3913 Magazine Disconnect Question

[shootist48]

I was recently fortunate to find a vintage 1994 3913, with black hammer and trigger. These appear to be forged rather than MIM. There is no mag disconnect/safety. The right side of the slide is imprinted with the language "CAUTION - CAPABLE OF FIRING WITH MAGAZINE REMOVED". Looks like silk-screening rather than a roll mark. I called Smith, which confirmed that this was a factory option but could not tell me more over the phone. I have found plenty of Internet debate over the merits of the mag safety and its removal but no specifics on this factory feature variant. I have had and still have a number of excellent Smith handguns and have benefited a great deal from the wisdom I have found on this forum over the last several years, but I have been unable to find much discussion on this particular question. Thanks very much for all the information I have gathered on other issues and for whatever you can share on this question.

 

[GaryS]

Here's a thread on the subject from a couple of years ago. Magazine disconnect....yay or nay ?

There was also a discussion about a month ago, but I can't find it now.

Found it!

Gen 3 mag disconnector disable

What do you want to know?

 

[shootist48]

Thanks so much for the rapid response! I read the linked threads, and they are the kinds of discussions I referred to in my question, about the pros and cons of the disconnect feature.

Fastbolt's post on 03.19.17 included the following:
"Yes, S&W used to sell pistols to some agencies without the feature, at the specific request of an agency."

That is, in general, is the kind of information I am looking for. It appears that I have one of those firearms. I am hoping, just for the sake of my historical curiosity, that more detailed data might be available, such as what agency and how and when the firearms might have been used.

Many thanks.

 

[mscampbell2734]

Just remember there is NO guarantee your gun was an actual agency issued/purchased weapon. 99% of the time the factory will make more then the exact number required for the order. It would be bad to damage/break one and end up short in the shipment.

Those spares get sold somewhere/sometime to some one. This is how the Springfield Armory Long Beach Operator became public. It was the duty gun for Long Beach PD but the overruns were sold to a local store. Yes it was a police sales only store but once purchased the buyers could re-sale them and did.

 

[armorer951]

You will be able to get quite a bit of additional info here on the forum if you are able to post the serial number of the gun, and the label on the box. Hard to pin down the back story of the gun without that info.

 

[shootist48]

Thanks to all for the new info. The serial number is VBJ 2474. No box, so no further documentation. Judging by the level of apparent wear, this gun was probably not actually issued.

The only other visible clue as to use or ownership might be that the sights were replaced with Trijicon front and rear (now dead). Unless one or more agencies routinely did such replacements, I surmise this was probably a strictly civilian gun.

Thanks again!

 

[GaryS]

If you call Customer Service, they can tell you when it was made. At least the month and year. Sometimes they can tell you the exact date, but that seems to be for the newer guns.

If you wanted more information, you could pay for a letter, but that's probably a bit more than you want to spend at $75.00.

Thanks to all for the new info. The serial number is VBJ 2474. No box, so no further documentation. Judging by the level of apparent wear, this gun was probably not actually issued.

The only other visible clue as to use or ownership might be that the sights were replaced with Trijicon front and rear (now dead). Unless one or more agencies routinely did such replacements, I surmise this was probably a strictly civilian gun.

Thanks again!

 

[shootist48]

Thanks. I called, and the gun was shipped in 8/94. The individual also said he checked the parts list for the gun and found no disconnector included. Because I had not previously heard of factory Gen 3 guns shipped without disconnectors, that got me interested in doing more research. It seems there is no end of collective Smith knowledge on this forum, so it became my next stop.

 

[shootist48]

It is more than plausible that the gun was part of an agency order overrun that made its way into the commercial market. I assume that the odds of my finding another 3913 in this configuration are not particularly good, so this will be a keeper. Thanks again for your help!

 

[squidsix]

Well, removing the disconnect is a breeze, so any configuration 3913 can be made that way easily.

 

[shootist48]

Well, removing the disconnect is a breeze, so any configuration 3913 can be made that way easily.

True, but a great deal of Internet space has been devoted to debate about whether that removal might have potential legal consequences in the event of a shooting event. If for no other reason, I would prefer to carry a firearm in provable factory configuration. I had the disconnector removed from my HiPower for reasons related to trigger pull, but I do not intend to carry it. Anyway, I am not trying to steer this thread in that direction. As I said, there are plenty of debates on that subject, in various forums.

 

[prescobd]

I just purchased a 5946 slide from a member here that I put on a 3953 frame. The slide has the warning that it will fire without the magazine inserted, and it does.