I happen to
LOVE the two-position base pin safety, and I never use it.
Before I get a bunch of
, let me explain.
Back I-don't-know-when, our beloved government imposed safety requirements that had to be met for imported handguns. Some manufacturers of SAA clones designed transfer bar safeties, plungers on hammers, buttons on the frames, and all kinds of goofy means to effectively satisfy the requirements.
But, and I think they were the pioneers of this, those ingenious Swiss at Hammerli designed the two-position base pin safety, and named it "Swissafe". They patented the idea and installed them on their Virginian revolvers imported by Interarms at the time.
The advantage of the Swissafe system is that one can easily "correct" the base pin configuration once in the States, and the action is still true to the original Colt Model-P. I will never buy a SAA clone with contraptions on the hammer, trigger, frame, or anything else that permanently changes the appearance or function of the gun.
I chose to keep the Swissafe pin in my Virginians to keep them all original. I suppose the system would serve well as a child-resistant safety, but it is entirely impractical for daily use.
