See? It always turns into which is the safest action lol.
Is TDA dead in sales in 2019? No, not yet, will it ever be the mainstream again? no, no it will not. Is TDA enjoying a slight up tick in sales last few years? yes.
Probably because people like me who don't like to be forced into the new hotness. Companies releasing firearms that haven't been tested enough before releasing them to the public to find out if it is a safe design or not probably has a lot to do with an up tick in sales for TDA.
Maybe, but I think the biggest driving factor of an uptick in sales of TDA pistols is Mr. Langdon's endorsement of them. I can't tell you how many YouTubers I've seen switch back to TDA and reference Ernie's abilities with the trigger mechanism. They repeat his talking points almost verbatim and even use his PX4 cc Langdon edition. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, we live in a capitalistic economy and I myself am a part of a sales organization. I know a valuable sales person when I see one, and I'm telling you, Ernie's pitch has sent a ripple effect across the gun community. He is worth every penny he gets from Beretta, hats off to him, I'm impressed. Beretta struck gold with him.
Last edited by HammerStriker; 11-06-2019 at 12:44 AM.
I finally got a Beretta, 12 years after I got out of the military, this spring. I thought it was going to be nothing but a range toy. Until I learned there was thin grips, G kit conversions, and lighter hammer springs. The commercial M9 morphed a bit, but now wears LTT grips, G kit, and a trigger job in a bag. It's my EDC and I shoot the wheels off it. It was followed not long later by a 92 compact, set up the same sans the trigger job. I got bit by the DA/SA bug because it's not the "norm" and I wanted to master it.
I pick up a PX4 compact tomorrow to continue to add to the madness. I don't see going back to striker fired any time soon.
And the limited number of applications. I would love a SCD for my striker Sigs...
Good point.
Front Sight's data on NDs *that caused injury*
#1 (decocked) Sig 229 discharged on the draw
#2 (off safe) 1911 Gold Cup discharged upon holstering into improperly sized holster.
#3 1911 Para Ordnance discharged into support hand during the draw/presentation
#4 Glock 35 discharged upon fast reholstering
#5 (decocked) Sig 22x discharged on draw
#6 (decocked) Sig 22x discharged on draw
#7 (off safe) 1911 discharged upon holstering
#8 (off safe) 1911 discharged upon holstering
#9 (Serpa) XD discharged on the draw
#10 (Serpa) XD discharged on the draw
#11 (Serpa) 1911 discharged on the draw
#12 Glock 34 discharged with finger on trigger between strings of fire
#13 M&P discharged on the draw
#14 XDM discharged on the draw
#15 Glock 24 discharged while clearing malfunction with finger on trigger
#16 Glock 22 discharged on the draw
#17 (off safe) 1911 discharged upon holstering
#18 Glock 19 discharged upon holstering
#19 (off safe) 1911 discharged upon holstering
#20 XDM discharged upon difficulty holstering
#21 M&P discharged into support hand during the draw/presentation
#22 7yard rifle splatter/ricochet struck student in neck
#23 PDQ discharged on the draw
#24 M&P discharged upon holstering
#25 (decocked) CZ75 discharged upon holstering
#26 M&P discharged upon holstering
Interestingly, almost all of the NDs came towards the end of multi-day classes. Anyway, the breakdown by action:
10 discharges into leg on the draw
2 discharges into hand during presentation
11 discharges into leg reholstering
2 discharges into leg/foot during administrative handling
1 ricochet/splatter that I wouldn't count as ND...
From front sight's data:
DA/SA: 4 NDs (16%) all decocked. 3 on draw, 1 while holstering
SA: 7 NDs (28%). 5 while holstering, 1 on draw, 1 on presentation
SFA: 14 NDs (56%). 5 while holstering, 6 on the draw, 1 on presentation, 2 during administrative handling
We do know that they had 7 NDs in their first 12 years (only 1 SFA) and 18 in their second 12 years (13 SFA) which would suggest strikers are less safe, though it may be that they're serving 150% more customers now and most are now using SFA... Unfortunately, we just don't have the base rates to know what percentage of students used TDA/SFA/SA (and how much the trend has changed in 24 years).
Last edited by 0ddl0t; 11-06-2019 at 03:20 AM.
I think I know him from racing. Nice man, does things a little differently, for good and ill (example, autocrossing a Crown Vic) . He told me he’d had an nd at a steel match. I got the sense from talking to him he faults the weapon more than the holster, but I might have misunderstood.
Good work, thank you for summarizing so nicely. Although we don't have base rates, we can use other credible data to supplement Front Sight's. It is pretty well known that when the LA Police department switched from Beretta 92s to M&Ps NDs soared. The Inspector General's report is accessible here: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/d...rge+Report.pdf
I'm a SFA fan and own one too. I do not think SFAs are inherently unsafe, but I do think that when put in the hands of infallible human beings (which we all are), the chances for a mishap are greater than with DA/SA , or pistols with an external safety. The inspector generals findings were that the M&Ps were not malfunctioning, rather, the human beings were by making mistakes. We all make mistakes no matter how hard we train/practice. Of corse it is not the gun, but I do not believe anyone is infallible, so there is a place for mechanical safety mechanism in my mind. DA/SA carry more safety features than a Glock because of the heavy first trigger pull, it's kind of obvious I think...
Last edited by HammerStriker; 11-06-2019 at 09:58 AM.