“It’s Unloaded” or “The Safety is On”

“But it’s unloaded.”

No matter the presumed condition of our firearm the muzzle should ALWAYS be pointed in the direction of least consequence. A gun seated in an adequate holster is not a pointed gun, if it was then we could never carrying guns IWB. The direction of least consequence is not any part of a human unless you have reason to believe they may cause you death or great bodily harm.

“Oh the safety is on.”

Keep in mind also that just because your firearm has a manual safety on it does not mean that it is SAFE. The user gets to decide whether or not the firearm is safe in their hands because it’s their handling of it that makes it so.

I have come across several examples recently of people carrying their firearms in no holster at all, or an unacceptable holster, and when said negligence is pointed out their response is “well the safety is on.” I shared a similar message in my most recent YouTube video where I cited a story about a man carrying in a belly band (which often provide inadequate trigger protection) who had the safety engaged on his firearm. He got down to play with his dog. The dog wound up disengaging the safety, and in the playful scuffle the dog pulled the trigger and the owner wound up with a bullet sized hole in his leg. You can find the link to that story in the description box of my most recent video.

Having a manual safety on your firearm is never an excuse to throw out fundamental firearms safety rules or settle for a “holster” with inadequate trigger protection.

One more thing I wanted to mention. Just because a company is manufacturing “holsters” does not mean that they are qualified to do so. There is no qualification for manufacturing this type of life saving equipment, which is why there are so many dangerous gimmicks out there. It is our job as the user to do our research, and safely vet the products we use.