A few years ago, I trained for months simply disengaging the safety during the draw stroke. TMK, most accidents happen during the holstering process. Currently, I engage the safety, holster AIWB, disengage the safety, and ready to go.
I appendix carry a P365. I like being able to feel the ambi safety lever in the up position just by a quick touch of my hand. It’s comforting knowing there’s one more fail safe protecting my junk.
"I often catch myself swiping off the nonexistent manual safety on my striker fired guns." I laughed out loud in agreement. I find myself repeatedly patting semi-auto magazines. Cause I was once an old school AR15 owner. Compulsive mag patting is a stimata of the AR series.
I prefer an external safety for the added layer of safety it presents. It just makes sense when handling a firearm and the responsibility that goes with it.
If you always shoot guns with these safeties, it's as easy to manage as pulling vs not pulling the trigger. It becomes part of how you draw, present, and lower/raise your gun. If you primarily shoot guns with safeties, there's no way to mess up a safetiless gun. So if you think you want it, put in the time. If you're new, you may as well start off with a manual safety.
Take safety’s off ARs or any guns then. There’s a reason pistols have safety’s just like other guns do. Especially when you’re sticking them in your pants.
@@alphamale4497 that’s a preposterous comparison. ARs have much lighter trigger pulls and their triggers aren’t covered by a holster when they’re outside the hands of the shooter. Revolvers don’t have safeties. Safeties on handguns didn’t start until single action semi autos hit the market. There’s simply no use for them in today’s world outside of 2011s. Especially on striker fired pistols. Even DA/SA pistols are usually carried with the safety off and hammer down and is then decocked before reholstering
@@cgoins1993 bro half the market complains about triggers in striker fire guns and aren’t happy if their carry gun doesn’t have a sub 4 pound trigger. And based off the guys logic if you train safe you don’t need a safety. What do you not get?
@@cgoins1993 My S & W 442 has a built-in safety lock that takes a key to unlock it. When I put it away, I always engage the key lock. A double action revolver has a much harder pull, so it is less likely to be accidentally shot. Also, many revolvers have a half cocked position that works like a safety.
I just added a manual safety to my Sig P365XL 9mm carry gun for the very reasons you described. Thanks for sharing useful real world information to help keep us safe!!!
Thank you Mas for all you have been doing for the 2A community for decades. To anyone out there who doesn’t know who Masaad Ayoob is and his level of knowledge and trusted experienced teaching, you are missing out on a lot.
I have 2 SIG P320's, one with and one without a safety. I use the "without only at the range, the "with" is my home defense weapon. I've had people laugh at me because I prefer a safety, but I don't mind, like you said, it's one more safety device that I prefer. Thanks for your video's, I watch as many of your videos that I can. Thank you.
I've got four S&W M&P M2.0 pistols, and all four of them have the ambidextrous manual thumb safety (AMTS), which I absolutely want and love. IMHO, an AMTS is an absolute must on any / all striker-fired pistols. Good things! 👍
I'm an older person raised to use a safety and trained to disengage the safety when going to fire, it's just second nature. So that's what works for me. Thanks again for the great content
@RogerWilco99 😂I've pocket carried my G23 w/competition trigger and not had a care in the world about it. Long story on that day. I thumb sweep it also. People on the range may laugh, still that's okay. First pistol I ever shot was a 1911 and it didn't go boom 😠till I thumb swept it. I hate decockers on DA/SA's -- keep it in SA, your pull and reset is the same always OR just run a DAO 😠Keep it consistent. Under stress you screw up more than at the range. BTW I was not laughing at you or anything, it's that you brought up interesting points. Carrying a 1911 platform for decades, I'd holster it in condition 1, then set it to 0 though. Plain clothes even. When I dress up for an occasion funeral/wedding, the church gun gets set to 0. Wasn't hard to translon to Sheriff's dept side arm to HIT HIT 🤷♂The old 96DAO pull wasn't much different than my 686 pull. My 686's was a 💩ton smoother of a pull.. I've done house clearings with both 1911platorm and Glockplatform, meh. Keep your booger hook off the boom button till it needs to go boom. I'm trying to catch up to you in age. Striker fired is a different manual of arms fo'sho, you have to be sure when reholstering, yes I put the re in there on purpose because I'm an after incident mindset. You didn't mess up during it, you WILL NOT mess up after either. Sorry for the TL:DR you brought so many things to mind. 👍
Being of the younger millennial generation. I grew up with Glocks. And though I carried them AIWB without issue, I just never got over the fact I had a 9mm Hollowpoint that might point at my femoral artery or legs (including the third) that could go off with 5lbs of pressure. I've seen holsters do weird things, and clothing (as unlikely as it is to happen) can make its way into a holster. The more active you are (mountain biker and skater) the more likely these things can present themselves. Then I moved onto a DA/SA pistol with a manual safety. In the beginning I had to train myself to work the safety and learn the DA/SA trigger pull. But once that became second nature, it adds no extra time to the draw. Couldn't be happier and I have way more peace of mind. Many professional shooters shoot guns with safeties, or guns that are DA/SA, or even both. So don't let those mechanisms fool you into thinking that you'll be slower on the draw to first shot. The important thing is that if you have a safety, you train with it.
100% Agree! I train with my 1911 and part of my draw training is disengaging the safety and counter to that, reengaging on the holster. It is second nature now and I honestly feel weird carrying any type of pistol without a manual safety.
I do the same technique on holstering my DA/SA pistol and 1911. I’m a fan of safeties on striker fired pistols as well. Well done sir, this is crucial info as always.
About a year ago I bought a S&W Shield Plus w?manual safety.. After about 8 months I started carrying it with the safety OFF. After watching this video I'm going back to carrying it with the safety ON. It just makes sense. The little bit of extra training on disengaging that safety is well worth it. Thanks, Massad. Great presentation as always.
I have a Shield Plus and it’s the only handgun I own where the safety is next to useless. It’s too small and cannot be reliably activated and released. I’ve stopped carrying it because of that fact.
@@neilaxelrod5872 well I also carry the same gun with the saftey off in its holster, but when I take it out to clean it or throw it in a range bag I engage the saftey before unloading it. I agree it's too difficult to use under stress but its not obtrusive enough to matter
I carry and train regularly with a government sized 1911 in .45 acp. It’s completely natural to carry this cocked, locked and a round in the chamber for me. As part of my natural draw stroke, to defeat the safety with my thumb as I bring the gun up to the target and ride that safety as I shoot. I dry fire regularly with my 1911 and practice the safety manipulation with every draw from and return to the holster. The only hand guns I own are government sized 1911’s in .45 and I carry one everyday concealed. Good video topic.
@Snookynibbles Why? Something simple like a thumbsnap seems to me like a good idea if you have to run or you end up wrestling with someone and they try to take it.
In regard to the reholstering portion of his presentation, placing your thumb on the hammer is a graduate-level technique to sear into your muscle memory and is, IMHO, a solid reason to prefer a hammer-fired pistol. This, combined with an DA/SA trigger and decocking lever, is why my preference is the Sig P226. I just don't feel comfortable with scissor triggers or striker-fired pistols. In the end, though, there is nothing more critical than consistent training with your weapon of choice. Thanks to Mas & Wilson Combat for covering this topic.
I work in a gun shop as an armorer. A lot of Guntubers make it sound like manual safety variants of the P320 are everywhere, but that's not the case; only the M17/18 models have them. What if the buyer wants an X Series model P320 (ex. X Carry) but wants a manual safety? Well, they'll either have to suck it up, or buy an M18 and convert it to X Carry specs. There are manual safety kits out there, but that's not my point - SIG churns out P365s all with the option for manual safeties, but on the P320, they're only available on the M17/18 replicas? They should give the people options with something like this.
