Honestly, this is more out of curiosity than anything. I have no real reason for putting this out there other than seeing if there’s a consensus on the matter. I came across something recently that just caused me to pause.
You see, when I was at the NRA’s recent ARC match at the Peacemaker National Training Center, there was a question during the initial safety briefing that caught me off guard. During the briefing, right after we talked all about the 180-degree rule and safe movement around the range, someone asked if we were required to put our safeties on during movement.
Immediately I thought to myself, “Well of course, dummy! Why wouldn’t you!?!”
But then the answer that came back was, “No, you don’t need to do that.”
I was floored, stunned even. You mean we weren’t expected to click our safeties on during position changes while we ran around with loaded weapons?!?
For context, I have always put the safety on when moving from position to position. I never wanted to be in a situation where I could be moving along, trip, and accidentally squeeze the trigger while regaining balance. It takes practically no time to click the safety on and off with the firing hand thumb, especially when using 45-degree selectors.
But it occurred to me that maybe I’m unique in this respect.
Over to You
So here’s the question at hand: how do you manage the safety on your rifle? When do you put it on and off? Do you put it on during reloads (I don’t), during movement? Are you a Delta operator who leaves it off all of the time and says your finger is your safety?
Am I overthinking it? I mean Glocks don’t even have safeties and that seems to work out just fine [sarcasm].
What do you think? If you were running the range, what would your rules be?
Always safety between positions. That’s what I do, and it’s the minimum I’d require for anyone under my supervision. When I was new to the AR, I left it off all the time. “It’s drop safe” and “Just practice trigger finger discipline” were two of the ways my mind though about it and allowed me to justify the practice, but I was looking at it incorrectly. I was looking at it from the position of “what if everything works as it should?”. Now I look at it along the lines of “what if something goes wrong?”. Putting your safety on… Read more »
I concur. For civilians, competitors and even cops, that safety is important because if your actually doing anything that really matters, it is in less than ideal conditions and lives are at stake…its never going to be a good tone and you revert back, instinctively, to what you have trained and mastered.
I think that’s it there…some people get complacent because they assume everything will always work the way it’s intended.
My goal is to train myself to always switch the safety on and off, I am not 100% there yet. I do this because 1) the buddies I shoot with want that. 2) I think the benefits far outweigh any “negative” downsides to flipping the safety on and off (I can’t really think of one anyway…sure it could be slower for a newer shooter, but that is something that can be fixed with practice).
My two cents.
Practice is the key. If you don’t practice it, then you won’t do it when it matters.
Safety is always engaged when not pointed at a target. When the rifle is raised, it is flipped off. When lowered it is engaged. I also engage the safety when reloading an AR as some in the SOF community advocate.
I’m seeing a trend with these answers: safety on when the weapon isn’t pointed at a target. It seems to me that you, and everyone else so far, has a good practice.
Outstanding discussion point.
Yes, ON. Manipulating the manual safety on a long gun is fundamental. It’s an essential skill of weapons manipulation, whether on the square range or going high speed. I was trained to go finger straight and automatically apply the safety EVERYTIME when coming off target, moving, transitioning, reloading, etc. Anytime I am not actively engaging a target(s), the manual safety goes on.
I would ask – even on the flat range, wouldn’t you want me to apply the safety on my long gun when not firing if I am in proximity of you?
I’m in the same boat as you. Safety on when the rifle is not on target. I think the only exception to that for me is with malfunctions, where I may or may not be able to engage the safety depending on the type of stoppage I’m dealing with.
I can add to that if I may.. I had had the opportunity to be taught the particular SEAL way of weapon manipulation by an outstanding former career SEAL while training at Asymmetric Solutions. In terms of dealing with a reload or malfunction, both are treated the same. The reasoning is you might be fighting in the dark (or if a SEAL most always in the dark) and you can’t be 100% certain you’ve gone empty vs you have a malfunction. Both are diagnosed and treated using the same algorithm. I was taught this.. You’ve pulled the trigger and nothing… Read more »
That seems like a fair system. I think a difference for me was that the way I learned malfunction drills started with observing the ejection port. So, if it was a bolt lock reload, the empty mag well indicated a reload. If it was a click/no-bang and the bolt was forward, then it was either a FTF, failure to go into battery, or a bad round, all of which were handled with tap/rack/bang. If click/no-bang and brass was visible, then it went to double feed: strip mag, rack three times. If the charging handle stuck, then it was on to… Read more »
Since I am, for now, in California, manipulating the safety is not quite as straightforward as it is in places where you can have a normal pistol grip. Ambi safety helps, but to flick it back on, I have to release the grip with the firing hand or the support hand. Once I move to another state, I will re-train, but for the time being, the safety is on when moving, but it is still off when I drop the rifle down to ready after shooting. In general, when not dealing with idiotic Claifornia laws, I side with the rule… Read more »
It’s funny that you mention California. When I left CA for VA and went to my first training class in free land, the instructors noted my awkward weapon handling techniques. It’s not that I was really any slower than anyone else, but that I was way more prone to remove my firing hand from the pistol grip to do things like charge the weapon and reload. A lot of that came from trying to run a bullet button quickly for years, so I was just in the habit of using my right hand for things.
