Glock safety trigger?

Question

I am thinking about purchasing a 40 caliber Glock 22 because I will be entering law enforcement within the next year. Glocks seem to have very mixed reviews because of their unique safety trigger. I have spoke to some people and they seem to really like them since you don't have to worry about if the safety is on or off especially for a police officer who may encounter a threat in their career. Other people really dislike the safety trigger but I am not sure why. Is it a nuisance or something? Is it harder to squeeze off fast rounds? Anyone know or have any advice for me about my potential purschase of a Glock?

Answer 1

First off ..The best advice I can give you as a former Policeman/Detective and current Combat Pistol Instructor about to go into the academy is this. Find out what sidearm is the standard issue for the department you are going to join. If you want to train, great..Train with the weapon you are going to be issued.
Now to answer your question. Glock's have what is known in the industry as a "Two stage trigger pull" This means that as you squeeze the Glock trigger, once you reach about half the distance the trigger is going before the Glock fires, the trigger stacks. This means in simple terms there is a halfway point "bump" or "peak" as you pull the trigger back and at this half-way point it takes the most finger strength to get past this point. Most recruit trainee's I train to use the Glock have a tendency to anticipate the gun going off and either jerk back harder throwing the shot off target at this point as a result of this "anticipation". There is no other gun on the market that has this type of trigger travel issues so they are unique to the Glock alone. Once you have actually handled and fired a Glock you will know exactly what I am describing to you. Because of this style trigger, a lot of people have trouble shooting the gun with a smooth even squeeze and hitting a target consistantly when they are under duress. Lets face it this is the time when you MUST make your shots count.
Don't be fooled by other answers you have gotten here. Police Departments are prone to purchase their handguns on a cost basis before comfort or handling ability. Whomever proposes the lowest bid price, gets the contract. Thats not the way it should be but thats the way it is. Either way try your best to get some experience with other popular weapons like the Beretta 92. Contrary to others here once again Beretta is growing more popular every passing day. The government has just extended the Beretta 92 contract to supply the military with sidearms for another 5 years. There are absolutely no changes what-so-ever in the works. I will say again, before you purchase a weapon for personal use or as a pre-police training handgun, try several different makes and models. This is not something you can decide without some hands on experience first! Remember always...Paper targets don't shoot back......

Answer 2

My PD made the switch from S&W 4006 in 1999, to the Glock 22. After going through the transition training for the Glock, it has became my perfered handgun design for carry and compitition. The trigger takes a little getting use to but the difference is minor.
Our biggest complaint in the dept was that it was a "plastic gun" but after the first winter all those officers stop complaining. Mostly due to the fact that their hands were not freezing when we quailified in 20 degree weather. The all steel S&W 4006 would become so cool in these temperatures that they were uncomforable to hold for very long, as the steel frame sucked all of your body heat from your hand, even through gloves. The polymer framed Glock doesn't do this and is quite comfortable year around.
Some people feel they need a sepperate safety, as I once did. That was just because thats what I had gotten used to. You will find those same people afraid to carry a 1911 ****** and locked. Even though it has a grip safety and a thumb safety that must be disengaged before the gun will fire. In the end, short of putting something completely thorugh the trigger guard, the gun will not fire. And as our training pounded into our heads the only safety that works is your trigger finger. You dont put your finger on the trigger until you are certain you need to fire. And that is universal to all guns!

Answer 3

The Glock is an excellent choice. Just keep one thing in mind, and I can't emphasize this enough: KEEP YOUR FINGER OUT OF THE TRIGGER GUARD UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SHOOT. Store your Glock unloaded, or carry in a holster that covers the trigger. Do not throw it loaded, shell-in-chamber trigger exposed into a desk drawer (or purse) full of clutter. Other than this, it functions very much like double action only revolver with the advantage of more ammo & quicker reloading.

