Gluing the Thumb Safety

[old-school]

I have been carrying my Shield 45 as my EDC weapon, it have a safety (only one available at the time). I never engage it and drill sweeping the safety down (with my thumb) when I draw. I have been told to glue the safety down in the un-engage position just to be sure. What do you guys thinks-would it hurt anything?

 

[dben002]

I have been carrying my Shield 45 as my EDC weapon, it have a safety (only one available at the time). I never engage it and drill sweeping the safety down (with my thumb) when I draw. I have been told to glue the safety down in the un-engage position just to be sure. What do you guys thinks-would it hurt anything?

Also carry the Shield 45 as EDC...the safety is not going to be engaged accidentally (it's a rather stiff click to engage). So leave it down and forget about it. WHY WOULD you want to glue it down?????????

 

[Pisgah]

Better to glue shut the mouth of whoever gave you the advice.

If the propect of inadvertantly engaging the safety, however ublikely, bothers you, sell or trade in your pistol and get one without the external safety,

 

[mike campbell]

EDC is all about being prepared for the unexpected.

Got a safety but don't expect it to be engaged? Prepare for the unexpected. If you don't expect it to be engaged, it WILL be engaged. Practice with safety engaged until disengaging is automatic. Or get a gun that has no manual safety.

 

[NCW Ray]

I wouldn't glue it and ruin your resale value should you ever want to sell it.


You are already training correctly. You can carry it however you want, but train to use it just in case "Ol Murphy, of Murphy's Law" fame comes a calling on you. I'd never carry a gun equipped with a safety and not train to use it. Those that are saying it will never be engaged accidentally and to just ignore it aren't the ones whose life is on the line if yours should somehow engage. If I subscribed to their way of thinking I'd never run malfunction drills with my M&P's since they've NEVER malfunctioned! Clicking it off and ignoring it could be DEADLY ADVISE!

 

[GKC]

When I bought my Shield 45, it was the only one available at my LGS, and it had the safety. My previous carry gun, a Shield 9, didn't have a safety. Based on my prior experience with M&P safeties, I wasn't too thrilled...but this one seemed much different in handling it in the store, so I bought it. Now, I'm glad I did. It is unobtrusive, clicks on or off positively, and doesn't offer any real potential to engage or disengage unintentionally. It gives me the option to engage it if I want, or leave it off. I've come to prefer using it, and I do practice disengaging it.

IMO, either leave it off or use it, and practice disengaging it (as you have been doing.) Gluing it down is really bad advice. If you truly want it gone, have a gun smith remove it (or do it yourself if you have the ability) or sell it and buy one without it.

 

[ken158]

Sounds like you were hanging out at a gun shop where all the know-it- all experts hang out... don't glue anything on your gun. The safety is a pretty hard click down and should not click up all by itself... If it bothers you that much, trade it for one without a safety.

 

[MichiganScott]

As you aren't satisfied with the gun, the logical solution is to sell it and buy one which you will like.

 

[scattershot]

I'm not really sure why they sell guns without safeties, to be honest. Why don't you just leave it off if you don't want to use it? They are easy to remove completely if you feel the need. I sure wouldn't glue anything!

 

[NewToGuns17]

I have a shield without safety, but do they make plugs for the frame of one's with safety? How about tape both sides of the frame with cardboard and filling the void the safety leaves with black epoxy?

 

[GKC]

I'm not really sure why they sell guns without safeties, to be honest.

Some people don't want safeties. Some guns really don't need one...like the SDVE series, for example...the heavier trigger is a safety. We still live in a country (for now) where there are choices and options, based on personal preference.

 

[RobzGuns]

In the 6Yrs I've had my Shield, the manual safety has NOT inadvertently engaged on it's own. It's my EDC and I have never carried it with the safety on. As mentioned, it is not as easy to engage the safety as it is to disengage it.

Having written that... If you NEVER plan on selling it, it's your handgun... go ahead and glue it into the Off position, if it makes you feel safer. If you do ever decide to sell it and it's glued, you'd probably get more for it from the Scrap dealer than any real buyer.

 

[Safestuffer]

If you ever have to use the gun to defend your life,
Having a glued down safety isn't going to look too good for you in court.

 

[sandog]

All three of my Shield's came with the safety.
They are small enough and positive enough that I wasn't worried about it inadvertently becoming engaged.
But, after hearing about Shield AD's where the shooter was holstering and the end of their shirttail got holstered with the gun, I now engage the safety when holstering, then right after take the safety off so I don't have to think about it when I draw.
A few months ago I gave the 9mm Shield to my daughter. I tell her to engage the safety when holstering, then take it off safe once in the holster. And engage the safety when loading or unloading.
I see her about a week out of the year, when she gets a break from school, and train her as well as I know how when she's here visiting, but knowing she uses the safety when handling or holstering gives me some piece of mind.
I myself only use the safety when holstering, but have a good 45 years handgun experience over her. I'm confident I can load or unload and keep my finger off the trigger.
I agree with others above, if you don't like the safety, just don't use it.
Or trade it for a non safety model. Glue sounds like a half baked solution.

 

[cnj]

Permanently gluing your safety down is a total "Bubba" move, and will basically turn your Shield into a $100 gun, at best. If you could even talk anyone into buying it. Possibly some fully removable silicone could work, but overall, the whole scheme is a bad idea. Sell it and buy the same gun (sans safety, of course), and never think about it again.

 

[okiegtrider]

Tape and glue...

 

[dben002]

I forwarded your original post to a leading handgun expert..after he read it he sent back a reply so I thought I would forward his reply to you..

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCc-RWIp7XU[/ame]

 

[4896worker]

Check out YouTube they have a video on how to disable your safety seems easy . As for why don't you buy one without a safety. Some of us live in the unfree parts of the country

 

[Groundhog34]

Weld it down.

 

[Rastoff]

If you don't want the thumb safety, why not just remove it? Takes 5 minutes.