Thumb safety - good idea for a rookie?

[magnumb]

Do any revolvers have thumb safetys? Are they not safe?

I recently picked a 9mm shield with out the safety. There were several reasons behind this. I bought two other semi-auto pistols in the last year or so. They were named similarly, so I assumed they would operate similarly. One was stryker fire and the other was hammer fire (not really important...) But more importantly, they both had thumb safetys, one you pulled down to fire, the other you pushed up to fire. When I was shooting with my wife sent was confused... Anyway, now there's no confusion, pull the gun, then pull the trigger. Simple.

" ahhh reality!!".........just seein' how that felt..... .

I was wondering the same thing in regards to there being any wheelguns with thumb safeties....?  If so, not sure there are too many....... .

I can't count the # of times I've heard, "buy a revolver, by far the simplist and most reliable gun one can own,".....or along those lines.... .  I still hear it.

It is certainly coincidental that such long standing sentiment has got such looooooong legs and revolvers, at least from what I know, don't employ safeties.

Who would have thought........

[JJB11B]

pretty soon you guys will have the option to buy releases with safeties 

[Miles]

Can't say that I've ever forgot to take off the safety in a hunting situation.  I never remember struggling to locate it either.  I definitely prefer to have it as a precaution.  I would bet they people who shoot frequently are just as fast with or without a safety.  As you are finding the target it's pretty easy to click off a safety...

[Bofire]

Time to stir this up a bit, since a 1911 comes with a safety, and it is the BEST self defense handgun there is, I go with safety!!!
Carl

[magnumb]

Time to stir this up a bit, since a 1911 comes with a safety, and it is the BEST self defense handgun there is, I go with safety!!!
Carl

I'd bite, but since I just had dinner........ .  I'm unpleasant, not stupid.....

I truly do embrace, 'to each, their own'.  Even you.....Bofire....

My Kimber Ultra Carry II gets alot of love .................................................................at the range....

[tgomez]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

[police women of America]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

I agree. Its more unsafe to not have a safety then to have them.

[NW-GSP]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

I agree. Its more unsafe to not have a safety then to have them.

Then why is it that statistically firearms with safetys have higher rates of negligent discharges?.
People become too reliant on safety's. I carry my side arm in a retention holster and have no need for a safety/ a safety only creates a higher chance of human error in a life or death situation. When you are in fight or flight mode you loose allot of your fine motor skills as in finger manipulation but you retain your large muscle group ability. How many stories have you heard about individuals recounting shooting someone in self defense and they can remember drawing their firearm but they have no idea how many times they have pulled the trigger.

[police women of America]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

I agree. Its more unsafe to not have a safety then to have them.

Then why is it that statistically firearms with safetys have higher rates of negligent discharges?.
People become too reliant on safety's. I carry my side arm in a retention holster and have no need for a safety/ a safety only creates a higher chance of human error in a life or death situation. When you are in fight or flight mode you loose allot of your fine motor skills as in finger manipulation but you retain your large muscle group ability. How many stories have you heard about individuals recounting shooting someone in self defense and they can remember drawing their firearm but they have no idea how many times they have pulled the trigger.

you NEVER trust a safety but statistics also show 60% or accidental deaths by a firearm are in the home because people leave their guns loaded no safety's and no locks so children and adults can be hurt because they don't know how to handle a firearm or they do and just make a mistake and the gun goes off. safeties don't always work that's why you should never depend on them but they do save life's.
Police officers have safeties but that never effects their ability to shoot in a fast situation. it only takes I little flick on and off to save a innocent persons life.

[magnumb]

you NEVER trust a safety but statistics also show 60% or accidental deaths by a firearm are in the home because people leave their guns loaded no safety's and no locks so children and adults can be hurt because they don't know how to handle a firearm or they do and just make a mistake and the gun goes off. safeties don't always work that's why you should never depend on them but they do save life's.
Police officers have safeties but that never effects their ability to shoot in a fast situation. it only takes I little flick on and off to save a innocent persons life.
[/quote]


"Police officers (weapons) have safeties" is a very all encompassing, blanket statement which is inaccurate  From every article that I have ever read and from what I have actually witnessed, LE weapons (to include the Federal level) across the US (and in many parts of the world) consist mainly of Glocks.....which has no external thumb safety.

