Seen over at the Girl’s Guide To Guns, a new “safety device” called the Safety Bullet.
I’m sorry, but this is bad.
I watched their video.
- You called a semi-automatic handgun an “automatic”. I can half-way forgive that because I know the history of where the nomenclature comes from. But calling a magazine a clip? Sorry, but no.
- Most people use semi-automatic handguns. So in order to make your semi-automatic handgun ready for defensive purposes you must remember to cycle the action twice? Good luck with that when the flag is flying. That’s precious time and seconds lost, and what if you forget? It’s a non-standard action to undertake, and sure you can train yourself to do this so it’s truly your reflexive motion, but the precious seconds still lost to this remedial action are unacceptable. If the average gunfight lasts 3 seconds, if getting the first shot off quickly and accurately matters most, this setup is not setting you up for success…. it just sets you even further behind the curve.
- What if the fur is flying, you forget to cycle the action twice, fire, and now all you’ve got is a glorified paperweight? There is no way you will get the gun back in action in time.
- How about with a revolver? How are you supposed to quickly bypass the chamber with the Safety Bullet so you can quickly and immediately get your revolver into the fight?
- I assume this is intended for a home-defense gun, not a gun you carry. But what if someone uses the same gun for both purposes? Now you’re causing that person to do a lot more fiddling with their gun than is necessary. They will have to remember to always check their gun, cycle their gun, load and unload, replace rounds, take out “Safety Bullets”. There’s just too much handling here, and with all the ammunition manipulation this is just asking for a negligent discharge (which runs counter to the intent of this device).
- Why would a youth or intruder have access to your gun in the first place?
- Oh, I don’t like the inventor/demonstrator muzzle flashing the camera, nor his finger on the trigger as the gun dangles about. I’m sorry, but if you cannot demonstrate basic gun handling safety, how should that extrapolate into your “safety” device and us trusting it? Do you really understand gun safety?
I’m sorry, but there’s just too many things wrong with this device.
I browse the company website. Q&A Section:
Question: Isn’t education and training the real answer to this problem?
[…]OK, then why are we still having Accidental Shootings? What I found after a year of reading hundreds of cases, is that most Accidental Shootings are caused by those people that did not have the benefit of a Safety Course. Rarely do those of us who have had the education and experience get involved in an Accidental shooting.[…]
So what you’re saying is, keep the ignorant ignorant, but use my device and problems will go away! Of course, to properly use your device in a self-defense situation, that requires a good deal of education and practice… and you’re basically saying these are people who won’t get educated nor practice. I don’t know. Seems like a bad situation all around.
From the order page:
We are in no way recommending that you keep your gun loaded. What we do recommend is to lock up your gun unloaded of all lethal rounds. Keep one Safety Bullet in the firing chamber and one in the top of the clip.
Maybe that’s the lawyers and/or marketing department talking, but that’s a bad recommendation. Granted, if this is a historical gun, a range gun, target gun, hunting rifle, or any other gun that sees rare use, yes keep it unloaded and in a manner that is as safe as possible (e.g. remove the bolt). But if this is your defensive weapon? What good is an unloaded gun?
Does the device have application? Perhaps. If say I kept a gun out on display and the gun was to be for display only, I could see a mechanism like this being useful because it does lock up the gun’s action and render the gun useless, yet I could keep the gun in a “closed” manner that’s prettier for display.
This device was created with the best of intentions, but such paves the road to Hell. There are better ways of dealing with kids and guns (check Kathy Jackon’s CorneredCat.com website).
Just did some Googling on the product. I’m obviously late to the “whoa, this is a bad idea” party. But it seems to have come up in the news recently (maybe the company is hitting up news stations for product informercials disguised as news?) and it is the first I’ve heard of the product. There’s even a recently created website called Why The Safety Bullet Sucks. And it does seem Mr. Worley and company are avid salespeople and don’t take kindly to being rejected. Guess I’ll wait and see if they find this posting and how well they respond to it.
Stuff From Hsoi 
That’s exactly what I need. Something that locks up my gun and I have to carry a pencil or rod around to unlock the stupid thing.
I can see this being used more as a practical joke on the range rather than a safety device.
Or, wait…put this in the gun you want the intruder to find and when he pulls the trigger you can laugh and present the REAL functional firearm. 🙂
I think sac-crete works pretty well also.
OK, 2 good uses… I’ll add practical joke to the list.
I like his gun handling on the video. I’m sure that rod is doing nice things to the barrel too.
