Can you add Magazine Disconnect or Safety?

[Houdini1953]

All my guns are loaded at all times and never have any shot a bullet unless I pulled the trigger most are S&W;s and one lonely Glock Gen4 26.

The real safety is your responsible storage or holstering and attitude towards a deadly weapon.

Read the owners manual All weapons are loaded and can cause great harm, owning a firearm is a great responsibility if you want a mechanical device to make you feel better then you need more time with how your particular gun works!

I have 5 M&Ps all fully loaded at all times and never has one gone and shot by itself, it ain't gonna happen I have to actually pull a two stage trigger, I can drop it or even throw it (but who would do that) and it will not shoot till I pull the trigger of a two stage trigger! Nuff said!

 

[kbm6893]

This is an interesting statement. Could this be because there are more Glocks in use by LE agencies and the like, or in fact the trigger is more easily pulled? I do like the heavier pull on my M&P9 for the sake of safety.

Glocks ship with a 5.5 pound trigger and require a pull of the trigger to field strip. They are also marketed to new shooters as being "simple to use". I can't count how many people i have heard saying "i want a Glock. They're the best. the FBI uses them".

Glocks are good guns in the hands of trained, experienced shooters, and even THEY have brain farts. They are much less forgiving of human error, and we are all human and capable of making a mistake. For cops, i feel they (and any other striker fired gun) are horrible choices. Try reholstering after a foor chase or during a struggle, or on a felony car stop. That's when most of the ND's occur. We had the choice of the S&W 5946, the SIG 226 both hammer fired) and the Glock 19. When I left the job, 9MM's had been in service for more than 10 years. ZERO cases od ND's with the SIG or Smith. All of them were Glocks. If you place your thumb on the back of the slide when holstering a hammer fired gun, you can't have an ND. Not so with a striker fired gun.

 

[Beat Trash]

As others have stated, the magazine safety can be added or removed by an armor, no big deal.

I'm not a huge fan of the magazine safety, but with that said, my agency has two documented saves where during weapon retention incidents in which suspects were trying to disarm the officers, the officers managed to drop the magazine as the gun was being forced out of the holster. In both cases, the suspects attempted to shoot the officer with their gun, only to have the gun not function due to the magazine safety. Both of these cases were pre - M&P, when the issued guns were 5906's and then 5946's.

The nice thing about the design of the magazine safety on the M&P is that it's just a few parts and a couple of minutes. Put it on, take it off, your choice.

 

[Sergntmac]

My post revives a thread from 2012. I chose to revive it rather than write my own OP of a new thread. For all of you who chastise the newbie to "do a search", I did...and this is the end result. This is long, go get some fresh whatever you're drinking right now.

To all: please read from the beginning? My comments and remarks will be better understood when you do.

1) I am in the same place as the OP, wanting a M&P pistol, and chose the 9c for purchase. However, I wanted 2 guns, identical in every respect which added some difficulty to my buying experience since there are only 2 LGS within 100 miles of my home. I was elated to find 2 9c pistols at one location, however one was a "civilian" gun and the other a "LE" only gun, as determined by S&W. Minor issue I could address after purchase, or so I was led to believe by the LGS.

Neither gun had a manual safety but the GS at the LGS assured me that he could order the parts for the manual safeties when he ordered the one missing MD. His assurance was so well presented (even showed me the two knock-out tabs on the frames) that I went forward with the purchase. My decision was sealed by a 50 dollar discount on each gun, which would pay for the LGS/GS upgrades. One additional form for S&W on my LEO status, and I took home my two new additions to the collection.

2) As time passed, I grew suspicious of the polished sales approach of the GS. Not hearing any news by TX, I stopped by the LGS for a second helping only to learn that the GS was lacking time in grade but felt that "I went to Smith's Armorer School" was all he needed to be a GS anyway. I recalled that at one time an FFL was required but he assured me that this was no longer the case. In any event, guard up and lesson learned, I moved on.

3) The OP is correct. S&W will not sell any safety parts. In fact, they won't even discuss it after that restriction has been stated. Others whom S&W suggested (Brownells, Midway) would be happy to order the parts for me, just get the part number. Calling back to S&W drew a regurgitation of the same disclaimer, refusing to provide the PN. I was growing very disappointed. I made a foolish decision based in my urgency to go forward with my project AND I spent seed money I was not going to recover without suffering a loss.

4) Visiting the other LGS who employed another GS full-time, I presented my 9c pistols for upgrade. "Magazine disconnect won't be an issue, but the manual safeties...Man, I just don't know. Can you get the parts?" I had to admit defeat. Frozen in place because I didn't know what to do next, I found a 45c in the case. FDE with a manual safety. I looked it over closely before asking the GS if he had another. " Hold on..." And he called a sales tech into the conversation and went back to smithing. The answer was yes, an identical gun was at the warehouse and my plans looked a tad better, again. Traded my 9c pistols for two 45c. The money hurt, but I'll live. Actually, this feeling of "stupid" is more expensive.

