Luger Safeties (internal and otherwise)

[eesnyder]

Originally Posted by alanint

There are no additional safety features on the Luger line other than the power of the sear spring to prevent a possible discharge if the pistol were dropped with the striker under tension and the safety off.
There were certain pistols made pre-war that had firing pin block safeties such as the Walther pistols, (P-38, PPK, PP) but these did not come into play unless the safety was engaged.

Thanks for clarifying that. I couldn't see any internal safeties in the exploded diagrams available on this site but the ability of gun designers to incorporate functionalities in clever and non-obvious ways never fails to amaze me.

I'm afraid most pre-war guns relied on the greatest safety of all; the intelligence and responsibility of the owner. In today's litigious society, these are no longer considered important factors and thus modern firearms are designed to protect us against ourselves.

The original question was (sub-consciously) inspired by an incident in which a Browning HiPower with hammer cocked fell out of my shoulder holster onto the ground while I was picking up some targets. Fortunately, the safety was engaged, but I blanched and felt quite woozy when I realized that the pistol landed right on the hammer spur with the muzzle pointed directly at my stomach.

This happened in 1990 and the event is still seared into my memory. I now make certain to engage the snap on the shoulder holster *every* time I holster the pistol, no matter how briefly.