And before anyone beats me to it, here’s the obligatory Hoot meme that goes on EVERY gun safety discussion.
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And they don’t work if somebody forgets to pull the trigger. Your point?
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This is a pointless discussion.
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Yeah to a large extent you are correct. It’s a recurring theme that comes up from time to time and if you read between the lines isn’t it to try to get an opinion if Hammer fired or striker fired firearms which one is best. No such answer that works universally. In that respect you are correct. Spinning wheels.
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Such thread is OK as long as nobody forces others to use a particular firearm, because of A, B, C, D reasons… 
However… having more safeties is always a good idea… 
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I don’t think these discussions are likely to change experienced carriers minds but I do think they are valuable for helping people who want to start carrying make better informed decisions about which choice may be best for them.
I personally would argue that striker fired pistols would be a better choice for many of the new owners out there who are unlikely to ever get in a significant amount of training and practice. My reasoning is that with a single action they need additional practice to ensure they can automatically deactivate the safety under stress when they need to use it. And even more practice to ensure they activate it every time before holstering. They also need to not develop a false sense of security due to the manual safety being there which could lead to poorer trigger finger discipline and other safety violations.
With a striker fired pistol new shooters only have to focus on keeping their finger off the trigger until they need the pistol to go bang and making sure nothing gets caught in the trigger when reholstering. Both things they should be focusing on even if they have a manual safety or decocker.
For experienced shooters with proper training and sufficient practice it shouldn’t make much difference outside of personal preference.
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There seems to be no end to really bad articles about firearms. Some of them may be from well-meaning people with bad advice, but a lot of them just want to sell ads.
There also seems to be no end to drive-by article sharing on this community. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. On the one hand, we get to critique and possibly correct some of the garbage information out there, as has been done here. On the other hand, are we giving them more clicks than they’d get, and therefore perpetuating the problem?
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I think new shooters are mostly looking for handgun which is easy to operate. For more advanced shooter it really doesn’t matter.
I’ve been seeing new shooters for a long time and their own choice in 99% is striker fired pistol. Most of newbies with hammer fired (SA/DA) pistols made their decision based on friend’s recommendation.
However existence of safety lever was almost never taken under consideration. Striker fired handgun is just very popular and dummy proof. Even you forget to clean and lube it it will keep running.
From Instructor’s perspective, I don’t know which handgun teach us a better discipline? With any kind of handgun you must keep holster clear before holstering. Additionally with SAO you must remember about thumb safety ON before holstering, with DA you must remember about decocker to be applied, with striker fired you don’t need to remember about anything else… which is also not good because you may learn false comfort.
So, whichever firearm you carry, your brain is your first safety.
You must think, not safety mechanisms made in the firearm.
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When the author feels the need to pad his argument by claiming people ignore firearm safety rules because “the safety is on”, I’m done reading his drivel.
For me, I’ve been shooting 1911s for so long that manipulating the thumb safety is something I don’t even have to think about (I do, but it’s reflexive actions). It’s so built in that if I’m shooting my Sig or another firearm that doesn’t have a thumb safety, my thumb is flopping around, looking for the safety. There is absolutely no drawback to having a thumb safety unless it’s something like on the Shield where it’s difficult to manipulate.
My brother is a “Glock guy”, so of course I have to send him videos of people shooting themselves in the leg when they reholster their plastic guns. But most people know to get a decent holster and make sure there’s no obstructions when reholstering. If that’s what you like and that’s what you shoot well, even though the grip angle is all jacked up, then that’s what you should use. I like my thumb safety and see zero drawbacks to having it. And they’re usually, not always, but usually associated with a crisp trigger.
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Agree with everything you said with the slight exception to this part.
Speaking solely for myself - I was still an untrained newbie when I purchased my first striker fired pistol. Knowing it didn’t have a manual safety actually made me a little uncomfortable with the pistol so I made extra sure I followed all the safety rules.
It wasn’t until my first 2 day defensive handgun class shortly after the purchase that I learned that I could indeed safely carry the pistol.
You’ve made a seriously strong point. I gotta order some parts… 
You don’t need anything if your current handgun is safe. The way you carry it and manipulate it dictates if you need external safety or not.
I personally convinced myself to use safety levers after I started carrying AIWB and found that extra level of protection gave me mental comfort. It never changed my safety handling and holstering procedures but I know that even I miss obstruction in my holster, the handgun won’t fire.
