Glock safeties...Why on the trigger?

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 2:11pm

Originally Posted by chemistry

This way, in case if someone's foolish enough to carry "Mexican style," at least this offers a bit of a safeguard (although not much) against unintentional trigger discharges by objects being caught in them.

What exactly is carrying it "mexican style" I'm half mexican and I have no clue what this means. I'd hate to be a"race traitor" by carrying my weapons any other way ;-)

**SFGOON** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 2:11pm

The safety is there to prevent the weapon from being fired if dropped or bashed. Glocks are engineered for professionals who need a different balance of safety vs speed. There are three safties integrated into the trigger mechanism. In that regard, Glocks are very fail-safe. If you don't pull the trigger, it just wont shoot. The odds of a branch or something like it accidentally pulling the trigger are quite long.

Did you buy that weapon at Wade's? God I hate that place. Lots of angry, divorced counter-strike nerds spending their Microsoft salaries on H&K G-11s. That enterprise caters to a deep level of egotistical stupidity.

As far as the video goes:

It is proof positive that the DEA and most federal agents are a bunch of arrogant, stupid cunts. Assholes who wave guns in front of kids talking about two-short and fiddy cent need to be fucking fired and castrated. Then that asswipe has the goddamn nerve to bring out an M-4. Every time I see that video I want to put that man out of my misery with a crowbar. What a stupid, ignorant piece of ****.

Originally Posted by Hooded Justice

What exactly is carrying it "mexican style" I'm half mexican and I have no clue what this means. I'd hate to be a"race traitor" by carrying my weapons any other way ;-)

Down the front of your pants. That's honestly how I prefer to carry.

**Xanen** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 2:46pm

Originally Posted by Hooded Justice

I suppose this vid of a cop and a glock 40 is not new and probably demonstrates how safeties are not meant to prevent stupidity. However, had that been a normal thumb safety he might have saved some face and blood.

Yeah, IIRC, this happened because he cleared the chamber, asked someone to check it clear, and then dropped the slide. Of course, he forgot to remove his loaded magazine and dropping the slide meant he just chambered another round. Would a thumb safety have prevented the shot? It's possible. It's also just as likely he would have pushed the safety down and pulled the trigger to drop the hammer. The Glock safety did it's job; The operator did not. He failed to properly clear his weapon.

I believe they make heavier triggers for Glocks as well as a thumb safety for those that want. These things are so subjective. In all fairness, I'm not a Glock fan either.

I'm not aware of any, but it would be interesting to see the relative percentage of accidental discharges involved with Glocks vs. 1911s, for example. In addition, it would be nice to see some sort of statistic examining if the lag and potential difficulty of flipping a thumb safety actually makes a meaningful difference during a confrontation.

**Wounded Ronin** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 5:11pm

I read some magazine article about how the DEA guy who shot himself in the YouTube vid was a veteran officer who had done dangerous undercover work, and that the vid destroyed his career as such since now everyone has seen him and knows that he's a cop.

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 5:53pm

Originally Posted by SFGOON

Did you buy that weapon at Wade's? God I hate that place. Lots of angry, divorced counter-strike nerds spending their Microsoft salaries on H&K G-11s. That enterprise caters to a deep level of egotistical stupidity.

Yeah I did buy my para ordinance at wades. $500 for a 14-45 LDA with night sights, 2 extra mags and in pretty decent condition...Try and stop me. I used to go to their range where I saw all maner of retaradtion. Nothing compares to watching a guy with an AK pop a round off into the floor when he thought his weapon was empty. I suppose you can expect no less from a guy wearing full BDU's in an indoor range in bellevue. I would have pegged him for military but he was wearing nike's with his BDU's so I am assuming some tarded militia.

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 6:02pm

Also mexican style seems to be condusive to blowing your dick off with a glock. Perhaps Glock foresaw this and decided it was a darwinian style safety...

**SFGOON** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 6:38pm

Meh. Assuming you holster it properly, it's also conductive to a real fast draw and shoot.

Plus, I carry it a hair to the right so it'll gouge out my femoral artery. I'd prefer to die with my dongle intact if possible.

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 6/06/2008 7:41pm

Originally Posted by SFGOON

I'd prefer to die with my dongle intact if possible.

Don't we all.

**Lord Skeletor** · Posted On: 6/08/2008 8:42am

Originally Posted by Xanen

I'll bite. And, I'll also clarify that I'm by no means an expert on firearms.

There's a few ways to think about this. The witty answer any old gun guy will give is "the safety is between your ears. Don't pull the trigger unless you want to."

A more thorough answer is this: There are many types of safeties, each serving one or more purposes. For example, there can be a firing pin safety, a magazine safety, a half-cock safety, manual safety, etc.,

The glock has three safety mechanisms, 1 external (trigger safety) and 2 internal (firing pin and drop safety). The trigger safety is meant to prevent firing caused by lateral pressure on the trigger. The firing pin safety blocks the firing pin from contacting the primer until it is removed by pulling the trigger (ie: dropping the gun on it's muzzle). I don't really know how the drop safety works in addition to all this, but I imagine it has something to do with preventing movement of the striker unless the trigger is pulled.

These safeties are mostly meant to eliminate accidental discharges in the case of a dropped weapon, snag, bumping a SA trigger, etc., Or, in the case of a magazine safety, preventing people from accidental discharges while field stripping/cleaning.

The scenario you describe, though, is really about preventing unauthorized access to a firearm. IMHO, this is not what operational safeties are for. That's what a safe or gun lock is for.

Well put. Good explanation---you got to it before I read this post. Well put and explained +1

**mrm1775** · Posted On: 6/13/2008 12:50am

Originally Posted by Hooded Justice

Also mexican style seems to be condusive to blowing your dick off with a glock. Perhaps Glock foresaw this and decided it was a darwinian style safety...

If I remember correctly, you have to pull the trigger on a Glock in order to disassemble it, further supporting your theory. Glocks are good guns, but they do not suffer foolishness. Its a good way to weed out people who don't have the intellectual capacity to handle a firearm.

I believe in the Second Ammendment, but it should apply to some people more than others.