Ever since Gaston Glock invented his masterpiece pistol in Austria in 1982, modern pistol design was changed forever. Light, polymer frames coupled with high-capacity magazines and simple operating mechanics equaled the perfect combat pistol. There is a reason a huge number of all LE agencies have adopted it as their primary service pistol and civilian sales for all models are through the roof every year. The gun did have its detractors though; Some (mostly the 1911 crowd) scoffed at the Aesthetics and Materials of the Glock; Voted the “The Ugliest Pistol” several years in a row by the Modern Technique crowd, the “blocky”, “plastic” pistol as it was called lacked the refinements and design features to be considered a “Serious” contender to the 1911 in terms of the “Ultimate Combat Pistol”. Time and the design of the Glock itself would ultimately prove ALL these people wrong.
Ultimately Guns must be regarded as tools, not play pretty’s, or mantle pieces to start conversations at dinner parties. As with all tools, simple is always better. On a Glock you have a mag release, slide release, take down lever and a trigger. But wait, something is missing…something very important some might say…a Manual Safety! No, the safeties are there (actually 3 of them):
- Trigger Safety
- Firing Pin Safety
- Drop Safety
Gaston Glocks trigger safety system in this author’s opinion was one of the most crucial gun technologies EVER invented..I mean I put it right up there with John Moses Browning Telescoping Bolt and Hiram Maxim’s Machine Gun.
Once a person carries, shoots, trains and lives with a Glock for a period of time, the genius and simplicity of the trigger safety system really shine through. Anytime another gun design with a manual safety is handled and shot after this, the question rings very loud: WHY? This is most likely the reason that Glock owners own very few other types of CARRY pistols platforms except OTHER GLOCKS. Familiarity of Platform is FUNDAMENTAL in a carry gun.
One of the reasons most people doubt the safety of the Glock and insist it needs a manual safety is a mis-understanding of how it functions. This is the best video I found on a explanation of the Safe Trigger system.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6fO4GbbMHI]
Another reason I think Glock gets a bad rep is because a manual safety is not VISIBLE (by visible I also mean not in the same location as say a 1911 or similar gun) people dismiss it as unsafe. I remember vividly when I was growing up in the early to mid eighties, the 1911 was all the rage for most LEO’s. You could see just about every day, our local sheriff carrying a cocked and locked 1911’s in his custom cowhide holster. I don’t remember one person ever saying “That gun is unsafe to carry like that.” Do you know why? Because you could clearly see a manual thumb and grip safety on the gun. This not surprisingly was the marketing strategy when the Springfield XD was designed; install a VISIBLE, RECOGNIZED GRIP SAFETY (combined with a type of trigger safety) and people’s fear cease.
Lastly, I think there is a growing pervasive mentality in the gun world (that no doubt grew out out of legal necessity) that seeks to be waaaaay too hyper-vigilant in regards to gun safety. We all know somebody like this, maybe at our local gun range or gun club that struts around like a nazi gestapo thug ensuring everybody is SAFE!!
The bottom line folks in gun safety is not gadgetry but this:
KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER (and out of the trigger guard) UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT.
A quick note about “and out of the trigger guard”. Sonny Puzikas in his Beyond the Firearm 2 DVD proposes using the method that Rex Applegate first taught during WW2 in the use of the Thompson SMG where as, your trigger finger is inside the trigger guard extended with your fingernail applying pressure on the front of the trigger guard. It can be seen here around 5:15:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDtkSDi9Ibk]
Although I am a huge fan of Sonny and openly promote his training, I have to disagree 100% with this technique. No matter how your finger is positioned while inside the trigger guard (ie a “lever” type pressure) It is still INSIDE the TRIGGER GUARD. Add to this the bottom line in doing all this is to sacrifice SAFETY to gain SPEED (to get on the trigger faster than your opponent) AND to negate the distance your finger needs to travel to depress the trigger (thus aiding accuracy)..NEVER compromise safety to try to get an edge guys…it never works and usually ends up with a Negligent Discharge.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-rGnMKszxg]
“Keeping your Finger off the Trigger until Ready to Shoot”. A simple Fundamental, but one most readily dismissed by most. If you doubt this, hang around a gun store and watch people when they are trying out a pistol or handling the pistol at the counter; watch where their finger goes; 75% of the time A it goes right into the trigger guard and on the trigger. If called out on this, most people will say “Well, the clerk removed the mag (or opened the cylinder on a revolver) and then pulled it back to slide lock, so it is a safe gun.” Again, this shows a fundamental flaw in people way of thinking regarding gun safety.
