Could anyone tell me how (or even if it's possible) to disable the magazine disconnect on a S&W 908?

I'd like to be able to drop the hammer on an empty chamber without a magazine.

I'm planning to use this gun for competition, and I've been told most of the match organizers want hammers dropped by pulling the trigger rather than using a decocker.

I compete with pistols with a disconnector all the time with no issues. You may, just may, run into an anal retentive range officer who insists upon your inserting an empty magazine and using the trigger, but they'd be the exception. [Strictly speaking, your inserting a magazine, even empty, would then require you to again show clear. The endless circle is pointless. It really doesn't matter how the hammer gets down, just so long as it gets down or you demonstrate that the striker will not release.]

Should someday that weapon be involved in any incident that could conceivably have been prevented by the presence of the device, your having removed it to "play gun games" isn't gonna preserve your savings and property.

You might look around for one of the blue plastic, inert magazine simulators used by some for practicing reloads, or make one and have it available if you ever have the misfortune to run across one of those folks who need to find a life. Any object the size and shape of the magazine body will operate the disconnector.

BTW, the process is fairly simple, but involves removal of the rear sight to pull the ejector plunger and spring. I do believe the sights on the 908 and other "value line guns" are different from those on the other models and may be plastic. This would make me a wee bit nervous about removing/replacing, but a new sight should be fairly cheap. You would have to sight the piece in again unless you match mark the slide and sight before removal. S&W sights remove from left to right looking at the rear of the slide.

The sights are plastic. My 908 sight almost fell out on a really cold day, so maybe sticking it in the freezer for a while would help with removal. I "stippled" the slide under the sight with a punch to give the sight something to "grab" and that seems to have helped keep it in place.

Sounds like more trouble than it's worth. I really don't want to do anything that will potentially change the sights. With my very limited skill shooting a pistol, re-zeroing is more trouble than I'm willing to go through.

I've already run into two range officers that insist on having the magazine removed, an empty magazine inserted, trigger pulled, and then the empty magazine removed.

And that takes what, 10-12 seconds? Consider it good reloading practice.

You can get it out from underneath, too.
You can whack the plastic plunger with a slim chisel, and cut it in half, and then needlenose gets the pieces out, and the spring behind that.
I did this with one whose rear sight wouldn't budge. Not hard, and maybe the way I'll do it from now on.
I always remove them.
I like to dry fire a lot, with the mag removed.

FWIW, my experience with local IDPA clubs has been this depends on the RO. A lot of the original RO's came from local IPSC clubs where this is how they do it. My issue has always been that IDPA began as a "street orientated, real life" way to practice and improve our street skills.

IPSC began the same way, but drifted away and became a game; IDPA was meant to get back to street realism, as shown by many of the rules.

The really good news is the guys demanding trigger pull at the end of the stage have finally stopped claiming this the only safe way to show the chamber is clear.

(Huh?? How is pulling the trigger to see if a round is chambered considered safe? And how is it safer than a visual and physical inspection? It took a while, but they finally thought about it and quit using this reason for requiring the trigger pull.)

Now they say do it "because it is my stage and I say to", or "the rules say you have to do it".

No matter what, I still make it a point to visually and physically inspect the chamber at the end of each stage.

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

I used to compete with my 5906 at USPSA matches quite a bit, never had an issue with the ROs when they knew how my gun worked.
I always just placed an empty mag in the gun, dry fired it, then popped out the mag and holstered.

Breaking the parts out with a punch and hammer? Umm, yeah, not me. Would be a good quick way to ruin a slide if you missed even a bit, and I doubt S&W would warranty to damage.

Tampering with safety features on a firearm could get you a gun that would not be allowed for competition.

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Proverbs 14:7