ARE GLOCKS UNSAFE?

[Quackerbacker]

So depending on your definition of safe...
Let's define safe as "not discharging unless you plan on it discharging"
So, if a Glock won't fire unless you want it to fire, and a Ruger SR whatever won't fire unless you want it to fire. By definition, neither is safer than the other. Therefore, no gun is inherently safer than the other.

That's just it brother. A glock or any other firearm can, will, and do fire when you don't want it to fire. Sh*t happens (see the aforementioned sh*t that can happen). Often times no safety, long or heavy trigger pull, or any other "feature" can prevent it. Sometimes they can.

 

[solv3nt]

Please show me one example that a pistol actually fired when the person didn't have their meat hook on the trigger. Press the individual hard enough, and they'll finally tell the truth...

 

[JGRuby]

I beleive that one of the few shooting accidents to have occured at Tri County gun club was done by a female police officer - as it was explained to me - she was reholstering her glock and her draw string of her jacket got the little fob caught in the trigger guard of her glock - when she pushed the pistol down into its holster it discharged putting a hole in the calf of her leg. I would argue in that case a physical safety would have possibly prevented this from happening. I am sure that stories could be told about any particular model of firearm and its users lack of judgment.

James Ruby

 

[Quackerbacker]

Please show me one example that a pistol actually fired when the person didn't have their meat hook on the trigger. Press the individual hard enough, and they'll finally tell the truth...

Sgt Jerry Webber.

There's one.

There are many many more.

 

[solv3nt]

Sgt Jerry Webber.

There's one.

There are many many more.

EUGENE, Ore. - A Eugene police officer died after a hunting rifle he was unloading from a vehicle fired, hitting him with a single shot.
<broken link removed>

Hunting rifle, not a Glock... Also, rifles have external safeties, similar to a Ruger SR40.

 

[Quackerbacker]

EUGENE, Ore. - A Eugene police officer died after a hunting rifle he was unloading from a vehicle fired, hitting him with a single shot.
<broken link removed>

Hunting rifle, not a Glock... Also, rifles have external safeties, similar to a Ruger SR40.

I'm getting a strong suspicion that it doesn't matter how much evidence you're presented with. You have your opinion and you're keeping it. There's nothing wrong with a Glock. Take care and have a safe day.

 

[solv3nt]

I beleive that one of the few shooting accidents to have occured at Tri County gun club was done by a female police officer - as it was explained to me - she was reholstering her glock and her draw string of her jacket got the little fob caught in the trigger guard of her glock - when she pushed the pistol down into its holster it discharged putting a hole in the calf of her leg. I would argue in that case a physical safety would have possibly prevented this from happening. I am sure that stories could be told about any particular model of firearm and its users lack of judgment.

James Ruby

The factory Glock trigger is approximately 5#'s, and for an object to get trapped in the trigger guard just right, she would still have had to place 5#'s of force downward in order for the Glock to discharge. I have a hard time believing that a zipper got stuck in the trigger guard just right. This being said, yes, a manual safety would have prevented this.

 

[JGRuby]

The factory Glock trigger is approximately 5#'s, and for an object to get trapped in the trigger guard just right, she would still have had to place 5#'s of force downward in order for the Glock to discharge. I have a hard time believing that a zipper got stuck in the trigger guard just right. This being said, yes, a manual safety would have prevented this.

I was not there - it was presented to us during the action pistol certification. I have no reason to believe the instructor was lying.

James Ruby

 

[solv3nt]

I'm getting a strong suspicion that it doesn't matter how much evidence you're presented with. You have your opinion and you're keeping it. There's nothing wrong with a Glock. Take care and have a safe day.

Please provide evidence, and I will happily change my view. You just caught me after I've been arguing with the wife about her potential carry piece, she along with yourself, believe that a gun is more dangerous if it doesn't have an external safety. I will counter with "show me proof".

 

[solv3nt]

I was not there - it was presented to us during the action pistol certification. I have no reason to believe the instructor was lying.

James Ruby

I wasn't worried about the instructor lying, it's more of a concern about the individual involved in the incident. I've heard plenty of stories that the individual wished to save face and not admit that their meat hook was somewhere that it shouldn't be.

 

[JGRuby]

Beleive what you will. I myself have had a T shirt get in the way of holstering a pistol, I am sure others have as well. I can see how a physical safety has prevented issues.

James Ruby

 

[chrisk86]

Well I doubt they would be safe to anyone on the business end of one...

 

[jordanka16]

I carry a USP compact variant 1, round in the chamber, hammer down safety off. I would not feel any safer carrying it with the safety on, I would feel less safe in fact, since that is an extra step I'd have to take to bring it into action.

 

[XSubSailor]

Well, like I said in my last sentence, I know my thoughts are controversial. However, if a safety, loaded chamber indicator, and internal lock did not enhance safety, why is Ruger (and now many other manufacturers) designing and manufacturing them with these features? And why do they require locks on guns at gun shows? The fact is that even those who are the best trained and most safety conscious among us make mistakes, and that is just the way it is.

