Striker guns, technical question

[Sharkbite]

Were I concerned about the risks of hitting the trigger while inserting into a holster, I think I'd just avoid strikers entirely except the XD because of the grip safety.

How does the grip safety help? You have a grip on the gun when holstering,
Or you should. So, the grip safety is depressed.

[OhioGuy]

Originally Posted by Sharkbite

How does the grip safety help? You have a grip on the gun when holstering,
Or you should. So, the grip safety is depressed.

I keep my thumb on the back of the slide when holstering, and the grip safety is not depressed. It's the same way I holster a hammer gun with my thumb on the hammer.

When drawing, yes, I have a firing grip and so the gun is as hot as any other.

[Walt Sherrill]

The only true, single-action striker (it has a safety) was a Walther (can’t remember the model), and it didn’t sell.

As others have noted, there are OTHER SA strikers. And the Walthers (and, I think, the similar SW99) were true DA/SA models, capable of cocked and locked, or full double action if decocked. (The Walters/SW99 had GREAT triggers, so if they didn't sell, it wasn't because they were striker-fired, their action type. Walther has NEVER sold a lot of guns in the U.S... They may have been TOO innovative at a time when striker-designs were just starting to get acceptance.)

Most of the more popular striker-fired guns are sometimes called "modified double action" guns, because pulling the trigger alone isn't sufficient -- the striker must be partially loaded (charged) by slide movement first. That's why many striker-fired guns aren't able to restrike if there's a bad primer hit: the slide must be moved before the trigger will function. Some of these guns are available with slide safeties, others are available with grip safeties, and some have trigger safeties. Calling these same guns "single action" isn't accurate either, as the striker or hammer spring must also be partially charged by trigger movement. (S&W did a some hammer-fired guns that worked this way in their 3rd Gen models -- although called DA/SA, there was no second-strike capability.)

As to the safety of any of these guns: whether they're striker-fired or hammer-fired, other aspects of their designs (rather than what makes the firing pin/striker move) are the key factors in determining whether the gun is safe or not...