S&W 13 with a SAFETY?!?

[mattz357]

During my trip to the gunshop yesterday, I came across something very interesting. A model 13 with a chromed and bobbed hammer, dovetail front nightsite, and a SAFETY!!! Simply push upward on the rear of the cylinder release (the checkered portion) and the trigger is completely locked. The cylinder remains positioned diagonally until you pull the rear back to the resting position and free the movement of the trigger. I'm not interested in having this done, but it is very interesting. Who would do this modification, how is it done??? Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[Preacherman]

I don't know whether this is a deliberate modification, or a part failure in the gun!

 

[mtnbkr]

Wasn't there a mod out there that would do just that? IIRC, it was made by Cylinder and Slide.

Chris

 

[Oktagon]

What was the price of the beast?

 

[mattz357]

It was on consignment for $600. Pretty high, even for around here, but it did have a lot of work done to it. It also had Spegel grips on it.

 

[carebear]

It's a mod, I remember reading about it.

Down to fire.

 

[HSMITH]

Seems pretty superfluous to me. A safety on a revolver is like a lock on my zipper, I just don't need one to be a safe citizen. I'd give it a pass unless the price was just ludicrously cheap.

 

[DT Guy]

They were, if I recall, sold as being a good idea for LEOs who might be disarmed.

This was before the advent of retention training and high-security holsters, so perhaps it had some merit.


SMOOCH

 

[Old Fuff]

I think you have what is known as the "Murabito Safety," that was an after-market alteration made on S&W revolvers. It is somewhat rare, and I don't think it was commercially successful. Try a Google search and see if you find something more.

Edited to add: Both S&W and Ruger made revolvers with manual safeties for sale in Europe - especially (of course) France.

 

[mattz357]

I would have to agree that it is an unnecessary modification, and one that I wouldn't want on one of my guns, but I couldn't help but find it interesting. Also, I would think something that moved so easily (there was almost no resistance to move it) would provide little security if the gun were jarred around in a struggle. Interesting nonetheless.

 

[Trebor]

Mas Ayoob passed around one of these modified guns during my LFI 1 class. It was an aftermarket mod. Personally, I wasn't that impressed and actually found it kinda difficult to disengage the safety. It worked just like you described.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Sounds about half as useful as a silencer on a broom stick.

 

[mattz357]

Someone on another forum had an idea that I found most interesting. Why couldn't this modification have been put onto current production models in place of the lock? Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer neither, but at least this isn't an eyesore!

 

[Old Fuff]

The Murabito Safety was designed to work like the safety lock (manual safety) on a 1911 style pistol. This is a simple lever that any user can move up or down to lock or unlock the pistol's action

The current S&W lock is made to lock or unlock with a key device. Once locked it cannot be unlocked by anyone (including the owner) unless they have the key. If an emergency occured and the revolver was locked while the owner/user didn't have the key handy this could be a real problem.

Locking the action with an internal keyed lock is something the anti-gun folks dreamed up, "for the children." Frankly, they don't want anybody's firearms to be operational. I personally avoid such locks when I can. When I can't the gun is fixed to be in an unlocked condition all of the time.