Tam got me thinking about this post with her diatribe against the Loaded Chamber Indicator. What are the really stupid things that gun makers stick on their firearms? What are the things that you race to your favorite gunsmith to have removed, covered, or otherwise obliterated? I've come up with a handful:
1. The magazine disconnect. Even the man himself JMB (PBUH) stuffed a mag disconnect into the Hi-Power for reasons known only to Him. The mag disconnect, the legend goes, is supposed to act as some last-ditch talisman in the event one finds one's self struggling for one's own firearm. Simply hit the mag release, and the gun is now utterly useless save as a bludgeon. Except of course there's no guarantee that you won't be the one holding a newly-useless firearm while some 400 pound gorilla tries to pound you into pudding...
2. The aforementioned Loaded Chamber Indicator. Stupid but basically harmless seems to be the general consensus. I have firearms with various and sundry LCIs; I just ignore them and follow Rule 1: All guns are always loaded. My LCI is Colonel Cooper's #1 Rule. Can be a problem if the firearm gets old/worn/dirty and the LCI becomes difficult to see - if the LCI cannot clearly be read, the inattentive user might be lead to think their firearm is unloaded when it is not.
3. "Billboard" safety messages. Yes, Sturm & Ruger, I'm thinking specifically of you and the fact that every single firearm you put out has a small bible engraved on the barrel. "Is not safe. Is gun" is all you need. SRSLY. This one doesn't affect operation of the firearm, but it sure detracts from the aesthetic appeal of the firearm in question.
4. The dreaded internal lock. Here we look squarely at Smith & Wesson and their hated internal locks - some of which have been shown to engage all by themselves at the worst possible of times. Like, say, in the middle of the gun firing, which could be detrimental to one's health were one firing said firearm in defense of one's self... If you want to lock your firearm, get a trigger lock or a cable to immobilize the action. Don't depend on something already part of the firearm to lock it closed for you.
5. Trigger safeties. Specifically, safeties mounted on the trigger itself - yes, Glock, we're talking about you here. The trigger safety on the Glock autopistol was the single biggest stumbling block to my getting a Glock in the first place. I shot a friend's G19 before he left to move to America, and passed on buying it because I hated the trigger. It didn't make any sense to me then; even now, as the owner of a G30 I still don't like the trigger safety but I can look beyond it. It's definitely not needed.
That's what I could come up with for useless gun add-on parts. There are certainly many others I haven't thought of yet - perhaps some I don't mind, others I may not have come across yet. Everybody's got their favorite - perhaps I should say least favorite - useless part.
What's your vote for #1 Gun Appendix?
That is all.
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23 comments:
Being an avid waterfowl hunter... stupid Super High Viz Tacticool Tritium Nuclear Giant Fat Bead secured to the end of the barrel with a piece of metal the thickness of a paper clip. Anyone that actually takes a shot gun out to the field knows that it will get thrown into boats, leaned against trees, used to fish a decoy out of the water, or in emergencies used as a paddle. My $1500 Beretta Xtrema2 had the bead come off after 2 trips to the field. Nothing duct tape didn't fix...
we all dip our blog fodder from the same well.
Safety on a Lever Gun.
"3. "Billboard" safety messages. Yes, Sturm & Ruger, I'm thinking specifically of you and the fact that every single firearm you put out has a small bible engraved on the barrel. "Is not safe. Is gun" is all you need."
Don't blame Ruger; blame the judge. This is a legacy of a lawsuit thanks to a dingus who fatally shot himself with a dropped Ruger Old Model Blackhawk that he was carrying with six beans in the wheel.
Ah, yes, the American Legal system. Trying to protect idiots from themselves...
I'd say you got them All.
Also Tam may have more info, but I believe the Mag Disconnect was added TO JMB's designs by request of the militaries who contracted his services.
I'm also not a huge fan of a manual safety on a DA/DAO gun. Sorry my revolver works just fine without some widgit to flip before it goes "hot", and Sig Sauer and Glock among many others make perfectly good semi-autos that work essentially the same way. Why people feel the need to drop an extra switch into the mix is beyond me.
If I were to carry a Taurus, or a Beretta or an H&K (as if!) I'd drop the hammer with the decocker, and set the safety to "Hot" and holster. But how am I to know if the switch doesn't change orientation between then and the time I have to present the piece in a time of need?
With my 1911 my thumb rides that safety as soon as my hands make the firing grip. If the switch got flipped before then, that's OK, my finger is OFF the trigger, and the gun still shouldn't shoot until I give the OK, and I now have the added benefit of a short crisp 4# trigger just in case all that excitement causes me to slap the trigger a might, meaning I'll deflect a hair less on my target.
What Weer'd Beard said. US Army specified all those safeties. Main reason behind magazine disconnect was to keep weapon from discharging while reloading on horseback. Bad form to shoot your mount in the head mid-gallop.