So all of those AD's that, as you say, "they just make a mistake and the gun goes off", you are only attributing to guns without safeties.....?  That is, unfortunately, exactly what you said as the beginning of that sentence containing this particular quote purposefully and quite deliberately states, "people leave their guns loaded, no safeties and yada, yada, yada".  You are young and have more energy in your little finger than I have in my whole body, so I get the overall 'picture'.  My daughter was very opinionated, as well, and I very much loved her for the energy she brought to the table.  Eventually and as I would expect, one will need to bring a bit more than energy to the table and I have no doubt that you will...... .

I applaud your choice in careers and I also appreciate your desire to serve your community as you have evidently chosen to do.  However, in doing so, you will find that much of your job will be based around your ability to establish yourself as a credible person and officer, to your peers, your 'clients', the general public and while on the witness stand in a courtroom setting to the judge and jury.

Because of your lack of experience, due only to your youth and having no service time, it will be natural that you won't be the first person that your fellow officers will come to for guidance and or leadership.  Not your fault, it is no diffferent in any line of work.  Your time hopefully will come sooner than later......several years from now.....

But as the judge, jury and every field report will and should necessarily demand, as will those that you will eventually mentor, there is no place in either role where your emotional and personally preferred response trumps what you know to be true or for a fact (as they say).

Be true to your convictions and personal beliefs, but if you choose to share them with all others, leave yourself a little 'wiggle room'.  I'm still learning and I've many more years behind me than ahead of me.  I'm no less or more opinionated than many here and like many here, we have centuries of experience between us from which to draw from.  That in itself, is no assurance that any of us has learned anything all those years, but the odds are certainly higher...... .

Good luck to you, enjoy your youth and life and I wish you the best in your career,  Josie.....



   

[NW-GSP]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

I agree. Its more unsafe to not have a safety then to have them.

Then why is it that statistically firearms with safetys have higher rates of negligent discharges?.
People become too reliant on safety's. I carry my side arm in a retention holster and have no need for a safety/ a safety only creates a higher chance of human error in a life or death situation. When you are in fight or flight mode you loose allot of your fine motor skills as in finger manipulation but you retain your large muscle group ability. How many stories have you heard about individuals recounting shooting someone in self defense and they can remember drawing their firearm but they have no idea how many times they have pulled the trigger.

you NEVER trust a safety but statistics also show 60% or accidental deaths by a firearm are in the home because people leave their guns loaded no safety's and no locks so children and adults can be hurt because they don't know how to handle a firearm or they do and just make a mistake and the gun goes off. safeties don't always work that's why you should never depend on them but they do save life's.
Police officers have safeties but that never effects their ability to shoot in a fast situation. it only takes I little flick on and off to save a innocent persons life.

That is really a assumption to say that police officers have safety's, the department I worked for used S&W M&P pistols that did not have safety's and I can also not think of any other department my friends work for that have pistols with safety's. 
Either way yes you are right it only! Takes a second to take a safety off. FBI statistics are that the average police shootout lasts 3-5 seconds. So when seconds count I do not want to waste even one when my life depends on it.

[police women of America]

If i had a handgun loaded in my pocket with my hand on it, and you had one in your hand loaded, i could shoot you before you could me. It subconsciously takes .5 secounds for the human brain to react in this situation. I learned this in criminal justice/firearms class and it is true. Perfect practice makes perfect, learn to master reaction time, and in my opinion EVERY firearm should have a saftey with no exceptions.

I agree. Its more unsafe to not have a safety then to have them.

Then why is it that statistically firearms with safetys have higher rates of negligent discharges?.
People become too reliant on safety's. I carry my side arm in a retention holster and have no need for a safety/ a safety only creates a higher chance of human error in a life or death situation. When you are in fight or flight mode you loose allot of your fine motor skills as in finger manipulation but you retain your large muscle group ability. How many stories have you heard about individuals recounting shooting someone in self defense and they can remember drawing their firearm but they have no idea how many times they have pulled the trigger.

you NEVER trust a safety but statistics also show 60% or accidental deaths by a firearm are in the home because people leave their guns loaded no safety's and no locks so children and adults can be hurt because they don't know how to handle a firearm or they do and just make a mistake and the gun goes off. safeties don't always work that's why you should never depend on them but they do save life's.
Police officers have safeties but that never effects their ability to shoot in a fast situation. it only takes I little flick on and off to save a innocent persons life.

