SpudFiles

I pull up to shoot get on target an pull the trigger only to find nothing happens...If I ever need a gun I want it on demand.

I definitely hear you on that one. All too many bunnies have lived to see another day because I get excited and forget about the safety. And true, safeties aren't fail safe, it all comes down to you. Which is what you have been saying. Haha well to each his own! As long as nobody gets hurt, its all good brother

Jared Haehnel wrote:The reason I hate safeties is mostly my own fault. It seems as though every time my safety is on...

That speaks to nothing but a lack of training on your part. Treat the safety as an integral part of the firing process and you won't have that problem anymore.

[IOW, if the gun isn't up to your shoulder, the safety is on. Get used to taking the safety off as you raise the gun. Engrain it in your muscle memory.... No more problems!]

And that some times I've seen people rely on their safeties as an excuse to fool around...ever heard the phrase "It's OK the safety is on?"....

No, I've never heard that phrase.

No, I've never seen people rely on safeties as an excuse to fool around.

May I suggest that you start hanging around a more intelligent crowd? Do that and I'm betting you stop seeing people who rely on safeties and hearing such assinine statements.

not to say safties are bad, but if you dont have one, do something called indexing, it is a military/police technique. It is for an imminate threat situation, where you keep the saftey off, so you can react very fast. Instead of keeping you finger on the blowgun, or trigger, which you would NEVER do with a real firearm untill you have your target in your sights, you keep you finger above the trigger, which is normally the body of a gun. Now i realize that this is not always possible, but bassically, keep you finger off the trigger untill you are ready to shoot. Personally, when i built my blow valve pilot, i got my hands on an old paintballgun worth about $5, and took the trigger frame off, then i drilled it out a little so i could fit the blowgun in it, and finally, i drilled the bottom part of the trigger gaurd off, so that there was still something protecting the trigger, as an added bonus the part that was remained was just flexible enough to be able to jam the blowgun on command, acting as my saftey. If any one is interested, i can post pictures

Or...you can attatch a tazer to the blowgun handle..so when you DO accidentally touch it, it zaps your hand .

Jared Haehnel wrote:The reason I hate safeties is mostly my own fault. It seems as though every time my safety is on... I pull up to shoot get on target an pull the trigger only to find nothing happens...If I ever need a gun I want it on demand.

As D_Hall says, if you treat it as part it of the processes, it's not a problem.
At Army Cadets, the processes they taught me there are still completely automatic, even after I've been away from it now for a year and a half (I'm too old now). I went by the other day to say Hi to some people I know that still go, and they had the DP (Drill Purpose - no firing pin, blocked barrel) rifles out.
Before I went elsewhere I was offered a brief chance to have another go through the firing procedures to demonstrate them to some newer recruits (I had always excelled at Skill-at-arms).

The techniques were still as fresh as ever - normal safety procedure, full load, ready, "3 shot fire" (basically letting the hammer click forward three times), cease, make safe, then an unload and clear, without missing a single step or making a fault, all in well under minute.

For all the steps that a Cadet is required to carry out (that cycle actually requires checking the safety catch is on a full 8 times - and once off, 6 cycles of the manual action, 18 checks that the breech is empty, 2 checks the magazine is properly in place, 2 that it isn't in place, not to mention adjusting the sling and "aiming" three times), that's pretty fast.

If you get the techniques well drilled into your head, the safety will never be a problem to you.
One day, you may well be very thankful that it was there.

And that some times I've seen people rely on their safeties as an excuse to fool around...ever heard the phrase "It's OK the safety is on?"....

Personally, anyone like that should be kicked back into the stone age. Like I said safety has 4 elements. All of them must be used at the same time.
That's total failure of both mindset and prevention. (Wrong attitude - mindset - as well as an unnecessary risk of a loaded gun - prevention.)

Some people are complete tossers around weapons.
I have seen this situation at Cadets a couple of times (fortunately, the idiots were only using dummy inert ammunition), the other common flaw is that some people assume that a firearm becomes safe if the magazine is removed (ok, some do have magazine lock-outs, but they're not exactly common).

I have also seen a failure of safety procedure, where the safety was taken off earlier than should have happened and then the twit decided to feel for the play in his trigger.

Groan...

Personally, anyone like that should be kicked back into the stone age

I agree...

Like I said its a matter of personal preference. On my pellet rifle I use the safety because its quick and easy to disengage I just have to flick my finger forward before I pull the trigger , on my Lee Enfield I keep it in the half cocked position if I go out hunting...which I don't very often do...
The other guns I own I rarely take them out on long hikes or hunting trips that would require me to carry a "hot" gun over a distance...when I clean and put them away I check to make sure the safety works but I don't use it on a regular basis.

I see that I am fighting a losing battle...so I am going to withdraw...it wasn't part of the topic anyways. If any one takes anything away from this just remember the best safety is your, god given brain...use it...I've seen people and read stories about people who "thought the safety was on" and ended up dead or seriously injured...it wasn't always the person who held the gun either...

if youve seen black hawk down, "this right here is my saftey, sir" as he sticks his trigger finger up in the air...
the best saftey is dont have your finger on the trigger untill ready to fire