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Did I miss something?
Don’t think you missed anything. Just saying that, at least in my case, having a striker fired pistol that I knew required perfect trigger discipline did not impart me with a false sense of comfort on any of the other safety aspects. If anything it made me focus even more on all 4 safe handling rules.
Though I could see someone getting so focused on trigger discipline that they might loose focus on the other rules.
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I think that also has a lot to do with people pushing them in that direction also. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard clerks pushing new gun buyers toward Glocks and their clones. It started to really stand out to me a bunch of years ago when I on the hunt for my Beretta 92. Store after store, it was like everyone was brainwashed by the same source. “We don’t currently have any Berettas in stock. But have you tried a Glock yet?” It was like pod people. It was something out of a horror movie. Since then, it stands out to me every time I hear someone pushing a customer toward Glocks.
I also think there’s a similar mentality when women are told, “What you really want is a 20g. You’ll really take a beating from a 12g.” You know, because women are so weak and feeble. There are certain stereotypes and biases by the clerks behind the counter telling people, “Oh, you’re a new shooter? What you’re gonna want is…” Some of those guys are still pushing revolvers because “they’re so much more reliable than semi-autos”. People really struggle with accuracy using a DA trigger, but if you get a click instead of a bang, just pull the trigger again. What’s not to like?
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Ah, OK. Yeah. The new shooters need more attention regarding “being too much comfortable”. That is what was my point.
More advanced shooters and those who train regularly know how to manage comfort and proper firearm handling.
That is also a reason that after few months or even years a lot of shooters don’t care about action methods and safety features. Once you know yourself, your capabilities, weak sides… you can handle every kind of firearm… as long as you know where the trigger is.
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I always say - clerk in Gun Store is only to give you the product and take your money. Instructor’s role is to find what might be the best fit for you. Unfortunately a lot of new shooters skip “instructor part” rushing directly to purchase. 
Couple exaples:
A friend of mine struggled with grip safety on SA XDM. It was recommended to him by somebody else. He got a click almost every other round. He wanted an external safety handgun and ended up with Staccato. He shoots like a pro right now.
Lady student came for a basic class with CZ P01 Omega. Great gun BTW, I love it… But she wasn’t able to rack the slide. I asked her why this handgun? It was recommended by her friend. 
I only could explain her how to rack it not pulling, but pushing, it somehow worked… she never showed up again …
Another student - he bought S&W MP 2.0 Shield… couldn’t hit damn target from 5 yards. Muzzle flip was so high that I was warred about the ceiling. He switched to full size handgun and problem disappeared.
A young gentleman came for a basic class with his Uncle’s handgun. Never seen such thing before… no safeties, no slide lock… looked like WWII era small pistol. I asked why this gun? Are you gonna carry it? Of course not, so I was wondering why it was not easier to just rent something from XXI Century?
Even my Family cases show that you must shoot everything before making the decision. I hate Glocks (long story… ) and never even tried to teach my kids to shoot them. One day we went to the range and friend of mine gave his G19 to my younger one to challenge him. I cannot imagine how stupid my face was when I saw perfect grouping in the center of the target after his 10 shots. 
So the point is… everyone should know his place in this chain. The most important is how you feel, not how your friend, father, grandpa, neighbor or clerk in the store feels about it. Then you train, practice and eventually evolve to try different options. But the comfort should never change.
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I am not trying to make a point I don’t have a spear just having a discussion.
Store clerks are there to sell whatever the company is pushing, that week. It has nothing to do with what’s good for the customer.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some great interactions with people at gun stores. But similar to what @Jerzees said above, it’s not necessarily their job to sell you the firearm that’s right for you, it’s their job to make the sale that’s right for them.
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First off, I never advise a new concealed carrier to buy a “manual safety” SA auto (1911 style) or a Beretta 92 style firearm. 1911’s are cool looking to the novice and are fun to shoot for the recreational enthusiast. 1911’s are highly efficient, reliable, safe and accurate in the hands of a trained and experienced shooter.
That being said, I tell everyone to train the way you carry, and train often. If you go to the range for a fun day, always let the last firearm you use at your range day be your EDC. And remember, train the way you carry. Your range day super cool tactical leg rig may be just that and comfortable. But your objective is to get your EDC setup to be as normal and effortless as tying your shoes or brushing your teeth, do it in the dark without having to think about it.
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