Yeah, the gun handling leaves a LOT to be desired. Hard to take a lesson in safety from someone like that.
Hi there! Thanks for your response to our post on GirlsGuidetoGuns.com. While you make several good points here (the “clip” v. “mag” thing bothered me, too), I still find the safety bullet to be useful in terms of protecting children. It’s the firearm equivalent to those little plastic covers parents put in wall plugs. If you have children, you know they get in to EVERYTHING. Even when you think you have been overly cautious, then checked, rechecked and prevented every possible way for them to get hurt, they will inevitably point out the holes in your strategy. I agree that this may not be the best mechanism for concealed carry, but I still see viability for this product. Like I mentioned in the post, it is definitely not a substitute for firearms safety training in the least. Just an insurance policy.
Love the Cornered Cat blog. Thanks for turning us her way. Kathy notes that “As a general rule, any gun that is not secured in a safe designed for the task should have at least two layers of protection between the gun and its use.” The Safety Bullet could be the other one. 🙂
You’ve made some great points that should definitely be considered, but overall I still think the Safety Bullet doesn’t necessarily suck.
Really enjoying your other posts. Esp the Barnes Bullet write up. Now I need to go check them out!
I have 3 children, but I think strategies such as this are a false sense of safety. It works against standard firearms practices. When you need a gun to defend your life or the life of your child, you need that gun RIGHT NOW. You don’t need to waste time racking slides and trying to get your gun into an operational state. The gun needs to be in that operational state. This is why solutions such as quick-access lock boxes from V-Line, GunVault, and other suppliers are a far better solution. They allow a self-defense gun to be kept in a state of readiness, but only authorized individuals can have access to them. Another solution I participate in is that when I’m at home, I carry… my gun is strapped to my hip. Children or other unauthorized people cannot get at it, it’s within my control, and it’s readily accessible and ready to deploy when the flag flies.
What happens if you use this solution and someone else, authorized, needs to utilize your gun? What if this product malfunctions or doesn’t perform as it should? Either situation can lead to terrible consequences… because this product can lead to a false sense of safety.
But, I’m willing to keep an open mind. Let’s try this. Have people use this “Safety Bullet” in live Force-on-Force training, probably with Simunitions or Code Eagle. Let’s see how it really works out. Have a selection of people from trained shooters (e.g. SWAT guys) down to just some mom & pop that have never actually been in a force encounter before. Let’s see how it actually pans out in a real situation. That’s going to convince me more, seeing people actually utilizing this “safety” device when the flag flies. I think you’re in California, but your blog-mate, Katie, is here in Austin? (at least, her blog picture looks like it was taken at Red’s Indoor Range South). She likes that Taurus snub revolver. So, I’m sure I could arrange some time with some paint-marking Code Eagle rounds, I’ll spring for a Safety Bullet in .38 Special, and let’s see how well a Safety Bullet would work out in some actually scenario situations.
Could the Safety Bullet be another layer of protection? It could, but I’d say it depends upon the situation. As I noted, if say I wanted to keep a gun out for display but wished it to be inoperative (yet functional because destroying the action would destroy collector value, let’s say), the Safety Bullet could be useful in such a situation. My take is when it comes to a gun that’s to be used in self-defense, this is not a good solution. A better solution is to keep the gun on your hip, keep it in a quick-access lock box, or the like.
While on the surface this device looks good, the reality of it doesn’t pan out. I am all for putting stock in methods and devices that prove worth and aid ability, but this device doesn’t do that.
I would have to agree with you John. In an emergency situation It’s not a realistic solution for a personal/home defense weapon, even with training. In the heat of the moment I doubt that even a trained shooter would remember to rack the slide twice to eject the dummy rounds. I would also prefer to not give away the fact I have the firearm and or give away my location by racking the slide. You would lose what little advantage you may have at that point.
Now like with any/all training, I’m sure you could train long and hard with this and get to a point of being proficient such that any time you pick up a semi-automatic handgun your first reaction is to rack the slide twice. Hopefully your extractor doesn’t fail (because even if it did and you had real ammo, you’d still get at least one shot off), and well… if it’s your trained habit then it is. Of course, it does mean you waste 2 good rounds if there isn’t a “Safety Bullet” in there… but there you go.
The thing is, the “Safety Bullet” people seem to send mixed messages. They talk about how this product is good because it can help people with no training, but then to become proficient at using the product you need a lot of practice and training. That doesn’t compute.
