I have been thinking about getting a KAC Ambi safety, but I before I do that, I thought I would ask for any subtle tips to improve performance. I know the best thing to do is Practice practice practice. Does anyone have any tips for practicing or for executing. Not heard much good advice other than “just do it”. And maybe thats it?
Of course I can execute, but it seems putting the safety to “on-safe” requires too much concentration and effort. I have felt the Ambi, they feel so natural. But hate to get into the crutch, or I need all my AR’s to be Ambi.
If you are asking for a drill in safety execution I used to load a full mag, start out on safe fire single shots putting the weapon on safe after every shot. Makes putting the weapon on safe very intuitive very rapidly.Hope that’s what you were looking for? good luck.
My training was not in the US, so I’m behind the curve on most of the high speed US Soldiers and LEOs, but I always thought that one particular aspect of my training (which I have yet to encounter elsewhere) that was very positive was that when walking our combat course the instructor would follow you and as you engaged and neutralized the pop up target if you did not IMMEDIATELY put the safety back on safe he would SHARPLY WHACK YOU IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD hard enough that you eventually would flick it on safe very fast! This reasoning for this was not however for safety. Not at all for safety. It was because they had found that soldiers under stress were not removing the safety before firing and getting killed while pulling the trigger of a safetied weapon. So they did not want anyone to walk the combat courses and get accustomed to being able to fire your weapon without first disengaging the safety and so you damn near had to engage the safety to safe between every shot to teach you the habit of ALWAYS swiping the safety OFF before engaging the enemy. I still do it to this day and I don’t see it as slowing me down.
Low Ready, keep the weapon on SAFE. Aquire target. While going to the High Ready flip to SEMI. Aim and fire at target, while going from High to Low ready flip back to SAFE.
While dry firing (actually eliminate the firing portion as you get more repititions in) you can get into the habit of manipulating the safety by simply going from Low to High Ready and work the safety accordingly: Low to High, flip safety to SEMI; High back to Low, flip to SAFE.
More simply:
Up, SEMI; Down, SAFE.
Up, SEMI; Down, SAFE.
Up, SEMI; Down, SAFE.
etc.
Pappabear, I think you’ll find that attending a formal training class will give you all the practice you need to become proficient. One of the rarely-discussed benefits of a 3-day class is all the repetitions you get of basic manipulations like this.
On a side note, some of the “different for differents’ sake” crowd have decided that they prefer to operate the safety with the knuckle of the firing hand and so use ambie, or left-handed, safeties. Some of them loudly proclaim the virtues. If you have a Colt that was made after Jan. of this year (and maybe earlier, I’m unsure of the cutoff) the safety is simply reversible. Remove the grip, spring, and detent, pull the safety out and reinsert it from the opposite side before reinstalling the detent, spring, and grip.
I am also curious if you are a lefty? You mentioned ambi safeties feeling natural, so I thought I’d ask.
As a lefty, I just use the standard selector and deal with it. To take the gun off safe and into fire mode, I use my left thumb, and then I roll my hand forward and left to give my thumb room to get into a good firing grip. As my hand comes back on the grip, I’m getting ready to fire. This is awkward and a hair slower than what a right handed person can do, but after thousands of repetitions it works well. Also, if I’m in a weird position, or if things aren’t working out, I can just leave my thumb on the left side of the weapon and shoot.
For putting the weapon back on safe, I just use my trigger finger.
Like mentioned earlier, a bunch of single shot drills will get you used to doing this. With an empty gun, you can also get dry fire practice in and practice manipulation.
I’m one of the people who prefer an ambi safety. I have short thumbs and it’s difficult to reengage the safety. I have to break my grip, and rotate my hand to pull the left lever rearward. With an ambi safety, I can quickly and easily reengage the right lever with my trigger finger knuckle.
When I’m raising the muzzle towards a target, as it’s going up, my thumb switches the safety from “Safe” to “Semi”. When the muzzle moves down, it goes from “Semi” to “Safe”. Basically, if the weapon isn’t shouldered, it’s on “Safe”.
If you do it enough, you’ll eventually instinctually perform the action.
I like an ambi safety for a couple of reasons. As a righty, on a carbine, I use the ambi to re-engage the safety as mentioned above, it allows me to keep my position on the weapon much better even for that brief moment. Two, when I use a gas gun (SPR type) from a precision shooting standpoint, I do not wrap my thumb around the hand grip so I prefer the ambi safety.
Edit - as for being able to do the manipulations, practice practice practice. Dry fire, or simple on target / off target drills as mentioned, works wonders here also.
There’s too much switching to safe going on in my opinion.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when I saw footage of BUDS training for seals and the instructors made the shooters switch the safety on before moving to the next, immediate shooting location. :rolleyes:
Come ON! Do you trust these guys to be here or not?
The AR isn’t drop safe so you’re gaining nothing by constantly thumb fucking the safety… assuming you have a shooter who has trigger finger discipline. And if a shooter doesn’t have trigger finger discipline, then the safety is a false sense of safety for a dangerous person anyway.
If my rifle is deployed, in my hands for any reason… the safety is OFF! I only put the safety on if I’m separating myself from the weapon… or at the specific direction of an instructor to go “on safe and let 'em hang”.
I don’t think you’ll be remotely surprised that the whole rest of the training world, outside your little unknown local guy that you train with, would disagree with you.
Sights off target, safety on. There is no reason NOT to do it that way. Hell, there is no reason NOT to do it that way even with the AK.
Using my trigger finger (2nd knuckle) to engage the safety also naturally initiates a “master grip” in doing so.
If the weapon is not on point, it is on safe. I know of a cop who let his M4 hang without engaging his safety. His kit snagged the trigger and the resulting AD blew a big hole through his leg.
I may have missed it, but what pistol grip are you using? I have medium sized hands and found that a Magpul MOE took much more reach/effort than I was used to with a regular A2. I ended up with a MIAD with the small backstrap and it is much easier to manipulate the safety.
This is what I have always been taught and practiced. Whether 1911, shotgun, or carbine; once I have to shoot at someone, that gun is HOT and my finger is my safety until it is holstered or a low ready and all threats are gone.
I’m open to the idea of using it more, but just haven’t been trained to do so at this time.