That is really a assumption to say that police officers have safety's, the department I worked for used S&W M&P pistols that did not have safety's and I can also not think of any other department my friends work for that have pistols with safety's. 
Either way yes you are right it only! Takes a second to take a safety off. FBI statistics are that the average police shootout lasts 3-5 seconds. So when seconds count I do not want to waste even one when my life depends on it.

I should have said they have the option to choose which weapons they have out of a list. Which some have safety's. saying they don't have time to turn off the safety is like saying they don't have time to pull it out of the holster. while they pull up the pistol they can click off the safety. But I'm not 100% against police not having safeties because as long as it is totally locked up at home no one can get hold of their gun but them. But there are a lot of sad stories about kids getting ahold of guns loaded with no safety's even if the parents hide them and think the child knows nothing about it. It even happens with police officers, there was a police officer who brought his gun home (loaded no safety) set it on a high desk and his 3-4 year old son grabbed it and shot him self on accident That's why I am very against having no safeties.

[NW-GSP]

Do you really think having a safety on a pistol makes it safe for it to be left unsecured around children?. No matter if it has a safety or not it should be secured.

[magnumb]

Josie,

If your premise, and a few others here, is that a thumb safety is so easy to manipulate (just a simple 'flick of a switch') and nearly as fast or as fast to put into action as a gun without a safety, then how is it any safer for a child, young person or another adult to do the same thing....?  A person of any age, that is not supposed to have access to a unsupervised gun with a safety, has the ability to take a second, a minute, 5 minutes, an hour or longer to just 'flick that switch' off and fire that weapon, since we need to assume that the gun owner is, at that time, totally unaware that this person is actually handling their gun.  A gun, with or without a safety, is no more or less dangerous in that scenario, which is unfortunately, the scenario most accidental shootings of oneself perfectly describes.

So......no.  A gun with a safety is no more safe for that obvious reason.  A gun and it's design doesn't maim or kill people, no matter how young, old or innocent.  People, whether unintentionally or not, maim or kill people.  That is the truth, no matter how the results might deeply affect us. 

Rosie O'Donnell's fork didn't make her pleasantly obese........ .

Again......how, where and when a gun owner deals with the very real issue of firearms storage, especially those households with kids, has no bearing whatsoever  on whether a gun with or without a safety is...........safer.  Storage, availability and access to your firearm is, at this time anyway, an individual right and decision that we all must make as gun owners.  The scrutiny that applies to incidents involving children involved shooting is immense and most times, relentless.  I certainly get the 'emotional' responses that immediately surface after such an incident, but likely more children die of ingesting household chemicals or physical abuse than those whose demise was brought about by the misuse of a firearm.  Yet, because a gun is a gun and many people despise guns and their owners, it garners the most attention when such a tragedy occurs.  How many articles have you read lately involving deaths where children died at their own hands when not associated with a firearm and scores of people then rallied in Olympia to demand an immedaite change....? 

We must use our best judgement when it comes to all aspects of gun ownership.  If we assume that a firearm with a safety is unquestionably safer than the alternative, would it not follow that we might be less apt to worry about such tragic events happening...?  If human nature is any indication of how we humans 'roll' and it obviously is, we tend to take the easiest and quickest route with most things........good, bad or otherwise.

A gun with a safety is no more safe than one without.....in any circumstance.

Good luck Josie....... .

[police women of America]

I totally agree you have to keep the gun locked up and secured away from children I do. but children don't know how to use a fire arm it might take them a hour to learn how to turn off a safety but just a half hour could give the parent enough time to realize that they are gone.
and yes its not a extremely common thing but people should learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others the main problem is people leaving their guns out but I never once heard the gun having a safety except for when people rely on the safety.
its your choice to have or not have the safety on your gun but personally I always have a safety its a extra precaution its not needed but neither is a safe or a gun lock.
thanks