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Glock - Cominolli Safety

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glock safety
13K views 38 replies 18 participants last post by  Old Farmer 
#1 ·
Does anyone here have any experience with the Cominolli thumb safety for Glocks? I have one on one of my Glocks and am seeking input before I outfit more of them. It's an after market safety, doesn't void the warrantee, stops ND's like if a shirt catches the trigger while holstering, isn't expensive, and seems too good to be true, so it must be!
 
#2 · (Edited)
If I wanted a firearm with a thumb safety, I'd buy one that came that way from the manufacturer!
 
#3 ·
I don't believe it doesn't void the warranty. I researched this safety and the frame has to be cut to allow fitting the safety. I can't believe Glock is going to allow you to do that and not void the warranty. You want a safety go for it. Just remember that fine motor skills deteriorate under stress. If you are going to rely on your Glock with a manual safety then practice, practice, practice disengaging the safety. As far as unexpected discharges most are negligent not from a mechanical failure of the firearm. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire, don't be in a hurry and pay attention when you holster your gun and you won't have any NDs you don't need a manual safety.
 
#4 · (Edited)
One reason I did like it is that I am used to 1911's so my thumb swipe is natural. I have a Cominolli on my G36, lotsa rounds through it, no problems.
Damn thing just works, that's all I can say.
I'm looking to be more educated on it if anyone has any other input, hopefully on the mechanical end. (possibly failures, jams, etc.) I bought my Glocks cause they take a beating, always fire, and aren't really expensive. Alot of people have "brain cramps" and some have shot themselves in the ass holstering Glocks.
It's negligent, for sure, but accidents happen. Is the Cominolli the cure for such accidents? I don't know, but I don't want the fact that the single one I have makes me believe it is a perfect product. I'm sure of something is wrong with it somebody here will know or find it.
 
#5 ·
You cannot improve on "perfection" :laughing
Seriously, would you want a safety on a S&W .357 Highway Patrolman ??? Or any other revolver ???
The Glock has already 3 safeties, more than enough; the most important safety is between the shoote'rs ears.
 
#7 ·
Your not going to find many here using a thumb safety on a Glock. You would be better off search glocktalk.com or another glock forum.
You WILL NEVER have a glock ND unless that trigger is pulled. Why anyone would catch the trigger on anything while holstering is beyond me. Your in no hurry to re-holster a gun. Any gun. Many gun classes teach you to look the gun into the holster.
 
#8 ·
Sent email to Joseph Cominolli, the inventor. Will post his answer in entirety when it comes regarding the Glock warrantee. Glock has models, I believe sold in Europe, that have thumb safeties. There must be logic to that. To me Glocks are great handguns that seem to have a very high percentage of NG's, and regardless of a person's brain being the best way to stop this, maybe, just maybe, this safety is one step above any traditional Glock purist thinking. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pro-Cominolli, I'm looking for problems, trying to find a reason not to get another Cominolli. Not a standard "Glock has safeties" reason, a reason of why the Cominolli is no good.
 
#9 ·
I've only seen one, but I've not heard of anyone having issues with them (I've been on GlockTalk for about 5 years), as long as it's installed properly and there are no defects with the safety itself.

If you like them, use them.
 
#10 ·
Personally, I do not modify SD firearms other than to replace factory parts with an aftermarket part occassionally. Adding a safety mechanism that is not part of the weapon design can prove risky, if not fatal. These weapons are supposed to be used to save your life in a dire situation. I just do not wish to trust my life to something that was cobbled together in my garage. If you want a polymer pistol that comes with a manual thumb safety; Springfield Armory, S&W and Ruger all make one.

But, to each his own. Good luck.
 