Had a shooter in lane next to me report me to the range officer 'cause I was shooting a "Dangerous Gun" A Winchester 1895 that was made pre-whenever and had half-cock safety. Nice range officer told the guy "Safety is a state of mind, not a switch on a gun." I've used that line ever since.
The US Army has never specified a magazine disconnect. The 1911 does not have one and is the only semi-auto issued that had any relation to horse cavalry.
I hate LCIs that involve any kind of doodad. I actually like the witness hole in the barrel hood on my M&P. If I look in and see brass (well, nickel actually), I know I'm good to go in the morning. Less administrative gun handling is a good thing. However, I never use it to check that the gun is EMPTY. That gets the slide locked open, a visual check, and a pinky in the chamber.
I've seriously considered fitting a replacement barrel to my Vaquero just to get rid of the frickin' billboard.
I was lucky enough to find some of the final batch of 'old' vaquero's. The barrels are turned 1/4 so the billboard is on the bottom at least.
Well, Im not ready to go to the mat on this one, but I'm a little puzzled by the serrations on the business end of a 1911 slide.
This could just be my inexperience showing, but I get a bit nervous putting my fingers that close to the part where the bullet comes out, and I can do a press check just fine with the serrations on the rear end of the slide.
And it doesn't inflame my passions, the way it does some people, but I'm still not 100% sure I understand what a full length guide rod is for.
As for the magazine disconnect, I'm not sure if JMB (may he sit at the right hand of G-d forever) would have put it in, but I hear it was included as a way to ensure that when the HP was stored in an arsenal, they could be made non-functioning by dropping the mag.
ps. text verification; randum
Triggers. I hate those nasty triggers!
Ditto on the mag disconnects.
Personally, I prefer to unload my weapon the old-fashioned way - into my attacker - then keep the damned thing in my hand to use as my bludgeon.
But that's just me.
But I can trump all that. I have a Heritage Arms Rough Rider .22 single action revolver...
... with a safety.
Top that, beeyotch!
The magazine disconnect on the GP35 WAS designed at the request by the military it was designed FOR.
Teh French Army.
Which ended up never buying it.
Go figure -- the shitty part of the GP35 design was stuck in there by the same people who made the Chauchat.
One of the neat features of my new LCR is that to operate the gunlock, one must first remove the Hogue grip. That is hilarious. The gun can still be sold in states where such foolery is required, but the lock is clearly not intended to be used.
I'm gonna have to play heretic on this. But I'll post it over at my place...
I agree that loaded chamber indicators are superfluous considering that "unloaded firearms" are a dangerous myth that kill tens of people every year, but like zeeke42's M$P my, my Sigma has a hole I can look into to see the brass. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I like having that added first and last step before engaging the trigger so I can break her down for cleaning (check hole, rack slide x3, check barrel, check hole then engage trigger as necessary for take down.)
Ditto billboards, it's time for Social Darwinism, let the idiots thin themselves from the heard.
A certain 1941 vintage Walther P.38 that I know of has a loaded chamber indicator.
Too bad some of the folks in the camps didn't know enough about firearms to realize that many of their guards had unloaded weapons.
Is that little tidbit relevant here?
Maybe not, but it's never a bad time to make the case for education.
As they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Oh, just to help dovetail this comment back on topic, I'll just say that I HATE grip safeties.
- pupista! (barking mad on the right)
Bought one of those Heritage Arms abominations that Ambulance Driver was talking about for my dad. The most idiotic thing I have ever seen in my short life.
Now I might be setting myself up for bad karma, but I like grip and trigger safeties as opposed to crossbolts. they just help reinforce Rule #1, because the moment you pick it up and put your finger on the trigger, there is no more mechanical excuse for you. If that gun goes off, it went off for a reason that didn't involve a manufacturing error.
Weer'd Beard is right about the Browning Hi-Power. The design was originally for a French army contract and the French specified a magazine disconnect. The fools went on to select another (inferior) pistol but the mag disconnect remained. Presumably other European armies who actually bought the Hi-Power wanted it too.
Same reason the 1911 has a grip safety: the US Army said it had to. The Colt Models 1900, 1902 and 1905 (that the 1911 evolved from) didn't have a grip safety.
Yes, the Hi-Power originally was given the magazine disconnect because of the French military requirements. Then when it became clear that the French couldn't get over the Hi-Power's NIH (not invented here) status, it ended up being bought by the Belgian military. They liked the magazine disconnect because the specific type used in the Hi-Power prevented a released magazine from dropping free on its own. Seems counter-intuitive since a magazine cleanly dropping free means quicker reloads, but they were worried about soldiers discarding empty magazines and thus requiring new ones to be bought to replace them.
And now, the Hi-Power has a magazine disconnect because that's just how it was always made.
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