Are Glocks safe? Sure. How safe is a ****** n loaded revolver that is accidently dropped? Even Model 1911s (with the grip safety) have been known to accidently discharge when dropped with a shell in chamber. A Glock will not accidently discharge just because it is dropped. A Glock won't discharge until the 'safety' in front of the trigger (which by necessity/function must be depressed first before the trigger is squeezed) is depressed. How much safer than that can you get? If you don't want your Glock to shoot, stay out of the trigger guard, period.

Best.

H

Answer 4

glocks do not have a safety trigger.in fact there is no safety period.not sure if i am spelling it correctly but glock has a sere set trigger.when the trigger is pulled inward a short distance it allows you to followm up much quicker and shoot much faster.retired deputy sheriff of 25 years.i carried a glock 22 for my last 10 years.i still have the gun and i retired in 2001. i have yet to have a misfire or stove pipe. a stove pipe in where the hull sticks in the action.women often have problems with a glock because of their limp wristed shooting.they are extremely easy to dismantle and clean.there are only 4 pieces.a glock armorer told me when people try to shoot heavier loads in a glock that it can cause malfunctions.we were issued winchester ranger 165gr bullets. it is like the old black talon but without the black plating.any auto needs to be cleaned reularly. i will tell you what my dad told me. you take care of your fun and it will taker care of you.i never forgot that. every day when i got home i would dismantle my gun and clean it.was it necessary? no it wasn't. what it did was give me peace of mind and i knew my gun would always take care of me.most glocks come with standard sights. get the illuminated sites. you can get good one for about $90.i am a 5th generation retired officer in my family.i learned the old school way.i wish you the very best in your career and i hope it is a safe one.when you start the job it is nothing like it looks from the outside. there will be many obsticles.always go by the rules and you will never have to look over your shoulder.if you are married the constant shift changes will cause problems with a family. make you family come first always.good luck buddy!!!.the above poster is rare in that he gives you good advice.with my department the lowest bidder did not get a contract. we had never been allowed to carry autos. they sent out surveys to all officers.knowne really knew what to get.they had a major combat shoot in dallas and glock lapped everyone. glock was also the only gun not to have a misfire.there was only one glock in the entire shoot.that was the major thing that helped the decision. we had to go thru a 3 days school to learn about shooting the glock.personally i had the baretta 92 but it requires a person with a larger hand. the glock is great.the only problem i have ever seen with the glock is when women try to reload the mags and breaking the gun down

Answer 5

The glock "safe action trigger" doesn't really do much in terms of safety. It's a joke and for some it makes the trigger pull very uncomfortable. The glock's only real safety is the safety plunger which keeps the striker from accidentally slipping from the trigger bar and discharging the firearm. A lot of police departments outfit their glocks with either the ny1 (green) or ny2 (orange) trigger springs which gives them a harder trigger pull to decrease the chance of accidential discharges due to user error. Other departments leave it with the factory "S" style spring as the FBI chose to do. If you are trying to mimic the exact same duty weapon you'll be carrying I'd try to find out what spring that department uses cause there's a big difference between the factory 5.5 lb trigger to the ny2's 12lb trigger. But either way you'd get the idea of the glocks almost two stage trigger pull. At first the safe action trigger is annoying, especially if you are used to shooting another pistol without one, but after a while you get used to it and never think about it. I actually feel weird with out one now. Glocks have a very short trigger reset which makes them extremely easy to shoot fast once you find your reset. If you have any other questions feel free to email me.

Answer 6

The safety trigger is great!! As long as you are squared up on the trigger, you can easily fire the gun. However, it is an effective safety as well. I currently have to Glocks, and have had 6 over my life time, and I love them. It is easy to quickly fire multiple rounds if and when you need/want to.

Last time I check, the Glock 23, mid-size 40, was the standard FBI issue.

There is a reason why only military units use the Beretta, they buy the cheapest they can get. Besides that, it's rumored that Beretta has lost it's military contract.

If you're not going to go w/a 1911, then a Glock is defiantly the way to go.

