Modernhoglegs
Member
My dad called me up the other day to tell me about the cool new sheriff's model .357 single action revolver he'd just purchased. He's always been a hunter, but not what I would call a real gun guy, and as far as I know he'd never owned any pre-20th Century arms.
As he's describing his new acquisition, I asked him if the firing pin was mounted in the hammer nose, and he said it was. My response was, "Please tell me you only have 5 chambers loaded and the hammer is down on the empty one."
At this point I was informed the guys in the gun shop had assured him that Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and all of the other old timers carried their guns fully loaded with the hammer down on a cartridge, or with the hammer at half-cock. I corrected this misinformation quickly, and I hope he listens before he picks up a permanent limp.
In any case I feel the need to explain the how and why of safely loading a classic single action revolver for safe carry. Should anyone doubt my credentials, I’m not breaking new wind here. I’m only repeating wisdom passed down from Elmer Keith, John Taffin, and the Single Action Shooting Society among MANY others.
The following applies to percussion revolvers as well a cartridge arms of the American frontier period 1835-1900. The most commonly known example being Colt’s Model P Single Action Army often referred to as “The Peacemaker”. For this article I will refer to the Peacemaker and its clones with firing pins mounted on the hammer nose as “classics” and those single actions of recent design that have transfer bars as “moderns”.
Moderns are guns like the Ruger New Model Blackhawk that have their firing pins mounted in the frame of the gun. They are equipped with a metal bar that is lifted by the action of pulling the trigger. The trigger raises the transfer bar so it fills the space between the hammer nose and the back of the firing pin, and transfers the force of the hammer’s blow to fire the pistol.
Classics usually have the firing pin mounted in the hammer nose BUT some early moderns like the Roger Old Model Blackhawk, (aka The Flattop) had frame mounted firing pins, but they lacked the transfer bar, so the safety precautions described here apply to them as well.
Carrying a modern single action with a fully loaded cylinder is acceptable IF the manufacturer’s instruction manual specifically says so. When in doubt, follow the rules for the Classics, and nobody is liely to get hurt. A classic single action revolver with six cartridges represents a genuine hazard to life and limb.
If the classic pistol is carried with the hammer down, the firing pin is resting on a live cartridge primer. This is the exact position the firing pin will be in if the revolver was fired. The only thing preventing ignition is the impact force of the hammer spring. Now think about all of the times a person bumps into things, hangs part of their equipment or clothing on something they are passing in the course of their day. Any of those innocent little bumps or snags could cause that hammer to be forced down on the primer hard enough to fire it. The best possible end result is soiled undergarments, but I would hate to have a premium hollow point bullet taking a chunk out of my anatomy along the way.
The half-cock notch is not and was never intended to be a safety. Its sole function is to unlock the cylinder so it can rotate to allow the weapon to be loaded or unloaded. The sear portion of the classic Colt’s trigger is fairly thin, and the retaining ridge on the hammer’s half-cock notch is not very robust either. Both of these parts are subject to breakage from abuse such as fanning of the hammer, or the pistol being dropped. Damage to either means the hammer is free to fall with predictable results.
Another attempt at a solution is to rest the firing pin on the space between loaded chambers. Consider that as soon as the hammer starts back the cylinder starts to turn. Snagging the hammer on a bit of brush could raise that hammer just enough to turn the chamber under the firing pic and drop it on the live round. No thanks.
The safest way to carry a classic six-shooter is to make it a five shooter by leaving one chamber empty and resting the hammer on the empty.
Load One, Skip One, Load Four More
Read the following procedure completely before practicing this manipulation. It works for almost all single action revolvers. Practice this procedure using only empty/fired cartridge cases until it becomes second nature.
1. Place the revolver on half-cock by pulling the hammer back 1 click. The cylinder should rotate freely.
2. Load the first chamber of the cylinder with an EMPTY/FIRED cartridge case.
3. Rotate the cylinder past the second chamber leaving it unloaded.
4. Load chambers three through six with EMPTY/FIRED cartridge cases.
a. Looking in the left side of the frame window, the chamber in the 11 o’clock position should be #2, the empty one.
5. Make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction.
6. Support the pistol’s frame with the weak-hand.
7. Bring the hammer back to full-cock.
8. Keep the ball of the strong-hand thumb firmly down on top of the hammer spur to control its forward motion in the next step.
9. Place the trigger finger inside the trigger guard and gently pull the trigger to release the hammer.
10. The hammer will try to move forward under pressure from the main spring.
11. Use the pressure of the strong-hand thumb to gently lower the hammer until it is its normal resting place against the frame.
If the sequence was followed correctly, the hammer is now resting over the empty chamber, and the weapon can be holstered or placed in storage. It may be tempting to just pull the hammer back slightly from half-cock and lower it into the resting position. Resist this temptation because the hammer will be resting on a loaded chamber, and the timing sequence will be interrupted. While this timing interruption may not damage the mechanism it may cause the revolver to jam.
