Abstract: The invention concerns an automatic safety device for handguns and especially for self-loading pistols, in which a longitudinally movable firing pin is secured positively by a spring-loaded safety member which, on the one hand, is carried in a recess in the weapon and, on the other, engages in a transverse recess in the firing pin. For the release of a shot, the safety member is forced out of the firing pin area by the trigger before the release of a hammer. In order to achieve an enhanced security against unintended release, e.g. through shock or fall of the weapon, as well as a more economical production, the safety member is in the form of a rocker which engages in the firing pin with an arm and is preferably accommodated in a slot in a bolt, in some cases rotatable, arranged at right angles to the weapon.