CA Magazine Release Safety Question

[DORINS9956]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to the magazine disconnect feature on CA compliant guns? Can you do a tactical magazine exchange with a partially loaded magazine?
Thanks.

[9Cal_OC]

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to the magazine disconnect feature on CA compliant guns? Can you do a tactical magazine exchange with a partially loaded magazine?
Thanks.

I would say disadvantage should your magazine drop during a scuffle. Then now you have a rock or plastic rock to work with.

[SkyHawk]

And if you need to fire in the middle of your tactical reload, you are screwed.

I remove mag disco from every gun that has them, and the guns I use for carry never had them to begin with.

[Tok36]

If you always handle firearms like they are loaded there is no benefit to a magazine disconnect in my mind. If you do not always handle firearms like they are loaded the possibility exists that you should not be handling firearms.

[DORINS9956]

The only scenario that I have had experience with that could benefit from this feature was with a colleague cleaning his pistol. He removed his magazine but forgot to remove the round left in the chamber and accidentally discharged the weapon. Luckily, he wasn't too badly injured.
I imagine this is the major purpose of the magazine disconnect, namely to prevent such an accident. Idiot proofing a gun may not be the best approach to safety, given that someone will figure out how to defeat the feature despite the attempt to prevent that.
I agree that the preference would be not to have the magazine disconnect. Just simpler.
Thanks for the replies.

[SkyHawk]

Mag disco safeties can fail too. Relying on them to keep you safe during cleaning is a fool's errand.

There is only one safety method you can reliably count on: Visually and if required tactilely checking the chamber. It works on every gun, long gun, handgun, shotgun, new gun, old gun, familiar gun, unfamiliar gun. There is no need to account for variances between the guns, or try to figure out on the fly which guns have what safety devices etc.

[Librarian]

The only scenario that I have had experience with that could benefit from this feature was with a colleague cleaning his pistol. He removed his magazine but forgot to remove the round left in the chamber and accidentally discharged the weapon. Luckily, he wasn't too badly injured.
I imagine this is the major purpose of the magazine disconnect, namely to prevent such an accident. Idiot proofing a gun may not be the best approach to safety, given that someone will figure out how to defeat the feature despite the attempt to prevent that.
I agree that the preference would be not to have the magazine disconnect. Just simpler.
Thanks for the replies.

"I imagine this is the major purpose of the magazine disconnect, namely to prevent such an accident. "

Yes, it is, along with the 'chamber loaded indicator'.

Two idiot kids were playing with an unsecured handgun; one pointed it at the other, not realizing there still was a round in the chamber, and pulled the trigger.

Allowing for usual NYT errors, this article has the general story correct - https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/us/13bcguns.html

[DEPUTYBILL]

I only have carried one firearm that had a magazine disconnect, a Browning High power.
During the time I carried it, I just modified my reloading to not drop the magazine from the gun until I had the next magazine in my other hand ready to insert it in the gun. I never have heard of a High power disconnect failing.
I have heard of the Sig failing and causing the gun to be inoperable.
On a Sig I would remove the disconnect, just keep the parts if I ever sold it and make sure the new owner was aware it had been modified.

[DORINS9956]

Allowing for usual NYT errors, this article has the general story correct - https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/us/13bcguns.html

I was always told in all my firearms instruction that the best safety device was the one between the ears. I agree that proper gun handling that is routine and rigorously adhered to, will prevent most accidents. The danger of relying on mechanical devices is that mechanical devices can fail. So, I guess it's a combination of all things that makes for "safety" in firearms handling. Just the same, the comment about a dropped magazine in a tactical scenario is well taken.

[code_blue]

One of the old world techniques for this was if someone was trying to take your pistol, you'd drop the mag out and they wouldn't be able to use it. Then again, neither would you unless you had a spare mag to put it after breaking free.

CHP allegedly unofficially taught this technique back in the early 4006 days. They went with the 1.0 M&P40 as a replacement, and it is to my understanding that the MDC option is not carried over.

Me personally, it's a useless bandaid designed around persons who have bad safety practices.

[boltstop]

No advantage at all. False sense of security if anything.

Ask one of our fearless legislators, who mandated these features, if they would take a gun with a mag disconnect (with no mag in the mag well) and a loaded chamber indicator (not sticking up) and point it at their own head and then pull the trigger.

[plumbum]

The only reason I have heard for a magazine disconnect is for a police officer who would be struggling with a perp and is at risk at losing their sidearm, so dropping the magazine would prevent being shot with their own gun. Personally I don’t want something of that nature in my firearms.

[floogy]

Mag disco safeties can fail too. Relying on them to keep you safe during cleaning is a fool's errand.

There is only one safety method you can reliably count on: Visually and if required tactilely checking the chamber. It works on every gun, long gun, handgun, shotgun, new gun, old gun, familiar gun, unfamiliar gun. There is no need to account for variances between the guns, or try to figure out on the fly which guns have what safety devices etc.

[readysetgo]

[JTROKS]

Mag disconnect safety probably sounded good to a major LE department that had problems with their officer’s handgun being taken off their hands. It would work if the officer has a BUG or have the skills to go hand-to-hand combat.

My 5906 and 6906 has mag disco safety, didn’t bother me, but they are safe queens. A friend of mine who’s well familiar with Glock simplicity shakes his head when shooting my 3rd gen S&W pistols.