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breamfisher
Senior MemberPosts: 13,887 Senior Member
Magazine Disconnects and External Safeties
breamfisher
Senior MemberPosts: 13,887 Senior Member
Ruger's introduced an LC9s "Pro" model. It's striker-fired like the normal LC9s (that's what the "s" stands for), but lacks an external safety and a magazine disconnect. The mother magazine has a web article about it.
http://www.gunsandammo.com/first-look/first-look-ruger-lc9s-pro/
Of note about the features (or lack thereof) I mentioned, from the article:
The absence of the external safety allows the shooter to engage targets during high-stress scenarios when there may not be time to deactivate a manual safety. Likewise, the removal of the magazine disconnect benefits tactical reloads and permits the user to fire with one round in the chamber and the magazine removed.
A few things pop into my mind...
1. I've never noticed a properly designed thumb safety slowing down my first shot. I don't mind the lack of the thumb safety, as it's of dubious value to me on a striker-fired handgun, but the reason not to have it is spurious.
2. I'm not a fan of magazine disconnects. Not because I've noticed them slowing down tactical reloads (swapping a partially spent mag for a full one), but more because I like the option of being able to fire with a mag out, and that mag disconnects can have a deleterious effect on the trigger pull.
All in all, an interesting handgun. Just not sure if the advantages listed are advantages for the reasons given...
http://www.gunsandammo.com/first-look/first-look-ruger-lc9s-pro/
Of note about the features (or lack thereof) I mentioned, from the article:
The absence of the external safety allows the shooter to engage targets during high-stress scenarios when there may not be time to deactivate a manual safety. Likewise, the removal of the magazine disconnect benefits tactical reloads and permits the user to fire with one round in the chamber and the magazine removed.
A few things pop into my mind...
1. I've never noticed a properly designed thumb safety slowing down my first shot. I don't mind the lack of the thumb safety, as it's of dubious value to me on a striker-fired handgun, but the reason not to have it is spurious.
2. I'm not a fan of magazine disconnects. Not because I've noticed them slowing down tactical reloads (swapping a partially spent mag for a full one), but more because I like the option of being able to fire with a mag out, and that mag disconnects can have a deleterious effect on the trigger pull.
All in all, an interesting handgun. Just not sure if the advantages listed are advantages for the reasons given...
I'm just here for snark.
Replies
They have to come up with a REASON
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
In CQB we were trained to do a couple things to try to disable an attacker's handgun. One of the things, if it was a semi-auto, was if we were grappling with their gun to drop try to drop their mag (in addition to a couple other things) to hopefully keep it from being fired sans mag (also it leaves them with just one shot at most also).
- George Orwell
We could inject a little honesty and call it the "Average Intelligence" model.
Or maybe the "SWO" for "Suddenly Worth Owning"
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee
If a person practices enough, an external safety (one that's as you say, properly designed) is no problem.
In a tactical confrontation, if you're under direct and immediate attack, I'm not too sure that a quick reload or load with a single cartridge without the magazine, regardless, is fast enough anyway. I'm sure there are however plenty of scenarios that allow for this consequence.
Best to not have either, especially a safety that's really not needed. And an external safety on a DA-type pistol isn't very helpful. It's just a gimmick or a tossoff to the anti-gun critics.
Actually I think an external safety should be left to personal preference. But a magazine disconnect I can think of no real purpose for. I have one on my S&W 9mm and that's one of the few things on it I don't like. I have to have the magazine in the gun to fire it. Lots of times I'd love to be able to dry fire it without a magazine, but I can't. I wish somebody here with more hand gun knowledge would explain to me its purpose.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Damn Bream, you disarmed me with facts. LOL! Actually I was sort of facetiously fishing and was waiting for someone to tell me some BS reason and I was going to tell them "I See, now give me a GOOD reason." But you answered my question, or at least your answer sounded good. But I really like your last sentence, inelegant club, LOL!!! Or like a guy told me back in the 80s when he told me he kept all his hand guns loaded. when I ask him why all of 'em? he said, "Because I have absolutely no use for a $300 Rock!"
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Agree. There seems to be no "real" reason for the disconnect. It's likely a toss-off to the antigun crowd.
NRA Endowment Member
Magazine disconnects, however, I have no use for. I bought a Shield over the LC9 because it had said disconnect. The only gun I have w/ a disconnect is my 22/45, which is a range toy. I have even toyed with disabling it, but that is a project far down the road.
"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and speed is the economy of motion" - Scott Jedlinski
Smiths are known for mag safeties for some reason. I'm not sure why they were developed in the High Power, but they were, apparently for some good reason.
NRA Endowment Member
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and politician
IIRC, the magazine safety was designed for the purpose of disabling the sidearm in case of a takeaway by an enemy soldier in combat.
Also touted as a safety feature years after, you could store loaded magazines separate from an unloaded non firing gun as a precaution to children / unauthorized people and casual handling of said firearm.
I have also heard this feature touted by gun shop commandos to and for stupid people that might forget to clear and check chambers on firearms.