Yea ,I am a recent 2A participator (December 2023) and when I purchased my P365 X, all they had was a WCP365X , no safety. I trusted my gut and made the purchase (they couldn't keep them in stock, anywhere locally) . I love the firearm, am at 1250 rounds . Just starting to draw from holster , taking it slow and am focusing on precision not speed . I've considered getting a manual safety installed and may . IDK we'll see. Everyone in my orbit including my Uncle (retired US Marshal) do not have manual a safety on theirs..
@@dtcdtc8328you do you, but I installed a manual safety in my 365 XL (it was easy) and bought my 365 with the safety. Something just doesn’t feel right about holstering a striker fired weapon with no safety. It’s easy enough to train with the safety, too. I guess I would rather run the small risk of me mucking up taking the safety off in the slim chance I ever need to fire the weapon, vs. the very small risk of handling it - but every day - without a safety, and having a ND hurt someone.
Great info. I only buy guns with Manuel safety. I've been told it slows down reaction time. I believe anyone can make a mistake. And I prefer that 1 extra step to prevent the 99.99% of the time I won't need to use my weapon.
Yes, always a safety. I'm old and having and properly using a safety was how I was taught since I was a child. In a concealed carry gun I would require redundancy in regards to safety. Without a two forms of safety (double action & manual safety for example) I would never carry with a round in the chamber as that would become the redundant safety. Additionally, drop safe is a requirement for me of any concealed carry gun.
Drop safe, is the reason I don't normally carry in the chamber. It's easy enough to go around a corner and rack a slide if there are some shady characters around. But your first defense should always be situational awareness. If it looks iffy it probably is or will be, so why stick around to find out?
@@GrantTravels23Yup, that is easy enough, and situation awareness is very important. The best way to win any fight is to not get into one. But, in far too many self defense situations you don't have time. Mr. Ayoob has a video on the subject outlining these scenarios and the likelihood of having time to rack the slide.
IMO if you are a civilian in your lifetime the person you are most likely to shoot is yourself while holstering or deholstering your firearm. Personally my preference would be a safety and a DAO trigger. It having neither when I had my Glock I carried Israeli.
After first relying upon revolvers, and also learning combat firearm proficiency using the 1911, having a Manual Safety has always been a benefit to me, on duty or off duty. After also progressing through SA/DA, De-Cocking, and the many years of Striker Fired Pistols which were most often carried IWB, I am in the stage of my life, as in these "senior days" where I strongly prefer the benefits of having a Manual Safety. My EDC/P365 is without, and I'm working on resolving that and possibly adding an optic so if I can properly adapt, then I could now benefit from the "Marksman Cheater's!" Thanks and Blessings Mas, you have been always helpful to me along the many, many years of packin' along this journey! I look forward to no more packin' in Heaven! Hallelujah!
Thank you for this video, sir! I enjoy the peace of mind of having a safety on my Beretta Cheetah. I carry it with one in the chamber, de-cocked and locked. Between the safety and the heavy double action, I feel safe handling it and transferring it between car holster to IWB or other CC options. However, i don't feel that same confidence with my Sig P365 X-Macro. I carry that with an empty chamber due to the handling concerns you mentioned and the much lighter trigger pull. I will be installing a safety module after watching your video for more reasons than I thought! (I hadn't thought about the scenario of someone else wrestling my gun away from me) Thank you for sharing your knowledge, experience and wisdom.
For so many years Mas has been giving simply the best firearms information to shooters, first in print, now over the Internet. If I could only have access to one gun guru, it would be Mas. Thank you.
I had an older (pre-2017) 320 9mm that I sold. After the stories started coming out, I put some snap caps in, tossed the gun around, and dropped it from several angles. On more than one occasion the gun would've fired. Sig says they fixed it, so for fun I bought a 320 XTEN. Snap caps installed, same testing, never fired. Since it didn't fire, I tested it again, about 3 times the testing I did on the 9mm. Still never fired. Maybe they did resolve the issue after all. I now daily carry the XTEN with no reservations or worries.
The problem with the P320 was because the physical trigger was too heavy. Not the weight of the pull, the part itself. When dropped at the right angle, the inertia of the trigger could pull itself. Sig recalled all of them and fitted a lighter trigger part. If Sig had designed the trigger with a safety blade like Glock or S&W it might have stopped the trigger from moving far enough.
@@bwofficial1776 a trigger inertia safety like a Glock, FN, Springfield Armory, or M&P striker fired handguns would have probably prevented it. For whatever reason Sig doesn’t believe in them.
Hard pass for me personally. I do like the 320, but there’s so many other options out there that they might as well retire it because it’s just not worth any risk. At least change the name like p320mk2 or p321?! 😅 give us some sort of confidence and move on. That’s just me and my opinion. So, to each their own.
OMG, Mass I am soooo happy to see you at Wilson sharing your vast knowledge. I read your book in the Gravest Extreme when I was 16 and I have never forgot the lessons you embedded in me. Thank You for staying in the public eye as you have certainly converted casual gun enthusiasts into mindful prepared citizens.
Massad, I very much like having a safety on all my carry pieces. One of them does not, it is my Walther PPQ in 9mm, which I love that gun. But on the rare occasion I carry it anymore, I am very careful with it. I just turned 70 this year and I have been a gun nut for 66 of those years. I started off at 4 with a colt fanner 50, and soon acquired a replica of a Colt Detective Special that looked like a real gun { no orange muzzles back in those days, thank you very much } and it actually fired these gray plastic bullets propelled by caps. I loved that thing, and playing undercover detective with it as my " carry piece ". Got my first real gun, a .22 single shot rifle at the age of 10 and my second gun was a High Standard 4 in. barrel Duramatic .22 pistol at 11 years old. More guns followed in rapid succession.........YIPPY !!! So all throughout my life I have acquired many wonderful firearms, quite a few I still own. But the one thing I want to say, and you touched on it, is that what ever firearm{s} one owns, it is imperative that one becomes/is familiar with their gun{s}.........PERIOD ! Know where the safety is, know your gun{s}, know how it shoots, have a " good " idea as to how powerful it is, it/they should be sighted in and you know where it/they hit at ?? yards/feet. I emphasize this to my relatives as well as the women I meet that choose to carry. And I tell them all that they should be shooting/plinking on a regular basis. I don't preach to anybody, but I do suggest it when the time is right for it. And I tell them that shooting is FUN !!! "Cause it is ! Anyway, "nuff said. And thank you Massad for the individual that you is ! :-}
Great video. I like P320s. I don't need manual safety on my P320s; I want it. Especially for EDC. I'm in the process of converting all my standard FCU to manual safety FCU with a conversion tool kit I recently purchased. My thinking is if I want manual safety on my rifles why I wouldn't want manual safety on my pistols? I can't think of a reason why I don't want it.
Thank you, Massad and Bill Wilson for another excellent, thought provoking and insightful video. I have been shooting for 60+ years . . . and I’ll offer a personal opinion, with the understanding that it is NOT “universal truth.” I continue to favor traditional DA/SA autoloaders, especially those with manual safeties. Why? Because - and I’m originally a revolver guy, so a long DA first-round trigger-pull is second nature - that longer DA first-shot pull is an inherent safety, AND the external hammer can be ridden when re-holstering (statistically, a substantial cause of negligent discharges), AND Condition One (cocked and locked) carry allows every round to be fired SA, AND (design dependent) de-cockers permit the hammer to be lowered with compete safety (although, I have never had any issue in doing so safely, without a de-cocker). Of all the traditional - and excellent - DA/SA semiautomatic designs (S&W, H&K, CZ, Beretta, Sig, and so forth), I especially admire the H&K USP’s (variant one) design. It has a single de-cocker combined with manual thumb safety, which allows “cocked and locked” carry, AND mechanical de-cocking, AND a long trigger pull for a DA first shot (if one desires this alternative), AND (of course) an external hammer that can preclude negligent re-holstering discharges.
