EAA Witness

[Countryfried Frank]

Nobody's going to ask....I guess I'll have to.

Who was your instructor?

Edit:typo

[SpiderPig]

I would assume that a beginner with a pistol cocked with the safety on is safer than a beginner trying to release release the hammer on a live round without firing.

[floydster]

I love my Witness Elite Match pistols--each one has over 10,000 rounds and counting, altho mine do have a saftey:)

Smokeyloads

[elroy]

Recently, I held and shot a gun that I previously had not had the opportunity to be familiar with. That's a good thing and I always enjoy it. I often even form opinions about guns after I shoot them.

Then I learned from several forum members (who are clearly more experienced and smarter than I) that sharing such observations and opinions on this forum is a dumb idea.

Lesson learned.

[sgruenhagen44]

I would assume that a beginner with a pistol cocked with the safety on is safer than a beginner trying to release release the hammer on a live round without firing.

Agreed. Thats why you carry it with the hammer back safety on

[elroy]

I would assume that a beginner with a pistol cocked with the safety on is safer than a beginner trying to release release the hammer on a live round without firing.

Agreed. Thats why you carry it with the hammer back safety on

Agreed. They would be even safer with a "Safe Action" or double action only pistol.

[goett047]

Because no manual safety is safer than having one

[sgruenhagen44]

I would assume that a beginner with a pistol cocked with the safety on is safer than a beginner trying to release release the hammer on a live round without firing.

Agreed. Thats why you carry it with the hammer back safety on

Agreed. They would be even safer with a "Safe Action" or double action only pistol.

eh... To a certain extent. I had an LC9, Loved the gun but the safety just seemed too redundant. When you use the term "safe action" are you referring to glocks or an XD style safety? In my mind having no safeties on a pistol is not a big deal. I plan on carrying it in a holster where the trigger is not exposed. It's not like my 12 gauge where its always in hand I'm running after my dog over rough terrain. Much better chance for a ND. It all just comes back to how comfortable you are with one design over another. At the end of the day the trigger is the trigger and what's between your ears is the safety.

[elroy]

Agreed. I'm a fan of Glocks and XDs and such for self defense, especially for beginners. With a long enough trigger pull, a mechanical thumb safety is not necessary. There's less to remember when the s*** hits the fan and initial training is easier.

For competitive shooting where shorter trigger pull is critical for faster shooting, a SA only (okay, or a SA/DA) is a better choice.

But I stand by my opinion that SA only and SA/DA are poor choices for beginners.

[sgruenhagen44]

Because no manual safety is safer than having one

Come on glock guys! Where are you on this one? I'm not sure the OP completely understands the term Safe Action.

[elroy]

Because no manual safety is safer than having one

Come on glock guys! Where are you on this one? I'm not sure the OP completely understands the term Safe Action.

Please don't confuse me (the OP) with goett047. I understand and rely on Glock's Safe Action and want no mechanical thumb safety on my Glocks. I think Springfield's grip safety is a nice improvement, but still favor Glock for other reasons.

[JJ]

Obviously you are not too comfortable with anything that is DA/SA and prefer the striker style guns. Different strokes for different folks.

Personally I hate long trigger pulls on striker guns, and feel the opposite, as most folks I have introduced to them have trouble with accuracy with the longer trigger pulls.

I just have an issue with someone saying they are not safe, just because they don't like one or the other. Appreciate the mechanics before ya knock them. There is no reason to have to decock except it makes people FEEL safer.

[elroy]

Obviously you are not too comfortable with anything that is DA/SA and prefer the striker style guns. Different strokes for different folks.

Personally I hate long trigger pulls on striker guns, and feel the opposite, as most folks I have introduced to them have trouble with accuracy with the longer trigger pulls.

I just have an issue with someone saying they are not safe, just because they don't like one or the other. Appreciate the mechanics before ya knock them. There is no reason to have to decock except it makes people FEEL safer.

I am very comfortable with 1911s, love mine, and carried it for years (but don't much any more). I do not have a lot of experience with SA/DA guns. I AM uncomfortable as an instructor, teaching a beginner on such a gun. Eventually, fine. But initially simpler is better.

I did not mean to imply that any gun is unsafe, a gun is only as safe as the person holding it. I meant to imply that in a beginner's hands, a more complicated gun gives more ways to be unsafe.

[JJ]

It was a SA/DA semi-auto with a safety, but to my surprise, no de-cocking lever!

I had to teach him how to load and charge the gun then carefully lower the hammer by pulling the trigger. Needless to say I think this is a risky design, especially for beginners.

Couple that with the fact that it was a very large and heavy gun, but only chambered for 9mm and I was left thinking that there are so many better choices out there.

I guess I am confused...

You are uncomfortable with the gun, because you felt you needed to teach someone a completely unneeded operation ? There is a common denominator there I can't put my finger on

There was no reason for you to teach the student to decock the gun. It is not needed, and in the act of attempting to create safety, you are adding an additional step that is potentially dangerous.

[goett047]

Because no manual safety is safer than having one

Come on glock guys! Where are you on this one? I'm not sure the OP completely understands the term Safe Action.

First off I was being sarcastic. Secondly I am a Glock guy. I am also a 1911 guy. Different jobs require different tools.