I can't imagine it being done deliberately. To make a long story short, I replaced the sear release lever with one with a slightly longer foot and that fixed it. Cocking the hammer slightly further with the safety off was the right hooks of the hammer and sear also engaging. This allowed the left hook of the sear to catch on the left hook of the hammer.

In this case, the sear release lever foot had been over stoned so as not to push the sear completely clear of the hammer. You should not be able to cock the hammer with the safety on. My frame of reference is the Beretta 92, and I had just assumed most safety/decocker firearms would operate similarly.Д«y coincidence I just encountered the identical symptoms on a 915 and no, it is not normal. As would removing the magazine, taking it off safe, and re-engaging the safety. We did notice that cocking the hammer slightly further with the safety off, then engaging the safety, would decock it. So, is this expected behavior? Or is something wrong with it? That said, there might be a lot I haven't heard about them.

It seems like it might be a design feature to carry cocked/locked, but I had never heard that about 3rd gens. Two, that taking it off safe and putting it back on would not decock the hammer anymore.

One, that the hammer could be cocked at all, as the safety is also a decocker. At some point, he apparently cocked the hammer on it in anticipation of shooting, but had not taken the safety off. I was shooting with a friend who has a S&W 915.

Smith and wesson 915 safety lever