Thank you Mr. Ayoob, as always very informative, myself I will not carry a striker fired weapon unless it has the manual safety that's why my EDC is the Hackathorn Special Commander, again thank you keep bringing us the great information you all do at Wilson Combat. God bless and stay safe.
This video is the Ultimate argument for safety on the internet. I run my weapons with safety like it’s second nature. It’s the same thing with an M16/M4- safety on and off each and everytime. We trained like that so it’s instinctive. People should be doing the same tariming with their hand guns. US Military has billions of dollars put into their weapons and lots of research and evidence-based data on hand. There’s a reason why they put safeties on their weapons that are exposed to ALL combat scenarios. Thank you Mr. Ayoob!🙏🏼 you are an American treasure Sir🫡
This was a great way of explaining the pros and cons. I don't run safeties on my striker fired pistols but I have considered picking up a M18 at some point. Everything is a compromise.
I used to carry without a safety, appendix. Two years ago, I could no longer carry a weapon without a safety. I know longer carry my striker fired weapons. Think the change happened because I have gotten older. The Army taught me how to use a safety and I have trained on using a safety. It works for me and I will continue to only buy weapons with a safety.
Being a revolver operator for 50 years with s.a. & s.a./d.a., a safety on a handgun was foreign to me. When purchasing my 1st striker fired poly wonder ,I opted for a manual safety. After practicing presentation with the safety for awhile, it became second nature. Now, 1st thing I do whenever I pick up a hand gun, I always look for a thumb safety. Every firearm I have ,except for my revolvers and an older lever 1894 have manual safeties. Now I opt to have manual safeties on all purchases of semi-auto pistols. Its second nature . Love the channel and read Massad's articles whenever I found one starting with reading On Point! Thank you for your service and the no B.S. teachings.
I believe in having a safety if you are going to carry your gun. Suppose an assailant grabs it, or, for some reason, you grab it in a hurry during a physical situation? But I agree that training with it, a good holster, and good trigger discipline are important.
I’m only 28 and I am only now since I’ve had my pistol permit for the last couple of years being exposed to guns without a safety. I get that it’s another step but I’ve just not had a problem with it. My default is to look for the safety on a firearm if I’m unfamiliar with it.
Wow, Mr Ayoob is really a great great source of knowledge. I actually watched another video of his and literally asked this question only to find a whole video about carrying a handgun with or without a safety. Guess I'll keep my Echelon as a home defense weapon and get me a Glock 19 with a safety. Never say never when it comes to thinking that no one can take your firearm from you.
Yes, I own 2 M&P series .40 guns. A 1.0 older model with ambi factory safety, a newer 2.0 .40 model with no safety. I prefer the non lever style. Safety controls & flip on or off by mistake. If I bought a new M17 or 320, I'd get the safety format due to the various court documented problems, 🗂.
Thank you, Sir! Always felt safer with the 1911. Early on, was one of my issues with the Glock. Just got used to the idea that the trigger was the safety.
I did a lot of research (reading gun books and magazines, articles by Mas and other experts before the Internet) before choosing a carry pistol. One article was on this topic and the author did the same test on a range that Mas described in this video. It made such an impression, I decided on a S&W model because I liked the manual safety/decocking lever feature and the magazine disconnect safety. Making a carry gun proprietary to its user made a lot of sense to me at the time (30 years ago) and still does as that pistol still serves me today.
As usual I find your knowledge exceptional sir. I have something productive to add today. I can holster from muscle memory. For years I have used the same Glock 19 in the same Alien Gear IWB holster. One night I removed my weapon before entering a bar . I did not drink but opon retrieving my Glock from inside my locked motorcycle storage , I upholstered and discharged a 9mm round. Heart pumping fast and embarrassed I looked for a wound in my leg. Then with no injuries I looked for the cause. My shirt cought inside the handguard on the trigger. I had holes in my jeans and in the holster shell but amazingly no hole in my body or even a burn mark on my body. God loves and protects the old and innocent ( and stupid ) Take time to holster your weapon folks.
Some things I hadn’t considered very interesting. I’ve been struggling for a while now on a new gun I want to buy whether or not to get the Safety after watching this video I will get the safety. Thanks for the info.
I just want to say thank you for all the advice over the years. I still think you give the best information when it comes to the use of guns and safety. I have never been a safety guy on a handgun. However after listening to you talk about the subject and give several examples I can see why someone might want one. Especially as a LEO. It’s just a matter of training. Thanks again for all the great advice over the years.
I am a big fan of DA/SA manual safety equipped pistols. One important consideration is that you have the OPTION of using the safety or carrying with the safety off.
I have my P320 with no manual safety. I've never felt unsafe carrying the gun, because I have a well designed holster that completely and snugly covers the trigger. From day 1, my manual of arms has involved practicing re-holstering with a visual confirmation of a clear holster. In my mind, a defensive firearm needs to be quick to access, but once drawn it should only be put away when the threat is gone. And so there's time to spare the extra second to visually confirm the holster is clear of cloth or other. Firearms are powerful tools that demand respect, and training is always required to ensure safe operation.
I have a Smith & Wesson M&P in my bedroom and I have a round in the chamber and the safety on. I feel safe with it that way and I will get the safety off when or if I need it. I'll probably never need it.
I dont hate safeties. I actually engage it when I remove it from the holster when I am handling the weapon before I clear it, or after I load it if it does not go straight into holster, But inside the holster when its on duty in public you better believe that safety is not engaged. In situation where I need to use deadly force I know its something extra that I would have to remember. As the trigger is protected I have engaged the safety!
It takes half a second to take off the safety but it can potentially give you an extra 16 seconds of life to fight back. It’s more than worth it if you ask me.
Amen. This video needs to be standard viewing. Personally, as an armed citizen, there seem to be very few realistic reasons why a firearm needs to be carried where a projectile is fired just by pressing the trigger. If carrying in the chamber, safety on…no manual safety, don’t chamber, rack after drawing. I carry chambered with manual safety on.
The safety may slow you down on the shot. It also gives you a split second longer to allow yourself to consider if you really need to take this shot. Don’t dump on me. Because life will be different after you pull the trigger.
I've modified how I draw so it naturally turns off the safety as I come up and it's actually really nice. I feel so much more safe carrying with one in the chamber because of it and it adds no extra time to pulling it out
Note on S & W, M & P: If you have one without a manual safety, I've seen a couple videos that indicate you can Smith and Wesson will mail you one, and the conversion appears to be fairly simple. EDIT: Which, after watching this video, I plan on ordering.
Personally, I don’t like an external manual safety on my carry gun. But I did a boatload of training and practice with my carry pistols. I have a dedicated, hard Kydex holster for each of my pistols made for each specific pistol, including my current favorite, a Canik Elite Combat. But, if you feel safer with an external safety and it makes it more comfortable for you to carry everyday…by all means, use a pistol with a manual safety. We’ll be in a much better place if more and more good citizens carry. An armed, good citizen is a safer citizen.
Very informative video about the different things that could, and have gone wrong in situations. I appreciate it, Massad! I carry an M & P 9 mm, and, since it was my first gun, I have the safety on it. When it is holstered in a outside the waistband Hard sided holster. I do not have the safety on. I want to be able to pull and shoot. When I wear it in a belly band, even though it does have the cloth over the trigger guard, I always have the safety on, and I have practiced , drawing, undoing the safety and firing many many times with that. So for me, it is very situational. Thanks for the information as always!
