Manual thumb safeties on fighting pistols

[1911-A1]

Mr. Vickers,

What are your thoughts on the role of a thumb safety on a fighting pistol? Some guns like the M&P offer them as an option, so the user can purchase one without it if they wish.

I know many people have concerns about using them in a "stressful encounter", but that just seems like a training issue to me. In your experience are well-trained individuals prone to errors involving thumb safeties?

[Larry Vickers]

My call is the Glock, and other pistols like it, have made the manual safety somewhat obsolete - provided the trigger mechanism is adequately designed to give the shooter enough takeup or slack to serve as a passive safety device - your last subconscious warning you are about to launch a round - examples of guns that do are the Glock, M&P, and XD - a pistol that does not is a 1911 so in that case a manual safety is still a valuable asset

Be safe

LAV