Striker fire safety

[BarneyLongden]

I have a gun in my pants, in a full Kydex holster, pointed at my junk almost every day and sometimes I have anxiety. I know it is irrational but can we talk about it anyway?

I have seen the YouTube videos about how the internal safeties work on a Glock. It seems almost impossible for a Glock to go off without the trigger being pulled. Are the safety mechanics of a M&P Shield the same as a Glock?

The real question is under what circumstances could these safeties fail? I am not talking about things like clothing or fingers getting in the trigger guard during re-holstering. That I understand. Could an incredibly dirty gun defeat one or more of the safeties? How is it even possible that there are stories about Sig P320s going off on their own?

I know this thread is dumb but sometimes I am driving across down thinking about my EDC pointing at my manhood and it randomly totally freaks me out.

 

[Ron Swanson]

It appears to me that the M&P system is similar to glock. The trigger bar has a bump on it that pushes a pin block up, the rear of the trigger bar pushes on a little tab on the back of the firing pin assembly to compress a firing pin spring before dropping and releasing it. That same part of the bar I imagine would stop the pin from moving forward on its own, like the glock says it does. There is some comfort in knowing that without the trigger being pulled, the firing pin spring is not fully compressed and ready to fly forward at full force even if the pin block got stuck somehow. I imagine its possible for the pin block to get stuck up under an incredible amount of buildup/dirt. I'm having a difficult time imagining how the pin assembly could move forward bypassing the back of the trigger bar unless that little tab on the rear of the firing pin broke off. If the trigger bar got stuck in the lower position the trigger should show as pulled and you'd know something is wrong. Even if those last two things did happen, the firing pin spring won't compress and release itself so you would need a pretty hard smack on the rear to hit the primer hard enough.

Those are my thoughts. I could be missing something.

 

[RustVendor]

the trigger safety prevents the trigger from moving, the firing pin safety needs the trigger to move to release the firing pin. You could thoeretically have the firing pin safety get stuck in the pressed position but it would still need to be released by moving the trigger bar. Haven't ever heard or seen a glock go off by itself though, and if you keep it stock with a stock safety spring and trigger it will be in the safest configuration. You do need to think about other aspects of carrying though, like someone can wrestle your gun from you, you can trip and it can fall out, you could even accidentally pull the trigger with your shirt and shoot your off. Not very likely, but honestly needing to use a firearm in public is also statistically VERY close to zero. Like I wouldn't be surprised if simply driving to the range to practice was more dangerous than not carrying. I love firearms of all kinds but I don't carry because I just don't see the need and it's honestly extra stress.

 

[Tere_Hanges]

The 5 Basic Rules of Firearm Safety:

• Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
• Always point your gun in a safe direction.
• Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
• Be sure of your target and what's beyond.

 

[Experimentalist]

Firstly, you're not alone. I've felt uneasy about having a loaded firearm positioned in proximity to my body.

I too have an S&W M&P Shield that I carry strong-side hip. An accident could send a round down my leg, and that would be bad. That said, I feel pretty confident in the safety of this system, and here's why.

As stated by RustVendor and Ron Swanson, the Shield has a modern design with a robust safety architecture. The Shield takes this safety architecture one step further than Glocks in the form of a manual safety. As you alluded to in your original post one of the greatest risks comes from inadvertent function of the arm in the "intended mode" - the trigger being pulled. Much more than malfunction. Employing the manual safety combined with proper handling protocol (i.e. finger off the trigger, mind your clothing, holster slowly and with care) will keep you very safe.

Another reason I feel pretty safe with any modern and properly maintained pistol is the vast experience collected with them by the populace at large. We heard about the P320 issue (A) because lots of people carried the pistol and over time discovered the issue, and (B) the internet facilitates publication of these issues. If an issue arises, we hear about it.

That said, I'll always feel a shade uneasy. I think that's a very good thing. Complacency is responsible for more mishaps than most other single factors.

 

[Chattypath747]

I have a gun in my pants, in a full Kydex holster, pointed at my junk almost every day and sometimes I have anxiety. I know it is irrational but can we talk about it anyway?

I have seen the YouTube videos about how the internal safeties work on a Glock. It seems almost impossible for a Glock to go off without the trigger being pulled. Are the safety mechanics of a M&P Shield the same as a Glock?

The real question is under what circumstances could these safeties fail? I am not talking about things like clothing or fingers getting in the trigger guard during re-holstering. That I understand. Could an incredibly dirty gun defeat one or more of the safeties? How is it even possible that there are stories about Sig P320s going off on their own?

I know this thread is dumb but sometimes I am driving across down thinking about my EDC pointing at my manhood and it randomly totally freaks me out.

Just mechanical defects but there are some striker fired pistol designs such as Sig's which would be catastrophic if the mechanical aspects failed miserably. I believe Sig's striker design leaves it in an always cocked position compared to a Glock's design which is partially cocked.

Dirt actually doesn't affect the safeties function within a firearm.

The whole sig going off issue was due to design flaws with their early production models.

Appendix or IWB either way you have a firearm aiming at body parts no matter what but unless you have something like a free floating firing pin or some poorly designed striker block, then you are screwed no matter what.

You could always go with a deburred hammer fired pistol if you are super worried.

 

[mossy]

if you are worried about it don't appendix carry, go 3 o'clock - 5 o'clock.

 

[tomrkba]

The 5 Basic Rules of Firearm Safety:

• Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
• Always point your gun in a safe direction.
• Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
• Be sure of your target and what's beyond.

Are you trying to say that strong side carry is the way to go? I have news for you: the gun points at your lower leg and foot with every step, not to mention your hand any time it touches the pants below the holster.

 

[tomrkba]

The answer is that any safety can fail. However, the ODDS of the various safeties in a Glock failing is extremely unlikely. I was worried about the SIG P-Series when I first started carrying. I got over it through logical thinking. The mechanical safeties are not going to fail unless you mess around with the internals.

Holstering the gun should be considered. Proper holstering methods mitigate any danger in holstering the gun, regardless of position. Learn the method for appendix carry. There are many videos on this.

I watched a guy ND a SIG P-Series while holstering strong side. A round jacket stay got into the trigger guard as he guided the muzzle into the holster. Rather than stopping and backing off, he forced the gun in. This pressure fully pressed the trigger and resulted in a discharge. The bullet didn't harm the holster and went out the back pocket of his jeans and into the dirt. The slide did not reciprocate and he did not suffer from any burn or wound.

The key to appendix carry is to "look" the gun into the holster and keep your finger off the trigger. If you are still concerned about appendix carry and holstering, you can always take the holster off, insert the gun, and put the whole thing back on.

 

[SomeOne]

Try this. Remove the mag, clear the gun, rack the slide and inser

I have a gun in my pants, in a full Kydex holster, pointed at my junk almost every day and sometimes I have anxiety. I know it is irrational but can we talk about it anyway?

Simple solution, get a gun with the manual safety. This extra protection will give you the peace of mind you need.

 

[ZeroFoxGiven]

But train with it. Adding a manual safety to a firearm that takes a conscious effort to manipulate is a whole nother animal, especially when you introduce real world stress and split seconds to react.

Training, i.e. muscle memory will help you over come the hurdle of having to make the conscious decision to remember to manipulate the manual safety.