As an older shooter, every gun I ever fired had a safety back in the day and up until maybe the late 90's I never saw a gun without a safety. Admittedly after I purchased my first non safety/de-cocker having gun I was a bit uncomfortable with it, but over time I learned to deal with it. Nowadays safeties are not a deal breaker. If I like the functionality and the style of the gun I buy it. My EDC a Springfield Hellcat Pro has a "trigger safety" but I don't consider it a safety with it being on a trigger.
I’ve duty carried both revolvers and 1911A1. I’ve carried both as off duty weapons as well. Today as a retired civilian I carry my 1911A1, cocked and locked. It’s what I know and it’s what I have proved when the time came to perform. I’ve grappled with thugs who have tried to disarm me when carrying both. It’s terrifying when it’s a point and pull revolver. But a little less so with the 1911A1 due to that manual safety. Just my personal opinion based on my own experiences.
Mr. Ayoob, thanks for your valuable training and insight. I carry a S&W 639 and I'm transitioning to the Glock 21, took Massad's advice and have carried it cocked but unloaded around the house, will do this as suggested for a month to gain confidence it the striker fired type handgun before making the transition.
Mr Ayoob, I have a great deal of respect for you and agree with 99.99% of everything you say. I notice you leave this topic's answer open to the viewer and with good reason. I'd like to contribute to the discussion with my own empirical observation. I served in the US military for 20 years and was amazed by one particular observation relevant to this discussion. As you point out, US military uses handguns equipped with safeties, the consistent use of that feature. I lost track of how many servicer members, including may 20 year veterans, who had trouble with this. They would go to the firing range for routine qualification shooting. They would be briefed on the course of fire with particular attention to deploying the pistol downrange, clearing the safety, discharging the specified number of rounds, setting the safety, and holding position to await the next instruction. Then they would then be given the order to pick up your weapon and fire (x) rounds, at which point they would pick up the pistol, aim at the target, squeeze the trigger much as you illustrated with the 1911 in the murder exercise, and when time expired they would stand there sheepishly holding the pistol pointed downrange with their off-hand raised to indicate they had a problem. It would frequently turn out they forgot to clear the safety in spite of 20 years of training. If a service member can panic and waste ten seconds without getting a round down-range after 20 years of consistent training, certainly a concealed-carrier is subject to the same failing regardless how they train. For this reason I don't own any active safety equipped sidearms. My Smith and Wesson M&P does have a back-strap safety, but it is not possible to grip that weapon and attempt to fire it without clearing the backstrap safety. I suppose the lesson here is there is no perfect answer to anything involving human beings. My two cents worth, I hope it is beneficial.
i entered the military academy in 1984 in my country(somewhere in europe) at the age of 16,We got a FN HP issued and a FAL.the HP had a safety so thats how we were trained.since then i always had cz p85(ambi cz75) with safety and a HP practical as my private weapons,the CZ is even better in the way that ist DA/SA,were the HP is onlySA.I always carry such an old schoolpistol even that i have striker fire pistols for the range.Its the way we were tought.as you draw ,your tumb automatically pushes the safety up when your gun leaves the holster.and something you mentioned is also true.we didnt have dedicated holsters .
As a LEO I was trained to carry my Beretta with the safety/de cocker in the safe position in the holster and use the thumb to sweep it off when drawing the gun. The safety was then engaged prior re holstering the weapon. It seemed awkward and unnecessary at first. But eventually it became second nature and I never had a problem with it…nice video Sir!
I always appreciate your straight forward conversations,compared to other babbling. It's serious information and should be discussed accordingly. I have recommended you plenty of my freinds. Thanks for your service as law enforcement. What nationality are you,I like that you have a unique name
I like when he call the pistol the "killing machine". That's the point. I see in contemporary gun culture the attraction to guns for reasons that circumvents that basic fact. I also got my 1st gun for target shooting, for fun basically, not for self defence, later I got educated and I fully understood the nature of the beast...and I am still
I will always suggest and carry with a safety for the purposes of holstering and handling post defensive event when officers need to have it exactly as it is without clearing for the purpose of evidence. It is also nice as an extra obstacle when carrying around small children who can be unpredictable.
After watching some YT videos about possible risks when appendix carrying without a safety, I decided to buy a second SIG P365, this one with the manual safety, for when I do carry that way. My other one, without a safety, I can still carry other ways, but I feel a little bit safer using the manual safety one when carrying inside waist band, appendix style. Especially when driving or sitting.
I care only two different guns as my carry options. A Ruger LC9 with a safety,and a Beretta 92fs compact which does have the safety. I always engage the safety before upholstering. And train pulling and disengaging the safety.
A negligent discharge is nearly impossible with a manual trigger safety. If you can train yourself to use proper trigger discipline you can train yourself to use a manual trigger safety. You might worry that you might forget to disengage the manual trigger safety. I'm worried that you might negligently discharge your firearm if you are NOT using a manual trigger safety.
I own both types. Have trained to deactivate the safety at an arc that would represent the groin area at the height of an average man. Its so natural now that there's no hitch or stutter. I don't think it slows my time to acquire the target.
I’ve gone the manual safety route for all of my guns. My rifles have safety’s, my pistols have safety’s. It’s just ingrained in my training that I must disengage the manual safety before firing any gun. I’ve heard the “motor skills go out the window” argument against manual safety’s, it just isn’t an impressive enough argument for me to mix things up and have guns that do have safety’s and don’t. I want to keep things uniform that way.
Do you use a safety? Why or why not?
Yes.
I train plenty in manipulating the safety, and I carry AIWB. A safety helps me not worry about my future children .
A few years ago, I trained for months simply disengaging the safety during the draw stroke. TMK, most accidents happen during the holstering process. Currently, I engage the safety, holster AIWB, disengage the safety, and ready to go.
Absolutely but you need to make it muscle memory to disengage it when you pick up that weapon to use it.
I still carry a 1911 or a variation of one. So, my answer is yes I use a safety.
No, prefer a hammer fired with a decocker and no safety
I love this guy “ they don’t call it safety for nothing “
I appendix carry a P365. I like being able to feel the ambi safety lever in the up position just by a quick touch of my hand. It’s comforting knowing there’s one more fail safe protecting my junk.
I couldn't agree with you more. I also appendix carry the Sig 365.
As a 1911 guy, it's ingrained in muscle memory. I often catch myself swiping off the nonexistent manual safety on my striker fired guns.
Me too
"I often catch myself swiping off the nonexistent manual safety on my striker fired guns."
I laughed out loud in agreement.
I find myself repeatedly patting semi-auto magazines. Cause I was once an old school AR15 owner. Compulsive mag patting is a stimata of the AR series.
Yes. After 50 years, it’s permanently stamped into my brain.
Not against safeties overall, but that ingrained muscle memory is training.
Larry Vickers pointed out that by training on a 1911, you're automatically set up for success with Glocks, XDs, M&Ps, VP9s, P320s, etc.
I prefer an external safety for the added layer of safety it presents. It just makes sense when handling a firearm and the responsibility that goes with it.
If you always shoot guns with these safeties, it's as easy to manage as pulling vs not pulling the trigger. It becomes part of how you draw, present, and lower/raise your gun. If you primarily shoot guns with safeties, there's no way to mess up a safetiless gun. So if you think you want it, put in the time. If you're new, you may as well start off with a manual safety.
Take safety’s off ARs or any guns then. There’s a reason pistols have safety’s just like other guns do. Especially when you’re sticking them in your pants.
