The world of gun ownership is filled with debates and disagreements. Over the years, these have included 1911 vs. Glock, .45 ACP vs. 9mm, and on-body carry vs. off-body carry. These disputes can confuse someone new to owning or carrying a gun, but it is generally a matter of preference in most cases. The important thing is to understand the pros and cons of each side and make an informed choice.
A current debate is whether it is better to carry a gun with a manual safety or one without a manual safety. Once again, both have positive and negative aspects, and the important thing is to understand them and make an informed decision.
Types of Safeties
Modern firearms have several types of internal safeties, whether they have a manual safety or not. They all reduce the chance of an accidental discharge (AD). An accidental discharge is when a firearm goes off through no negligence of the person carrying it. In other words, a mechanical failure, as opposed to a negligent discharge (ND) which occurs because the person handling the gun pulled the trigger when they shouldn’t have. True accidental discharges are rare enough that they are well-publicized when they occur.
Internal Safeties
As the name implies, internal safeties are inside the mechanism of the gun. Many, if not most, gun owners do not know where they are or how they work and would not recognize them if they took the gun apart and looked at them. If you want a detailed description of how they work, the article Handgun Safeties: Types and Characteristics is a good resource, but I will quickly list them.
Drop Safety
The drop safety is an internal mechanism that blocks the firing pin to prevent the firearm from discharging if it is dropped or receives a hard impact.
Firing Pin Block
The firing pin block prevents the hammer or striker from hitting the firing pin unless the trigger is depressed, even if they move forward due to a mechanical defect.
Transfer Bars and Hammer Blocks
Although the two mechanisms work a bit differently, both prevent the hammer from contacting the firing pin unless the trigger is depressed.
External Safeties
Unlike Internal safeties that are hidden in the inner workings of the gun, external safeties have a visible component on the outside of the gun and are operated by the person shooting the gun. They come in two forms: passive and active.
Passive
Passive safeties disengage without any action by the shooter beyond gripping and shooting the gun. The shooter does not have to take any extra action before they can fire the gun.
Grip Safety
A grip safety is a depressible lever on the backstrap of the handgun. The gun will not fire, even if the trigger is pulled, unless the grip safety is depressed. Getting a proper grip on the gun depresses the grip safety without having to do anything else. The best-known pistol with a grip safety is the 1911, but other guns like the Springfield XD also have them.
Trigger Safety
Trigger safeties are most often used on striker-fired guns like Glocks. They consist of a small lever in the face of the trigger that must be depressed before the trigger will operate. This happens when you put your finger on the trigger and apply pressure to depress it.
Active
A manual safety is an active safety that requires an extra action by the shooter, that of consciously flipping the safety lever off before the gun will fire. It is that extra action that lies at the center of the controversy.
What is a Manual Safety?
A manual safety is a lever usually mounted on the frame, although occasionally on the slide, and operated by the shooter’s thumb. By default, they are on the left side of the gun, but more and more guns have ambidextrous safety levers that can be operated with either hand. It is called a manual safety because the shooter must manually operate it before the gun can be fired. They are generally on or engaged when the lever is in the up position, and off when it has been moved down. If all the mechanical components are operating as designed, the gun will not fire when the manual safety is on.
Decockers
A decocker is a lever on a double-action pistol that allows you to safely drop the gun’s hammer when there is a round in the chamber. A Beretta 92FS is an example of a gun with a decocker. To use it, you insert a magazine, work the slide to load a cartridge in the chamber, and then work the decocker to safely drop the hammer. This allows you to carry the gun with a round in the chamber and then shoot the first shot in double action and the following shots in single action. Double-action triggers have a heavy pull, sometimes as much as 10 or 12 pounds. A decocker is not a manual safety, so the heavy trigger pull provides the safety margin.
