Sear deactivation lever (yellow)...why?

[Fastbolt]

I dig it too.... we have a very good SWAT officer here in town that had a ND with his Glock 22 duty gun one night (he was distracted while putting the gun on the bench, but after removing mag). He came back short stroked to get the takedown lever set, and put one through his reloading bench into his leg. All is well, and he recovered fully, but his mistake taught me to FULLY lock back the slide and VISUALLY check the chamber/magwell.... I am sure there are some high speed guys here that feel thats silly, but it is the only foolproof way with a gun that must have the trigger tripped....

OP-- breakdown while pulling the trigger may damage your gun... after 50K cycles or so.... its like dry firing.... you are not going to do it enough to see significant wear....

The sear deactivation lever feature was designed in the gun after receiving input from LE during early R&D. Proper use of it requires the user/owner lock back the slide, which provides for an opportunity to make sure the user/owner has done a safety inspection to make sure the chamber is clear and no magazine remains in the pistol.

The XD uses another method to help let the user/owner confirm the gun is clear, and the older Ruger P-series used another way. I remember the first time I realized I had to lock open the slide on my P90, and push the ejector plate forward in order to field-strip the pistol. It seemed odd at first, and an unnecessary additional moment's work, but it did make for an extra step to ensure the gun could be checked for having been properly cleared.

Lots of folks like to say that firearms safety should primarily remain between the ears of the owner/user, but in the real world people are often lazy, inattentive, complacent, etc ... and it doesn't hurt anything to add in a minor manipulative step for field-stripping to help make sure someone hasn't set themselves up for a ND.

BTW, the original deactivation lever was curved/folded over, and it was changed to having a straight tip. The reason? Cops are still lazy and sometimes inattentive.

It was found that if the curved lever was left in the upright position during reassembly, the slide's pick-up rail would hit it as the slide was reinstalled. This stopped reassembly and could potentially result in damage to the lever if the user tried to force things. The revised lever puts the tip out of the way of the pick-up rail if it's left in the upright position.

It never hurts to remember that issued users of regular equipment - which means guns for cops - really does need to be kept simple and as foolproof as possible.

It's an insult to have a sear deactivation lever designed into the gun ... which sometimes seems to be how some folks seem to look at it.

 

[The Sarge]

The sear deactivation lever is one of the many reasons I like the M&P over the Glock. It just plain bugs me to have to pull a trigger to take down a pistol. Bill

 

[M29since14]

Using the trigger to break down a gun violates one of the cardinal rules of gun safety.

1) All guns are always loaded.
2) Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (see rule #1)
3) Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. (see rule #1)
4) Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. (see rule #1)

Absolutely correct. In the many years I have been handling guns it gradually has occurred to me that I am all for about anything I can do to make gun handling safer and obviate the potentially awful effect of a "momentary mental lapse." Those lapses do happen, and if they happen at the wrong time...

For Heaven's sake, why wouldn't you use the yellow lever? If you are in that big of a hurry, I'd say you are well on your way to an accident. JMHO.

 

[Kadonny]

Personally, I like the lever. Keeps the stripping sequence consistent and defined. Rack the slide, flip the takedown lever, drop the mag, flip the sear diconnect (with pinky), release the slide. No WAY for an AD.

Do you ever take the gun down without an empty mag? I do sometimes so my procedure goes: Take out magazine, rack slide 2 times to insure the chamber is empty (if a round was in there, it would eject) then on the third time I manually engage the slide stop, rotate the take down lever, flip the sear disconnect, take the slide off.

 

[Edmo]

Why is there a yellow lever? One word: Marketing...

In our lawsuit happy world it is easy to sell something which is "safer" than the other guys. Never mind it does not make it any safer and adds complexity to the design thus departing from the KISS principle. It is the same reason some guns have mag disconnects and warnings etched on the slide. It HAS to make it safer, right? I will skip the discussion on the right hand only thumb safety on my Shield which I and many others don't use.

The fix for negligent discharges isn't some gimmick, but rather training. I can go buy a piano, but it doesn't mean I can play it... Just like I can purchase a gun, but it doesn't mean I can run it safely.

For my guns, S&W can keep the extra parts for the yellow lever & thumb safety. They can even eliminate the slide etching step. It will make my guns simpler and maybe even cheaper. If they need I will sign a "I will not sue you" form if it will make their lawyers happy.

All of the YMMV & IMHO tags apply...

Edmo

 

[UncaGrunny]

Even the best-trained, most-experienced, most-cautious people in the world are still... people. In the world.

People make mistakes. There has never been designed a zero-error human.

The world conspires to distract even the most attentive person.

If adequate training was all that is necessary to avoid NDs, guns would not have trigger guards. After all, if you're "careful enough," the trigger would simply never get caught on anything but an intentional finger.

Of course, the definition of 'careful enough' is circular - - you're only 'careful enough' prior to your next accident. At which point you clearly weren't.

The takedown lever is an elegant solution to human error that is all too common even among the experienced, and thus far I have seen no supported 'downside' to it. Have yet to see a case where malfunction of the takedown lever prevented intentional firing of the weapon or caused unintentional firing.

But you'll never catch me dangling my precious pinky down inside the chamber; I like it too much. I have way too good an imagination of what it would be like to have the chamber slap shut on it in case of 'mistake.'