#11 ·
Understood....I don't consider this a piece that was cobbled in a garage. It came with high regards from Dick at East orange, who also installed it. I would imagine that at least some people here put his word in a high bracket of reliability. I also feel ANY aftermarket piece added to a weapon could be of trouble, so I won't single this so far reliable piece out, won't pick and choose according to my opinion, just the facts. I have yet to find a situation where one failed, at least I can't find a post. Far as the other pistols that come with them, I have a few, but prefer the feel of the Glock in my hand. Guess that's where "to each his own" comes in. Just the same, I will keep trying to find any problems before I proceed with other installations. Thanks for the input.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the new product idea.....I'm stuck on what is similar to my 1911's..
of course for the obvious is it's how I practice.

I want to let everyone here know I didn't go looking for a safety for my Glocks. I was simply reading online, over a year ago, and found an article.
Researched it best I could, had one installed on my G36, and the rest is history. Thumb safety is normal to me, but I have read where police departments(in the 80's), thought the Glocks were best cause of no safety since revolvers don't have one, and they were upgrading from revolvers. Thinking has swayed a little, and it seems some are inclined to "retrain their thumb" for a safety due to discharges. I don't know the average trigger pull of popular police revolvers of the time, but I have read up to 12 lbs.(?WOW) Guess it's alot harder to whoopsie with 12lbs, not 5.5lbs. Anyways, I know purists will never have anything good to say about this safety, I respect that, but if it works, it works, and if it actually does make a firearm more safe, well, I can't throw stones at it.
 
#13 ·
"Not right, not wrong, just different," as an instructor I had once said. But if Glocks are known as "Safe Action Pistols" why would you need an after market safety that you are unsure of. I know the OP asked for advice from folks with this set up but chances are you are not going to find that here. The best advice has already been given by saying go to the Glock forum and ask there.

Just my .02 cents
 
#14 ·
This might shed some light....got it from Joseph Cominolli less than an hour ago:

Joe:



My dealings with Glock have been nothing but positive. They genuinely care of about their products and the people that use them.



I am not aware of or have ever been contacted by anyone that had one of my Manual Safety Kits installed in their weapon that had been denied a warranty claim by Glock, Inc. If an individual was ever denied a warranty service on their weapon that had one of my MSK’s in it I am quite sure I would have heard about it.



Several years ago Glock issued a recall of a number of their frames that were having a problem will rails breaking. A police agency that had frames that were recalled also had my Safeties installed. Glock totally replaced all of their frames not withstanding the fact that they were equipped with my Safeties.



A number of years ago another police agency wanted to buy Glocks but would not unless they were equipped with my Safety. Warranty became an important issue. The vice president of Glock at the time confirmed in a letter to the agency that my Safety would not void the company warranty but Glock would not warranty MY part which is totally understandable.



I have adopted a similar position with regard to my Manual Safety. I will fully support my products parts as well as any possible frame issues as a result of installation. I cannot of course warranty or support issues with regard to other components of the pistol.



To date I have not had to respond to even one issue regarding the quality of my Safety’s components, Frame issues or work of my list of highly qualified installers.



Let me add something else that may be of interest to you. My MSK was the first product to be tested, approved and certified by the American Pistolsmiths Guild.



My Safety is also supported and used by a number of current and former employees of Glock Inc., two of which are installers of it.



Thank you,



Joe Cominolli
 
#17 ·
You need to read..this is from years ago and it has not stopped, hence the Cominolli safety. Back it up???? It continues to speak for itself. I'm still pro-Glock, still wondering about the safety, not the NG facts, they are apparent.


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Experts Find Glocks Prone To Accidents
Syracuse Post-Standard ^ | 8/7/02 | John O'Brien

Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2002 9:24:01 AM by jalisco555

INSIDE

When a Syracuse man was struck last week by a bullet fired through the ceiling of his apartment, it marked the third time in eight years that an Onondaga County probation officer had unintentionally discharged one of the department-issued Glock pistols.

Those three incidents, and similar cases in Central New York and elsewhere, come as no surprise to Joseph Cominolli. Cominolli was a Syracuse police sergeant in 1987 when he was assigned to find the best semiautomatic handgun to replace that department's revolvers.