Benefits and Disadvantages of a Manual Safety
On the positive side, a manual safety makes holstering a loaded firearm safer. A high percentage of negligent discharges occur while drawing from or putting a gun back into a holster. Poor trigger finger control and positioning may cause someone to pull the trigger while drawing the gun or putting it away. It is also possible for a foreign object, like a jacket lanyard or shirttail to get into the trigger guard when holstering and depress the trigger. Trigger safeties can help prevent this, but if the foreign object depresses them too, the gun will go off. A manual safety can prevent that. Familiarization with your gun, adequate training, and paying attention to what you are doing are even better ways of preventing it.
Some people are hesitant to carry a gun with a round in the chamber. They carry what is essentially an unloaded gun and hope they can work the action fast enough to get their gun into play before an assailant can harm them. Personally, I advise against this. An alternative that can make people feel safer is to carry a round in the chamber and the manual safety on. You can work a manual safety much quicker than racking a slide but still have peace of mind because it will reduce the chances of a negligent discharge, especially when holstering.
Finally, if you leave a loaded gun sitting somewhere handy when you are at home, having the manual safety set is a reasonable safety precaution. You would never do this if there were children in the house, but in households without children people do leave a loaded gun strategically positioned in case of emergency, and having it on safe is a good idea. Even without kids in the house, accidents can happen. There have been several instances over the years of people being shot by their dogs.
Pros of Manual Safeties:
- Safer holstering
- It is faster to use a manual safety than to carry without a round in the chamber
- Peace of mind
- Safer if the gun is left sitting somewhere while loaded
There are also some disadvantages to manual safeties. For one thing, it is one more step that must be learned and practiced in order to do it quickly and without fail. It must become muscle memory so that you never forget to do it in the heat of a dangerous situation.
Unfortunately, I have personally witnessed countless people forget to release their manual safety on ranges, in training classes, and even occasionally at competitions. In those circumstances, it was annoying and may have cost them a little time, but had it occurred in the adrenalin dump stress of a life-and-death scenario, it could have been devastating. Even muscle memory can fail under extreme stress.
Finally, relying on a manual safety can lead to a false sense of security, especially for new gun owners. No one, whether they are a new gun owner or a seasoned one, should rely entirely on a mechanical safety to prevent an accident. The most critical safety device for any gun is the person holding it. Always follow the Four Rules of Gun Safety!
- Always keep firearms pointed in a safe direction.
- Treat all guns as though they are loaded.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
- Always be sure of your target and what is beyond it.
Cons of Manual Safeties:
- One more step to learn to perform quickly
- Potential to forget to release the safety under pressure
- Potential for a false sense of security
The Bottom Line
Like so many things in life, whether or not to use a manual safety is a personal choice based on your own preferences. With some guns, like Glocks, you have no option for an external manual safety and must rely on the famous Glock Safe Action, along with your own skill and common sense. With single-action guns like 1911s that were designed to be carried with a round in the chamber, the hammer back, and the safety on, using the manual safety is a no-brainer. With the 1911’s famous light trigger, not using the safety makes a negligent discharge highly possible.
Some guns, like the Smith & Wesson M&P Compact and the Sig P365, are available with or without a manual safety, the choice is yours. Another option if you do not want to carry with a manual safety on is to carry a double action (DA/SA) pistol with a decocker so you can carry with a round in the chamber and the hammer down without engaging the safety. Either way, you must be especially careful when holstering your gun.
Personally, I do not use manual safeties when carrying a gun. My Glocks and Beretta APX A1 Carry do not have a manual safety, and even on my DA/SA guns that have them, I do not use them. That way, the manual of arms that I must follow is the same no matter what gun I am carrying: I draw and fire. The only variation is that the striker-fired guns have an easier trigger pull than the first shot from a DA/SA gun. There is nothing for me to forget to do under pressure. That is not to say it is wrong for someone else to use a manual safety. It is a matter of preference. Either way, the primary imperative is to adequately train so you can use your firearm effectively under a high-stress situation.
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