Were all new S&W Model 52-2 guns sold with a working magazine disconnect

[mikemyers]

The purpose of this thread isn't to debate whether a magazine disconnect is a good or bad idea. It's just to find out what S&W sold in the past, to customers who wanted a Model 52-2. Was the magazine disconnect a standard feature of these guns, or was it an option?


As a follow-up question, ONLY if the magazine disconnect was optional, what did S&W do to guns when customers did not want a magazine disconnect?

 

[colt_saa]

It does not matter what engineering revision they are, Model 52s do not have a magazine disconnect.

 

[M29since14]

I think by the time the 52-2 came along S&W was not so much into catering to the whim of individual shooters, unless you happened to be a bigwig of some sort. I've never heard of a 52-2 coming from the factory with any customer-requested mods of any sort. Maybe others will know more.

 

[donk52]

There were No modifications to any Model 52-2's.

 

[mikemyers]

It does not matter what engineering revision they are, Model 52s do not have a magazine disconnect.

I have two S&W Model 52-2 guns, and neither will fire without the magazine in place. I've only taken one of them apart, but it has the three parts that make up the magazine disconnect system, as shown in the attached image.

I was under the impression that all the Model 52-2 guns came with the magazine disconnect as standard. Now I don't know what to think.

 

[donk52]

ALL 52-2's left the factory unable to fire without the magazine. No exceptions.

 

[mikemyers]

ALL 52-2's left the factory unable to fire without the magazine. No exceptions.

Don, unless I have my words and meanings mixed up, that means they all have a magazine disconnect, right? I thought the purpose for a magazine disconnect was to make the guns "unable to fire without the magazine".

Since you worked there, at the time, you're the expert here.

 

[donk52]

When I was there NO semi auto gun would fire without the magazine. All models.

 

[colt_saa]

I have two S&W Model 52-2 guns, and neither will fire without the magazine in place. I've only taken one of them apart, but it has the three parts that make up the magazine disconnect system, as shown in the attached image.

I was under the impression that all the Model 52-2 guns came with the magazine disconnect as standard. Now I don't know what to think.

Unfortunately, nothing is visible in the exploded view thumbnail that you attached.

I must admit that I never owned a -2 engineering revision.

I do not recall ever shooting a 52 that had a magazine disconnect.

I only had one rear sight off (can't recall what engineering revision) and it was not drilled for the second spring and plunger

It never occurred to me that they would ADD that into a successful target pistol that had been selling for decades.

 

[donk52]

Sounds like some confusion. Only one plunger under the sight for the model 52. With magazine out of the gun, plunger pushes ejector lever down, in turn pushes disconnector down while pushing drawbar down far enough to not connect with sear when trigger is pulled. Gun will not fire unless the magazine is in.

 

[Jim Watson]

I've only had two, a 52-1 and a 52-2 but also 5906, 41, and Plastic M&P .22 Compact. None would fire without the magazine inserted.

A friend has a PPC9 which lacks a magazine disconnect, making it too dangerous for sale to anybody but a cop.

My Plastic M&P9 does not have a magazine disconnect and therefore has a warning printed right on the slide.

 

[Sevens]

Two things that I am certain that I know from my travels.

All the 52's I've owned, and my three local buddies own total 7 pistols. All are 52-2, the earliest being from 1972 and the latest being my TZT-prefix from maybe 1992. All seven units have the magazine disconnect safety.

As for whether or not S&W shipped any semiautomatic pistols WITHOUT a magazine disconnect, I can assure you that the 2nd Gen Model 745 didn't have one. That pistol was offered from the mid-to-late 1980's. In my crew we have four of those and none have a magazine disconnect safety.

I've never handled a no-dash Model 52 as pictured in colt_saa's post. I have no idea if the no-dash models didn't have that in their design.

Many models from the (real) Performance Center didn't have them, but nothing about any of those guns is "regular production."

 

[mikemyers]

........With magazine out of the gun, plunger pushes ejector lever down, in turn pushes disconnector down while pushing drawbar down far enough to not connect with sear when trigger is pulled. Gun will not fire unless the magazine is in.

Don, I understand the first part of what you wrote, but I'm lost when I reach the words I highlighted. I used to think about it backwards, but yeah, when the magazine isn't in place to hold things up, the plunger pushes down, pushing the disconnector down. I've seen that. Where I'm lost, is I've never seen the "drawbar" and the "sear". Not sure if I'd recognize them (yet). If you ever have time, can you make a short video on your gun, showing the drawbar and sear? You have a Model 39, not 52, so the other parts won't be there, but maybe with your video I will understand why the gun can't fire if those parts are not lined up correctly.

