If thumb safeties were not called for then John Browning would not have designed them and Jeff Cooper would not have used them> Massad Ayoob would not recommend them for Cops. I know several people Cops and civilians { Personally}who have a AD when reholstering. most with glocks.
Stop Accidental Discharges - Article - POLICE Magazine
But since you guys are all so much smarter than most cops and others that carry it could never happen to you..
If you are so concerned that you will forget to take off the safety under stress I hope you dont forget to keep your finger out of the trigger and shoot yourself or a innocent one..
I prefer a round chambered and thumb safety on
most of this I write tongue in cheek you guess which...
Vstromrider, please do not take this as an insult.
I'm a 2nd generation cop. Most cops are freaking idiots when it comes to handling a firearm. Most only shot when they qualify and that's it. Making cops qualify is like taking a small child to the dentist to have a tooth pulled.
If officers followed proper firearm safety and handling (ie keep your frakking finger off the trigger and outside of the trigger guard) then these negligent discharges would occur.
I've been carrying a GLOCK in one form or another since I was 19 years old. Never had a negligent discharge while carrying one and neither have I had one with my SW99, M&P .45, Kel-Tec P32, LW Seecamp, and other firearms without manual safeties.
Massad Ayoob (whom I have taken many a course under and know him personally) even says that if you want to win a gun fight... start one with a cop.
Manual safeties are from an older era in design. The GLOCK, M&P, XD/XDM, Walther PPS, SW99/P99/PPQ, Steyr M Series, etc... are 110% safe to carry with a round in the chamber. They have built in safeties that are disabled with the pull of the trigger. To prevent a negligent discharge one must follow the proper rules of firearm safety.
1. Always treat a firearm as if it's loaded.
2. Never point the firearm at something you do not want to destroy.
3. Always keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Know what behind your target.
As for negligent discharge while holstering... Once again keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Also if you are holstering your firearm make sure that your holster is not damaged or worn in a way that something could get caught in the trigger guard and activate the trigger.
If you have a beat up old ratty holster and it flops; part of it might catch the trigger due it 's worn our ratty condition.
I own firearms with manual safeties. My Beretta 92s, S&W 59, S&W 4006TSW, S&W 4506,Walther P38, Makarov, Walther PP/PPK, Ruger P345, etc... all have manual safeties that also work as a decocker. Proper holstering and carrying of the firearm is to decock it by engaging the safety (do not ride the hammer down softly by pulling the trigger) and once decocked disengage the safety and holster the weapon.
For weapons like my 1911s and Hi-Powers, they are meant to be carried cocked and locked due to it being a single action design.
If you don't following proper safety and procedure with your weapon you will have negligent discharges. If you don't know how to properly carry the weapon then get training.
