Grip safety

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colt M1911 pistol with safety grip (sickle-shaped component on the back of the grip)

A grip safety device , also known as a handle piece safety device or palm safety device , is a safety element of various pistols , submachine guns , rifles and reactive anti-tank rifles that prevents accidental firing of a shot.

technology

In the handle or grip of the weapon there is a lever which is actuated when gripping the handle of the weapon and thus releases the previously mechanically blocked sear and / or cock of the weapon. The weapon can therefore only be fired if it is held firmly in the hand of the shooter. In the event of a shock or fall, or if the trigger is accidentally pulled by an object that gets into the trigger, no shot can be fired due to the unsecured grip safety.

In the case of a handle lock on the back of the handle or handle, the lock is also referred to as a palm lock.

use

In the 1880s, the Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless was the first revolver with a safety grip. The grip lock was originally developed as a child lock . Well-known guns with a safety grip are the Colt M1911 pistol and the Uzi submachine gun .

A large number of the different variants of the Luger pistol are also equipped with a grip safety device, for example the Parabellum orderly pistols introduced into the Swiss Army . When the Luger pistol was introduced to the Imperial Navy as “Pistole 04” , the grip safety was initially considered a special safety feature, but was later considered unsuitable for a military weapon due to its damage-prone construction. In the case of the army variant of the pistol, which was finally built on a large scale as the pistol 08, the grip safety was therefore dispensed with. The grip locks were subsequently removed from the old 04 pistols that were already in use.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank James: Effective Handgun Defense: A Comprehensive Guide to Concealed Carry , Krause Publications, 2004, ISBN 9780873498999 , p. 203 [1]
  2. ↑ Mark Geistfeld: Products Liability Law , Verlag Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2014, ISBN 9781454821373 , p. 118 [2]
  3. ^ Department of the Army Technical Manual, TM 9-1005-211-35, "Pistol, Caliber .45, Automatic: M1911A1"
  4. ↑ See John Walter, The Luger Story. The Standard History of the World's Most Famous Handgun, London 1995, pp. 113, 119.