[Broomhandle]

I filed out the magazine safety on my 9mm Super B. It now still retains the magazine but also allows firing a chambered round with the magazine removed.
Is there any danger to doing this ?

 

[STAR]

What you did exactly??? If you removed it, it's not secure to shoot the pistol, as the device has the double function of retaining the disassembly lever when a magazine is inserted..........

 

[Broomhandle]

I filed out that part of the magazine release button that keeps the pistol from firing when the magazine is removed.

 

[STAR]

Sorry, but I can't understand you, one thing is the mag release, with obvious function, wich has nothing to do with the mag safety, and the real mag safety, that in the Super model is just under the disassembly lever. If you filed that and the device is not pulled out with a mag inserted, then there is nothing retaining the lever, and you could have a flying slide when shooting............

 

[Broomhandle]

You're right, I didn't modify the magazine release button. I filed just enough of the magazine safety to where the hammer will fall with the magazine removed. I left enough metal on the mag safety to insure that the disassembly lever still locks securely in place.
It has been so long since I did this that I had forgotten what I did. I have fired the pistol many times since I did this, with no problems.

 

[MGMike]

This thread probably will induce some people to attempt to emulate this modification, with the result being the ruination of a lot of mag safeties.

I am not sure exactly what Broomhandle means when he writes that "the disassembly lever still locks securely in place." In what place, and when?

As Star correctly has pointed out, the mag safety has two functions: not only to prevent firing the pistol with the mag removed, but also to prevent the disassembly lever from rotating to an unlocked position after a magazine is inserted. The two functions are related; the gun is deliberately designed NOT to fire unless the disassembly lever is locked, and that doesn't happen until a magazine is inserted.

That is why modifying any of the Star Super models to allow it to shoot without a magazine is an invitation to trouble.

While it may be mechanically possible to modify the mag safe and/or the trigger to disable the mag safety function without disabling the lever-locking feature when a magazine is present, what would be the point? It would allow the weapon to be cleared and the hammer decocked without re-inserting a magazine, but that convenience has to be weighed against the risk that someone would try to fire the gun without a magazine. In that event, if recoil or inertia when a shot is fired causes the disassembly lever to flip to the unlocked position, serious internal damage could occur or the entire upperworks of the pistol might well go flying downrange. Such things have happened....

M

 

[Broomhandle]

After giving it some thought I have to agree with MGmike. I modified the mag safety only because I wanted to see if I could do it. I urge others not to do it because as stated it could lead to the slide unintentionally unlocking from the frame. Fortunately, I kept the original mag safety and will reinstall it.

 

[MGMike]

Broomhandle: Your conclusion, and your foresight to retain the original unaltered, are both very wise.

I once witnessed a similar mishap involving a Walther TPH, which does not have a mag safety but does have a magazine-actuated gizmo to lock the trigger guard in place. The trigger guard, when pulled downward, serves as the takedown lever. Like the Star Super, the TPH is not intended to be fired without a magazine inserted.

A fellow at an indoor shooting range couldn't find his magazine so decided to shoot it without one. Now the TPH is just a little .22 , but it developed enough muzzle jump in recoil to bump the shooter's trigger finger downward against the inside of the trigger guard; inertia did the rest.

The first shot, with an assist from the recoil spring, sent the complete slide flying about 30' downrange onto a concrete floor. The muzzle end of the slide was damaged enough that it had to be scrapped.

M