@@alphamale4497 that’s a preposterous comparison. ARs have much lighter trigger pulls and their triggers aren’t covered by a holster when they’re outside the hands of the shooter. Revolvers don’t have safeties. Safeties on handguns didn’t start until single action semi autos hit the market. There’s simply no use for them in today’s world outside of 2011s. Especially on striker fired pistols. Even DA/SA pistols are usually carried with the safety off and hammer down and is then decocked before reholstering
@@cgoins1993 bro half the market complains about triggers in striker fire guns and aren’t happy if their carry gun doesn’t have a sub 4 pound trigger. And based off the guys logic if you train safe you don’t need a safety. What do you not get?
@@cgoins1993 My S & W 442 has a built-in safety lock that takes a key to unlock it. When I put it away, I always engage the key lock. A double action revolver has a much harder pull, so it is less likely to be accidentally shot. Also, many revolvers have a half cocked position that works like a safety.
@@alphamale4497 You might handle it safely, but if someone else gets hold of your weapon, then all bets are off.
I just added a manual safety to my Sig P365XL 9mm carry gun for the very reasons you described. Thanks for sharing useful real world information to help keep us safe!!!
Thank you Mas for all you have been doing for the 2A community for decades. To anyone out there who doesn’t know who Masaad Ayoob is and his level of knowledge and trusted experienced teaching, you are missing out on a lot.
I have 2 SIG P320's, one with and one without a safety. I use the "without only at the range, the "with" is my home defense weapon. I've had people laugh at me because I prefer a safety, but I don't mind, like you said, it's one more safety device that I prefer. Thanks for your video's, I watch as many of your videos that I can. Thank you.
Do you think that practicing without a manual safety could lead to you forgetting to disengage the safety with your defense gun in a real situation?
I've got four S&W M&P M2.0 pistols, and all four of them have the ambidextrous manual thumb safety (AMTS), which I absolutely want and love.
IMHO, an AMTS is an absolute must on any / all striker-fired pistols.
Good things! 👍
My performance center model has one too and I like having it on there....
I have the 2.0 C as well as love the safety. Used to it from the 1911 days.
I'm an older person raised to use a safety and trained to disengage the safety when going to fire, it's just second nature. So that's what works for me. Thanks again for the great content
Same. When I shoot a Glock I actually wind up spending as much or more time as it takes to disengage a safety looking for the safety.
I was raised the same. Mossberg tang safeties and hammer gun thumb safeties are second nature.
Same here, it truly is second nature for us older guys.
@RogerWilco99 😂I've pocket carried my G23 w/competition trigger and not had a care in the world about it. Long story on that day. I thumb sweep it also. People on the range may laugh, still that's okay. First pistol I ever shot was a 1911 and it didn't go boom 😠till I thumb swept it. I hate decockers on DA/SA's -- keep it in SA, your pull and reset is the same always OR just run a DAO 😠Keep it consistent. Under stress you screw up more than at the range. BTW I was not laughing at you or anything, it's that you brought up interesting points.
Carrying a 1911 platform for decades, I'd holster it in condition 1, then set it to 0 though. Plain clothes even. When I dress up for an occasion funeral/wedding, the church gun gets set to 0. Wasn't hard to translon to Sheriff's dept side arm to HIT HIT 🤷♂The old 96DAO pull wasn't much different than my 686 pull. My 686's was a 💩ton smoother of a pull.. I've done house clearings with both 1911platorm and Glockplatform, meh. Keep your booger hook off the boom button till it needs to go boom. I'm trying to catch up to you in age. Striker fired is a different manual of arms fo'sho, you have to be sure when reholstering, yes I put the re in there on purpose because I'm an after incident mindset. You didn't mess up during it, you WILL NOT mess up after either.
Sorry for the TL:DR you brought so many things to mind. 👍
Eyup! Same here.
Being of the younger millennial generation. I grew up with Glocks. And though I carried them AIWB without issue, I just never got over the fact I had a 9mm Hollowpoint that might point at my femoral artery or legs (including the third) that could go off with 5lbs of pressure. I've seen holsters do weird things, and clothing (as unlikely as it is to happen) can make its way into a holster. The more active you are (mountain biker and skater) the more likely these things can present themselves. Then I moved onto a DA/SA pistol with a manual safety. In the beginning I had to train myself to work the safety and learn the DA/SA trigger pull. But once that became second nature, it adds no extra time to the draw. Couldn't be happier and I have way more peace of mind. Many professional shooters shoot guns with safeties, or guns that are DA/SA, or even both. So don't let those mechanisms fool you into thinking that you'll be slower on the draw to first shot. The important thing is that if you have a safety, you train with it.
That is why I like to carry a 1911/2011 the manual safety just adds a little bit of extra assurance and doesn’t slow me down.
100% Agree! I train with my 1911 and part of my draw training is disengaging the safety and counter to that, reengaging on the holster. It is second nature now and I honestly feel weird carrying any type of pistol without a manual safety.
I do the same technique on holstering my DA/SA pistol and 1911. I’m a fan of safeties on striker fired pistols as well. Well done sir, this is crucial info as always.
About a year ago I bought a S&W Shield Plus w?manual safety.. After about 8 months I started carrying it with the safety OFF. After watching this video I'm going back to carrying it with the safety ON. It just makes sense. The little bit of extra training on disengaging that safety is well worth it. Thanks, Massad. Great presentation as always.
I have a Shield Plus and it’s the only handgun I own where the safety is next to useless. It’s too small and cannot be reliably activated and released. I’ve stopped carrying it because of that fact.
@@neilaxelrod5872 well I also carry the same gun with the saftey off in its holster, but when I take it out to clean it or throw it in a range bag I engage the saftey before unloading it. I agree it's too difficult to use under stress but its not obtrusive enough to matter
I carry and train regularly with a government sized 1911 in .45 acp. It’s completely natural to carry this cocked, locked and a round in the chamber for me. As part of my natural draw stroke, to defeat the safety with my thumb as I bring the gun up to the target and ride that safety as I shoot. I dry fire regularly with my 1911 and practice the safety manipulation with every draw from and return to the holster. The only hand guns I own are government sized 1911’s in .45 and I carry one everyday concealed. Good video topic.
I like the added safety , like anything else you get used to using it
Excellent overview as usual. Two considerations I might add here. Retention holster, and never being in a rush to re-holster.
Retention holster for open carry, but not for concealed.
@Snookynibbles Why? Something simple like a thumbsnap seems to me like a good idea if you have to run or you end up wrestling with someone and they try to take it.
In regard to the reholstering portion of his presentation, placing your thumb on the hammer is a graduate-level technique to sear into your muscle memory and is, IMHO, a solid reason to prefer a hammer-fired pistol. This, combined with an DA/SA trigger and decocking lever, is why my preference is the Sig P226. I just don't feel comfortable with scissor triggers or striker-fired pistols. In the end, though, there is nothing more critical than consistent training with your weapon of choice.
Thanks to Mas & Wilson Combat for covering this topic.
M.Ayoob is a professional in everything he practices. Weapons, legal advice, crisis management and resolution! Thank you for hiring him Wilson Combat.
I work in a gun shop as an armorer. A lot of Guntubers make it sound like manual safety variants of the P320 are everywhere, but that's not the case; only the M17/18 models have them. What if the buyer wants an X Series model P320 (ex. X Carry) but wants a manual safety? Well, they'll either have to suck it up, or buy an M18 and convert it to X Carry specs. There are manual safety kits out there, but that's not my point - SIG churns out P365s all with the option for manual safeties, but on the P320, they're only available on the M17/18 replicas? They should give the people options with something like this.
Yea ,I am a recent 2A participator (December 2023) and when I purchased my P365 X, all they had was a WCP365X , no safety. I trusted my gut and made the purchase (they couldn't keep them in stock, anywhere locally) . I love the firearm, am at 1250 rounds . Just starting to draw from holster , taking it slow and am focusing on precision not speed . I've considered getting a manual safety installed and may . IDK we'll see. Everyone in my orbit including my Uncle (retired US Marshal) do not have manual a safety on theirs..