Sorry for the long post. This was really weighing on my mind.
Our sport has enough enemies without giving them accident statistics to throw at us.
As he's describing his new acquisition, I asked him if the firing pin was mounted in the hammer nose, and he said it was. My response was, "Please tell me you only have 5 chambers loaded and the hammer is down on the empty one."
At this point I was informed the guys in the gun shop had assured him that Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, and all of the other old timers carried their guns fully loaded with the hammer down on a cartridge, or with the hammer at half-cock. I corrected this misinformation quickly, and I hope he listens before he picks up a permanent limp.
In any case I feel the need to explain the how and why of safely loading a classic single action revolver for safe carry. Should anyone doubt my credentials, I’m not breaking new wind here. I’m only repeating wisdom passed down from Elmer Keith, John Taffin, and the Single Action Shooting Society among MANY others.
The following applies to percussion revolvers as well a cartridge arms of the American frontier period 1835-1900. The most commonly known example being Colt’s Model P Single Action Army often referred to as “The Peacemaker”. For this article I will refer to the Peacemaker and its clones with firing pins mounted on the hammer nose as “classics” and those single actions of recent design that have transfer bars as “moderns”.
Moderns are guns like the Ruger New Model Blackhawk that have their firing pins mounted in the frame of the gun. They are equipped with a metal bar that is lifted by the action of pulling the trigger. The trigger raises the transfer bar so it fills the space between the hammer nose and the back of the firing pin, and transfers the force of the hammer’s blow to fire the pistol.
Classics usually have the firing pin mounted in the hammer nose BUT some early moderns like the Roger Old Model Blackhawk, (aka The Flattop) had frame mounted firing pins, but they lacked the transfer bar, so the safety precautions described here apply to them as well.
Carrying a modern single action with a fully loaded cylinder is acceptable IF the manufacturer’s instruction manual specifically says so. When in doubt, follow the rules for the Classics, and nobody is liely to get hurt. A classic single action revolver with six cartridges represents a genuine hazard to life and limb.
If the classic pistol is carried with the hammer down, the firing pin is resting on a live cartridge primer. This is the exact position the firing pin will be in if the revolver was fired. The only thing preventing ignition is the impact force of the hammer spring. Now think about all of the times a person bumps into things, hangs part of their equipment or clothing on something they are passing in the course of their day. Any of those innocent little bumps or snags could cause that hammer to be forced down on the primer hard enough to fire it. The best possible end result is soiled undergarments, but I would hate to have a premium hollow point bullet taking a chunk out of my anatomy along the way.
The half-cock notch is not and was never intended to be a safety. Its sole function is to unlock the cylinder so it can rotate to allow the weapon to be loaded or unloaded. The sear portion of the classic Colt’s trigger is fairly thin, and the retaining ridge on the hammer’s half-cock notch is not very robust either. Both of these parts are subject to breakage from abuse such as fanning of the hammer, or the pistol being dropped. Damage to either means the hammer is free to fall with predictable results.
Another attempt at a solution is to rest the firing pin on the space between loaded chambers. Consider that as soon as the hammer starts back the cylinder starts to turn. Snagging the hammer on a bit of brush could raise that hammer just enough to turn the chamber under the firing pic and drop it on the live round. No thanks.
The safest way to carry a classic six-shooter is to make it a five shooter by leaving one chamber empty and resting the hammer on the empty.
Load One, Skip One, Load Four More
Read the following procedure completely before practicing this manipulation. It works for almost all single action revolvers. Practice this procedure using only empty/fired cartridge cases until it becomes second nature.
1. Place the revolver on half-cock by pulling the hammer back 1 click. The cylinder should rotate freely.
2. Load the first chamber of the cylinder with an EMPTY/FIRED cartridge case.
3. Rotate the cylinder past the second chamber leaving it unloaded.
4. Load chambers three through six with EMPTY/FIRED cartridge cases.
a. Looking in the left side of the frame window, the chamber in the 11 o’clock position should be #2, the empty one.
5. Make sure the muzzle is pointed in a safe direction.
6. Support the pistol’s frame with the weak-hand.
7. Bring the hammer back to full-cock.
8. Keep the ball of the strong-hand thumb firmly down on top of the hammer spur to control its forward motion in the next step.
9. Place the trigger finger inside the trigger guard and gently pull the trigger to release the hammer.
10. The hammer will try to move forward under pressure from the main spring.
11. Use the pressure of the strong-hand thumb to gently lower the hammer until it is its normal resting place against the frame.
If the sequence was followed correctly, the hammer is now resting over the empty chamber, and the weapon can be holstered or placed in storage. It may be tempting to just pull the hammer back slightly from half-cock and lower it into the resting position. Resist this temptation because the hammer will be resting on a loaded chamber, and the timing sequence will be interrupted. While this timing interruption may not damage the mechanism it may cause the revolver to jam.
Sorry for the long post. This was really weighing on my mind.
Our sport has enough enemies without giving them accident statistics to throw at us.
