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  1. #1

    Default Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    Hi all. I'm looking for a left handed gun with a thumb safety, for my better half. She's shot my M&P Shield and it fits her hand better than mine. She really likes the Shield, but it's right handed.
    Caliber - 9mm or below.
    Is there anything on the market, for lefties, similar to the shield?

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    I'm a silly bugger to talk, because my edc has an ambi safety (M&P9c) but: get over the thumb safety issue and just get another Shield, or a G42 or a G43.

    The ONLY thing the thumb safety on the Shield (and other M&P's that have them) do is block trigger movement. With proper finger disciple, and a good holster, and the trigger-mounted safety, and the firing pin block, there is no way that the gun will spontaneously go off. Put differently: the thing that keeps the gun from going boom in the holster (should the sear suddenly and miraculously fail) is NOT the thumb safety, it is the firing pin block. And all these guns have them.

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    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    As per post no 2. No one really needs a thumb safety on any modern striker fired pistol. Those designs that have it only do so because somewhere along the line some police department bureaucrat found it cheaper to specify an administrative superfluous safety than to train people correctly. Lots of regular people, cops, soldiers get by just fine without manual safeties; and lots of highly trained individuals, cops, SF soldiers prefer / use / get issued guns without manual safeties. Do the math...

  4. #4

    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    Quote Originally Posted by Pirate View Post
    I'm a silly bugger to talk, because my edc has an ambi safety (M&P9c) but: get over the thumb safety issue and just get another Shield, or a G42 or a G43.

    The ONLY thing the thumb safety on the Shield (and other M&P's that have them) do is block trigger movement. With proper finger disciple, and a good holster, and the trigger-mounted safety, and the firing pin block, there is no way that the gun will spontaneously go off. Put differently: the thing that keeps the gun from going boom in the holster (should the sear suddenly and miraculously fail) is NOT the thumb safety, it is the firing pin block. And all these guns have them.
    Thanks pirate. What I'm worried about is proper finger discipline. It's easy to train that into yourself as long as you train consistantly. The problem is that life happens. We slowly decrease time spent at the range. Muscle memory disappears. We forget. Then, when we least expect it, we have to react. The stress and speed of the moment can lead to errors. For me, the only guns I've ever shot have had thumb safeties. It's natural for me to reach for the safety before pulling the trigger, even when I haven't shot in over a year. My wife seems to be the same. For others a thumb safety my be unnatural and that's fine.
    Personally, I'd like a firearm with a thumb safety.


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    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    I'm a lefty and the best option in that size range is to either get the Shield or a Glock 43/48 and switch the mag release around to left hand configuration.

    Why Glock didn't offer an ambidextrous slide release on the 43x and 48 is beyond me, possibly has something to do with the slimness of the slide and frame.

    With training and practice it is easy to overcome and use the slide release for a lefty. I personally went the Glock route.

    I would avoid a firearm with a safety like the plague, it is redundant and all it does is get in the way IMO.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    Quote Originally Posted by Bjorn881 View Post
    I'm a lefty and the best option in that size range is to either get the Shield or a Glock 43/48 and switch the mag release around to left hand configuration.

    Why Glock didn't offer an ambidextrous slide release on the 43x and 48 is beyond me, possibly has something to do with the slimness of the slide and frame.

    With training and practice it is easy to overcome and use the slide release for a lefty. I personally went the Glock route.

    I would avoid a firearm with a safety like the plague, it is redundant and all it does is get in the way IMO.
    Thanks for the advice Bjorn881.
    I respect that, but, when a 5kg pull is all it takes to end a life, I prefer redundancies. That's for me. It's a personal preference. Others may find them hindrances or just one other thing that can go wrong. And that's fine - for them. Each to his own.

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Zen View Post
    Thanks pirate. What I'm worried about is proper finger discipline. It's easy to train that into yourself as long as you train consistantly. The problem is that life happens. We slowly decrease time spent at the range. Muscle memory disappears. We forget. Then, when we least expect it, we have to react. The stress and speed of the moment can lead to errors. For me, the only guns I've ever shot have had thumb safeties. It's natural for me to reach for the safety before pulling the trigger, even when I haven't shot in over a year. My wife seems to be the same. For others a thumb safety my be unnatural and that's fine.
    Personally, I'd like a firearm with a thumb safety.


    Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
    The finger discipline really does not need to erode. It needs to become muscle memory. As should the 3 other basic rules of firearm safety. "Allowing for" their degradation is not acceptable and should most definitely not be planned for.

    Range time is also irrelevant: Whenever the gun is handled (even in its holster, the trigger finger is in index, away from the trigger guard. A thumb safety should not be a crutch, especially one that prevents one from choosing a great gun, in favour of a potentially shitty one, with an essentially redundant feature.

    The main thing is consistency, in the way she handles the gun, every day (because I'm assuming the purpose is for EDC).

    Specifically regarding the Shield (I own one as well, a 1st generation, not sure if yours is 1st or 2nd), the thumb safety is pretty difficult to manipulate in the first place, due to its very low profile. I find it OK to disengage when establishing my grip on the gun, but difficult to re-engage with my strong hand thumb. If the Shield was my EDC I'd definitely carry it with the safety off.

    Rather get her a really good gun, and get her trained to handle it correctly. The fact that you already own a Shield and that she's comfortable with it is a helluva plus. Another identical gun, same mags, spares etc is a big plus.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    Quote Originally Posted by Pirate View Post
    The finger discipline really does not need to erode. It needs to become muscle memory. As should the 3 other basic rules of firearm safety. "Allowing for" their degradation is not acceptable and should most definitely not be planned for.

    Range time is also irrelevant: Whenever the gun is handled (even in its holster, the trigger finger is in index, away from the trigger guard. A thumb safety should not be a crutch, especially one that prevents one from choosing a great gun, in favour of a potentially shitty one, with an essentially redundant feature.

    The main thing is consistency, in the way she handles the gun, every day (because I'm assuming the purpose is for EDC).

    Specifically regarding the Shield (I own one as well, a 1st generation, not sure if yours is 1st or 2nd), the thumb safety is pretty difficult to manipulate in the first place, due to its very low profile. I find it OK to disengage when establishing my grip on the gun, but difficult to re-engage with my strong hand thumb. If the Shield was my EDC I'd definitely carry it with the safety off.

    Rather get her a really good gun, and get her trained to handle it correctly. The fact that you already own a Shield and that she's comfortable with it is a helluva plus. Another identical gun, same mags, spares etc is a big plus.
    I get what you're saying, and can't help but agree. The thumb safety is crutch - and it shouldn't be. Thanks, again, for the advice.

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  9. #9
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    Default Re: Small left handed firearm with a thumb safety

    To add my 2c: I took the thumb safety out of my S&W M&P9.

    I grew up with revolvers so having a safety only bothers me.

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