@@dtcdtc8328you do you, but I installed a manual safety in my 365 XL (it was easy) and bought my 365 with the safety. Something just doesn’t feel right about holstering a striker fired weapon with no safety. It’s easy enough to train with the safety, too. I guess I would rather run the small risk of me mucking up taking the safety off in the slim chance I ever need to fire the weapon, vs. the very small risk of handling it - but every day - without a safety, and having a ND hurt someone.
love the complete information provided... You are the expert and I listen intentively
Great info. I only buy guns with Manuel safety. I've been told it slows down reaction time. I believe anyone can make a mistake. And I prefer that 1 extra step to prevent the 99.99% of the time I won't need to use my weapon.
TRY A TRIGGER GUARD HOLSTER and you will never use a safety again.
Me too
@@tobylopez445 Wrong.
Yes, always a safety. I'm old and having and properly using a safety was how I was taught since I was a child. In a concealed carry gun I would require redundancy in regards to safety. Without a two forms of safety (double action & manual safety for example) I would never carry with a round in the chamber as that would become the redundant safety. Additionally, drop safe is a requirement for me of any concealed carry gun.
Drop safe, is the reason I don't normally carry in the chamber. It's easy enough to go around a corner and rack a slide if there are some shady characters around. But your first defense should always be situational awareness. If it looks iffy it probably is or will be, so why stick around to find out?
@@GrantTravels23Yup, that is easy enough, and situation awareness is very important. The best way to win any fight is to not get into one. But, in far too many self defense situations you don't have time. Mr. Ayoob has a video on the subject outlining these scenarios and the likelihood of having time to rack the slide.
@@HitechProductions No time to rack. Especially if you have only one hand free.
No graphics, no air horns. Just quality straight forward information. Well done.
IMO if you are a civilian in your lifetime the person you are most likely to shoot is yourself while holstering or deholstering your firearm. Personally my preference would be a safety and a DAO trigger. It having neither when I had my Glock I carried Israeli.
After first relying upon revolvers, and also learning combat firearm proficiency using the 1911, having a Manual Safety has always been a benefit to me, on duty or off duty. After also progressing through SA/DA, De-Cocking, and the many years of Striker Fired Pistols which were most often carried IWB, I am in the stage of my life, as in these "senior days" where I strongly prefer the benefits of having a Manual Safety. My EDC/P365 is without, and I'm working on resolving that and possibly adding an optic so if I can properly adapt, then I could now benefit from the "Marksman Cheater's!" Thanks and Blessings Mas, you have been always helpful to me along the many, many years of packin' along this journey! I look forward to no more packin' in Heaven! Hallelujah!
Thank you for this video, sir! I enjoy the peace of mind of having a safety on my Beretta Cheetah. I carry it with one in the chamber, de-cocked and locked. Between the safety and the heavy double action, I feel safe handling it and transferring it between car holster to IWB or other CC options. However, i don't feel that same confidence with my Sig P365 X-Macro. I carry that with an empty chamber due to the handling concerns you mentioned and the much lighter trigger pull. I will be installing a safety module after watching your video for more reasons than I thought! (I hadn't thought about the scenario of someone else wrestling my gun away from me) Thank you for sharing your knowledge, experience and wisdom.
For so many years Mas has been giving simply the best firearms information to shooters, first in print, now over the Internet. If I could only have access to one gun guru, it would be Mas. Thank you.
I had an older (pre-2017) 320 9mm that I sold. After the stories started coming out, I put some snap caps in, tossed the gun around, and dropped it from several angles. On more than one occasion the gun would've fired. Sig says they fixed it, so for fun I bought a 320 XTEN. Snap caps installed, same testing, never fired. Since it didn't fire, I tested it again, about 3 times the testing I did on the 9mm. Still never fired. Maybe they did resolve the issue after all. I now daily carry the XTEN with no reservations or worries.
The problem with the P320 was because the physical trigger was too heavy. Not the weight of the pull, the part itself. When dropped at the right angle, the inertia of the trigger could pull itself. Sig recalled all of them and fitted a lighter trigger part. If Sig had designed the trigger with a safety blade like Glock or S&W it might have stopped the trigger from moving far enough.
@@bwofficial1776 a trigger inertia safety like a Glock, FN, Springfield Armory, or M&P striker fired handguns would have probably prevented it. For whatever reason Sig doesn’t believe in them.
Hard pass for me personally. I do like the 320, but there’s so many other options out there that they might as well retire it because it’s just not worth any risk. At least change the name like p320mk2 or p321?! 😅 give us some sort of confidence and move on. That’s just me and my opinion. So, to each their own.
OMG, Mass I am soooo happy to see you at Wilson sharing your vast knowledge. I read your book in the Gravest Extreme when I was 16 and I have never forgot the
lessons you embedded in me. Thank You for staying in the public eye as you have certainly converted casual gun enthusiasts into mindful prepared citizens.
Easy to add safeties on P320 and P365
Massad, I very much like having a safety on all my carry pieces. One of them does not, it is my Walther PPQ in 9mm, which I love that gun. But on the rare occasion I carry it anymore, I am very careful with it. I just turned 70 this year and I have been a gun nut for 66 of those years. I started off at 4 with a colt fanner 50, and soon acquired a replica of a Colt Detective Special that looked like a real gun { no orange muzzles back in those days, thank you very much } and it actually fired these gray plastic bullets propelled by caps. I loved that thing, and playing undercover detective with it as my " carry piece ". Got my first real gun, a .22 single shot rifle at the age of 10 and my second gun was a High Standard 4 in. barrel Duramatic .22 pistol at 11 years old. More guns followed in rapid succession.........YIPPY !!! So all throughout my life I have acquired many wonderful firearms, quite a few I still own. But the one thing I want to say, and you touched on it, is that what ever firearm{s} one owns, it is imperative that one becomes/is familiar with their gun{s}.........PERIOD ! Know where the safety is, know your gun{s}, know how it shoots, have a " good " idea as to how powerful it is, it/they should be sighted in and you know where it/they hit at ?? yards/feet. I emphasize this to my relatives as well as the women I meet that choose to carry. And I tell them all that they should be shooting/plinking on a regular basis. I don't preach to anybody, but I do suggest it when the time is right for it. And I tell them that shooting is FUN !!! "Cause it is ! Anyway, "nuff said. And thank you Massad for the individual that you is ! :-}
Great video. I like P320s. I don't need manual safety on my P320s; I want it. Especially for EDC. I'm in the process of converting all my standard FCU to manual safety FCU with a conversion tool kit I recently purchased. My thinking is if I want manual safety on my rifles why I wouldn't want manual safety on my pistols? I can't think of a reason why I don't want it.
Thank you, Massad and Bill Wilson for another excellent, thought provoking and insightful video. I have been shooting for 60+ years . . . and I’ll offer a personal opinion, with the understanding that it is NOT “universal truth.”
I continue to favor traditional DA/SA autoloaders, especially those with manual safeties. Why? Because - and I’m originally a revolver guy, so a long DA first-round trigger-pull is second nature - that longer DA first-shot pull is an inherent safety, AND the external hammer can be ridden when re-holstering (statistically, a substantial cause of negligent discharges), AND Condition One (cocked and locked) carry allows every round to be fired SA, AND (design dependent) de-cockers permit the hammer to be lowered with compete safety (although, I have never had any issue in doing so safely, without a de-cocker).
