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From: gordonh@milton.u.washington.edu (Gordon Hayes)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Magazine Safety
Message-ID: <35357@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 7 Jun 91 12:26:21 GMT
Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu
Organization: University of Washington
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Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu

cash@convex.com (Peter Cash) writes:

#In article <35305@mimsy.umd.edu> gt2852c@prism.gatech.edu (Edward Hefter) writes:

##I've never really wanted to shoot without a clip, now that I stop and think
##about it.  What kind of situation are you envisioning?

#1. You are engaged in a fire fight.

#2. You have nearly emptied your magazine. Your opponent has disappeared.
#Since it's stupid to run your gun dry, you drop the magazine so that you
#can insert a full one.

#3. At that moment, your opponent unexpectedly charges. Because your gun has
#been designed to protect the feeble-minded and the careless, that round in
#the chamber can't be fired, and you get dead.


Exactly the reason I hate having a gun with a magazine safety. If
one follows the first rule of handling a gun (that it IS loaded,
regardless of what YOU think), the safety not only shouldn't
be necessary, it should be ludicrous.  I can't really think of a
reason to have one, and if soneone does NEED one, perhaps, they
shouldn't have a gun in the first place.  Of course, now that I 
think about this for a moment, if you only use a handgun for
target purposes, it might make sense.  But as I look at handguns
as combat pieces, I don't wish to own one.  The day I got my
S&W model 59, I removed the rear sight and took out the piece
of metal that engaged the mag. safety.  Number 3 above, is
exactly why having one is dangerous, as number 2 above, is
how one would want to replace a fresh mag in a fire fight.
But since I don't see a model 59 as a target piece, but as
a combat piece, I don't see why I would want one on it.
Anyway, I sold the 59 and I'm looking for a more appropriate 
handgun now.

-- 
Gordon Hayes, MCIS, University of Washington
gordonh@milton.u.washington.edu
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"