I assumed that it was some cheap piece of crap weapon, which are usually as dangerous to the shooter as the target. There is a reason for the high prices on quality weapons.

The reality of course is that more magazine capacity doesn’t mean diddly if you can’t hit what you’re aiming at, and a Glock gets its magazine capacity by going to a dual-stack magazine that is as comfortable and easily controllable as gripping a 2×4. And more magazine capacity doesn’t help you much if you shot off your testicle because of an ill-fitting belly holster and lack of external safety either!

So anyhow, back to this story, Glocks are not popular as purse pistols because of their expense, so I suspect that it was probably a K-Tel oops Kel-Tec (heh). Which, similar to the Glock, *also* don’t have an external safety, just a long-pull dual-action trigger where the first part of the pull disengages the internal safety, and the second part of the pull actually activates the hammer. They’re also 1/3rd the price of a Glock and have a reputation as being cheap and nasty, just one step above the “Saturday Night Special” of yore. They’re exactly what I’d expect a redneck woman to be packing in her purse. With the inevitable results. SIGH!

The best weapon is the one you shoot the most accurately. I have fired a lot of cap and ball pistols and rifles. I have never had an ‘accident’ because I pay attention. I have drawn weapons from shoulder holsters, ankle holsters, pocket holsters, as well as a variety of belt holsters. I didn’t draw until I was ready to shoot and had the justification to shoot. I know what it’s like to be the target rather than the shooter, so I always made the point of not being both accidentally.

I sort of remember someone saying that the Air Force selected the Beretta when the finally got rid of the S&W Model 10s because of their safety system. The Air Force has a real thing about safety. Most police agencies don’t have specific requirements and are more concerned with price. I think Glock must have had a great sales department to be as popular with law enforcement as it is.

The M60 is a nice weapon, Kryten, but the size and ammo belts make it a bit hard to carry unless you are an ‘action hero’ in a movie. Yes, the Glock, like the P-38, is a military weapon and requires military training to use safely. People who carry military weapons without the training are accidents waiting to happen.

A lot of the people who are buying guns these days are the same idiots who buy chain saws after hurricanes and end up in the emergency room after cutting off one of their limbs, rather than tree limbs. Tools can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Which, of course, is why there have been untold stories about butt-cheekless and ball-less wonders who’ve managed to shoot themselves with their Glocks when they used poorly fitting belt holsters that caught the trigger and… uhm… BOOM!

Indeed, Glock even touts the fact that they have no traditional safety on their guns. “The ability to fire immediately, without worrying about an external safety, is one feature Glock has stressed as an advantage when selling its guns, especially to police departments…” Tell it to all the butt-cheekless folks out there who shot their cheek off with their Glock, heh!

I had a Glock 17A which was standard issue for SF personnel. It was my favorite sidearm for many reasons. But I definitely would not recommend one for an amateur (though, I would for a moron in the hope they shoot themselves). *shrug* I also liked the PPK. On some missions, it was either my primary or backup, being more easily concealed than a Glock 17A (which had a long barrel). We did have access to some *trick* holster/pistol combinations (such as a small .25 in a quick release forearm holster. Yes, most of that JB style stuff was real). I never used them, few did. They were more trouble than they were worth. Though I did occasionally carry a couple throwing blades in a forearm holder. 😉 LOL

The 1911 was a real pain, and I hated the half-cock to engage the safety with a round loaded. I owned Walther’s, a P-38 and PPK, which have an excellent safety arrangement and are double action.

I had a .25 auto ‘last chance’ weapon, but never carried it with a round chambered. I could chamber a round with one hand if I needed it, and didn’t need to worry about shooting myself in the butt.

The vast majority of civilian scenarios, the amount of time needed to flick the safety off is irrelevant. Civilians spend far more time on target identification than they spend drawing and shooting the weapon, because they’re not trained in how to identify and acquire targets. Not unless the targets helpfully have round “bullseye” circles on them, anyhow!

Getting a marriage license really shouldn’t be easier than getting a driver’s license, and anyone can become a parent with no testing at all. The world has strange priorities.

I was required to carry a weapon for years, and it is a real PITA. Once it was no longer required, I stopped doing it.