handgun/safety?? Am I overthinking this?

[hank4elk]

I use an auto with thumb safety. Never carry with a round in chamber. 20 years LEO.
Always walked into situations with it loaded too. Holstered it loaded many times and drawn it.
I can jack a round in as fast as I can pull it, safely.
I wear cross draw. Habit from service days. Leaves my primary hand free. For my rifle, my primary weapon.

I carry my bolt action hunting rife with around in the chamber on safe. I hunt alone. Never had an issue.

If my finger is near a trigger that weapon is ready to go off.

 

[isu22andy]

Sig P365 Manual Safety . Great carry gun

 

[Firedude]

There is a lot of good info here.

It probably seams like everyone is overloading you with info. But it's because everybody carries for different reasons, in different situations, and has different experiences.

I carry a revolver in most situations involving animals. They are simpler mechanically speaking but require more effort to fire a round. By that I mean less moving parts so less likely to jam while simultaneously taking a lot of trigger pull to fire. No hair match trigger unless you @#)(# it. Plus, most revolvers are inherently more accurate. (I guarantee heads are exploding right now with that statement). I carry an original colt python 357. 6 inch barrel. (Exploded heads relaxing and seeing why I said that). I don't suggest that as a first handgun. They are expensive and big compared to a semi auto. But feel free to try one.

When I was reserving at the Sheriff's office I bought a Springfield XD. Different situation, different need in a gun. It's accurate for what I needed. I qualified 98.4% on Qual day. But I needed a pull fast, shoot first, and shoot lots fairly accuratly gun. Your not going for a bullsey so much as bullseye-ish 1/2 second faster than the other dude. An inch to the left is still center mass. I felt comfortable with it because it has a palm AND trigger safety. Both need depressed to go boom and both are naturally pressed by the nature of gripping and shooting a gun. I owned a 1911 at the time but I wanted to NOT have to remember the thumb safety when I needed to shoot RIGHT NOW. I bought a quality locking SERPA holster and practiced A LOT. Bonus my hand naturally let's off the grip safety as I holster. All kinds of safe without a safety. Safer than a 1911 with a hammer back. Why? The thumb safety kept clicking off as I brushed against stuff. Still have the grip safety but it made me nervous.

When I hunt with a handgun it's the python or a single shot encore in 308. Yet again no safety but I have to reach up and @#)(# it.

Point being the lack of a safety you have to click off isn't necessarily a bad thing. In both my cases it's actually a good thing if accounted for. Get good with whatever gun you want to use BEFORE you need it. Find one that fits you and that YOU feel good with. That's the best gun for you.

 

[std7mag]

I was at a concealed carry "class" recently.
They showed a body cam video of a MD State Trooper that was attacked by a guy with a 2X4.
Had to fend off the guy with his left arm, draw & shoot with his right. 12 rounds of 9mm to the torso before the guy stopped swinging the 2X4.

My take on it.

1) the officer was too close to begin with.
2) no time or way to rack a round into an empty chamber.

My 1911 is carried in a slide holster, cocked & locked.

My other carry pistols (Walther PPS & H&K VP9) don't have external safeties. Both get carried IWB with one in the chamber.

I hope & pray i'm never in the situation that i have to pull a gun out of it's holster.
But i train for the case that i need to.

 

[Jason73]

Thanks. This is not for concealed carry,, but hiking,, fishing,, hunting when animals decide we might be fun to eat. No grizzlies where we are but coyote, wolf, cats

Just go for a double action .357. Can't get much safer in a holster.

 

[Brian in Montana]

I often seem to join late on threads like this, so I didn't read every post. If the application for this handgun was stated, I missed it.

Anyway, what I'll add is this, handguns are not rifles. Generally they're needed for relatively fast moving, dynamic self-defense situations. If you're trying to get you your gun out out of a holster to shoot a crackhead before he shoots you, your fine motor skills are going to be diminished. Having to thumb a safety catch when life and limb are on the line is not a good thing. I forget the actual number, but I believe it's well over 90% of all gun fights happen within less than 10ft and in a matter of 3 or 4 seconds. The act of drawing and firing a handgun in such a situation is far more similar to throwing a punch than to lining up the sights of a rifle, thumbing the safety, and squeezing off a well placed shot.

 

[HandgunHunter]

Without the odd exception of some kind of major manufacturing issue…..which is beyond rare

Every current production handgun made is not going to fire unless you pull the trigger.