My point here is to say..."Y'all on your soap boxes, leave us alone". I know I did not ignore any of the suggested arguments when I selected the M&P line for my project, and I am sure the OP did likewise. This much was obvious, stated early on. Yet you pursue, sometimes ridiculously. Okay, you had your shot, it's over. Those of y'all who tried to help the OP, on his behalf...Thank you.

The OP knows what he wants. I know what I want. The solutions are few, but still possible. So, why did I type so much to say so? Because I can.

I can because in May of 1976, on the west side of Chicago, I dropped the magazine from my Browning Hi-Power and crawled away to take cover and get to my back-up weapon.

There...My story. Me. I am here because of an MD, and a manual safety. If it's a pistol, I will not own anything less capable. Y'all can tell stories built on data and third party re-telling, but I do not have to. Now when y'all say "I know a guy" you can bring them back here.

The OP question was "how". Not "why". Now look at what y'all did.

I expect some flack, but y'all be safe anyway.

 

[WR Moore]

OK, brief answer: you can get the standard sear block from Brownells. This will include the magazine disconnector but NOT the manual safety.

Sorry to break it to you, but the manual safety cannot be retrofitted. S&W will not sell you any parts related to safety devices. They will provide them to armorers who have graduated from one of their schools, but I'm not real sure if the parts can be retrofitted-SFAIK, the sear block is different and you need the whole item plus the safety parts.

FWIW, I lugged magazine disconnector equipped service pistols for over 20 years and find the fear and loathing associated with them to be ridiculous.

 

[SMMAssociates]

I haven't had my M&P40C apart lately, but from memory the magazine disconnect is the same as the "disassembly lever" (that yellow thing), except for some spring loading to force it into the "disconnect" position if the magazine is removed. The disassembly lever doesn't have that spring.

Adding (or removing) that would be trivial, and applies to all of the non-Shield versions (I'm not 100% on the .45 version, but it should be the same).

However, the thumb safety is another animal. The Hilary Lock is not present on/in the sear assembly, and the space where the Lock's hole would be is covered up by some small parts and a spring that do the necessary blocking.

This requires (besides the cutout in the plastic grip) the proper sear assembly, a little spring, and a tiny cam. (And the safety lever.) There's just no place to put these parts in the non-thumb-safety assembly except for cutting the grip for the lever.

(IMHO, the thumb safety may have been an afterthought at S&W. I think that the magazine safety, bearing in mind that Hilary Locks popped into S&W's line for a while back then, came into being when somebody noticed the simplicity of adding it with just a couple of parts.)

I'm neutral on the magazine disconnect. I don't believe that, in extremis, you'd manage to drop a magazine.... But, unless you're married to hot magazine changes (useable round in chamber), I don't see much hurt. YMMV....

The thumb safety, OTOH, just seems to be "right" only in the sense that it operates in the "standard" fashion - "down", rather than "up". I have a couple of older S&W semi's that I don't carry for that reason. Just too easy to move.... (The Shield's thumb safety is closer to reality, although, IMHO, the lever's a tiny bit too small. 1911 folks are at least used to the direction. It's also trivial to remove.)

Unfortunately, it's still (IMHO) a bad idea to remove a manufacturer-supplied safety device....

Regards,

 

[McE]

It'd be easier to educate the wife than to change the gun.

 

[McE]

SKU 206304 for an M&P9C with thumb safety

The usefulness of a mag disconnect is dubious. It's another part that can fail. The thumb safety is the most you would need.

In a tussle, you're more likely to release your magazine on accident than in a super-aware state of "Gee, about to lose control of my gun, better drop the mag to render it useless by the assailant". You want your gun to still shoot after you accidentally drop that mag.

 

[gwpercle]

I would go with Option # 1.

 

[SMMAssociates]

It'd be easier to educate the wife than to change the gun.

The wife's not all that educable.... My daughter has the 9C with the thumb safety. She understands it. Can't get her to get a license and carry it, though....

The wife doesn't really understand.... Her skill is in cooking, and making decisions with insufficient information.

Regards,

 

[Gearhead36]

After reading through this whole thread, I find that I like the idea of a MD. I have no delusion that I will use the feature to disable a weapon in the midst of a firefight, but I like the idea of being able to render the weapon disabled or fully enabled (with a round in the chamber) with a simple mag insertion or removal. There are several scenarios where I think this could be useful. For example, I've toyed with the idea of OC (open carry). But I'm a bit concerned that someone might try to take my weapon and use it on me. If the mag is out, no problem. And I could fairly quickly re-arm it with a quick mag insertion. Given how slow I am drawing from concealment, I bet I could draw from an OWB holster, and insert a mag more quickly. That would be about the same speed as Israeli Carry, but with IC, someone could still use the gun on you.