But even if you train for it, it’s still a waste of time. And I too thought about the point of the noise of racking the slide… maybe one rack might make the intruder wonder, but the second rack sound confirms the first and yes… you’ve given away what’s going on. Some might say that racking sounds are good because they’ll scare the guy off (you know, the shotgun racking sound). Well, I’d rather not bet my life on a bluff and, like you said, give up any advantage.
But I reiterate that I’m willing to keep an open mind. Let’s bring these out into some realistic FoF scenarios or find ways to replicate the behavior (e.g. if we’re using Airsoft, you must rack the slide twice before you can fire). Let’s see if it really can work, because until then it’s all just talk.
If you have to train “long and hard” to remember racking the slide, you shouldn’t have access to the gun period. Are you going to train long and hard working your combination to the safe in the dark? Are you going to train finding your keys, removing the trigger lock, finding and loading the mag, and then racking the slide to load a round?
you talk about racking the slide giving away your position… if you need to turn on a light to see the combination to your safe, you’ve done the same thing. what if your safe isnt in the same room?
The only way you dont rack the slide is to keep the gun loaded and live. And yet you sit here and preach safety? you’ve contradicted yourself my friend.
Natalie,
Sorry, but if your child can get access to it, than it’s already too late. Education will always been the key to prevention.
The question I have is if you accidently deploy it, do you think you could quickly remove the safety bullet under pressure?
Go for a run, and run for as long and as hard as you can, an all out sprint. When you stop, do you think you could still remove the safety bullet?
The reason I say that, your body’s natural reaction will be to pull the trigger. You can combat it somewhat, which I’ll discuss later on. Anyway, your mind knows you bought a pistol for defense, and when a threat presents itself and autopilot takes over, your mind and body will be saying ‘shoot! shoot! shoot!’ Chances are good, your body/mind will be wanting to do that action so badly, you’ll end up saying it. So if you do pull the trigger, can you quickly clear it and get your pistol in functioning order?
Next, are you willing to train with the safety bullets at a firing range? This means taking your pistol to the firing range in ‘home defense’ mode, with the 2 safety bullets in their proper position, cycling the action twice, then firing. No quick draw, then shoot. You’ll have to draw, cycle the action twice, then fire. If you don’t, your only cheating yourself, because you wind up like I said above, pulling the trigger on a safety bullet.
Lastly, anyone who may have to use your pistol other than yourself needs to know how to operate it, safety bullets included. Why? Combat sucks. It will never go the way you want it to go. You have to train for every possibility. While I was at the police academy, I had to learn how to do everything one handed with both hands, so if one arm was injured for whatever reason, I could still access the gear I needed, be it baton, fresh magazine, or drawing my duty weapon. You must train the same way with your pistol, and especially since it may have an ‘outside the norm’ non-factory safety.
Oh yeah… I forgot about one-handed situations. That severely complicates matters.
Well Jay, given all the work you did in the police academy, you speak with some authority.
I wouldn’t go that far. Everything we covered in the Academy could be boiled down to DPS1 and DPS2, expanded to fit 3 days (mainly more repetitions), with just some minor differences.
Instead of ‘search and assess’, it was ‘scan, down, scan’. Instead of ‘stop, don’t move!’, it was ‘Po-leece! Don’t move!’
Heck, about the only things we covered in the Academy that isn’t covered in DPS1/DPS2 was prone shooting with a handgun, cover vs concealment, and how to shoot around a vehicle using maximum cover, which even then, was pretty much like shooting from cover in DPS2.
To add to this…
I’d bet your better trained in the use of firearms than I am.
With that said, it’s sad to say the only reason people would take my word over yours on such matters is because I’ve got a badge and you don’t.
You know, when you made the prior comment I was going to say something to that effect… not as a slight on you in any way, but that it shows the level/amount of training police get (at least, initially… there’s lots of opportunity for “continuing education”, but that doesn’t mean every LEO participates in such things) isn’t a whole lot. And that civilians can have more training and ability and knowledge in this area.
But like you said… you have a badge, I don’t. And that makes all the difference, for good or for bad.
“Next, are you willing to train with the safety bullets at a firing range? This means taking your pistol to the firing range in ‘home defense’ mode, with the 2 safety bullets in their proper position, cycling the action twice, then firing. No quick draw, then shoot. You’ll have to draw, cycle the action twice, then fire. If you don’t, your only cheating yourself, because you wind up like I said above, pulling the trigger on a safety bullet.”-
Are you going to train unlocking your safe, loading a magazine and the firing? Are you going to train finding the keys, removing the trigger lock (most likely in the dark) finding the magazine, racking the slide then firing?