Answer 7

I like the trigger. Factory, it's not as smooth as something you would find on say, a Kimber. You can take the gun to a certified gunsmith and have a lighter trigger pull put on the gun if you like.

I was in law enforcement. The trigger is one less thing you have to worry about when it hits the proverbial fan. No safety to fumble with, nothing but draw, point, and click-click.

Some prefer the added benefit of a trigger safety.

There are stories I recall reading where an officer gets in the mix of things, loses his primary handgun to the bad guy, but can then draw his backup handgun because the bad guy can't figure out how to turn the safety off on the primary handgun to make it fire.

Basically, you're not going to be able to win either way with the manual safety debate. Someday it may save your life. Someday it may get you killed. I was one that preferred the benefit of no manual safety and relied on my holster to keep my gun from being drawn on me.

My preferred duty holster was the Glock and a Level II Safariland holster (something similar to this: http://www.safariland.com/products.asp?id=148) . It had a retaining strap that needed to be pushed down, then rocked forward to be released. The gun needed to then be rocked BACK to be drawn. With practice you can have a smooth draw. Without practice on a criminals part it is nearly impossible to take the gun out unless they are wearing your belt (in which you have other problems to worry about), or they come up from behind and are familiar with your particular mechanism. Most would try to pull the gun toward them (FORWARD in the holster) which holds the gun steady in the holster and gives you time to wail on them with your fists, flashlight, asp baton, rock, or whatever else you can find to stop them from taking your gun to save your life.

For an added level of security you can get a level III holster which generally has another locking mechanism on it.

Find a good holster, get comfortable with it, and put a gun in it that you can shoot. Some people find Glocks point very well. Some like the Springfield XD. Others swear by Sig, or Colt. It doesn't matter what everyone else likes--I would say go with what gives you a natural aim. If it ever really hits the fan, trigger squeeze and breathing control are going to go right out the window and you need to be able to point and shoot and hit what you're aiming for. Enough practice with any gun should make you proficient with it.

Also, if you like the idea of not having a manual trigger safety, Springfield XD pistols have similar features. They include a backstrap safety which further ensures a hand has to be on the gun before it will shoot.

Answer 8

I love my Glocks, I have a 17 and a 19.

Even though the trigger may be a little heavy, it's a smooth, clean trigger break. It's not as smooth as I would like such as a 1911, but it works. It's also consistent, unlike double action/single action firearms. Follow up shots have the same trigger pull as the first shot.

If I carried my 1911, I would have to worry about cocking the gun and switching off the safety.

I know that it's a lot easier to do emergency shooting with one hand with a Glock as opposed to a gun with a safety.

As long as you're not going to work for the NYPD and use their extra heavy 12 lb triggers.

Answer 9

The Glock trigger just takes some getting used to, especially for a novice with one of their first pistols. It just takes practice & familiarization. Other pistols have their own idiosyncracies that must be learned.
Before I scored my used H-K USP.45, which I carry concealed in 'COndition One', I carried either a Glock 17, or my Remington-Rand 1911A1, depending on weather & attitude.
Anyone who can't learn & handle the Glock trigger should stick to revolvers.
If there was anything wrong with the Glock design, why have so many cop shops converted to them, including the Feds, and other big gunmakers CLONED them (S&W and Springfield, just for two!)

P.S: The Pentagon IS seriously considering DUMPING the mighty Beretta M-9 'krunchenticker', and either going to a .40, like the rest of the Fed's, or BACK to the .45 ACP, like the SOCOM units!

Answer 10

In dry-fire practice, the Safe-Action trigger system really does not stand out in terms of it's impact on your trigger finger pad. In live fire, the Glock has such a quick, violent trigger reset that the lever in the trigger body can become very uncomfortable. I tried to accomodate this buy not letting the trigger go all the way back to full rest position after the ifrst shot but then found myself fighting the trigger mechanism. This is the only thing about a Glock that I do not like. I give Glock an A+ for durability, corrossion resistance, and ease of maintenance (few parts, eays takedown). But that damn Safe-Action mechanism.