As far as my statement that most gun accidents occur with either a striker fired pistol without a safety, or a loaded revolver, I have no statistics except that every time I read about such an accident, it seems to me that the majority of accidents occur with this type of firearm. Yes, it could be because there are so many of these in use, but like I say, I choose to use a pistol with a safety, and better yet (in my view) a hammered action with a long first shot trigger pull like my Ruger P95.

Best regards to all.

They're not manufacturing them because those safety features are popular...they're including those safeties because it's what's required in order to sell those guns in states like MA, CA, CT, NJ, etc.

 

[chase]

Please show me one example that a pistol actually fired when the person didn't have their meat hook on the trigger. Press the individual hard enough, and they'll finally tell the truth...

I was shooting with some friends and one of them had a Walther PPK. It didnt have the recall done yet. He chambered a round and flicked the safety from safe to fire, and the hammer dropped and shot the round. He was able to do this several times. Since then it went to the factory and has ben fixed. He recieved a lot of grief for his unsafe gun.

 

[solv3nt]

I was shooting with some friends and one of them had a Walther PPK. It didnt have the recall done yet. He chambered a round and flicked the safety from safe to fire, and the hammer dropped and shot the round. He was able to do this several times. Since then it went to the factory and has ben fixed. He recieved a lot of grief for his unsafe gun.

It can't be! It has an external safety!!!! I was referring to a striker fired pistol that doesn't have an external safety.

This situation highlights the fact that you can't rely on an external mechanical safety. The PPK safety also acts as a hammer release lever, which is supposed to lower the hammer onto the firing pin block.

 

[Netspirit]

I would never carry a semi-auto pistol without a round in the chamber. I cannot assume I will always have 2 hands available to rack the slide.

I would never carry a semi-auto pistol with a round in the chamber, light trigger and no manual safety. In my neighborhood the risk of an accidental discharge is comparable to the risk of being assaulted, and I simply do not buy the "just follow the rules unlike those hundreds of idiots" mantra - the human mind is always the weakest link.

Are Glocks safe? No firearms are safe, they are high-power devices and should be treated as such.

 

[solv3nt]

I would never carry a semi-auto pistol without a round in the chamber. I cannot assume I will always have 2 hands available to rack the slide.

I would never carry a semi-auto pistol with a round in the chamber, light trigger and no manual safety. In my neighborhood the risk of an accidental discharge (with the round in the chamber) is comparable with the risk of being assaulted, and I simply do not buy the "just follow the rules and it will be OK" mantra - the human mind is always the weakest link.

I'm not entirely sure of your odds of being assaulted. High or low chance?

"So the human mind is the weakest link"
Ok, so how does this make a Glock inherently less safe than a gun with an external safety? It sounds like the individual needs to be safe, or they will shoot something that they didn't intend to shoot.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Well, like I said in my last sentence, I know my thoughts are controversial. However, if a safety, loaded chamber indicator, and internal lock did not enhance safety, why is Ruger (and now many other manufacturers) designing and manufacturing them with these features? And why do they require locks on guns at gun shows? The fact is that even those who are the best trained and most safety conscious among us make mistakes, and that is just the way it is.

As far as my statement that most gun accidents occur with either a striker fired pistol without a safety, or a loaded revolver, I have no statistics except that every time I read about such an accident, it seems to me that the majority of accidents occur with this type of firearm. Yes, it could be because there are so many of these in use, but like I say, I choose to use a pistol with a safety, and better yet (in my view) a hammered action with a long first shot trigger pull like my Ruger P95.

Best regards to all.

two concepts, first is people who actually believe a manual safety increases safety.... so Ruger builds the SR-9, which is basically a glock with a safety.

second is product liability, that way when some moron blows his buddy's head off, and the family of the dead buddy decides to go after dear old Sturm Ruger's much deeper pockets, Ruger's lawyers can say "this guy died because he hung out with imbeciles because we put thirty different safety features on the pistol"

if loaded pistols are pointed at people or left for kids too young to know better to access... bad things can happen. even the safety can be the cause of problems, at a CCW class in Missouri a student had a loaded Hi-Power at the range and attempted to disengage the safety with the index finger of the weak hand while holding it across his chest..... he died of a gunshot wound to the heart...

 

[Netspirit]

I'm not entirely sure of your odds of being assaulted. High or low chance?

Quite low. There was 1 homicide in Bellevue in 2011, 0 (zero) in 2010. In 2011, the number of all violent crimes combined was 140 - mostly domestic violence.

The population of Bellevue is 122k+.

If my chances of being assaulted are reasonably low, then my chances of being assaulted while not being quick enough to flip that safety off are very close to zero. It is just one of those manufactured "what if" situations that I choose to ignore ("what if the driver in the neighboring lane gets a stroke and slams into my car?").

On the other hand, my odds of being tired, distracted, stressed, angry, consumed by random thoughts, a bit drunk, careless; chances of something or someone attempting to catch a falling gun, chances of someone or something pulling the trigger without my supervision, etc. - are higher, in my opinion. I am not trying to make excuses - any of those events would be a violation of the 4 rules on my part, but I am a human surrounded by humans, and to err is human.