I do not like a thumb safety on my carry guns. Glock 23 and Kahr PM9. I do have one on on my nightstand gun which is my M&P 45 FS. Just something about it laying there with the trigger uncovered while I am not conscious or if I'm startled awake and reach for it in haste.
M&P thumb safety: why I think it's a excellent safety feature
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walkin' trails
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I got used to revolvers and Glocks with no manual safeties. My M&P 45 came without one. A thumb safety won't necessarily prevent an AD. I've learned that from hardcore 1911 shooters. If a shooter has the chance to attend one of the good handgun schools, they will learn that holstering is performed one-handed with the finger off the trigger. If you've got a jacket with a draw string, use the support hand to ensure that nothing is in the way of the pistol back to its holster. Just make sure that you don't cross the muzzle over your support hand. I've heard that the M&Ps with manual safeties are great 1911 starter pistols. I can't disagree with that assessment. I would not equate a thumb safety to child gun safety. Educate your kids on the range one-on-one about firearms safety and the dangers of curiosity. Keep your pistol in a safe place where a kid can't access when its not on your person. Always be aware where your pistol is. How you store it is our busniess based on the risks you have to consider. If you're confortable with a manual safety on your pistol, that is fine. If you're not thats fine. Regardless of the firearm, remember the these rules:
1. TREAT ALL FIREARMS AS IF THEY ARE LOADED ALL OF THE TIME!
2. NEVER POINT A FIREARM IN THE DIRECTION OF ANYTHING YOU DO NOT INTEND TO DESTROY!. AND A BULLET SURE WILL DO IT.
3. KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE UP ON TARGET, AND YOU ARE PREPARED TO FIRE!
1. TREAT ALL FIREARMS AS IF THEY ARE LOADED ALL OF THE TIME!
2. NEVER POINT A FIREARM IN THE DIRECTION OF ANYTHING YOU DO NOT INTEND TO DESTROY!. AND A BULLET SURE WILL DO IT.
3. KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER AND OUTSIDE OF THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE UP ON TARGET, AND YOU ARE PREPARED TO FIRE!
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I traded a friend my M&P for his (which had a thumb safety), because I'm a 1911 shooter and don't mind the thumb safety.
Mine was stock with a 10-8 rear sight and his was stippled, 10-8 rear sight, Dawson front, and Apex internals.
I did just buy a $2300 gun from him at the same time too, so the trade was just a bonus.
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I was thinking about posting my M&Pc .357 sig with 40 cal and a 9mm barrel to trade for M&Pc with a thumb safety. My first pistol was 1911 and just seem to being wanting to go back to it. Might just need to train more to get away from the thumb safety.
To each their own. I'm a revolver guy and when I get my first pistol, it'll be one without a thumb safety. I'm used to point and shoot.
RockBottom
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See, threads like this drive me nuts. I'm waiting for an M&P40 to get back in stock at my favorite on-line retailer, and was all set on the 209300 no safety model, but now this thread has me rethinking it again.
Nakanokalronin
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Just get what you're used to. Post #19 are my reasons and thumbing a safety is second nature. Weather you're used to and train that way then get one with, if not get it without.
RockBottom
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See, that's great advice..., except this is my first gun, so I'm really not used to either model.
GattlinGun
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There is just too much at stake. If you have to draw, any safety can be undone during that action.
All around just good.
gdauth
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This discussion on safety vs no safety is interesting. I wonder how many of you have had to draw their gun. I don't carry, so I have a different perspective. I have never felt that I needed to carry, even when I lived in NYC during the 70s. I view safeties as a protection for others. If you injure yourself, well that is the breaks of the game, but if someone else is injured because you don't use a safety or secure your weapon, well that in my opinion is criminal. If you own a firearm you have an obligation to others. If you carry, your obligations are even greater. What scares me is that someone with little or no experience can get a CC permit by taking a three hour class. There are a lot of stupid people out there with guns, we all see it every day.
team sidewinder
Member
All points are valid for the safety. I own 3 different handguns which are a 629 revolver with no safety and Sig 229R SA/DA with no safety so I leave the safety off on my Shield 9. If my kids were still home the guns would have to be locked up or have a safety with the safety on when left out. But hey that is just me.
Arik
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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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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.
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
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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
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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.
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.
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