To Glock or Not to Glock

[Ron3]

I used to think the same way until I actually looked into the internals of a Glock and how they operate, they're not SA like other striker fired guns. With the internal safeties and the trigger safety it's very unlikely to have a discharge while reholstering. But I understand where you're coming from.

I do understand the internals and the firing pin disconnect that nearly all auto's have.

Much of the concern is my head. Distrust. That striker, held by the sear 60--95% gun depending, like the fingers on the knob of a pinball-machine. Should it slip, the striker slams forward. Did the disconnector spring do it's job? Does it keep the firing pin held back? If not, you may be shot. Or someone near you be shot or maybe catch a ricochet. It's decided by these mass-produced parts thrown together in haste and chance.

Or carry a gun with a hammer at rest and not worry about it.

Actually, I just started carrying my new M&P Compact .40. It has a manual safety. I've been using that when holstering, then clicking it off.

I ran drills (draw to first shot on timer) and I didn't like the extra motion of clicking off the safety. It's not automatic for me after carrying for decades not having to do it. I'm hard-wired not to now & I'm not sure how many thousands of draws it would take for a safety sweep to be automatic.

It's really all about the first shot & how the pistol fits an optic. (Striker vs DA / SA)

[MegademiC]

I do understand the internals and the firing pin disconnect that nearly all auto's have.

Much of the concern is my head. Distrust. That striker, held by the sear 60--95% gun depending, like the fingers on the knob of a pinball-machine. Should it slip, the striker slams forward. Did the disconnector spring do it's job? Does it keep the firing pin held back? If not, you may be shot. Or someone near you be shot or maybe catch a ricochet. It's decided by these mass-produced parts thrown together in haste and chance.

Or carry a gun with a hammer at rest and not worry about it.

Actually, I just started carrying my new M&P Compact .40. It has a manual safety. I've been using that when holstering, then clicking it off.

I ran drills (draw to first shot on timer) and I didn't like the extra motion of clicking off the safety. It's not automatic for me after carrying for decades not having to do it. I'm hard-wired not to now & I'm not sure how many thousands of draws it would take for a safety sweep to be automatic.

It's really all about the first shot & how the pistol fits an optic. (Striker vs DA / SA)

I dont think you do understand.
The glock trigger is not cocked. Its at like 30% or so. Its basically a double action, unlike other stiker designs.

It also has a striker block, blocking the striker unless the trigger is pulled.

The disconnect doesnt really affect safety, it resets the mechanism. Without it youd slam fire and either go full out on really soft primers (maybe?), or just have a dead trigger every shot (likely)

[Ron3]

I dont think you do understand.
The glock trigger is not cocked. Its at like 30% or so. Its basically a double action, unlike other stiker designs.

It also has a striker block, blocking the striker unless the trigger is pulled.

The disconnect doesnt really affect safety, it resets the mechanism. Without it youd slam fire and either go full out on really soft primers (maybe?), or just have a dead trigger every shot (likely)

Perhaps I'm using the wrong terms.

I'm calling the plunger that gets pushed up by the trigger bar that allows the firing pin to go forward the disconnector. Is it called something else?

Edit:

I watched some videos. What I'm referring to is probably best called a firing pin safety plunger or block.

I didn't seeing anything called a "disconnector". The sear holds the striker in place until the trigger bar, aka connector, acts upon the sear.

The striker spring in the S&W is definitely more compressed when "cocked" than the Glock. I don't know if that has any effect on safety except in my head.

It also makes me wonder why 1911 / 2011 guys bother with a manual safety if the gun already has a sear, firing pin safety, and a grip safety. (Which prevents the trigger from tripping the sear, AFAIK)

[kirkland]

I do understand the internals and the firing pin disconnect that nearly all auto's have.

Much of the concern is my head. Distrust. That striker, held by the sear 60--95% gun depending, like the fingers on the knob of a pinball-machine. Should it slip, the striker slams forward. Did the disconnector spring do it's job? Does it keep the firing pin held back? If not, you may be shot. Or someone near you be shot or maybe catch a ricochet. It's decided by these mass-produced parts thrown together in haste and chance.

Or carry a gun with a hammer at rest and not worry about it.

Actually, I just started carrying my new M&P Compact .40. It has a manual safety. I've been using that when holstering, then clicking it off.

I ran drills (draw to first shot on timer) and I didn't like the extra motion of clicking off the safety. It's not automatic for me after carrying for decades not having to do it. I'm hard-wired not to now & I'm not sure how many thousands of draws it would take for a safety sweep to be automatic.

It's really all about the first shot & how the pistol fits an optic. (Striker vs DA / SA)

On a Glock the firing pin/striker is mechanically blocked from coming forward on it's own, not only by the firing pin plunger safety, but also by the trigger bar itself. The trigger bar (which also acts as the sear) is mechanically blocked from getting out of the way of the striker by a slot that it rides in, it only has a path to move out of the way and release the striker if the trigger is pulled. The trigger is mechanically blocked from being pulled unless the trigger safety is disengaged. Even if all of those safeties could fail, the striker itself is not even cocked. So there are multiple safety redundancies built into the gun that keep the firing pin from hitting the primer unless the trigger is deliberately pulled. it can't just slip and set off the gun.

Here's a nice animation of the internal workings of a Glock for anybody who's interested.