Originally Posted by
Brett Kastl
Because I want a new shooter to have the idea ingrained in them, right off the bat, to use a manual safety. OP said a newbie with no experience. In this day, a lot of pistols have no manual safety, but the things taught to newbies are very likely to their first steps to a rifle or shotgun later on, and almost every single one of those w/o an exposed hammer that I know of will have a manual safety. I am way more comfy with the idea of a shooter transitioning from the use of a manual safety to using a gun w/o one than vise versa. I also may not be the sole source of instruction for the newbie, and if I've only shown them a Glock, and they go shoot with someone else who uses a Ruger 22/45, I see a potential problem.
But, I have no doubt that you are more experienced at this than I am.
To your second question, I'm not sure, other than it's gonna be a judgement call for the trainer. Newbies must be taught that there are a lot of different control/operating systems out there, and that they MUST know how to properly use the firearm when they move on to new guns.