Often when we ask ourselves why we do something a certain way, we see the shrugging of shoulders and the wrinkling of brows, accompanied with the typical “I dunno…we’ve always done it this way”. Usually this is tied to some meaningless administrative shuffling of papers, or distribution of memos on minutia. Sometimes, however, it is seen in the field of weaponcraft.
One example may be the manipulation of the safety lever, or decocking levers on service pistols. Much of the current accepted practice on pistol deployment has come to us from the use and deployment of the 1911, as well as from certain military circles. Often we see what I call “scary” gunhandling. Scary in the sense that the operator is afraid of his cocked pistol. And from what seems like fear of the cocked weapon, we see premature safety engagement as well as premature decocking.
Gunfights are dangerous. Nothing can be done to make these events “safe”. We bring loaded and dangerous weapons such as pistols to these events to deactivate our adversaries before they can do likewise to us. With that in mind, we want to avoid with severe focus anything that detracts from that mission.
Premature engaging of safeties, or premature decocking diminishes our fighting capability. I once taught a tactics class to a group of 1911 users. This team had just returned from a very high dollar 1911-based school. They were very anal retentive about, “On The Sights – Safety Off – Off The Sights – Safety On”, that I could track the team’s movement through the house by listening to the sound of their custom Low Thumb safeties engaging and disengaging. Moreover, as the heat got turned up several operators missed their safety levers because they had been engaged reflexively during tactical events. Not good!
At Suarez International we believe there are three safeties.
1). Your Brain, which is telling you to Shoot or Not Shoot, based on what you see. If your mind is not switched on and dialed in to the events around you, you have no business with a gun in your hand. Period.
2). Your educated trigger finger, which is in register (alongside the frame, or preferably resting on the slide stop button or other easily felt index point) until the brain, decides to shoot or not to shoot.
3). The mechanical safety - which is engaged when the weapon will be out of your immediate control (ie. holster or sling).
Anytime the weapon is in hand, the safety should be disengaged. When you decide to relinquish control of the weapon to sling or holster, then engage the safety.
When I was issued an MP5, we trained to operate it with the selector set on Full Auto and finger off the trigger. When we transitioned to sling to go hands on, we engaged the safety.
When I carried a S&W 5906, I thumb cocked the pistol (if I had time) dealt with the tactical problem, and then decocked when I had decided I was going to holster. Also witness the Glock pistol with which such a vast number of police, security professionals, and civilian defenders are armed with. Where is the safety/decocking lever? There is not one, and Glock shooters operate using the methodology we described.
Undoubtedly there will be those who aggressively disagree with this approach. That’s fine, they can disagree but I do not think that their disagreement invalidates the concept. What do you think?
Remember, we are in the fight to win. This usually means hitting the other man before he hits us. Anything that detracts from that mission, either tactical, technical, or equipment, should be discarded and replaced with a better system. When it comes to manipulating the safety, the better system is In Hand/ Safety Off - In Holster/Safety On.
Cheers,
Gabe Suarez
Suarez International USA
http://www.suarezinternational.com