Pistol Safeties: Types, How to Use Them

Whether you're buying a new handgun or you're just a new gun owner, the first thing you probably want to know is how each safety mechanism works on the firearm you're handling. We're covering all the ones you might encounter, so you know how to use them before you handle them.

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Types of Handgun Safeties

External (Manual) Safeties

The most important aspect of handling any firearm is understanding how all manual safety functions work. Your handgun will always have one or more of the below manual safeties:

Lever / Thumb Safety

The most common safety on most handguns. The lever safety acts as a simple external thumb "switch" that prevents the firing pin or the trigger from moving or, in some cases, both. On this 1911, the thumb safety is shown to the left of the hammer. The hammer must be cocked to engage the safety on most single-action handguns. On double-action and striker-fired handguns, the thumb safety can typically be engaged at any time.

Grip Safety

The grip safety is always engaged when the handgun isn't held in the hand. It disengages when the shooter grasps the pistol grip and depresses the safety lever with the palm. Grip safeties prevent an accidental discharge of a handgun by preventing the trigger from being depressed unless the firearm is properly held by the shooter, even if the thumb safety is off.

Trigger Lever Safety

Trigger safeties function like grip safeties. They're engaged when the trigger finger isn't actively depressing the safety lever. Like grip safeties, the this safety is meant to prevent an accidental discharge when the firearm isn't held in the hand. If part of the trigger were to snag on a holster, belt loop, or fabric, the chance of the handgun firing is much lower. For the trigger to release the striker or hammer, the safety must be pressed fully into the trigger bow.

De-cocker

You've probably seen a few action films where a shooter de-cocks their handgun's exposed hammer by holding it with the thumb and slowly depressing the trigger. This is dangerous and violates one of the four rules of gun safety: Keeping your finger off the trigger unless you're ready to fire. De-cocking levers replace this unsafe action with a mechanical way to lower the hammer without letting off a chambered round. This eliminates the risk of the hammer slipping from the thumb and striking the firing pin, and causing an accidental discharge.

On this Sig Sauer P226, the decocker is above the magazine release button, circled in white. Handguns with this safety feature will typically have three buttons on the slide: One for the slide lock, one for the thumb safety, and another for the decocker. If your handgun doesn't have a de-cocker, remove the magazine and rack the slide to remove any round from the chamber. Only then should you manually un-cock the weapon by pulling the trigger while thumbing the hammer.

Slide Lock

Although technically not a safety feature meant for use while carrying or firing your handgun, a slide lock makes a firearm inoperable and safe to handle. The lock is a button or lever, usually placed above the trigger, which locks the slide rearward, exposing the chamber and internals. Slide locks are automatically engaged when the last round is fired and the inserted magazine is empty.

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Internal (Automatic) Safeties

Internal safeties automatically engage and disengage with the pull of the trigger and don't need to be manually switched on or off. The GLOCK series of handguns are famous for their various internal safeties, which eliminates the need for external safeties, save for the trigger safety.

Drop safety

Some states, like California, require drop safeties on all new handguns. A drop safety locks up the firing mechanism inside the receiver or frame to prevent a round in the chamber from being accidentally detonated if the weapon is physically dropped on the ground and the firing mechanism is jarred by the impact. Drop safeties are typically built into the rear of the slide, near the striker or hammer, where the handgun is most likely to land because of its center of gravity.

Firing Pin Safety

The firing pin safety is essentially a type of drop safety. It prevents the pin from ever striking the primer on a chambered round unless the trigger is pulled. In the event of a drop or mechanical failure, the firing pin will not be able to strike the chambered round's primer. It will instead be blocked by a bar or plate. This physical block can only be moved by the trigger being depressed by the shooter.

Hammer Block

The hammer block works like a firing pin safety: It uses a physical bar or plate to prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled. If the hammer were to ever come down unintentionally - either because the weapon was dropped, or because of a faulty sear mechanism - the hammer block will prevent it from striking the head of the firing pin if the trigger isn't also being depressed to remove the block at that moment.

Transfer Bar

A transfer bar functions opposite to a hammer block: As the trigger is pulled, it moves a small bar with a strike face in front of the head of the firing pin. The hammer must hit this strike face instead of the firing pin directly. The bar transfers the hammer's energy to the head of the firing pin, detonating the primer on round in the chamber. If the trigger isn't pulled and the hammer falls, the transfer bar will not spring into position. The hammer will instead strike the frame or slide of the weapon, avoiding the firing pin entirely.

Magazine Disconnect

The magazine disconnect works by blocking the trigger from being pulled when the magazine is removed from the handgun. This is meant to prevent an accidental discharge of a round left in the chamber after the magazine is removed. It's a controversial type of automatic "safety" that most gun owners find to be a hindrance. This disconnect is unnecessary if the person handling a firearm exercises the rules of gun safety: Never pull the trigger unless you're ready to fire, and always treat every firearm as if it is loaded.

California requires new handguns to have magazine disconnects. Some gun makers and politicians argue that a gun owner might assume their weapon is empty if the magazine is removed, and that they may pull the trigger with a round still in the chamber. This logic again violates the basic rules of gun safety and inhibits the responsibility that all gun owners must maintain. We believe gun owners should be taught to handle firearms safely.

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Other Safety Features

Loaded Chamber Indicator

An LCI shows when a round is in the chamber, helping the shooter to know the weapon needs to be unloaded before handling. These indicators are usually built into the side or rear of the slide, like on this Glock 43. With a round in the chamber, a small metal bar behind the ejection port is raised outward, which can be easily seen when the weapon is aimed downrange.

Half-Cock or Hammer Safety

A half-cocked hammer removes the face of the hammer from the head of the firing pin. It locks up the trigger, preventing it from being pulled. In this state, the hammer cannot be dropped and must instead be fully cocked and then released, either with a de-cocker or by pulling the trigger. This is advertised as a type of manual safety by some gun makers, but we do not recommend carrying your weapon loaded and half-cocked.

The mechanism that holds the hammer in this position can be easily damaged if dropped, and it is not designed to be held in this position repeatedly or for long periods of time. If the weapon is dropped half-cocked, there is typically enough energy stored in the hammer spring that, if it were to release, could ignite a chambered round.

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Recap

• The most common handgun safeties include the thumb, trigger, and grip safety.
• Many modern handguns have automatic safeties to prevent accidental discharges.
• Automatic safeties cannot be switched on or off. They usually function with the trigger.
• Engaging the slide lock is usually the safest way to unload and handle a handgun.
• We recommend against carrying any handgun with a half-cocked hammer.
• Never manually de-cock a hammer on a handgun without first emptying the chamber.
• A handgun with a de-cocking lever can be safely un-cocked with a round in the chamber.