S&W magazine safety removal?

A

AndABeer

New member
I don't wanna hear any legal crap or other finger wagging comments. I just wanna know if it can be done and does it affect the trigger pull in any way for better or worse.
 
Of course it can be done. The FBI ordered their 10mms without the mag disconnect safety feature. Removing it shouldn't be a problem for a decent gunsmith to perform. Probably a five minute task. Don't know if it improves the trigger pull or not. How can a S&W autopistol trigger get any worse? :)
 
Inspector Callahan, the trigger on my Smitty's ain't that bad... (actually pretty good... ESPECIALLY comparing against that pseudo-DA Glock thingy...)

YES, the "mag disconnect can be defeated, and it's FAIRLY easy... (I have just recently had it done to my 3 Stainless Smitty's... a 5906, a 4006, and a 4506...)

it cost me 10 bucks for #1... (paid to have the smith learn) and 5 bucks each for the other 2... 20 bucks for 3 guns! (and the first one included a detail-strip and total cleanup...)
 
Hemicuda,

Could you tell any difference in the trigger? My 1076 has a pretty good trigger and I don't want it screwed up.
 
The way MINE were done, it was the mag-safety ONLYthat was touched... it had NOTHING to do with the trigger... (I THINK he simply pinned the mag release into the "mag inserted" position...

DOknow that the triggers didn't change ONE BIT!
 
i've had it done on my prior smith pistols, it had no effect on the feel of the trigger pull.

the only pistol i've ever felt a difference in was the browning p-35 (big difference)
 
Not trying to be a smart @ss. But why disconnect the mag safety? I personally like that feature about my 908. I was just wondering if there is a plus side that I do not understand but should.
 
well, should the unthinkable happen when you are trying to use the pistol under stress, and the mag release gets bumped, OR you fail to shove it fully home, but have gotten it close and dropped the slide, THEN it falls free, you'd still have at LEAST that 1 round usable...


it is a bit far fetched, BUT not outta the realm of reason!

FWIW, I once had a firearms instructor show the class, with my UNALTERED smitty that it couldn't go bang with the mag dropped...

THEN I stepped to the line, racked one in, held back the trigger just a BIT, dropped the mag LOUDLY onto the table, and then let fly... BOY was he surprised! (and he made me show him that trick)
 
If you wanted to compete IDPA or IPSC, it would be a convenience. Otherwise you must bring along an empty magazine so that you can drop the hammer. By pulling the trigger, decockers don't count for "Unload and show clear; gun is clear, hammer down, holster."
 
hence why I won't SHOOT those types of competitions... I DO NOT dry-fire my handguns on an empty chamber.

heck, the manual to my new Beretta Mini-Cougar says in very understandable words "do not fire this weapon unless there is a spent cartridge OR a snap cap in the chamber"
 
Magazine safety insures that you have to have a non functional gun while reloading. Safety ? Could get you killed if topping off between bad guys and one didn't wait for you to finish inserting the new mag.

Sam
 
I have started competing in IDPA and it would make that easier, but my main reason is that anything that might prevent the pistol from going bang when I want it to is a bad thing. Mag safeties are pointless and just something else that can go wrong.

I hate that I'll have to remove the rear sight to disable it though. It was a major pain getting that damn thing in.
 
The primary reason to remove the interlock, especially for LEO, is that in a gunfight you change magazines. It is common to swap mags before you run one dry. However, due to stress, some shooters forget they don't have any mags left. When they drop the mag and reach for their belt, they get a real big surprise. Without the interlock, they have a least one usable round left to fire while clawing around in the dirt for one of their semi-empty magazines.

This is also a good reason, regardless of the gun, when practicing changing magazines, always put your hand on the new magazine prior to hitting the mag release on the gun.
 
hk mp5sd - good point about feeling your "next" mag before ejecting the one in your gun.

you lose no time doing this as the old mag falls clear before you can bring the new mag to the mag well. if the old mag hangs up, you can still stroke it out with your little finger without shifting your grip on the new mag
 
Sorry guys. But I'm not convinced about disabling the mag safety. The reasons given were a wee little far fetched. Considering that in an actual situation it is unlikely that I will be shooting that many rounds. I believe that I have seen in some stats that in most gunfights the AVERAGE amount of shots fired is 3. I may be wrong. Yes I do carry 2 extra mags. That equals 3 mags=24 rounds. It is a chance that a mag may not be inserted fully, yes. And the gun will not fire. But the probability that I will go through 8 rounds and have to insert another mag is slim. Much slimmer than the chance that I may get in a tussle with the bad guy trying to take my weapon. In which the mag safety would be more valueable. Hit the mag release and hopefully he will be unable to shoot me with my own gun. Sure I'm not super knowlegable in the gunfighting and competition shooting world, but to me my reasons make sense to me. And also the mag safety is a more convenient than those dang trigger locks when a little one is around. Keep the gun and mag seperate but close so that when needed they can be put to use more easily than using a key to take off the lock. I could and probably am wrong. But Hey! It's my opinion. Feel free to try to convince me to change it.
 
Gun n mag, both loaded but seperate.......not near enough for protection of little ones. You should have control of the gun and it should be plumb outta reach of the younguns.

As noted above.....mag safetys can fail.

Sam
 
I don't like that kind of safty. To me its a hindrance, plain and simple. So why not do what Beretta does? Just stamp "Fires Without Magazine" on the frame. :D

Activate that safty between your ears instead..... ;)
 
Mag Disconnects

In the 3 decades my former agency has authorized S&W pistols three officers involved in knock-down, drag-out, roll around physical confrontations owe their lives to this feature. One of these after he'd been shot once with his pistol by the responsible. In identical circumstances another officer's life likley would have been spared had he been carrying a pistol with that feature. In that same period members of my agency engaged in many, many, many gunfights and not a single bad outcome ever had anything to do with the mag disconnect. Real world events in my neck of the woods, not competition nor the speculation of the inexperienced.

This does not include the psychological comfort of knowing that if a physical confrontation ensues with a 6'4" 300lb ex-con facing arrest for a 3-strike offense, or his mama and cousin decide to get involved, with an eye toward disarming you you have an option. BTDT.

YMMV as will your preference.
 
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