Of all the traditional - and excellent - DA/SA semiautomatic designs (S&W, H&K, CZ, Beretta, Sig, and so forth), I especially admire the H&K USP’s (variant one) design. It has a single de-cocker combined with manual thumb safety, which allows “cocked and locked” carry, AND mechanical de-cocking, AND a long trigger pull for a DA first shot (if one desires this alternative), AND (of course) an external hammer that can preclude negligent re-holstering discharges.
Thank you Mr. Ayoob, as always very informative, myself I will not carry a striker fired weapon unless it has the manual safety that's why my EDC is the Hackathorn Special Commander, again thank you keep bringing us the great information you all do at Wilson Combat. God bless and stay safe.
This video is the Ultimate argument for safety on the internet. I run my weapons with safety like it’s second nature. It’s the same thing with an M16/M4- safety on and off each and everytime. We trained like that so it’s instinctive. People should be doing the same tariming with their hand guns. US Military has billions of dollars put into their weapons and lots of research and evidence-based data on hand. There’s a reason why they put safeties on their weapons that are exposed to ALL combat scenarios. Thank you Mr. Ayoob!🙏🏼 you are an American treasure Sir🫡
This was a great way of explaining the pros and cons. I don't run safeties on my striker fired pistols but I have considered picking up a M18 at some point. Everything is a compromise.
It is, thanks for watching magic prepper!
Perfect assessment. As I get older, simple is the best way to go for me.
Pretty much, yes.
I used to carry without a safety, appendix. Two years ago, I could no longer carry a weapon without a safety. I know longer carry my striker fired weapons. Think the change happened because I have gotten older. The Army taught me how to use a safety and I have trained on using a safety. It works for me and I will continue to only buy weapons with a safety.
Being a revolver operator for 50 years with s.a. & s.a./d.a., a safety on a handgun was foreign to me. When purchasing my 1st striker fired poly wonder ,I opted for a manual safety. After practicing presentation with the safety for awhile, it became second nature. Now, 1st thing I do whenever I pick up a hand gun, I always look for a thumb safety. Every firearm I have ,except for my revolvers and an older lever 1894 have manual safeties. Now I opt to have manual safeties on all purchases of semi-auto pistols. Its second nature .
Love the channel and read Massad's articles whenever I found one starting with reading On Point! Thank you for your service and the no B.S. teachings.
Thanks for the information and your opinion. It has value!
This channel really helped me get started on my concealed carry journey
I believe in having a safety if you are going to carry your gun. Suppose an assailant grabs it, or, for some reason, you grab it in a hurry during a physical situation? But I agree that training with it, a good holster, and good trigger discipline are important.
💯 agree on the outer manual safety switch. They do have their place. Nice video. 😎🤘
I’m only 28 and I am only now since I’ve had my pistol permit for the last couple of years being exposed to guns without a safety. I get that it’s another step but I’ve just not had a problem with it. My default is to look for the safety on a firearm if I’m unfamiliar with it.
I carry a P320 Wilson Combat edition with a safety. Love the gun.
They make a manual safety WCP320 now?
I ordered it through a company called AB Prototype who added the safety.
Wow, Mr Ayoob is really a great great source of knowledge. I actually watched another video of his and literally asked this question only to find a whole video about carrying a handgun with or without a safety. Guess I'll keep my Echelon as a home defense weapon and get me a Glock 19 with a safety. Never say never when it comes to thinking that no one can take your firearm from you.
Great presentation. Always thought-provoking content.
I have a p320 and it has a safety. I also owned another without and traded it off. I believe this gun needs a safety.
Yes, I own 2 M&P series .40 guns. A 1.0 older model with ambi factory safety, a newer 2.0 .40 model with no safety. I prefer the non lever style. Safety controls & flip on or off by mistake. If I bought a new M17 or 320, I'd get the safety format due to the various court documented problems, 🗂.
Thank you, Sir! Always felt safer with the 1911. Early on, was one of my issues with the Glock. Just got used to the idea that the trigger was the safety.
I will never owne one because of that reason
I did a lot of research (reading gun books and magazines, articles by Mas and other experts before the Internet) before choosing a carry pistol. One article was on this topic and the author did the same test on a range that Mas described in this video. It made such an impression, I decided on a S&W model because I liked the manual safety/decocking lever feature and the magazine disconnect safety. Making a carry gun proprietary to its user made a lot of sense to me at the time (30 years ago) and still does as that pistol still serves me today.
As usual I find your knowledge exceptional sir. I have something productive to add today. I can holster from muscle memory. For years I have used the same Glock 19 in the same Alien Gear IWB holster.
One night I removed my weapon before entering a bar . I did not drink but opon retrieving my Glock from inside my locked motorcycle storage , I upholstered and discharged a 9mm round. Heart pumping fast and embarrassed I looked for a wound in my leg. Then with no injuries I looked for the cause. My shirt cought inside the handguard on the trigger. I had holes in my jeans and in the holster shell but amazingly no hole in my body or even a burn mark on my body.
God loves and protects the old and innocent ( and stupid )
Take time to holster your weapon folks.
Some things I hadn’t considered very interesting. I’ve been struggling for a while now on a new gun I want to buy whether or not to get the Safety after watching this video I will get the safety. Thanks for the info.
Another 10 minutes of my life well spent!
Have been a fan of Mr. A since the early 1980s...
His experiences are invaluable. (IMHO).
Amen, love my manual safety. Absolutely no concern about speed but quite the contrary. 🔥
I just want to say thank you for all the advice over the years. I still think you give the best information when it comes to the use of guns and safety. I have never been a safety guy on a handgun. However after listening to you talk about the subject and give several examples I can see why someone might want one. Especially as a LEO. It’s just a matter of training. Thanks again for all the great advice over the years.
I am a big fan of DA/SA manual safety equipped pistols. One important consideration is that you have the OPTION of using the safety or carrying with the safety off.
I have my P320 with no manual safety. I've never felt unsafe carrying the gun, because I have a well designed holster that completely and snugly covers the trigger. From day 1, my manual of arms has involved practicing re-holstering with a visual confirmation of a clear holster. In my mind, a defensive firearm needs to be quick to access, but once drawn it should only be put away when the threat is gone. And so there's time to spare the extra second to visually confirm the holster is clear of cloth or other. Firearms are powerful tools that demand respect, and training is always required to ensure safe operation.
I have a Smith & Wesson M&P in my bedroom and I have a round in the chamber and the safety on. I feel safe with it that way and I will get the safety off when or if I need it. I'll probably never need it.
"Choice is yours." perfectly said.
Safety or no safety, the Milwaukee PD is replacing all their P320s.
I dont hate safeties. I actually engage it when I remove it from the holster when I am handling the weapon before I clear it, or after I load it if it does not go straight into holster, But inside the holster when its on duty in public you better believe that safety is not engaged. In situation where I need to use deadly force I know its something extra that I would have to remember. As the trigger is protected I have engaged the safety!
It takes half a second to take off the safety but it can potentially give you an extra 16 seconds of life to fight back. It’s more than worth it if you ask me.
Amen. This video needs to be standard viewing. Personally, as an armed citizen, there seem to be very few realistic reasons why a firearm needs to be carried where a projectile is fired just by pressing the trigger. If carrying in the chamber, safety on…no manual safety, don’t chamber, rack after drawing. I carry chambered with manual safety on.
The safety may slow you down on the shot. It also gives you a split second longer to allow yourself to consider if you really need to take this shot.
Don’t dump on me. Because life will be different after you pull the trigger.
Amen brother
I've modified how I draw so it naturally turns off the safety as I come up and it's actually really nice. I feel so much more safe carrying with one in the chamber because of it and it adds no extra time to pulling it out
great video. Mr. Ayoob brought out a number of points that i hadn't known about before. gives me lots to consider now.
Note on S & W, M & P: If you have one without a manual safety, I've seen a couple videos that indicate you can Smith and Wesson will mail you one, and the conversion appears to be fairly simple.
