M&P thumb safety: why I think it's a excellent safety feature

[Arik]

See, that's great advice..., except this is my first gun, so I'm really not used to either model.

Your biggest safety is whats between your ears. If youre gonna keep your finger in the trigger buy the one with the safety. Actually dont buy one at all. Modern striker fired guns dont need a safety. What uou do need is a good holster and belt. Another thing to consider is resale value. I see a lot of M&Ps at my LGS with thumb safeties just sit there while the ones without dont last a day. Not too many people want them.

In the end M&Ps are fine guns with or without a safety. One can make arguments all day for and against the thumb safety. Get what makes you happy and shoot it like you stole it!

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[Fabius]

The new safety on the Shield is one of my favorite features. I don't like the safeties on the regular M&Ps because they are too big and too easy to disengage.

I like safeties on M&Ps because with the pre-cock of the striker, the pistol is essentially a single action. The amount of rearward travel of the striker caused by pulling the trigger is almost undetectable. I would never carry or handle my 1911 cocked but unlocked, and I don't like doing so with an M&P.

I suspect that if cocked strikers were as visible as cocked hammers, more people would insist on safeties for striker fired weapons. I don't know anyone who carries their 1911 with the safety off.

 

[Danno_man]

The new safety on the Shield is one of my favorite features. I don't like the safeties on the regular M&Ps because they are too big and too easy to disengage.

I like safeties on M&Ps because with the pre-cock of the striker, the pistol is essentially a single action. The amount of rearward travel of the striker caused by pulling the trigger is almost undetectable. I would never carry or handle my 1911 cocked but unlocked, and I don't like doing so with an M&P.

I suspect that if cocked strikers were as visible as cocked hammers, more people would insist on safeties for striker fired weapons. I don't know anyone who carries their 1911 with the safety off.

The XD/XDm (classified as a single action) is basically the same as a 80 series 1911 with the thumb safety off.
The XD/XDm does have the trigger safety though.

I've had my 1911 thumb safety flip off a few times, but never freaked out about it. A properly working 1911 still needs the grip safety pressed in order to fire.

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[Vanilla Gorilla]

What scares me is that someone with little or no experience can get a CC permit by taking a three hour class.

I'm not sure there's much I can say about this statement without running afoul of the Code of Conduct for this forum. :/


As far as the safety, I don't like it. I thought I would, since I'm a big fan of the 1911, but it's not the same and not in the same place. It feels wrong. I also don't like a magazine disconnect, either.

My M&P is my duty weapon, and gets carried both on and off duty almost every single day. Not one single time have I worried about not having some little lever on the side, not when reholstering, not when drawing for practice, and not when drawing for work.

 

[Fabius]

The XD/XDm (classified as a single action) is basically the same as a 80 series 1911 with the thumb safety off.
The XD/XDm does have the trigger safety though.

I've had my 1911 thumb safety flip off a few times, but never freaked out about it. A properly working 1911 still needs the grip safety pressed in order to fire.

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True, but the M&P doesn't have a grip safety. Even with a grip safety, most carry 1911s with the thumb safety engaged.

A major firearms training facility has determined that 50% of unintentional discharges involving personal injury occur while holstering a pistol. The grip safety will typically be disengaged while holstering because the user is gripping the grip while holstering. An engaged thumb safety reduces the likelihood of an AD considerably.

All the talk about the most important safety being between your ears is just justification for Glocks, and their imitators, not having a safety. That is why NYPD developed the New York trigger for the Glock, with a 12 pound trigger pull similar to a revolver.

As i recall, a famous basketball player was carrying a Glock tucked in his waistband. It slipped down his pants leg. When he reached to stop it he hit the trigger and AD'd a round into his leg. Then he was arrested. A thumb safety would have made that occurrence a non-incident. Granted, he shouldn't have been carrying a Glock without a holster (because it doesn't have a safety) but everyone is capable of a momentary lapse in judgment or a break down under stress.