A centerfire autoloading pistol including a loaded chamber indicator to identify the presence of a cartridge loaded in the firing chamber. The pistol may generally include a housing having an external surface and defining a chamber to receive a cartridge, a barrel unit disposed at least partially in the housing, and an indicating element having two ends. In one embodiment, the indicating element may be pivotally mounted to the housing proximate to one of the ends. The indicating element is displaceable in response to contact by the cartridge from a first position which may in one embodiment correspond to an absence of a cartridge loaded in the chamber, to a second position which may in one embodiment correspond to a presence of a cartridge loaded in the chamber. A biasing member, such as a spring, may be provided for biasing the indicating element towards the first position. In one embodiment, the indicating element protrudes outwards from the external surface of the pistol in response to contact by the cartridge to provide visual and tactile indication of a loaded chamber condition to a user of the pistol. Initial which may include alphanumeric characters, symbols, colors, or a combination thereof may be provided on the indicating element.

A system and method for extracting a round of ammunition from a semi-automatic handgun having a slide with an opening are provided. An extractor assembly includes a first member configured to be disposed in the opening of the slide such that the slide encloses the first member. A second member has a portion configured to engage a round of ammunition. The second member is configured to pivot relative to the first member. A joint may connect the first member with the second member to allow the second member to pivot relative to the first member to thereby engage the round of ammunition. In addition, a spring may be provided to bias the second member into engagement with the round of ammunition.

A mechanism for disabling a firearm is provided. The disablement mechanism includes a body positionable to block movement of the hammer spring assembly in order to prevent the hammer from being moved to its cocked position.

A firearm safety lock for an automatic pistol such as the Model 1911 firearm is disclosed. The safety lock includes a means of arresting the operation of the main trigger or hammer spring in the pistol grip of the firearm to prevent movement of the hammer, thereby locking the gun in a safe condition. A means and a method is disclosed for locking a pistol in a sale condition by arresting the movement of the hammer spring buffer through insertion of a locking shaft through the pistol grip housing which can be keyed to prevent unauthorized removal of the locking shaft. The disclosed invention may be used on newly manufactured firearms or provides a method to easily convert an existing firearm without permanent modification or damage to the firearm.