If Your Handgun Has a Safety-Use It
If Your Handgun Has a Safety, Use It 
If your handgun has a manual safety, you should be using it. No excuses, no shortcuts.
I’ve heard every argument against safeties in the book:
“I train enough to not need it.”
“It slows me down.”
“My trigger finger discipline is enough.”
Let’s get real. That kind of thinking can get someone hurt—or worse. If your firearm was designed with a safety, here’s why using it is the right way to handle your pistol.
1. It’s Part of the Firearm’s Design for a Reason
Gun manufacturers don’t install manual safeties for decoration. They’re built into the system as a redundant safety feature, especially useful under stress or in unpredictable situations.
If you ignore it, you’re choosing to bypass a layer of protection. That’s not tactical—it’s careless.
2. If Your Handgun Has a Safety, Use It. Liability Is No Joke
In the event of a negligent discharge, every decision you made gets put under a microscope—especially in court. If your gun had a manual safety and you chose not to use it, that’s going to raise eyebrows. It might even cost you your case.
A lawyer won’t care about your training hours—they’ll ask:
“Why didn’t you use the safety your gun was equipped with?”
3. You’re Setting an Example
Whether you’re an instructor, a parent, or just someone others look up to for firearm advice—what you do matters.
If you carry a pistol with a safety and don’t use it, people around you (especially beginners) will think they don’t need to use it either. That’s how bad habits spread. That’s how accidents happen.
4. Training Eliminates Hesitation
Worried that using the safety will slow you down? Then train to disengage it as part of your draw stroke. Done right, it becomes muscle memory—just like aligning your sights or resetting the trigger.
If you never use it and one day you accidentally engage it, you’ll be standing there in confusion when your gun doesn’t go bang. That’s a mistake you can’t afford.
5. It’s Not Just About You
You might trust yourself not to make a mistake. Great. But life happens. You get bumped. You trip. Someone grabs at you. Your environment introduces variables you can’t always control.
The safety is there to help account for chaos, not just your own decisions.
Bottom Line: Use the Safety
If your handgun has a manual safety, treat it like any other piece of safety gear. Use it consistently, train with it, and make it second nature. Not using it is like buckling a helmet to your motorcycle seat instead of your head—technically legal, but asking for trouble.
That safety exists to give you an advantage in real-world situations—not to slow you down.
You don’t need to love it. But if it’s part of the tool, respect it and use it right.