And given all the Glock ND's from things getting caught on the trigger while re-holstering... mine also has the manual safety. ND's have occurred from a string from a windbreaker getting caught. And with a manual safety, I feel that I can safely lighten the trigger pull, too. A light SA trigger is considered safe on a 1911, right? So no, I don't think that the OP is stupid for wanting this. Frankly, I think that it was a mistake for S&W to remove the MD from the M&P.

 

[Looktwice&miss]

If you have the sear block with the 1/8" plunger it should allow a safety to be added. You can go to speedshootersupply.com and order the parts, about $25 plus shipping. It's something I also want to do since my 4 other M&P's have safeties. If you look on how the sear block fits into the frame you should be able to see some space on each side under the slide rails and that is where the safety fits.

 

[Rastoff]

Wow, this thread went off the rails really quickly. I apologize to the OP for the abysmal behavior of the forum members here.

The value of the mag disconnect is irrelevant. The value of the thumb safety is irrelevant. What is relevant is what the OP wants. Yes, you can add a thumb safety to any M&P and you can add a mag disconnect. The only issue is how much work are you willing to put in?

To add a thumb safety all you need is the right sear block and associated springs. All recently made M&Ps already have the frame cut to receive the thumb safety.

To add a mag disconnect all you need is the lever and a small spring.

All these parts can be had here: https://www.speedshooterspecialties.com/store/

Also, to answer another poster's question, there is one thing that the M&P series can do besides weigh less than the Gen 3 pistols: they have a 22LR pistol on the same platform for cheap training.

-Erik

Sorry Erik, but your premise is faulty. You're correct that Glock doesn't make a gun chambered in .22LR. However, there are several makers of slides and barrels chambered for .22LR and they will cost much less than an M&P 22. So, in fact, it's cheaper to buy a Glock and then a slide/barrel to install on the Glock.

It'd be easier to educate the wife than to change the gun.

You know nothing about women if you think it's easier to change a woman's mind than build a gun from scratch.

 

[Gearhead36]

Sorry Erik, but your premise is faulty. You're correct that Glock doesn't make a gun chambered in .22LR.

I believe that he was referring to the Gen3 S&W semi autos.

 

[Sergntmac]

Update:

Please note that I have been away from semi-automatics for many years, almost 40 years now. But, it's never too late to make a change.

I traded my two M&P 9c pistols for two M&P 45c pistols and I now have manual safeties. Visited the range today and shot about 100 rounds through each pistol. Nice. Very nice.

The trade-off here was firepower, i.e. 12 round mags for 8 round mags. However, this trade-off is balanced out by moving up to a .45acp from the 9mm. I do favor the larger caliber and I laid in a supply of Remington "Golden Sabre" 230g. JHP for duty use. Over the years there has been a lot of improvement in handgun ammunitions and again, very nice. About 950fps at the launch with impressive expansion upon the primary target. Over-penetration and threat to secondary target is greatly reduced, the 9mm is still a bit too hot for my needs, i.e. "urban development", if you get my point.

Problem I am facing now is magazine capacity. S&W advertises 8 round mags, and they are so marked. But, I cannot load more than 7 rounds in any of the supplied mags. Will this improve as time passes?

If I purchase more "genuine S&W" mags from eBay, will I have the same problem?

What color mag spring should I look for?

The discussion over a MD is closed, IMHO. It has already saved my life in a fight over my gun. Anyone who has not fought to that extent, save your breath. Anyone who thinks it cannot happen to you, think again. Those of us who carry a handgun in the line of duty know one thing. There is a gun at every call. If you try to take mine, don't expect to be home for dinner.

Help on magazine capacity for the M&P 45c is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Y'all be safe.

 

[Gearhead36]

OK. Are these the parts needed?
Mag Safety Lever
Mag Safety Lever Spring

If so, is there a writeup somewhere detailing how to install these parts?

 

[Rastoff]

I believe that he was referring to the Gen3 S&W semi autos.

Ooops, I rescind my comment.

Help on magazine capacity for the M&P 45c is greatly appreciated, thank you.

Many have had trouble getting that last round into a new M&P mag and not just in .45ACP. The last round is stiff, but can be done.

First, take your mags apart and ensure the spring is not bound up. This has been seen in a few mags. Second, assist yourself by getting one of these:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Maglula-UpLULA-Universal-Pistol-Magazine/dp/B001HBHNHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458420705&sr=8-1&keywords=maglula+uplula+speed+loader"]Amazon.com : Maglula UpLULA Universal Pistol Magazine Loader : Gun Magazine Loaders : Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QkD2BM-eL.@@AMEPARAM@@41QkD2BM-eL[/ame]

It makes loading much easier. It also gives you a little more leverage for that last round.