Safeties Suck
It has been said that the two most terrifying noises a gun can make are a “click” when you expected a “boom” and a “boom” when you expected a “click”. As far as dealing with the click when you expected a boom….well that’s another article. The boom when you expected a click, however, is my focus today…sort of.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that 99.9% of all the “negligent discharge” cases can be prevented by following The Commandments. Nothing is ever foolproof, however. Case in point: the safety. Many people rely solely on that little lever to prevent their “booms when they expect a click” issues and that is a terrible thing.
Think about a car’s air bags. When you get into a wreck, the computer is supposed to inflate the bags and keep your face and the steering wheel from becoming one. What isn’t widely publicized is that they don’t always work. Rather than rely on them to save your life, it’s much better to drive in a way that avoids the accident all together. If you screw up the bag is kind of there to help but even then it might not be effective.
It’s the same with your gun’s safety. Parts get worn. Parts fail right off the assembly line. As much as they try to test and spot check items, a bad batch of metal doesn’t always show its ugly head during the QA process. As a result, I’m not going to trust that the safety will keep that gun from firing and neither should you. Just like the rule that says “All guns are loaded at all times. No exceptions”, there is another one that I’ve added: “Your gun’s safety doesn’t work. Ever.” It should always be assumed that the little knob on the slide, the weird lever on the trigger or the back-strap safety button isn’t going to do squat.
I’m not saying don’t use them. I’m saying don’t use them as a substitute for good gun safety practices.
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