imported post
Glock, may be transitioning to SIG, so no manual safety.
Many years ago, my initial familiarization with auto pistols was with a Walther P38, which has basically the same type of "hammer-drop" safety that the Beretta 92F/M9 series has.
In those days it never occurred to me to carry, either concealed or openly, so my habit was to engage the safety anytime I was not pointing the Walther downrange at a target.
Years later I had a Beretta 92F. I used it once to shoot in a local IPSC match, just for the experience of doing it, and my old habit got the better of me. One of the barricade stages required IIRC a draw, fire two, reholster, move, draw, fire two more. Well, when I holstered after firing the first time, I automatically set the manual safety, which on the 92F also disengaged the trigger.
I went to the next stage, drew, aimed, pulled the trigger, and ... swick, swick, swick. Nothing. In the relatively mild stress of the match, I had neglected to swipe the safety back to "off" or simply use it as a hammer drop in the first place and go DA on the first shot.
Once I decided to carry for self-defense purposes, I decided that I wanted a handgun where that could not happen. I also got a lot more serious about working safety fundamentals, especially indexing my trigger finger. A negligent discharge is Very Bad, but attempting to fire in a self-defense situation where one has left the safety on is probably Not So Good either.
Proper safety procedures are equally important with all firearms, all the time. Misteaks, however, do happen. To me, the misteke I made at that match made me rethink the way I applied those procedures, but did not tempt me to violate them.
The above are just my own views, YMMV. Stay safe.
regards,
GR
