigger guard, and the gun is in the holster BEFORE it goes on my belt or in my pocket.
Works for me, but YMMV.
I only have one gun with a hinged or bladed trigger, an SD9VE, and like others have said I always understood that to be more of a drop safety than an actual safety.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

There is also a difference in that the Glock trigger bar is attached to the sear. The M&P trigger bar does not contact the sear until it is moved rearward by the pull of the trigger. When you look at all the different things that have to happen when the trigger is pulled, it makes you understand why a striker fired trigger will never be as crisp as a single action trigger.