POLL: Should a Pistol Have a Manual Safety or Not?

Ever since SIG Sauer introduced the P365, it has met or exceeded all expectations. This pistol is compact, lightweight and accurate, with the largest capacity of any gun in its class. However, some folks were hesitant to jump on this gun as it lacked one feature: A manual safety. SIG remedied that last week, but now some shooters feel that it was an unnecessary introduction.

Experienced shooters like to make a lot of comments regarding safety, to the point that many sayings have become cliques. My favorite of these sayings is: “My trigger finger is my safety.” This saying is particularly favored by Glock enthusiasts. And while they are right, these same people always seem to completely forget about a couple of things. One, every gun has a safety. In fact, most guns have multiple safeties. This includes Glock pistols, which contain three passive safeties; 1911 pistols come with two safeties.

Two, most machines contain multiple devices (safeties) to prevent injury and harm. Vehicles come with both brakes and emergency brakes; multiple buttons on a metal press must be pressed together by the operator for the machine to do its job. Guns are machines. However, revolvers, except in rare instances, never have safeties, and no one seems to ever mind.

A Case For and Against a Manual Safety

Some shooters like manual safeties, while some don’t. The same can be said of both caliber and action. These differences in beliefs is why manufacturers produce so many different types of guns.

The best argument against manual safeties is that safe gun handling will prevent most issues regarding negligent discharges. If the gun is pointed in a safe direction, no one will get hurt even if the gun fires for any reason. And except for mechanical problems, guns will not fire unless someone pulls the trigger. Going by this, guns do not need a manual safety; passive safeties and safe gun handling will prevent all problems.

However, the world doesn’t always work the way it should. People make mistakes, such as holstering with the finger on the edge of the trigger. Or even laying a gun in a place where an unauthorized person, such as a kid, can gain access for just a minute. In these cases, a manual safety could prevent the gun from firing.

Personally, I’m happy SIG brought out this new version. I like having a thumb-style safety on a pistol, but in full disclosure, I love 1911s. I’ve shot the SIG and feel it is a great subcompact pistol, but I hadn’t seriously considered getting one because I felt it was missing an important feature. Of course, a lot of people believe I’m wrong, which is why companies make different guns; people have different tastes. Let us know what you think about manual safeties in our poll.