Abstract: Pistols have a frame, a firing facility operable to discharge the pistol, a safety device connected to the frame and having a safe condition in which discharge is disabled and an operable condition in which discharge is enabled, an actuator responsive to the presence of a safety-indicating element and operative to control the condition of the safety device such that the safety device is in the safe condition when the safety-indicating element is absent and in the operable condition when the safety-indicating element is present, a selector connected to the frame and operably connected to the safety device, and the selector being movable between an enabled position in which the safety device is operably responsive to the presence and absence of the safety-indicating element, and a disabled position in which the safety device remains in the operable condition irrespective of the presence and absence of the safety-indicating element.

Abstract: Pistols have a frame, a firing facility operable to discharge the pistol, a safety device connected to the frame and having a safe condition in which discharge is disabled and an operable condition in which discharge is enabled, an actuator responsive to the presence of a safety-indicating element and operative to control the condition of the safety device such that the safety device is in the safe condition when the safety-indicating element is absent and in the operable condition when the safety-indicating element is present, a selector connected to the frame and operably connected to the safety device, and the selector being movable between an enabled position in which the safety device is operably responsive to the presence and absence of the safety-indicating element, and a disabled position in which the safety device remains in the operable condition irrespective of the presence and absence of the safety-indicating element.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods to improve the functioning of a firearm includes a simplistic, condensed extractor mechanism that is easy to manufacture. Two symmetrical extractors mounted on the sides of a sliding breech block rotate around a pivot point and navigate forward to connect to the rim of a cartridge in the barrel of a firearm. Spring arrangements force the extractors upward and forward in an extraction/ejection cycle that begins with the extractor arms grabbing the rear end of a cartridge, moving rearward with the cartridge or spent case on a horizontal plane relative to the rifle barrel. The extracted case is rotated upward at an angle, then moved forward and fed into an ejection chute just above the barrel. Concurrently, another round is fed into the chamber of the barrel and the extractor arms cam down thereby engaging the rim of a new cartridge; thus completing the cycle.