I would guess because there's no such thing as a double action rifle. SA/DA revolvers never had safeties, so I think the theory was a DA/SA pistol didn't need one. Striker fired are similar in that it takes significant effort to pull the trigger. You're not likely to accidentally brush the trigger and set off a striker or DA pistol. I can't think of a rifle that the trigger isn't effectively in SA mode with the safety off.I feel most all of you have missed the point of the post but that's to be expected here. I didn't ask whether they were Superior or not or faster or not, I just laid out the reasons that I have heard for why some people use them and some people don't. The question is why has it become acceptable and engineered to not have thumb safeties on pistols but no one has done the same for modern rifles. If that is the way the tech is evolving and shooters preferences are evolving why did it stop at pistols.
Those that say it causes a delay, why is that delayed not acceptable on your pistol but it is acceptable on your rifle?
Just my theory...