Why are so many people so dead set against thumb safety's?

[Spiff]

Mostly because its not designed to be carried this way - in fact, if its designed as the original A1 was (like a Springfield or Colt Series 70), its much more dangerous since there is nothing between the firing pin and the primer of the live shell in the chamber (except for a spring) - drop it on the muzzle hard enough, and you risk a KB.

Plus you have to lower the hammer on a live round, which causes immediate removal of thumb, plus if the hammer inadvertently gets pulled back you're running without the thumb safety, plus you have to cock the hammer if you decide you need to use it, plus....

 

[OkieZombies]

Things tend to happen fast. I saw a video in a criminology class of a jewelry store robbery. It was obvious the perp was casing the place. The store owner was alone in the store. Both were carrying.

Both executed clean draws. The perp got off the first, and only 6 shots. The owner, in the adrenaline rush forgot to turn-off the safety of his gun. While the casing may have been about 60 seconds, the draw was less than a second (think how fast things happen in IPSC matches but this was in a real-world scenario).

The split-second it would have taken to disengage his safety was enough for the perp to get the first shot off, which prevented the owner from being able to take any defensive action. The only reason the owner lived was because the perp ran out of bullets before he could shoot him execution style. The owner almost died and had to be rushed to intensive care.

I couldn't find that video on youtube but I did find some below to help you get a gauge for how quickly things unfold.

***
Watching some of these videos has made me re-think if the LCP is enough! Notice how often in robberies there are multiple perps, and how they employ diversion tactics.

Notice how quickly things unfold:
Store owner shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7kBSQmX-bE

Mother stabbed protecting baby, again the incident unfolds rapidly - less than 2 seconds from when the perp exits his vehicle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V1RrhlWOws

Four people rob store - less than a second after entrance, the lead perp has a shotgun ready to fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIU7JkE3C-A

Store owner shot
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/1/Horrible-Robbery-207967.html

This happened in OKC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kKko2hrP7Y

***
Self-defense shooting where defender does everything right, including selecting Glock Perfection :-p The time between the armed robber appearing and having his gun leveled was about 1 second.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AA_dgRdDhk
(1 minute after robbery, still no police?)
I still can't believe the bad guy didn't wait until the mother and her child left - do these guys have no morals at all?

***
Sorry about the excessive videos. I just wanted to point out how quickly and unexpectedly violent crime happens.

 

[Big-Tex]

I've seen my buddy forget to drop his safety on a hog hunt. Fast paced, adrenelin pumping, but not life threatening. He swore he had shot twice. Then I asked him when he had time to flip his dust cover back up, and his face just goes blank. He had pulled the trigger, and came out of the blind claiming his pig. I can only imagine had that been a QT at the end of a long day and a BG comes throught the door. Stress changes everything.

 

[1eye]

I can understand the reasoning for not wanting the thumb safety for quick draw purposes however after owning nothing but thumb safety pistols forever and being a firm fan of the 1911 I couldn't imagine using anything else. Guess it is just what you have trained to that fits you best. P.S. I still can't create a desire to own a plastic gun.