My next step is to go back to the parts drawing, and learn what the "drawbar" and "sear" look like, and try to understand how they work.

 

[Dave_n]

Two things that I am certain that I know from my travels.

All the 52's I've owned, and my three local buddies own total 7 pistols. All are 52-2, the earliest being from 1972 and the latest being my TZT-prefix from maybe 1992. All seven units have the magazine disconnect safety.

As for whether or not S&W shipped any semiautomatic pistols WITHOUT a magazine disconnect, I can assure you that the 2nd Gen Model 745 didn't have one. That pistol was offered from the mid-to-late 1980's. In my crew we have four of those and none have a magazine disconnect safety.

I've never handled a no-dash Model 52 as pictured in colt_saa's post. I have no idea if the no-dash models didn't have that in their design.

Many models from the (real) Performance Center didn't have them, but nothing about any of those guns is "regular production."

I can confirm the 745 as I have two with Millet sights and neither have a mag disconnect. They will fire with the mag out and a single round chambered. Dave_n (PS I have owned them since new)

 

[mikemyers]

..........Many models from the (real) Performance Center didn't have them, but nothing about any of those guns is "regular production.".......

Sevens, is there a way to identify if a gun came from the "real Performance Center"? Did they get special markings on them, or a different series serial number?

I guess we've settled that all the S&W model 52-2 include the magazine disconnect. That leaves the model 52 no-dash, and the 52-1.

I never looked into it that much, but I thought all the Performance Center guns got special markings on them, and until now, I never knew that the Performance Center sold Model 52 guns.

 

[GBertolet]

My 52-1 has the magazine disconnect.

 

[Rick H.]

I bought my first M52 around 1980 and have owned 5 other ones since that time. All of them had a magazine disconnect system in them. The only ones I have seen without a magazine disconnect were ones altered by the owners and not the factory. One can only imagine the liability the factory would take on if they removed a magazine disconnect system on a customers request. One mistake and the company would have a new name.


If the magazine doesn't lift the component parts of the magazine safety system up high enough the result is that the pistol will not fire. This can occur through simple wear and tear on the parts contained in the system. Something as simple as a worn or damaged ejector, ejector plunger, magazine or even the magazine catch and others, can cause a failure within the system with the result being a failure to fire. Worse yet is when someone decides to start altering parts in the misguided belief that things will work better, when in fact they haven't a clue as to what they are really doing.


I don't ever recall a M52 being marketed as coming from the Performance Center but anything is possible I guess. It would have been a very short run under the Performance Center banner as the M52 was almost phased out by the time the Performance Center really got up and running. For all intents and purposes the M52 was an orphan by the end of it's life cycle. The then new high capacity wonder 9's were coming out and true bullseye competition was beginning to subside in favor of more action type shooting events, plus the cost of a M52 was quite high compared to almost anything else in its league. Most bullseye shooters used the 1911 and various .22's including the M41. The M52 was a truly great pistol in an odd caliber that outlived it's usefulness and popularity. The introduction of the M952 was a great idea to replace the venerable M52 but the cost of that pistol killed it right at the get-go. Few could or would pay the initiation costs of getting into a 952 including yours truly. The result was the M952 had a very short life span. Too bad S&W didn't do some real market analysis on the 952 and get rid of the bells and whistles such as the foolish and expensive aluminum case and brought the cost of that pistol down to within reason. Who knows, it may have survived a while longer.
Rick H.

 

[handlebar]

I can confirm that my 52-2 will NOT fire without the magazine.

 

[mikemyers]

........If the magazine doesn't lift the component parts of the magazine safety system up high enough the result is that the pistol will not fire. This can occur through simple wear and tear on the parts contained in the system. Something as simple as

1. a worn or damaged ejector,
2. ejector plunger,
3. magazine or even
4. the magazine catch
5. and others,

can cause a failure within the system with the result being a failure to fire.........

In another discussion, you mentioned the magazine catch as something to be checked out. Any advice on how to check it, what to look for, and is this a part that can be replaced with a new part if it's worn or damaged? Anything else a likely culprit that needs to be checked out?

I'll go check the parts drawing - is the "magazine catch" a single part, or an assembly of parts?

 

[mikemyers]

Is this the part? Anything special to look for?