S&W 952-1 Grip Safety Need Replies about yours

[AUTOMATIC S&W]

I am curious about how many S&W 952-1's that are out in circulation that have improper grip safety function. If you understand the function, it is easy to test.

Please test your 952-1's and reply back with function report. It would be greatly appreciated.

I ask because I sent mine back to the PC on 6-19-17 with 2 issues.

Problem 1. The Grip Safety is not operational
Problem 2. The hammer will fall when the trigger is pulled when there is NOT a magazine in the gun.

I received gun back today 09-27-17. They said they replaced the disconnector/range tested * grip safety functions correctly*

I checked the gun out. Both issues still exist. Very disappointing to send a gun off for over 3 months, and have nothing fixed. Will call them tomorrow morning.

I called 2 friends that own the -1's. Neither of their guns will fire without a magazine in the gun (correct function) but neither of the guns grip safeties work correctly.

Thanks for any help with your 952-1's

 

[Bullet Bob]

I think it would be helpful if you were to tell us exactly what you mean when you say your magazine safety isn't operational.

Thanks.

 

[AUTOMATIC S&W]

1. The Grip Safety is not operational

Correct Grip Safety function would only be functional if the hammer only falls while gripping the gun so the grip safety is depresses and pulling the trigger.

Like I said, " If you understand the function, it is easy to test."

Sorry for confusion

 

[Sevens]

Okay, we have a little confusion about. Let's dissect!

First of all, the grip safety on a 952-1 is NOT like a 1911 in that it has no bearing whatsoever on the fall of the hammer. It is fully operational as designed for a 952-1/952-2 to drop the hammer when trigger is pulled no matter what the grip safety is doing.

On the 952-1/952-2, the grip safety deactivates a firing pin lock and nothing else. The proper test for a 952-1/952-2 grip safety is a pencil in the barrel. I recommend eraser end toward breech face. When grip safety is squeezed and trigger pulled, that pencil will find your ceiling.

Pull trigger with no grip safety and the pencil travels nowhere.

On your other issue (magazine disconnect safety) I must agree that your pistol is not in as-designed operation here. I will say (with no reserve) that a truly malfunctioning magazine disconnect safety in a S&W is, in my experience, a statistical anomaly-- that is to say that unless someone specifically altered it (happens more than you might guess) then you are experiencing a RARE EVENT.

Nothing is perfect but across many dozens of S&W pistols, I've never witnessed this first hand.

My first guess is that a previous owner got under the rear sight and altered the pistol to bypass the magazine disconnect safety. For a target gun... well, I'll side step that forum "can of worms" and merely say that I approve!

Try the pencil test for the grip safety.

Oh and one last thing... absolutely MY own opinion and speaking for nobody else...

I personally believe that sending a 952 to S&W in the year 2017 is about as silly as sending it to Ruger or Beretta for service. I doubt there is anyone working there that has half a clue what a 952 actually is. Simply put -- no way, NO WAY would I send that gem to those guys.

I can hand pick five guys from this discussion forum that are better qualified to make a 952 work than Smith & Wesson circa 2017.

Please report back! Your pistol is a sweetheart and probably closer to "ready" than you think!

 

[regalsc]

When I called S&W a few months ago to order some mags for my 945 the man on the phone said that he remembered those 945's & that he actually had done some work on them & that they required a lot of machining. He now has a phone job there so the idea of someone there that knows the 952 to work on it is most likely as Sevens stated not there anymore.

 

[AUTOMATIC S&W]

sevens, Obviously I did not understand the function of the grip safety. But it is easy to test if you understand. Thanks for steering me in the right direction. As far as the hammer falling without a magazine in the gun, I will live with it. It is a waste of time sending it to S&W

 

[Sevens]

I truly believe that if the magazine disconnect isn't operating, it is most likely that someone intentionally removed the spring under the rear sight on purpose to defeat that "feature." On a pure target pistol, I don't care for the feature either.

 

[jag22]

I'm with everyone else on the mag safety. I removed one from a Browning Hipower because it really affected the trigger pull. I included the parts when I sold it.
Thanks to sevens, really learned a lot from that post.

 

[Sevens]

The magazine disconnect safety always stirs passionate posts on a discussion forum. In my experience... non-S&W folks loathe them with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. It is usually some form of "bad guys descending upon me and gun won't shoot my single life-saving magic bullet" or the much more calm and rational "I prefer simple with less possibilities and dinguses for potential failure" but either way... usually energetic and emotional discussion.

Myself? On a typical 1-2-3rd Gen with a manual decocker, I just don't get worked up over it. HOWEVER it drives me up a wall on both my 952's and both of my 52's, none of which I will typically keep even an empty magazine in, when they sit in my safe.

This means if I simply rack one, absolutely routine simply to ensure clear -- ARRRRGH, hammer remains cocked and Horace Smith himself couldn't help me drop the damn hammer. All due to this added feature. "Annoying" is the muted version of my opinion.

To dig deeper in to the subject...
I personally believe that a magazine disconnect safety either promotes poor gun handling or at the very least, absolutely does not promote proper, agreed-upon safe gun handling. This "feature" when installed on a 52/952 forces a person to stick a magazine in to an otherwise unloaded handgun, on purpose, to be able to lower the hammer.

I actually hate it.

 

[Sevens]

FWIW, my PPC-9 and 845 are 100% as mindblowing as my 52's and 952's and neither have the magazine disconnect "feature." I don't think my 745's have it either, but to be honest I don't recall.

Every pistol mentioned in this post has no thumb-operated manual decocker. None has an alternate way to lower the hammer. Only the trigger will do that deed.

 

[msmungo]

I have been shooting 52-2's for 40 years. I have two 952's that have the same issue. The only way i can reassemble either one is to use a small screwdriver to hold down the part connected to the grip safety. This can't be what S&W had intended. Does anyone have a suggestion as what to do?

 

[Sevens]

I can't see where it would be necessary to use a screwdriver to help replace the slide on a 952 pistol. Can you hold the frame NOT as if you were shooting, but rather pinch with thumb and index finger so as to hold the frame without pushing the grip safety?

As an alternate-- it MIGHT be possible to lock out the movement of the grip safety with the use of an allen wrench in that tiny hole near the top of the grip safety. Note that if you do this... the pistol will NOT be able to fire whatsoever until you later go back and "unlock" the movement of the grip safety.

Disclosure: I make this suggestion without ever having tried it myself (or have need to)