Luckily, many common gun-cleaning tools will reach it just fine, including a Q-tip.

Murphy was an optimist.

 

[Rastoff]

The takedown lever is an elegant solution to human error that is all too common even among the experienced,...

This was nicely written.

But you'll never catch me dangling my precious pinky down inside the chamber; I like it too much. I have way too good an imagination of what it would be like to have the chamber slap shut on it in case of 'mistake.'

I can tell you from experience that it will not cut your pinky off. However, it does hurt. Still, with your pinky in there, the slide doesn't have far to move and doesn't build much momentum. You'll do more damage hitting your thumb with a hammer than an M&P slide closing on your pinky.

Even so, the advice to use a tool is the very embodiment of wisdom and should be followed.

 

[M29since14]

The orange-peeler on your Swiss Army knife reaches the lever just fine, as will almost any ordinary ballpoint pen.

There may be some point to the eternal magazine-safety debate but fretting over this yellow lever seems silly. Just use it.

 

[Stan12]

That yellow thingy is not that useless after all.
I was playing with tuning trigger bar and sear housing part,
and figured out there might be a situation when this lever is the only way to remove the slide.

 

[MSG Glenn]

Since I'm a former Glock owner I will sometimes pull the trigger to get the slide off. Lately I usually use the sear deactivation lever unless I don't have anything handy to push the lever down. There's always the frame tool but that's a whole different story. I always check, double check & triple check my chamber & mag well to make sure that the M&Ps are totally & completely empty before pulling the trigger for a dry fire.

 

[OakleyFreak]

I dont see what all the fuss is about

My Shield is very easy to take down even with the yellow clip.

Pull the trigger Really I like the little yellow Thing

 

[SMDahms]

My Yellow lever will NOT go back up.

I just purchased the shield, followed all of the manual, AND also have a friend who is a gun expert, not very familiar with the Shield, but still if you knew what he owned, well.., anyways. My Shield was just fired for the first time since the purchase this last month at the local range. Went to clean it, followed all directions in manual and the yellow pin will NOT go back up. Won't go back up with trying to put the magazine in either. Very weird. I don't know what to do. Can anyone help!? please!!

Your post below says inserting the magazine puts "the yellow widget back in place" mine is not doing that and it is brand new. Not even a month old. Read the manual, everything. Can't figure out why. Also, didn't realize that you can pull the trigger to release the slide. Weird. My fiance's Ruger is not like that at all. We both have 9mm.

Please help anyone!

Sheila

The little lever is there because every year, numerous people prove that removing the magazine and clearing the chamber before field stripping is entirely too complex. Taking "pull the trigger" out of the process for field stripping eliminates the possibility of bad things happening.

It also makes it crystal clear that if you do have an ND (negligent discharge) you didn't follow the manufacturers directions and thereby assume all liability. In some cases, you also violate agency/departmental training and/or regulations putting the idiot in question in more trouble.

Since inserting the magazine flips the widget up, there's really no big deal about it. After cleaning and with slide in battery, insert mag, charge chamber and place in the holster.

 

[ussoldier1984]

I found that if you push the yellow widget to far it will get snagged. At least on my 40c. I can not speak for the shield but can tell you that S&W customer service is quick and very helpful. Try giving them a call.

 

[WR Moore]

SMDahms

Never heard of that. However, the post immediately above gives some help. The little lever doesn't really need any force to be lowered, just a wee flick. I would guess that if excessive pressure was used, you could jam the lever.

As above, call S&W customer service. Please let us know how it turns out.

Except for really basic stuff (pull trigger, gun fires) most brands of firearms have differences. Just like Ford & Chevy.

 

[mafbloggerdanny]

One other (rather silly yeah, but it did happen) reason I like using the take down lever is I had an incident one time where I was taking the slide off by pulling the trigger and for some reason the slide popped forward with such force it surprised me and I dropped my slide onto the table. Luckily it didn't fly off further and hit the ground and mar the slide or bend something important. Usually it just pops forward a little bit but this time my slide just took off like a rocket. weird I know, but now I always use the little yellow take down lever. I like it better.

 

[wrhk33]

I would not want to be around someone that needs the lever.
Not everyone in society has what it takes to own a gun, no shame it that.
I worked with a guy that got his first gun, within one week he shot two fingers while he was playing with it at home. Pulled the trigger on an "Empty" gun while he had his weak hand holding the muzzle. Wife came home, took the gun away thankfully. He kept insisting the gun was unloaded even after he shot himself.

 

[Magload]

This thread started in May 2012 I can't believe it is still active. Don

 

[artmcl]

field strip 9mm shield

I have a brand new 9 mm shield with manual safety, no magazine disconnect, no yellow tab. only to remove slide is pull the trigger

 

[Bob O]

Maybe its there, just not yellow so it doesn't stand out?

 

[nicky4968]

In the interest of safety, I suggest a round magazine that can be swung to one side, out of battery, to ensure the pistol is unloaded. This may take further research but I think the idea is worth investigating.
I neglected to say that I propose that that the cartridges remain in, and be fired from, the round magazine. If the rounds never enter the barrel, they cannot be overlooked.