The hot new Glock pistol that other police agencies were then buying had two drawbacks that caused Cominolli to reject it. The Glock had no manual safety switch and no magazine safety that made the gun inoperable when the magazine was removed.

A Glock is a safe weapon, Cominolli said, but only if the person handling it knows how to use it. If the gun is unloaded in the wrong order, for example, a round of ammunition can be left in the chamber without the user realizing it, he said. With no manual safety, the gun will fire if the trigger is pulled.

"Even with good training, people forget," he said. "And guns are not forgiving."

On July 30, Stacey Nunn, a probation officer for about a year, was unloading her .40-caliber Glock when it fired into the floor of her second-story apartment at 1904 James St. The bullet struck her downstairs neighbor, Michael Chapman, in the chest as he was making dinner in his kitchen. Chapman's condition improved from critical to serious this week at University Hospital.

Nunn had removed the magazine from the gun before the weapon fired, according to police.

In 1994, probation officer Susan Beebe shot herself in the knee while unloading her Glock. In September 1998, a firearms instructor for the probation department unintentionally fired his Glock into a wall while teaching a class how to remove the weapon from a holster. The shot put a hole through a classroom wall at the Elbridge Rod and Gun Club.

The gun's inadvertent firing in the hands of a gun expert caused concern, Probation Commissioner Robert Czaplicki said.

"We took a look at what went on," Czaplicki said. "We had a group of people look at it. It raised some red flags."

The firearms instructor is still teaching probation officers, said Czaplicki, who would not identify the instructor.

Cominolli, who is retired from the police, has designed and patented a manual safety device that can be added to Glock pistols. Last year, he talked to Czaplicki about adding the device to the probation department's guns.

Czaplicki said the county then talked with Glock officials about having the device installed. But the county rejected the idea after Glock said it would void the warranty on the guns if the safeties were added, Czaplicki said.

Czaplicki said his department is reconsidering the safeties in light of last week's unintentional discharge that injured Chapman.

Cominolli said he knows of dozens of "unintentional discharges" of Glocks in Central New York over the past 15 years, and estimates there have been thousands across the country. He won't refer to them as accidents because that implies the shootings could not have been prevented.

Syracuse police use Smith & Wesson firearms.


No national statistics are available on which manufacturer's handgun has the most unintentional firings. The Washington Post reported in 1998 that District of Columbia officers, who use Glock 9mm handguns, unintentionally fired their weapons more than 120 times over 10 years.

In 1988, the FBI issued a report on Glock handguns giving them low marks, citing a "high potential for unintentional shots," according to the Post. The agency will not release the report, according to an FBI spokesman in Washington, D.C.

Despite that report, the FBI issues Glocks to its agents.


Last week, a Queens corrections officer fatally shot his son while the officer was unloading his 9mm Glock handgun in his home, according to Newsday. A police chief in Coral Gables, Fla., accidentally fired his .40-caliber Glock last month into his locker at a health club, according to The Miami Herald.

The Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, which has used Glocks since 1992, has had at least three unintentional discharges with the weapon, according to Lt. Thomas Morehouse, a firearms instructor. A deputy fired a shot that grazed his hand in 1992. A detective fired a round into the floor of his patrol car a few years ago. And a deputy accidentally pulled the trigger three years ago and fired a round into the ground at the training range, Morehouse said.

In December, an Oswego County sheriff's deputy accidentally fired his Glock handgun into the foot of a security officer at a nuclear power plant.

Cominolli, a nationally known firearms expert, said he's gotten dozens of calls from lawyers representing police officers who'd shot themselves with Glocks. He tells them he's never heard of a case of the gun malfunctioning. It's always operator error, he said.

'Brain fade' protection

That's why he designed the safety device and is marketing it to police agencies and private gun owners across the country. With the safety on, the trigger bar inside the gun can't move.

"If you have a brain fade and pull the trigger, it won't go bang," Cominolli said.

