American Handgunner May/June 1978

HI-COMPRESSION22 CAL- PELLET FIRING\\\No Permit Required8 Purchaser must be over 218 FREE: 50 rounds of Reusable 22 CalAmmo and a Supply of TargetsThis high compression air pistol slams eighthard-hitting 22cal. pellets into its target Withoutreloading. Just snap back the bolt, turn thecylinder and you're ready for the next round. Amolded hand grip, long barrel and ring sightprovide unusual accuracy and comfort. On1$9.95 plus 7% for postage and handling - if CODsend $2.00 good will deposit and pa postman thebalance plus COD charges. FREE ammo andtargets included. State age when ordering. Notsold in N.Y.C.-Honor House, Dept. 527AP75 Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563N.Y. Res. add appropriate sales taxTHE LEWIS LEAD REMOVER iSATISFACTIONGUARANTEED$7.95Revolver Cleaning Kit. Removes leading fromForcing Cone, Cylinder, and Barrel. AvailableIn either 38-41-44-45 cal. Brass cloth paches(Pk. 10) $1.50. Order direct or from yourdealer. Check or Money Order.GUN SPECIALTIES INC.College Park, Georgia P.O. Box 31PERSONALDEFENSEBlackie Collins 81 Chris McLoughlinExciting and useful newbook on armed defense. Heavyemphasis on firearms andedged weapons with 234 allnew photographs. Weaponsconcealment and escape andevasion techniques are discussedin detail. This is a largeformat book with 160 pages ofinteresting information andhigh quality photographs. Amust for these days and times.$8.95 Softbound$1 2.50 HardboundSend check or money order to:DefenseP.O. Box 18595many testimonial letters, most or all ofwhich revolve around kids getting theirhands on policemen's revolvers and notbeing able to make them go off. No homicidally-inclinedgun-grabbers have yettried and been thwarted, but I personallyfeel it's only a matter of time.The first speculation that hits the reader'smind is, "Doesn't this defeat one advantageof the revolver, the instant, instinctivefirst shot? How much is this goingto slow up the policeman's or armedcitizen's gun handling in a split-secondcrisis situation?"There may be a slow-up, if the owner ofthe gun has not been trained and drilledin quick-draw-and-fire with it. Many departmentshave trouble enough trainingevery recruit and line officer to get his unmodifiedservice revolver out and firingwith any kind of speed; these are usuallypoorly trained departments, and addingthe step of familiarizing the troops with asafety is likely to slow down the responsestill more.I took to the R-F safety immediately,but I'm a .45 auto devotee, and have spentmany years learning to instinctivelythumb-down the safety of the pistol Idraw. If you are familiar with cocked-andlockedautomatics, the R-F will be perfectlynatural for you. People who shoot onlyonce or twice a year or less will fumblewith it Ironically, it is this type of personwho is likelv to have accidental dischargesuwith their unfamiliar sidearms anyway;their supervisors will think, "Aha, I'll fitall their guns with R-F safeties so it can'thappen," and these undertrained peoplewill be even less able to draw and firequickly and surely, admittedly, they'll alsobe less likely to accidentally fire their weapons.It is significant that a large percentageof R-Fs sales to date seem to bein the notoriously under-trained securityguard sector.Three other problems can occur in actualfiring of a gun modified with the R-Fsafety. One is that the safety is quite likelyto be accidentally engaged as the cylinderis opened for reloading. Most officers aretrained to open the cylinder as they switchthe gun from left hand to right, so the leftcan handle ejection and hold the weaponwhile the more dextrous right hand grabsthe fresh ammo. This means that in manyhands, including mine, the pressure thatopens the S&W cylinder latch will bepushing up as well as forward, and maylock the safety. The reloaded gun will notfire until it is released. (This is unlikely tooccur in an R-F converted Colt, sincemany people will be pulling more backand down on the thumbpiece).Can the safety be knocked upward into"safe" position as the gun recoils duringfiring? I've been told that it did occur withthe French Model 10s with the factory-installedthumb safeties. It is theoreticallypossible, since at the moment the hammerfalls, and while the trigger is stillback, the sareiy can engage if the thumbpieceis bumped into the angled "up7'position. This could happen if you have abig thumb, or place it wrong. It is, however,most unlikely, and if you were tohave this problem, it would certainly showup in practice, provided that you trainedwith full power ammo.Finally, you have to be sure the safetythumbpiece is tilted fully forward and up ,into the no-fire position. The nature of theR-F conversion on the Smith & Wessonmechanism is such that you can push thesafety forward and up lightly, and feel adefinite movement and stop. The gun,however, is still in "fire" mode.In this "false safe" position, the upperedge of the thumbpiece protrudes slightlyover the top left of the frame; it should bemarkedly up and over, and the only wayyou can test for sure is to try to start thehammer back with your thumb and seewhether or not it stops. Don't test the safetywith your trigger finger, since you'll unconsciouslybe expecting the rigid resistanceof a locked action, and are likely toput too much pressure on the trigger if thesafety isn't locked. You don't need me totell you what will happen then.Well, here I've bitched about three orfour different things that could go wrongwith the R-F safety. Now let me tell youwhat's right with it. The release is everybit as natural and foolproof as that on a.45 auto or Browning 9 mm or any automaticof that genre. It is quickly learnedby anyone willing to practice with it, justas is the cocked and locked carry with asingle-action automatic.And it is likely to save lives, and indeed,has already..What we have here is a mechanicalsafety that works as it was designed to, thatis easy and natural for a trained man to releasewith no loss whatever in responsetime to a life-threatening situation. Itbriefly prevents a person unfamiliar withit from firing the weapon. If you're talkingabout a kid left alone with it in your bedroom,or a brawler left alone with it as hestands over your unconscious form tryingto figure out how to shoot you, why then,you've only prolonged the inevitable. Butif somebody grabs it out of your holsterand tries to kill you with it, it is quite likelyto buy you the time you need to rectify thesituation and write Frank Murabito a verynice letter.I'm glad Frank came up with this, andfor the ridiculously low price of $15. I saythat because I've been deeply trained andpracticed in drawing and firing a safetylockedhandgun. I would have seriousdoubts about ordering the modificationon every gun in the department, unless everypistol-packer there was thoroughlytrained with it. I've observed several departmentsthat issue double-action automatics,and have noted that while close tohalf the officers in each organization car-(Continued on page 66) ,. ,.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1978 ' . ,