Better And Better

If you don't draw yours, I won't draw mine. A police officer, working in the small town that he lives in, focusing on family and shooting and coffee, and occasionally putting some people in jail.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Ambi safeties.

I don't understand the constant claim that the ability to equally use a firearm with either hand is undesirable.

I've been carrying Glocks and double-action revolvers for the most part for the last 8 years. Sure, I love my beloved 1911s. But you know what's hard? Picking up a stock 1911 with your left hand, knocking off the safety (one-handed), and firing it.

I practice shooting partly because I need to know that in a gunfight, I can do what needs doing. While the chances of getting into a gunfight are small, the chances of me getting shot in a gunfight that I'm participating in are actually pretty high. (Well, higher than I'm comfortable with.) Given that my strong arm would likely be presented to an adversary in a gunfight or even a blade attack, the chances of my strong right arm or hand being injured aren't inconsiderable. Why not have a good plan to end this thing?

I qualify twice a year, and shoot quite a bit more than that. I don't shoot enough left-handed. Whenever I do, I'm reminded of how much I suck at it. I don't see any point in making an already difficult task near impossible. I like small auxiliary ambi safeties.

Admittedly, some ambidextrous safeties aren't made properly or installed properly. I am assuming that you have a quality part and installation. Swenson has made some fine ones for years.

So here I am, at odds with friend Jim Wilson. At least Jim and I agree on the uselessness of full-length guide rods.

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3 Comments:

At Friday, October 03, 2014 5:09:00 AM, Anonymous Alien said...

If you shoot action pistol matches, get a left hand holster for whatever you're shooting and use it occasionally. If you want extra points for degree of difficulty, wear an oven mitt and a stiff elastic elbow wrap on your right hand.

Pretty darned humbling, in my experience.

 
At Friday, October 03, 2014 7:13:00 AM, Blogger Old NFO said...

Weak hand practice IS important. And ambi safeties are good IF they are installed correctly...

 
At Saturday, October 04, 2014 7:40:00 PM, Blogger Tam said...

I'm sure Jim is a swell fella, but he's wronger than... a very wrong thing... about the safeties.

(Although I'm liable to flop my thumb oe'r top of the gun out of force of habit, even when shooting my Pro. Same as the ambi slide releases on the M&P: shooting WHO I tend to have dropped the slide with my trigger finger before my thumb has a chance to realize it could have done it...)

 

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