Newly hired probation officers in Onondaga County must carry a firearm after undergoing 35 hours of training on the shooting range and 14 hours in the classroom, Czaplicki said. Veteran officers in the department have the option of carrying a gun. Probation officers are trained by the department's two state-certified firearms instructors, he said. Forty-one of the county's 84 probation officers now carry a gun on the job. All carry Glocks.

In response to last week's shooting, the department is reviewing its training procedures, Czaplicki said. He wouldn't comment on details of the shooting, except to say it's certain that the trigger on the gun must have been pulled. Initial police reports erroneously said the gun had fired when the officer dropped it.

Mark Doneburgh, Glock's district manager for the Syracuse area, was an Onondaga County sheriff's deputy 14 years ago when he first looked at Glocks. He questioned whether they could hold up because they're made of plastic, so he took the gun up in a helicopter and dropped it to the ground. It didn't break and didn't fire, he said.

Glock doesn't fit its guns with manual safety switches because the guns have three internal "passive" safeties, Doneburgh said. Those safeties automatically disengage when someone pulls the trigger, but they prevent the gun from firing when it's dropped or when the trigger gets bumped from the side.

Remembering the safety

Glocks are popular with police because the revolvers they replaced had no manual safeties, he said. The fear was that officers would have trouble getting used to having to turn off the safety in a gunfight, Doneburgh said. He studied the Glock for the sheriff's department.

"We needed a gun that we could easily transition my people with and that they could feel confident with," he said. "It's a draw, point and shoot gun."

Onondaga County Corrections Commissioner Timothy Cowin said he would not outfit his officers with Glocks until they were fitted with Cominolli's manual safety last year.

"I've been in this business a long time, and I can tell you there are many, many accidental discharges that never get reported," Cowin said. "When people are holstering or drawing that weapon, they automatically put their finger in that trigger guard without even thinking about it."

With training, officers not accustomed to turning off a manual safety can make it a habit, Cowin said.

Cowin said it's unclear whether the added safety means Glock will no longer honor its warranty. He said he decided to make the change anyway because the weapon is unlikely to need any repairs that the correction department's own armorer can't fix.

Many accidental Glock discharges involve unloading. Doneburgh, who teaches gun safety courses at Onondaga Community College, said he always demanded perfection from his police recruits when they unloaded guns during firearms training.

"I used to tell them, No. 1, 'mag' out," he said of the need to remove the magazine before clearing the chamber. "I told them, 'Put your finger on the trigger and I'm going to take a knife and cut it off.' And they believed me. Hopefully, that's going to stay with them for 20 years."


Never found liable


Glock doesn't fit its guns with safeties because many police officers are used to not having to switch them off and because the company has never been found liable for any unintentional shooting, Doneburgh said.

"We've never lost a lawsuit," he said. Doneburgh said he didn't know how many lawsuits the company had settled, and a lawyer for Glock could not be reached for comment.

Cominolli said he's sold between 600 to 800 of the safeties to police agencies and private gun owners in the first year and has orders for more. He charges $75 a gun for law enforcement agencies. Local Glock owners can buy the device at Ra-Lin Discount in Syracuse.

The Kenmore Police Department, near Buffalo, wouldn't have bought Glocks without the added safeties, Cominolli said.

Twelve of the 17 police departments in Onondaga County, including the sheriff's department and state police, issue Glocks to their officers. The only ones that don't are Syracuse, DeWitt, Baldwinsville, North Syracuse and East Syracuse, Doneburgh said.

DeWitt police Capt. Bruce Wahl said he chose the Smith & Wesson semiautomatic partly because it has a manual safety and another safety that makes the gun inoperable without the magazine. Officials at other police agencies, such as Camillus, said they've never had an unintentional firing of a Glock.

"The Glock is accepted by 70 percent of law enforcement agencies in North America," Doneburgh said.

He said he's heard reports of a Glock being unintentionally fired, and each time it's because someone messed up; the gun itself has never malfunctioned.