As a solution, remembering what was said in my previous article “Practice makes Permanent”. We must ALWAYS do things the SAME WAY, EVERY TIME WE DO IT. This encompasses every aspects of a firearm: Gun Handling, & Manipulation, Reloading, Clearing Malfunctions, Presentation, Re-Holstering, etc, etc.. So, when you pick up a firearm, regardless if the gun has been made safe or not, the finger should NEVER go into the trigger guard. Instead, it should go to HARD REGISTER, resting along the frame of the gun. Anytime you pick up a gun, make it a point that your trigger finger goes to hard register.
A quick note about “Safety Nazis”…we all know one, maybe at our gun range or at our job, the person who thinks they have to correct everybody
In closing, I would like to add a caveat and maybe some clarity to what I am trying to say here. I DO NOT think Glock is the ONLY good Combat Pistol out there (it is in the TOP 5 though!) I DO THINK that people need to re-evaluate why they think they need an external manual safety on a handgun. I mean if Glock hurdled all the challenges of having a SAFE handgun WITHOUT an EXTERNAL MANUAL SAFETY Successfully, WHY burden yourself with one?
Something to Chew on, as we learn to Stay Dangerous!
Well said! My first pistol was a double-action only, and all of my current Daily Carry pistols are as well. No 1911-style safety on any of them, nor do I plan to ever add one with a safety. It was easier for me than those who started with 1911’s, but hey, I like it simple, whether it’s a Glock as the tool, or not.
And on Sonny’s technique: I have not drilled that to test it for myself. He does note it as a technique for the advanced operator, but still, I would not use it. I give him credit for even covering it, though. I don’t plan to test it as I feel the “finger indexed on the frame” approach (whether pistol or rifle) should be the same for every weapon.
“A technique for the advanced operator?” If you ask me, that makes this technique even MORE dangerous simply because of the environment a Tier 1 or 2 operator would be in…a stacked team environment, where discretionary fire is of the highest priority. I can tell you shooting your partner in front of you or to your flank is never a good way to start a mission! No, no matter WHO you are, that never changes the dynamic of gun safety…and the bottom line in all of this is to gain a nanosecond of speed on the trigger??!! Not worth it if you ask me.
Have to disagree on this technique being unsafe or anything else. Finger outward pressure is on the bed of the nail. Sonny,myself, and few others who were willing drilled it a bit and ya know what? It works when used in context. I think trainers are coming out against it because they don’t want folks doing it in class which I completely understand-but to shoot it down altogether is unwise and rather immature IMHO.
Also, I respect this blog a lot but to post a video of Sonny P demonstrating a technique for dangerous environment with video of some ass clown on Youtube is beyond foolish.
Don’t get bogged down in dogma.
Brian
I appreciate you following the blog bro, please pass on the address to friends.
As far as your disagreement and opinion, that is what is awesome about America (at least for now!!)…we have the right to disagree with somebody without the fear of being shot or harassed. I am sure Sonny could tell you some stories of “GRU or KGB” involvement with “domestic security matters”.
Also, I think you took the vids in the wrong way, I was not trying to lump Sonny in with the ass clown who shot himself, the vids were just lined up to show you should NEVER sacrifice logical gun safety to gain trigger speed…if that is dogmatic, so be it, it has got me thru some hairy situations thus far and I still have all my toes to prove it.