g.willikers said:
Having never owned a pistol with a mag safety, gotta' think there's no downside, other than the legal aspect.
Unfortunately, these days, that is a major one.
Yeah, except that the mag disconnect was strictly optional on the Beretta Series 81*, and AFAIK there's no way to tell whether an individual pistol came with it unless one has the original box end label. Furthermore, I've handled dozens of Series 81 pistols, and I have only encountered ONE that had the disconnect installed. Lastly, the mechanism consists solely of a very easily removable spring that has no other effect on the gun's function.
That being understood, I personally would not hesitate to remove it if desired.
Disclaimer: This is NOT necessarily the case with pistols which (a) were almost invariably sold with a disconnect [e.g. S&W metal frame autos], and/or (b) were lawfully required to have one when and where purchased.
Herluf said:
Is there any real downside to no longer having a mag safety?
From an operational standpoint, the arguments in favor of a mag disconnect are that the pistol can be disabled from firing by simply dropping the mag, and if the user has to leave the pistol someplace, the pistol can be secured from unauthorized use under almost all circumstances if the user takes the mag(s) with him/her. Also - at least with a
loaded mag - if the shooter needs to know whether the pistol is ready to fire, it's a lot easier to immediately discern whether the mag is out than whether the thumb safety is engaged.
The arguments against are that the pistol cannot be single-loaded in an emergency, and it becomes useless if the shooter fumbles a tactical reload, accidentally pushes the release button, or the mechanism fails.
I don't endorse either viewpoint; I'm ambivalent about mag disconnects.
*Minor nitpick: The pistol series including the 84 is properly known as the Series 81; this nomenclature is used on Beretta sales and technical literature, and the Model 80 was a .22 rimfire target pistol of unrelated design.