"We're in a society where we're making inanimate objects responsible for our stupidity," he said. "You have to put warnings on things. You can't put your dog in a microwave oven to dry him. Common sense has to take over here."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
#19 ·
So 3 in 02, the cop at the range that shot his thigh holstering, most recently the guy that went to grasp his glock after it fell off the step inside his house with roommates around, That's 5 in 7years.

You say.... "To me Glocks are great handguns that seem to have a very high percentage of NG's"

Entire NYPD, BSO, PBSO & majority of feds all carry glocks. You never hear those going off. They all have proper training.

I just don't agree it's a high %.

Now is a external Glock safety a good idea? Yes it is, it's not for everyone & I'm glad it's a mod that can be done, & not forced.
If that's what you want that's what you want...

Maybe they should be called idiot discharges cause everyone I heard of was a moron who doesn't deserve to handle a gun. Glock or otherwise.
 
#20 ·
A good percentage of police Glocks have a much heavier trigger pull, exactly because of ND's. And the ND's you read about are from police, oh, and FBI, so if you consider them morons that's fine with me. Still, none of these things has anything to do with what I posted, this thread never did go there, but I did kind of expect the opinions instead of answers. It's just not a popular subject that I could reasonably expect many people to be knowledgeable on.
Thanks for your input.
 
#25 ·
Also note that most NYPD cops hate the required ny1 & ny2 trigger "upgrades". I know 3 of them & shot their G22's personally. It wasn't for any safety reason of a Glock pistol.
It was so NYPD cops didn't shoot themselves or others in a stress situation. Having a hard trigger pull makes them less trigger itchy.
 
#28 ·
I don't know how you can speak for most NYPD cops when there are thirty thousand of them. Or more! Man, you know alot of cops.
Let's go back to your post....."so NYPD cops didn't shoot themselves or others in s stress situation"....That's not a safety issue!?!?!??! So they added a heavy trigger...It definitely is a safety issue, both with the handler and the weapon. Do your research and find out how many cops striped their legs holstering and un-holstering. Let's put this in a semi analyzed, adult theme....

The Glock is the only semi automatic handgun receiving this amount of attention for not having a manual safety. Period. Fact.

Now just admit that you are so pro-Glock you refuse to acknowledge the problem. That's fine with me, but making believe it doesn't exist when police agencies and the FBI say it does doesn't fly in the face of common sense.
 
#26 ·
I too have heard (anecdotally, anyway) of numerous NDs by LEOs with Glocks, but those were mostly in the past when the nationwide transition from revolvers to autopistols was going strong. I think it was probably more of a training/familiarity issue at the time, since I don't hear about as many NDs these days (Mr. Professional DEA Agent notwithstanding :laughing).

While I personally wouldn't have any use for such a device, if it was installed by Dick D. at East Orange then I'd have to assume it was done properly. I suspect he would refuse to install a safety on a customer's gun if he thought it was an unsafe POS.
 
#29 ·
That's cool. I'll drop it. I simply just don't think it's a problem with the Glock. It's more of a training problem. That's all.
After looking up the cominolli safety it's looks to be good. Again if your comfortable using it & helps you or others,...fine.
It seems to work like the 1911 one. I do think it's a PITA switching from a 1911 to a Glock. You do get used to unholstering safety off shoot safety on reholstering of a 1911 when training.
 
#31 ·
Back to my real "quest"......aside from what people like, want, don't like, don't want....what CCW people have as their beliefs, especially Glock purists, I asked to know if anyone had any experience with a Cominolli safety. This is what it is all about, not what anyone thinks about Glocks as they are manufactured, or who trains and how they train without a manual safety.
Does the damn thing have any shortcomings?!?!?!? Cops, no cops, your G(whatever model), my G(seven models), they are only what we want, but...
Is the safety an item that works correctly, long term, and should we be wary of it beyond our beliefs in the handgun? Now, that said, I have no intention of converting Glock carrying people to a thumb safety. In fact, I plan to add a KimberUltraCarryII to my carry regimen.
 
