The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - DA/SA Hammer-Fired vs. Safe-Action Striker-Fired: I Give Up

Bongo Boy · June 28, 2013, 09:19 PM

No, not really. I've owned them all, but I think you're over-generalizing when it comes to 'safe action'...seems you're equating striker-fired to safe-action pistols and to my mind they're considerably different. Glock is the only safe-action I'm aware of, but there could be many others. M&Ps are not safe action pistols to my mind, and it's not the trigger safety that makes them 'safe action'.

Again, I could be wrong, but my definition of safe action is specifically a striker-fired weapon that uses the slide cycle to pre-load the striker to within some high percentage of full cock, and uses the trigger to 1) complete the cocking of the striker, and b) release the striker. M&Ps on the other hand fully pre-load the striker and are single-action pistols--fully, 100% SA. Glocks are not what I'd consider fully, 100% SA and you can certainly feel the difference.

So, to me, there's 'striker fired', and a subset of striker fired is 'safe action'. But 'striker fired' and 'safe action' I do not believe are synonymous.

As for DA/SA, I've fired many Sigs and a couple of others as examples of the genre, and I've owned a P220 and put a lot of miles on it. I always loved Sigs and particularly loved my P220. The DA/SA bothers some people, or so I've heard, but it never bothered me much. After a lot of time spent with the trigger, both the DA and the SA were wonderful experiences. I just see no real point in all the added complication--yes, DA is sure a nice added safety feature to have I suppose. I own a DA auto pistol that is one of my main carry weapons--but it's DAO and I'm okay with that. I just think the DA/SA setup is totally unnecessary--it solves no problem that I have, plus I now find Sigs to be all cluttered up with buttons and levers and stuff.

I absolutely love both of my two M&P pistols and both of my two Glocks, and with about the same amount of time and money spent on the triggers of all of them, I'm perfectly happy with all of their triggers for personal defense and/or gaming use. None of them will ever be precision target triggers, and I couldn't care less than I already do about that.

It sounds to me like you're able to enjoy more than one handgun design, and I think that's a good thing. Understanding, appreciating and enjoying the features, benefits, limitations of the entire spectrum of design can only improve your enjoyment and your ability to use whatever's on hand. My understanding may not agree with that of others--what I've learned could be incorrect. Naturally, I don't think so.

June 28, 2013, 09:19 PM	#2
Bongo Boy Senior Member Join Date: December 18, 2008 Location: Colo Spgs CO Posts: 517	No, not really. I've owned them all, but I think you're over-generalizing when it comes to 'safe action'...seems you're equating striker-fired to safe-action pistols and to my mind they're considerably different. Glock is the only safe-action I'm aware of, but there could be many others. M&Ps are not safe action pistols to my mind, and it's not the trigger safety that makes them 'safe action'. Again, I could be wrong, but my definition of safe action is specifically a striker-fired weapon that uses the slide cycle to pre-load the striker to within some high percentage of full cock, and uses the trigger to 1) complete the cocking of the striker, and b) release the striker. M&Ps on the other hand fully pre-load the striker and are single-action pistols--fully, 100% SA. Glocks are not what I'd consider fully, 100% SA and you can certainly feel the difference. So, to me, there's 'striker fired', and a subset of striker fired is 'safe action'. But 'striker fired' and 'safe action' I do not believe are synonymous. As for DA/SA, I've fired many Sigs and a couple of others as examples of the genre, and I've owned a P220 and put a lot of miles on it. I always loved Sigs and particularly loved my P220. The DA/SA bothers some people, or so I've heard, but it never bothered me much. After a lot of time spent with the trigger, both the DA and the SA were wonderful experiences. I just see no real point in all the added complication--yes, DA is sure a nice added safety feature to have I suppose. I own a DA auto pistol that is one of my main carry weapons--but it's DAO and I'm okay with that. I just think the DA/SA setup is totally unnecessary--it solves no problem that I have, plus I now find Sigs to be all cluttered up with buttons and levers and stuff. I absolutely love both of my two M&P pistols and both of my two Glocks, and with about the same amount of time and money spent on the triggers of all of them, I'm perfectly happy with all of their triggers for personal defense and/or gaming use. None of them will ever be precision target triggers, and I couldn't care less than I already do about that. It sounds to me like you're able to enjoy more than one handgun design, and I think that's a good thing. Understanding, appreciating and enjoying the features, benefits, limitations of the entire spectrum of design can only improve your enjoyment and your ability to use whatever's on hand. My understanding may not agree with that of others--what I've learned could be incorrect. Naturally, I don't think so. __________________ NRA Benefactor Member “If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.” T Bankhead "I think only the authorities should have weapons." The New American Electorate Last edited by Bongo Boy; June 28, 2013 at 09:42 PM.