Okay....soooo, someone on the interwebs is selling a 439 with the right safety lever missing. Numrich is out of stock on them, not sure where else to look.

The question is: is the gun safe to fire without the right safety lever catch (the part on the outside of the frame) or will the whole safety just fall out on the first shot, or if I tilt the gun to the left? It looks like the catch is held on by a screw, but I can't tell if the part of the catch on the frame holds the whole safety assembly in.

It looks like an okay deal if it doesn't need to be fixed, and/or if the part is available. Duhhh...I haven't tried S&W, so I guess I'd better do that.

But in the meantime, any advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Perfectly ok to use without the right safety lever, it is held on by a screw, which frequently shot loose and fell out, hence the third gen design....the second gen lever is obsolete, but you will occasionally see them pop up on auction sites and classifieds...and if you do find one, loctite is your friend... :-)