Striker Fired Pistols

You might think that a striker fired pistol is some sort of exotic weapon. They really are pretty common these days. Most people know of the Glock brand.  Kahr, Springfield Armory, Beretta and others all feature striker fired pistols.

The main difference between these and other pistols is they use a striker instead of a hammer to hit the primer in the cartridge causing the round to go off. Check out the video below to see how these pistols work.

There are a couple advantages to striker firing.  First with concealed carry there isn’t an exposed hammer to catch on clothing slowing or even preventing your draw. The other advantage not readily apparent is to avoid the trigger pull schizophrenia that Jeff Cooper talks about when you go from double action to single action. With a striker fired gun you get the same consistent trigger pull each time.

Of course with everything there are disadvantages with striker fired pistols too. If you are a frequent reader, you know that I am a big advocate of dry fire.  These pistols do not tolerate dry fire well. There is a good chance of breaking the firing pin.  To dry fire, you need to use snapcaps which will take the stress off the firing mechanism.

The other disadvantage is that most models of these guns do not have the standard thumb safeties that a lot of people are familiar/comfortable with. Some people are not comfortable carry a weapon on them that does not have a separate safety.  With any gun, you need to train with it and be comfortable enough to have it on you for those times when you need it.

What do you thing about these types of pistols? Let us know in the comments.