#30 ·
This is another of these "Tell me why I shouldn't do this or why is it not good" threads that turns into a product endorsement by the OP. Come on. If you want to put an aftermarket safety on your handgun, you don't need our approval. If you bought a handgun design that you feel is inherently unsafe, I would sell it and buy one that is.

As for the Cominolli safety, it has been marketed since 2002 and GLOCK has yet to manufacture a cataloged handgun with a manual safety. Enough said.

Enjoy your safety.
 
#33 ·
This is the most stupid reply I have received to date. I can't find where one reply here has addressed my question. I have received all kinds of attitude, opinions, expressed facts, etc., but not one person has replied to what I posted.
Does anyone here have any experience with the Cominolli thumb safety for Glocks?
Not one person said...No------------Not one person said..Yes
Not one person had anything relevant to write with respect to the question.
There have been all kinds of attitudes expressed here, but no facts. And to think that I need anyone's approval to do anything in my life, let alone firearms, is so self approving I can't believe the person who wrote it has not been drinking on this holiday weekend. Stupid beyond belief. Let's all agree that nobody here has anything intelligent to say about the workings of a Cominolli safety...and I will state that I in no way seek to endorse the product, and if you have a brain in your head you will read back and see that I seek to NOT use one, which, if you can comprehend it, is the opposite of endorsing a product. I am looking for faults if they exist.

This thread is dead, nobody here has any real knowledge of the product, so let's leave it alone and not publish more negative opinions instead of facts.

The world is incompetent except for thee and me, and I worry about thee.
 
#32 ·
I personally would not mind having one on my G19.
But then again, i believe that EVERY thing can be improved upon. There is not one perfect gun out there, so i would go for it if i had the money.
But by the time you buy the safety itself, and then pay to have it installed, you might as well just buy a gun with a thumb safety on it already.
 
#35 ·
I installed Cominolli Safeties on two of my Glock 29’s in 2015. Great at first, but garbage after a year because they started kicking up their levers and going to ‘safe’ after most every shot. Not safe when bullets are headed your way. So I went to Siderlocks for those guns plus my Glock 20’s and have been a happy camper since.
 
#38 ·
Welcome to FCC from Palm Beach County, Randy!

Yup, just about a record for a necro-thread resurrection; it was nearly 11 years dormant! Regardless, since you've now made you first post to FCC, without an introduction, please take the time to post you're own Introduction to FCC letting forum members get to know you a little, particularly with regard to our inherent right to keep and bear arms. You can do that by going to the Introduce Yourself section of The Front Office and start your very own introduction thread. Then you'll find that lots of other FCC members will know to chime in to properly welcome you to the forum, and will be more responsive in answering questions! Also, if you're a veteran, take a look at our Military Service Thread where you'll find many of us there, too!

In case you weren't aware, you can stay current on pertinent Florida Statutes regarding use of force and firearms law by going right to the source using these links for Chapter 776 - Justifiable Use of Force and Chapter 790 - Weapons and Firearms. I'd also like to suggest you obtain your own copy of FLORIDA FIREARMS Law, Use & Ownership by Jon Gutmacher!

Finally, I would like to recommend you consider joining Florida Carry and join the effort to protect the rights of Floridians to keep and bear arms!

Again, welcome to FCC! :cool:
 
#36 · (Edited)
Necropost!

But; I wouldn’t have a glock with or without a manual safety. I had five at one time or another, so I tried to like them; but I don’t..

I prefer my poly pistols (M&Ps, an FNS-9, and one 10mm XD(M)) without manual safeties.

All of my pistols that have manual safeties are 1911s.
Edit: And a Baby Browning.
 
#39 ·
Ok Ok,
I own a G27 with a trigger button safety. Its a button on the trigger that you can push and it clears the way so that the sliding bar on the trigger will slide back.
It works for me. By the way I was at the range when the guy next to me almost put one thru his thigh while holstering his 17.
 
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