EDIT: Which, after watching this video, I plan on ordering.
Thank you, Mas! You’re swimming upstream in this one. So many gun guys think “real men don’t need safeties.” Thanks for some FACTS.
Personally, I don’t like an external manual safety on my carry gun. But I did a boatload of training and practice with my carry pistols. I have a dedicated, hard Kydex holster for each of my pistols made for each specific pistol, including my current favorite, a Canik Elite Combat. But, if you feel safer with an external safety and it makes it more comfortable for you to carry everyday…by all means, use a pistol with a manual safety. We’ll be in a much better place if more and more good citizens carry. An armed, good citizen is a safer citizen.
One of the best discussions of the topic. I personally prefer a thumb safety on all my carry pistols.
Very informative video about the different things that could, and have gone wrong in situations. I appreciate it, Massad! I carry an M & P 9 mm, and, since it was my first gun, I have the safety on it. When it is holstered in a outside the waistband Hard sided holster. I do not have the safety on. I want to be able to pull and shoot.
When I wear it in a belly band, even though it does have the cloth over the trigger guard, I always have the safety on, and I have practiced , drawing, undoing the safety and firing many many times with that.
So for me, it is very situational. Thanks for the information as always!
I prefer manual safety.
Mas, I was first introduced to your wisdom many years ago by your magazine articles. You and I are both card-carrying geezers.
As an older shooter, every gun I ever fired had a safety back in the day and up until maybe the late 90's I never saw a gun without a safety. Admittedly after I purchased my first non safety/de-cocker having gun I was a bit uncomfortable with it, but over time I learned to deal with it.
Nowadays safeties are not a deal breaker. If I like the functionality and the style of the gun I buy it. My EDC a Springfield Hellcat Pro has a "trigger safety" but I don't consider it a safety with it being on a trigger.
I’ve duty carried both revolvers and 1911A1. I’ve carried both as off duty weapons as well. Today as a retired civilian I carry my 1911A1, cocked and locked. It’s what I know and it’s what I have proved when the time came to perform. I’ve grappled with thugs who have tried to disarm me when carrying both. It’s terrifying when it’s a point and pull revolver. But a little less so with the 1911A1 due to that manual safety. Just my personal opinion based on my own experiences.
Mr. Ayoob, thanks for your valuable training and insight. I carry a S&W 639 and I'm transitioning to the Glock 21, took Massad's advice and have carried it cocked but unloaded around the house, will do this as suggested for a month to gain confidence it the striker fired type handgun before making the transition.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Great presentation as always, thank you. I do prefer a manual safety and as many have said it becomes second nature to go to fire.
Outstanding episode! Considered views given, backed by data gathered over decades of experience. Thanks so much.
I had Cominoli manual safeties installed on both of my Glocks. Looks and feels factory. No regrets.
Yes, and I practice the manual of arms with the safety especially during dry-fire.
Mr Ayoob, I have a great deal of respect for you and agree with 99.99% of everything you say. I notice you leave this topic's answer open to the viewer and with good reason. I'd like to contribute to the discussion with my own empirical observation.
I served in the US military for 20 years and was amazed by one particular observation relevant to this discussion. As you point out, US military uses handguns equipped with safeties, the consistent use of that feature. I lost track of how many servicer members, including may 20 year veterans, who had trouble with this. They would go to the firing range for routine qualification shooting. They would be briefed on the course of fire with particular attention to deploying the pistol downrange, clearing the safety, discharging the specified number of rounds, setting the safety, and holding position to await the next instruction. Then they would then be given the order to pick up your weapon and fire (x) rounds, at which point they would pick up the pistol, aim at the target, squeeze the trigger much as you illustrated with the 1911 in the murder exercise, and when time expired they would stand there sheepishly holding the pistol pointed downrange with their off-hand raised to indicate they had a problem. It would frequently turn out they forgot to clear the safety in spite of 20 years of training.
If a service member can panic and waste ten seconds without getting a round down-range after 20 years of consistent training, certainly a concealed-carrier is subject to the same failing regardless how they train. For this reason I don't own any active safety equipped sidearms. My Smith and Wesson M&P does have a back-strap safety, but it is not possible to grip that weapon and attempt to fire it without clearing the backstrap safety.
I suppose the lesson here is there is no perfect answer to anything involving human beings. My two cents worth, I hope it is beneficial.
he does not read these comments
i entered the military academy in 1984 in my country(somewhere in europe) at the age of 16,We got a FN HP issued and a FAL.the HP had a safety so thats how we were trained.since then i always had cz p85(ambi cz75) with safety and a HP practical as my private weapons,the CZ is even better in the way that ist DA/SA,were the HP is onlySA.I always carry such an old schoolpistol even that i have striker fire pistols for the range.Its the way we were tought.as you draw ,your tumb automatically pushes the safety up when your gun leaves the holster.and something you mentioned is also true.we didnt have dedicated holsters .
Great commentary as always from Mr Ayoob.
As a LEO I was trained to carry my Beretta with the safety/de cocker in the safe position
in the holster and use the thumb to sweep it off when drawing the gun. The safety was then engaged prior re holstering the weapon. It seemed awkward and unnecessary at first. But eventually it became second nature and I never had a problem with it…nice video
Sir!
Well said sir ! Again , I might add ! Thanks -
I always appreciate your straight forward conversations,compared to other babbling.
It's serious information and should be discussed accordingly.
I have recommended you plenty of my freinds.
Thanks for your service as law enforcement.
What nationality are you,I like that you have a unique name
Excellent video. Thank you Mr. Ayoob
I like when he call the pistol the "killing machine".
That's the point. I see in contemporary gun culture the attraction to guns for reasons that circumvents that basic fact.
I also got my 1st gun for target shooting, for fun basically, not for self defence, later I got educated and I fully understood the nature of the beast...and I am still
I will always suggest and carry with a safety for the purposes of holstering and handling post defensive event when officers need to have it exactly as it is without clearing for the purpose of evidence. It is also nice as an extra obstacle when carrying around small children who can be unpredictable.
After watching some YT videos about possible risks when appendix carrying without a safety, I decided to buy a second SIG P365, this one with the manual safety, for when I do carry that way. My other one, without a safety, I can still carry other ways, but I feel a little bit safer using the manual safety one when carrying inside waist band, appendix style. Especially when driving or sitting.
Answered my question about drop safety… as in “will the manual safety prevent firing when dropped”. Thanks.
I care only two different guns as my carry options. A Ruger LC9 with a safety,and a Beretta 92fs compact which does have the safety. I always engage the safety before upholstering. And train pulling and disengaging the safety.
A negligent discharge is nearly impossible with a manual trigger safety. If you can train yourself to use proper trigger discipline you can train yourself to use a manual trigger safety. You might worry that you might forget to disengage the manual trigger safety. I'm worried that you might negligently discharge your firearm if you are NOT using a manual trigger safety.
I agree so completely that I had to comment, although I have nothing to add. When I hear the 'the trigger IS the safety' argument it makes me cringe.
I keep reading that a decocker is best for a defense/ conceal carry…this was a helpful video thank you 🙏🏼
I own both types. Have trained to deactivate the safety at an arc that would represent the groin area at the height of an average man. Its so natural now that there's no hitch or stutter. I don't think it slows my time to acquire the target.
I’ve gone the manual safety route for all of my guns. My rifles have safety’s, my pistols have safety’s. It’s just ingrained in my training that I must disengage the manual safety before firing any gun.
I’ve heard the “motor skills go out the window” argument against manual safety’s, it just isn’t an impressive enough argument for me to mix things up and have guns that do have safety’s and don’t. I want to keep things uniform that way.