Glock Manual Safety Advice Needed
This is a tough one, and I need to state this is my opinion, my belief and as a supporter of the 2nd Amendment right over all others I believe I am entitled to my beliefs even in written posted form.
I too am
a fan of the Glock design, have had up to 22 of them at one time, all in 9 or
40 cal.
My only complaint with the Glock design is:
....here comes the hate mail from loyal Glock enthusiasts...
that you are always walking around "half-cocked", and although it sports the moniker of "Safe action" it tends to be lacking in the conscious cognoscente level where those untrained, undisciplined and unaware can and are being lulled into a false sense of security of their inadequacies by being told over and over how safe a certain firearm is right up to the point they hurt others or themselves with it thought their own actions.
Even Thomas Jefferson knew guns do not kill, "hands kill" so in God we trust, keep your hands where we can see them.
I believe the insidious effect on the subconscious of the handler, of being told over and over how safe a weapon is, makes it increasingly more difficult for that individual to treat that firearm as safely as they would treat a SA or DA revolver, which in many instances it takes the place of. I freely admit to this behavior myself. I have been around guns and knives my entire life, enjoyed them, sold them, and helped others enjoy them, yet I have scars from every little knife I ever used for any amount of time as I simply never paid them the simple respect they deserved because I never considered them a threat to my own survival if I was careless with them. The reason I never had the same negative reaction with firearms, is I always knew they could take a life if used or handles incorrectly, so they were always in my conscious mind.
I am seeking any who have positive experience with after factory manual safeties on Glocks, as Glock apparently does not offer manual safeties on their pistols in the USA. With all due respect to Disney, the 2 slide mounted contraptions I found and demonstrated at local gun shows seemed to be missing their "Mickey Mouse" ears, and just seemed out of place on a well built firearm like the Glock pistol.
I will grant that the "action" is safe, as all actions are safe, the moron handling it in an unsafe manor due to lack of training, or lack of respect for the power they wield, is always the problem. The way the revolver solved part of the "Stupid syndrome" was to either require a separate cocking action on the hammer in the case of the SA revolver action, or to make you pull really hard (about 12 pounds of pressure) on the trigger in the DA revolver action guns. Either way you were cognoscente of what you were doing to a degree.
The Glock action function is lacking a mechanism to move it to the cognoscente level or ones mind in some cases, due to it's 5 pound very light trigger pull. Granted those who worship at the alter of Safe Firearm Practices will not really need this additional of cognoscente realization so let me put this in a context even the most hard core hand gunner can understand;
Would anyone reading this ever take a loaded, chambered 1911 cock the hammer to the ready position and then consider the firearm safe to handle by those not really into firearms, not formally trained or those who have never taken the time to learn about the action, safety concerns or proper function?
It is impossible to compare "apples to apples" here as Glock has created a new category for their action by naming it "Safe Action". However in reality both instances the guns are cocked, there are no manual safeties to prevent firing if the trigger is pulled back and they both will require about 5 pounds to get the same result, a primer ignition and a bullet screaming down the barrel.
The same reason we all like the light trigger pull, for shot after shot accuracy is also the root of the civilian safety concerns with this type action.
I can think of no one with an IQ above room temperature, who would intentionally disable the Grip Safety & slide safety then consider the loaded, chambered and cocked 1911 safe to handle and carry in that condition, yet we all overlook that on the Glocks and comfort ourselves with the "enlarged trigger guard, and that trigger depression device on the trigger face, clearly we are floating down the river of denial, and at the end of this river for some of us is a waterfall that some of us will not survive. When those who do go over the fall and perish due to their own actions, we will all suffer, as will the gun industry in general. Thus it is not just their problem it is our problem.
The 1911 type firearm has not 1 manual safety on the slide but an additional 2nd manual grip safety on the back strap to insure when it is carried it is safe even when cocked.
Just to balance out the hate mail I will get by pointing out the glaring "Achilles heel" for the much loved Glocks, let me acknowledge my loathing of the 1911 style, not due to any malice against the late great John Browning, but because it is so damn tough to get a short suppressor to function on any of his tilting barrel lock up action pistols.
I have heard numerous accounts of ADs mostly from LEO, but several ADs have also led to the death of the firearm handler themselves. One of my dear LEO buddies lost his only son to an AD, and although we as an industry can extoll firearm safety, practice, train, practice train........till we are blue in the face the reality of this problem is that this firearm was designed for a military application, where those caring this weapon will be expected to have formal training, while the reality of the situation is some civilians who buy a Glock may not ever take the time to learn about the functional characteristics of the firearm or how to handle it safely.
There are still people stuffing Glocks into their pants waistband with no holster, chambered. Guess this is natures way of weeding out the careless or ignorant, but in the end all firearm enthusiast suffer when these accidents happen and the more often they occur, the more ammo the gun grabbers and politicians have to use against us.
Time to face some facts that will be unpleasant, Glock may realize they have a problem with all the ADs experienced by LEO nationwide. Departments are not only recognizing the problems as related to this type action but are in some cases requesting heavier trigger pulls, more stringent training of it's officers who are issued Glocks and in extreme cases going with other guns to issue due safety concerns. I believe Glock is offering external safeties on their pistols outside the US, but that they may have a legal or patent concern if they sell them inside the US, and because there are at least 2 companies i know of who will after factory add those safeties to your Glock, it does lend a degree of credibility to the possible legal or patent issue in the US.
While I am asking for any other suggestions on a positive manual safety I can add to my carry Glocks,
I just purchased my first LWD Siderlock trigger manual safety block for one of my Glocks. It it works as advertised when it arrives, I will order enough for all of my Glocks as this seems to be a reasonable safety enhancement to what is overall an exceptional weapon that I believe is lacking in a manual safety device.
Now I believe I must make penance for finding fault with Glocks, so for the next hour I will anoint each with a thin layer of Super Lube to fend off evil spirits.