I trained at Asymettric Solutions for several years, with about 15 different instructors for carbine courses. MARSOC, JSOC, SEALS, Green Berets, Rangers, Marine Force Recon, Marine Raiders, Delta…cool dudes and every single one of them uses a safety when they’re not actively pointing a weapon at a target. The reason I have been given, by all of them and in different ways, is because you’re off the teams if you have a negligent dicharge. One and your pooled, no one wants you on their team. Two and your flat out gone, kicked out. And wouldn’t you know it, theres a… Read more »
I distinctly remember a moment when I was at MVT where we were doing a break contact drill and peeling to the left. As I was running behind the line, I slipped on a bit of gravel and fell backwards. Thankfully, I was mindful enough to maintain control of the muzzle and kept it pointed in a safe direction, but I can’t remember what I did with my hands. I can easily imagine a scenario where I might have “snatched” the grip and trigger in order to maintain control, resulting in an ND. To me, that’s one of the most… Read more »
As an end user or RO its safety on at all times unless on target. You are dealing with such a wide array of end users with a firearm and must take that into account. Plus adrenaline is pumping during competition which only adds to possibility of an accident. I agree with the mindset of “what if something goes wrong”. Never can account for when Murphy’s law of things going south will occur. Night patrol operations are but a good example where practice of good safety discipline pays dividends. Borrowed from an very excellent post this is common practice on… Read more »
I remember that post on M4C, it was packed with good info. It was a really nice progression from ready ups to controlled pairs, and then hammer pairs.
It seems pretty unanimous in this discussion that the safety only comes off when aiming at the target and ready to fire. I think that speaks well of our readership and their mindset.
Maybe I am tainted by decades of military ranges but I see no reason to not have a loaded weapon on safe during movement on a civilian range. Hell, even in combat we habitually set our safties when changing positions. As you stated, when it is a habitual skill, manipulating the safety only takes a second and can be done in conjunction with getting into your next firing position. There is no time lost.
Yeah, that seems to be the consensus around here. I’m glad to see the emphasis on safety across the board.
Manipulating the safety on/off is a habit that needs to be ingrained so that it just happens regardless of the situation- offhand, nighttime, under stress, etc. Unfortunately, in CA manipulating a featureless rifle can be awkward and sometimes dangerous.
I can imagine it would be awkward if you’re using one of the fins. I left the state before the BB ban went into effect, so I never dealt with the featureless builds.
I haven’t though it through completely, which is weird for me, but things that would definitely cue a safety activation would be movement or hands off the rifle (slung). I would not engage the safety during a reload or malfunction clearance, though perhaps after depending on the situation. Our training is muzzle down, safety on, which I think is edging towards being a little silly. The Hollywood Delta, “This is my safety,” just doesn’t cut the mustard. With a heavy vest, or even a plate carrier and a modest amount of gear, there’s just too many things to catch on… Read more »
I think you and I are pretty much the same in this regard. Safety on for movement, off for engagement or breaks in engagement (reloads/malfunctions).
Left handed and growing up hunting I left the safety off on my shotgun while carrying, because I couldn’t get the cross bolt safety off fast enough when a bird flew up. Unload or safety on when going over fences and dodgy terrain. I could work the pump faster than the safety. I’d focus on muzzle discipline foremost and where my fellow hunters were, always positioning myself on the far right end of the line, so the muzzle naturally points away from others. Fast forward to the AR and with great ambidextrous options and I’m running the safety like you… Read more »
Hey Ben, thanks for commenting!
I’ve gone back and forth with ambi safeties. You’ve got a good point about it serving as an indicator for when the rifle is in the fire position, but I’ve also seen a lot of folks under stress in competition or training accidentally bump the switch back into the safe position with the same knuckle. Ultimately, it’s a personal preference, but I’m finding that I prefer a single-side model.