From: jca@crash.cts.com
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Safeties/Decockers (was Re: .40 s&w questions)
Date: 27 Aug 92 02:37:48 GMT
Organization: CTS Network Services (crash, ctsnet), El Cajon, CA

nsc.nsc.com> nsc!jrr@decwrl.dec.com (Jerry Roe) writes:
#gonzalez@bbn.com (Jim Gonzalez) writes:
##
###has taurus come out with a model 96 clone yet?
##
##Yes.  There was in an ad for it in American Handgunner, several months
##ago.  It's designated the model 100, as I recall.  One thing about it,
##and I think this is true of all Taurus clones of the Beretta, is that
##they have a 3-position safety-decocker.  I forget the ordering of the
##positions, but remember misgivings about hitting the safety too hard in
##a tense situation and ending up with weapon unable to fire.
#
#Hmm.  I don't own any DA semi-autos, but when you have a DA pistol and
#de-cock it, isn't all that's required to fire it just simply pulling the
#trigger through?  (Assuming a round is chambered, which is implicit in
#de-cocking.)  Isn't that the whole idea behind DA semi-autos?  Granted,
#you'd have to cycle the trigger again, but I don't see how the weapon
#would be *unable* to fire.

Depends on how the decocker works on the pistol.  On Berettas and S&W's
the safety on the conventional DA pistol is also the decocking lever.
So when the pistol is put on safe, you decock the hammer.  To make the
pistol fire again, you have to disengage the safety before pulling the
trigger.  This is a fairly expensive operation in terms of time since it
requires moving the thumb twice; once to decock the hammer thus putting
the pistol on safe and the second motion to put the pistol on fire and
giving you a decocked hammer.

This is where the Taurus safety has a big advantage, to decock the
hammer all you need to do is press down on the safety all the way with
your thumb.  Since the newer revision of the Taurus hammer drop safety
has a spring so it will automatically return to the fire position, it is
of little consequence that the shooter pushed it past the 'fire'
position when taking it off of safe.  Also, with the earlier version of
the hammer drop safety, it was rather difficult for those who reviewed
the Taurus pistols with the early revision of the newer safety to have
it stay in the decock position either accidently or on purpose.
Granted, I have not tried a Taurus pistol myself, but I do prefer the
concept of the three position hammer drop safety to a conventional
safety/decocker.  Accidently having the Taurus safety stay in the decock
position is a concern, but not as much as a magazine change with the new
Browning BDM.

The problem with the Browning BDM is that the safety also doubles as a
slide stop and decocker.  To chamber a round after the slide has been
locked open either manually or via the last round fired in the magazine,
one has to first engage the combination lever which also puts the pistol
on safe and decocks the hammer.  The problem is that you then have to
flip the lever again the enable the pistol to fire.  That I see as a
more serious problem than accidently putting the Taurus hammer drop
safety on decock instead of fire.  It takes two actions of the shooter
to do a magazine change and be able to resume shooting if a massive fire
fight is occurring.  Not a good design at all in my opinion.  I'd rather
see a totally seperate slide stop that works independantly of the
combination lever.
--

     // JCA

 /*
 ** ARPA    : crash!jca@nosc.mil | 13 + 1 = 228... 
 ** INTERNET: jca@crash.cts.com  |
 ** UUCP    : crash!jca          |           SIG-Sauer P228
 */