Well, we are required to get a total of 40 hours of continuing education every 24 months, but little has to do with firearms. About the only firearms training an officer might get is when they do qualification, as most departments do some kind of mini-training then do qualification.
Sure, there are lots of opportunities to get advanced firearms training, but some departments don’t have to budget for it.
I recently emailed Mr. Worley with my critical assessment of his safety bullet. His standard reply seems to be to challenge the critic to a “showdown” at the range. He’ll bet $1,000 he can put a round in the target before you can unlock your cable lock or trigger lock or combination lock and fire a shot. That’s ludicrous. NOBODY is going to have a handgun they use for self-defense encumbered with a trigger lock. My Glock 21 is always loaded when I carry or have it next to my bed. I never have to worry or think about in his words, “rack, rack, boom”. I point and boom – job done. He seems to be very unprofessional and tries to belittle his opponents instead of entering into meaningful dialogue with his critics. I’d never use or recommend the product. It’s an accident waiting to happen!. Blue
Really? Wow.
I mean, I can’t really blame the guy. We’re human. Ego is in play here. He came up with something he thinks is a good idea, he’s invested a lot of time and money into it, and so he’s going to defend it. It’s hard to admit you’re wrong, especially when you’ve invested so much. So I really don’t want to be hard on the guy. I am trying to see something useful in it (you can see in my post that I’m trying to find something good in it). And I certainly think there’s good in the general notion of people trying to find solutions to real problems. I can’t fault the guy’s intentions.
But I just can’t find this product to be worth recommending… and you can see my reasons why.
If he wants to take up a challenge, let’s not do some sort of artificial range challenge. Let’s do a force-on-force challenge… tho, have to see if it’ll be possible. My thinking is, get some guns with Simunitions. Will such a gun also be able to use his invention at the same time? not sure. But my thinking is, let’s actually try this out in a real world situation, or as close as we can get to a real world situation. Will it work out? And to make it even more fun, let’s use revolvers. Or heck, even if we can’t use his product, let’s try some true FoF style training and require the participants to go through the motions necessary, e.g. gotta rack the slide. If we have people use revolvers, they’ll have to remember to deal with it before they try to fire a shot.
That’s my main beef. When the flag flies, this requires tons of work to get going, and that could be costly and deadly. Maybe the inventor can make it happen, but he’s a biased source. I was just reading Bill Rogers’ book (THAT Bill Rogers). He made this awesome holster and sold it to many PD’s claiming it will make them shoot faster and better… well, it didn’t, because truth be told while equipment matters, training matters more. Point being, sure… Bill Rogers can make it awesome, but how about everyone else? So maybe Mr. Worley can make it go, but how about everyone else? Will everyone else remember to perform all the manipulations? Let’s do a full day of FoF training and require all students to act as if their Airsoft guns are equiped with the Safety Bullet. Will they remember? Will it work out when the flag flies?
If it’s such a good idea, let’s mandate all police use it. I mean, police have to worry about gun retention far more than the private citizen. Imagine how useful this could be for police in terms of ensuring if their gun is taken from them, they won’t get killed by their own gun! Such a good idea, right? No… not really.
So, you don’t use any safety device in the home? That’s what I’m reading here…
“NOBODY is going to have a handgun they use for self-defense encumbered with a trigger lock. My Glock 21 is always loaded when I carry or have it next to my bed”
Obviously, if you leave a loaded handgun on the nightstand next to your bed, you’re going to be faster. DUH! But for those that use trigger locks or safes, this is unquestionably faster
He has indeed invested a lot of time on this device. Almost as much time as harrassing and commiting sexual advances and or acts towards the majority of his past female (and possibly male) employees.
I can assure you though, the funding that he literally “blew through” was not taken from his pockets but rather his unsuspecting and unwitting “investors”, who are now (and have been) seeking the ways and means for monetary recovery.
When someone such as this person, who has no credit, nothing of personal value, not even a home or tangable real estate, there isn’t much to hope for in the lien department.
FWIW, I opted to reluctantly approve your comment. My take is that those who comment are responsible for what they say. They are your words and you chose to type them knowing they’d be publicly posted.
I will say that I have seen some questionable behavior from him, in terms of trying to squelch anyone that tries to speak ill of his product. But what you post… well… unless you have some facts, sworn statements, etc. to actually back up what you say then well…. you just best be careful when you say such things about people. If you do have hard factual evidence to back up what you say, then make it known.
