Yesterday, I learned a competitor at the 2025 Racegun Nationals in Hurricane, Utah, suffered an unintentional discharge that sent a bullet into his leg. News coverage barely scratched the surface, so I dug deeper, reaching out to friends who attended the event. None had firsthand accounts, but as the “he said, she said” rumors piled up, the story started sounding eerily similar to an incident at my local club I covered last year. That got me thinking: it’s time to revisit the topic of using manual thumb safeties—safely.

From what I’ve pieced together about the Racegun Nationals incident, the competitor’s pistol, an Open division 2011, discharged during the draw after the start signal. Word is, the race holster had been giving him trouble. That’s the extent of the secondhand info I trust as reasonably accurate and relevant here. As I said, the circumstances are strikingly similar to the local incident I wrote about before.

Whether the fault lies with competitor negligence or equipment failure isn’t the point of this post. What matters is that this type of injury is entirely preventable if the manual safety isn’t defeated while the gun is holstered. Let’s talk about that.

Why Are We Talking About This Now?

Shooting yourself in the foot—or leg, as in these cases—isn’t cool, fun, or, most importantly, safe. That’s obvious, right? But there’s more to it.

After my retrospective on the local incident last year, several folks thanked me for the coverage and shared their opinions. I was intrigued by the range of perspectives on “how they were taught” versus “how they use their pistol’s manual safeties.” Being the curious cat I am, I started asking other shooters how they handle their safeties and how they were taught. I also quizzed instructors on what they teach about manual safeties.

The responses naturally fell into three buckets, strongly tied to the age groups of those sharing. This was a revelation, suggesting a deterioration of institutional knowledge about manual safety use. That’s a problem. Sure, it’s arguably a self-correcting one, given the rising popularity of 2011 pistols, which rely on manual safeties for safe operation. But I’d rather not learn the hard way—or see anyone else do so.

Traditional Use of Manual Safeties

The gray-haired folks in my informal inquisition were nearly unanimous: Col. Jeff Cooper, the father of modern technique, taught manual safety use as a binary rule:

• On target, safety off.
• Off target, safety on.

This rule is still standard in entry-level carbine classes but rare in basic pistol courses. Why? Simple. Almost every student in a carbine class shows up with a rifle equipped with a manual safety—I can’t think of one that doesn’t have one. So, safety instruction is a standard part of the curriculum.

Contrast that with pistol classes. With the rise of polymer-framed, striker-fired “wonder nines”, it’s rare for students to bring a pistol with a manual thumb safety. As a result, safety instruction has become an optional block, often skipped unless a student’s firearm has one.

You could argue omitting this block shortchanges students. You could also argue including irrelevant material wastes their time, which isn’t great either. That’s a debate for another day. The point is, skipping this instruction likely contributes to the erosion of knowledge about manual safeties. Even if included, it’s unlikely to stick without practice, so at best, it might slow the decline.

Another key point: traditional safety use (and its instruction) only applies when the pistol is out of the holster. It’s never manipulated while holstered.

Objections to Traditional Safety Operation

The two most common objections to Cooper’s traditional safety operation are:

1. It’s too slow.
2. My support-hand grip won’t let me manipulate the safety.

Let’s break them down.

It’s Too Slow

I get this objection, but it’s built on a false premise. The binary rule for safety operation isn’t different from the rule for keeping your booger hook off the bang switch, properly called “trigger discipline” or “finger discipline”:

1. On target, on trigger.
2. Off target, off trigger.

This is how trigger discipline is taught in all entry-level firearms classes. High-speed performance isn’t the goal here—safe operation is. That requires discipline, hence the term “finger discipline.” The same applies to safety discipline.

When performance becomes the focus, we redefine “on target” and “off target.” For novices, alignment is verified through sights. As shooters advance, they learn aiming varies in granularity—from a coarse physical index to a refined sight picture—depending on the target’s difficulty and the shot’s risk. Once alignment is verified at the appropriate level, you’re “on target,” and the finger can go to the trigger.

The same logic applies to safety manipulation. We can rewrite the rule:

1. On trigger, safety off.
2. Off trigger, safety on.

No one argues trigger discipline is “too slow.” By extension, in a quality, well-designed holster, you can’t put your finger on the trigger while the pistol is holstered. This means safety manipulation should never happen in the holster—doing so is poor safety discipline.

But Muh Support Hand

This objection encourages manipulating the safety while establishing the master grip in the holster—a massive safety no-no, as we’ve established.

The issue stems from the desire to place the support hand as high as possible on the pistol’s grip to maximize contact and minimize muzzle rise during recoil. This aligns with modern freestyle grip technique. The problem lies in the “as high as possible” part, which should mean “as high as possible without interfering with the gun’s operation.”

Here’s the rub: those raising this objection often exclude “safety operation” from “gun operation” but include “slide lock operation.” I can’t wrap my head around that inconsistency. Why one and not the other?

Manipulating the safety while the gun is holstered is a safety violation, serious enough to disqualify you in competitive shooting sports. The fix is simple: adjust your grip and adapt your technique. You might not like it, but it’s the right move.

Closing Thoughts

Your pistol’s safety can be your best friend or worst enemy, depending on how you use it. Strong safety discipline and adherence to traditional operation can literally keep you from shooting yourself in the foot—or sending a stray bullet downrange. It’s a self-correcting problem, sure, but learning that lesson the hard way is a costly mistake.