Kyle Lamb, and every other instructor I have trained with, teaches engaging the safety before any movement, even switching shoulders. I also subscribe to sights/on safety off, sights off/safety on, method.

Yep, so do the tac instructors here.

 

One reason that they teach that is simply so that you get into the habit of flipping the safety off EVERY SINGLE TIME, because that keeps people from forgetting to take off the safety, and having a "stall" at the wrong moment.  Kind of like making sure that your thumb is laying on the safety of a 1911.

Even if you walk around with the safety off, you still should be making sure that it's off every time you're ready to put finger on trigger.  Otherwise, sooner or later, you'll try to pull the trigger and wonder why the gun isn't firing.

And for the hot shots that say that they can leave the safety off while moving because they make sure that nothing gets into their trigger guard... more than one person has been killed when they had that attitude, and managed to trip over something.  If you're off in a war zone and want to put your and your buddies at risk, well, OK.  But in a training class, just buck up and do things safely.

Google Kennith Walker Columbus, Ga.  Safety off discharge kills inocent man, almost sends deputy to prison.

God forbid if the safety was off because it was an MP5.

The selector on the UMP is more shooter-friendly, at least as far as disengaging from the safety position, but it's still kind of a long reach for the thumb.

They're still around, but as a specialized tool for certain situations, mostly.  They've been pretty well supplanted by AR-types for general usage.

Your criminals must be a lot tidier than ours.

Guess it depends on where.

Just about every tactical team in the still area uses them as much as or more than the ARs.

I agree with your instructor, and have always practiced "sights off target, safety on" - "sights back on target, safety off".

Now if the course of fire is a timed course of fire, and the addition of the safety manipulation is causing people to not make time, the instructor needs to consider increasing the time, or having some remedial training.

Unless the trigger is going to be pulled the safety stays on.

+1
no reason to be on fire without a clean shot.

I was in SF for over 2 decades. The weapon is on safe unless engaging targets. Period. Of course, we also shot on the move, but until a target was identified, the weapon was either at high or low ready, and on safe. I would like to think we were trained above a "very basic level".

Start?

I'm curious. I know they kind of have a rep of not caring about non government sales (dunno if that's true); but I thought their mil/ LE service would be top notch.

+1 Sights on safety off. Sights off safety on.

 

I agree with this.  Use of the safety has to be so automatic that you don't even think about it.  The only way to have that happen is to practice engaging the safety.  

Anything that confuses your unconscious mind about what to do will (when to engage your safety) will only end up confusing you even more when you are under great stress.  If both conscious and unconscious mind know "Gun on target safety off, gun off target safety on" it will be OK.  

Anyone who says it takes too long to take off the safety while going from low ready to on target simply hasn't actually tried timing things with an electronic timer.  Sweeping the safety off as you come on target does NOT take any more time than coming on target with the safety off.  And it is a hell of a lot safer.

The was a swat cop around here that put two rounds from an mp5 through his leg while clearing a house , caught on something on his vest .

Weapon down, ie off aim, safety on. Weapon up, on aim finger on trigger safety off, or covering a threat area, safety off finger outside the trigger guard. That was the last I was (recently) taught and I was comfortable with that.