I am very well familiar with this individual and would never say anything that I could not back up with witness (first hand) regarding his actions as well as his products.
I also have full knoweledge in the fact that I personally warned him about the failures of his product (firing out of the pistol as an actual bullet – cartridge case seperation due to crimp rolled in too great of a depth – alluminum nail like spreader device exiting firearm when activated, acting like a flying flechette). For the short period of time that I was associated with this company, I had condemned almost 70% or more of his products which were in inventory, as unreliable as their intended purpose as well as unsafe, as these devices had such a high failure rate of exiting the firearm alltogether. The equipment which had been used in the manufacturing of these devices (flimsy and cheaply made benchtop drill presses) were not even desinged for the firearm industry at all. I had relunctantly talked him into purchasing a single stage re-loading machine and a few die sets in the calibers that he needed.
To my amazement, they stated that they had never known these types of machines existed. Someone who had researched for so many years (as he states), to manufacture products which are assembled in the same form as firearm ammunition, using the same basic components (brass, primer……) as well as loaded into a firearm (and its magazine) as ammunition, had never even known of re-loading equipment until just a few years ago???
He thinks that I had something to do with the designing, owning or managing the website http://www.whythesafetybulletsucks.com but sadly is mistaken. I didn’t even know the website existed until December 13, 2011.
I had thought that Mike Worley had been sued out of business long ago due to his products failing. I had no idea that he was bashing me for something that I had nothing to do with.
He has been given warning, prior to seeking legal remedy against him for libel and slander against me and the clock is ticking.
Thanks,
Paul
Wow. Ok. Sounds like the problem runs deep.
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I read through these responses and they all seem like very good “textbook” answers but I think you’re missing the reality. You talk about “heat of the moment” and remembering if you have the safety bullet loaded. Well, as a responsible owner, you should definitely remember. Are you also going to remember “in the heat of the moment” where your keys are? what your combination to the safe is? able to hit the right combination in the dark? I think I can pull my gun from a hiding spot, rack the slide once or twice and be ready to shoot before you can get to your safe and try to work the combination, find your magazine, load it, and cycle a round. I’d be willing to bet my life on the fact I could do it faster. If a child were to find the gun, and pull the trigger, it’s useless. period.
Another good post – “racking the slide will give away your position” – Do you know what the best form of home defense (other than a large dog) really is? The sound of a 12 gauge pump loading a shell. Universal language. If the intruder hears you rack the slide, good chance they’re out of there. If not, you’re ready to go when they enter the room long before they can scan the room to locate you. And if you turn on the lights to find your keys, work the combinations, etc…you’ve already given away your position. And this is all if you keep your safe in the bedroom.
As for a carry gun, lets be serious. Before you strap on your rig, you remove the safety bullets.you’re going to carry your gun with these loaded? If you do, you’re an idiot. It’s not made to be used in a carry situation any more than you would carry the gun with a trigger lock on it. you’re giving unrealistic scenarios and comparisons.
Is this device an “end all” to gun safety? No, I dont believe it was ever intended to be. However, if you look at seriously, in real life situations, it’s a great device to give you a combination of safety and accessibility.
Look, you make some good points but I think many of your comparisons are unrealistic and biased. You portray this device as the supposed “end all” to gun safety. Intelligence and education will always supercede any device. But in the “heat of the moment”, I’d take this device hands down over finding keys in the dark, working a combination in the dark, finding and loading a magazine in the dark. And most importantly, knowing if one of my kids pull the trigger, it’s disabled with no projectile.
You posted “If it’s such a good idea, let’s mandate all police use it. I mean, police have to worry about gun retention far more than the private citizen. Imagine how useful this could be for police in terms of ensuring if their gun is taken from them, they won’t get killed by their own gun!” – this is exactly the mockery I’m making reference to. If you’re going to try and have a serious viewpoint, keep it serious.
With all these postings, my first question is: how are you affiliated with the device and/or the manufacturer?
Anyways, you’re welcome to believe and carry in on whatever manner you wish. It’s your life.
When someone appears to be acting “in a questionable manner” with firearms, wouldn’t it be prudent to at least alert the local authorities to such behavioural oddities? Especially in light of the “mass shootings” which are occuring in today’s time. This Worley character (in my opinion and due to his odd actions and reactions regarding the way he treats individuals who are not interested in his device) deserves investigating due to his relative proximaty to firearms and the nature of his business.
If you feel he needs to be reported, then you go ahead and report him.