Throckmorton,23149 44 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 At the loading tables, I see almost every shooter who has a colt-type gun using their left hand on or near the CYLINDER area to support the gun WHILE LOWERING THE HAMMER,supposedly on an empty chamber. ..but think about this next time at the loading table; IF that chmber is not empty,and IF the hammer slips,you ain't gonna have much left of that left hand ! I rest the muzzle on the front edge of the table,some support is better than none for hammer control at that time. Lets be careful,and go home with all our fingers and toes intact boys and girls. Link to post Share on other sites
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 1,175 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 At the loading tables, I see almost every shooter who has a colt-type gun using their left hand on or near the chamber area to support the gun while lowering the hammer ,supposedly on an empty chamber. ..but think about this next time at the loading table; IF that chmber is not empty,and IF the hammer slips,you ain't gonna have much left of that left hand ! I rest the muzzle on the front edge of the table,some support is better than none for hammer control at that time. Lets be careful,and go home with all our fingers and toes intact boys and girls. I am not sure what you are refering to here. I use Colts, and am a left handed shooter. I put the gun on half cock, load one, skip one, load four, fully cock the weapon. I can then SEE that there hammer is gonna go down on an empty chamber, cuz I can see daylight through the frame/empty chamber/empty barrel. I then lower the hammer on that empty chamber. I don't see how it can be all that different for right handed shooters, as you have to hold the gun in your left hand to load with the right. Also, I don't see how using the load 1, skip 1, load 4 method you can ever fully cock the gun over anything but an empty chamber. Feeling confused... Please clarify... Link to post Share on other sites
DocWard 5,626 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I am confused as well. I'm trying to visualize what you are talking about in my mind, and can't understand why holding the revolver near the chamber would leave one without "much left of that left hand." I'm assuming that by "chamber," you mean that area just in front of the cylinder, not up further so that the hand is in front of the barrel at all. Help me out here, if you would. Thanks Link to post Share on other sites
Lightnin Rick SASS #43246 0 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hand in front of cylinder might get a little hot with a discharge. Link to post Share on other sites
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 16 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I've SEEN a shot fired with hot "Ruger-only" .45 loads while an inexperienced shooter cradled the cylinder with his left hand. He got some powder residue tattoo and 1st degree burns on his fingers when 10 grains of a "very special" powder sent hot gasses through the BC gap. Enough to teach him not to do that again, but not a major event. Just keep yer patties back of the muzzle, and mind yer not sweeping anything ya don't wanna destroy if ya goofed indexing the gun, and inadvertantly drop the hammer. Link to post Share on other sites
Rufus Cogburn 4 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 OK, the idea for this post didn't come outta thin air. What idiot do you know that shot the end of his bird finger off?!? Link to post Share on other sites
DocWard 5,626 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Hand in front of cylinder might get a little hot with a discharge. I was thinking that myself, but thought I would ask for clarification first. The bad thing is that now I have to pull one of mine out and figure out how I hold the thing when lowering the hammer. I think I can visualize how I do it, but I'm not positive without it in my hands. Link to post Share on other sites
Squint Westwood SASS#2165 0 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I think what he's trying to illustrate is that some shooters using Colts (or copies) don't use the load one, skip one, load four and fully cock the weapon before lowering the hammer. There are those out there who just load the chambers in order and then lower the hammer (thereby scratching the cylinder walls with the cylinder bolt when realigning the cylinder) using the left hand to rotate the cylinder into position. The proper way to handle a Colt is never to lower the hammer from the half-cock (loading) position - always fully cock the piece so the cylinder bolt always indexes in the cylinder notches. Happy trails, Squint Link to post Share on other sites
John Boy 925 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 For those that shoot Rugers, this is not a concern! Link to post Share on other sites
Throckmorton,23149 44 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 I highlighted a few words to help the thread. what I mant was ,when lowering the hammer ,don't care if it's from fulll cock or whatever,some folks help support the weight of the gun by cradleing it in their off hand. nothing to do with how you load it,all to do with how you get the hammer back to its' resting place without losing some blood, ..sorry if it was unclear,it was early and the wife bought de cafe' this time around.ugh Link to post Share on other sites
Noz 1,985 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 This is probably the result of a series of really gory photos of an old boy that stuck his thumb near the barrel/cylinder gap on a .460. cut the thumb off. Link to post Share on other sites
DocWard 5,626 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 the wife bought de cafe' this time around.ugh What's she trying to do? Poison you??? Link to post Share on other sites
BLACKFOOT SASS #11947 436 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: I shot a .357 once with my left forefinger and thumb gripped at the cylinder gap. It did smart and throb a bit but there was no damage. I don't recommend doing any testing to see if your result will be the same. Blackfoot Link to post Share on other sites
Fairshake 13 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 That is the reason that Rugers show that line around the cylinder John Boy. It is also a sign of misuse on any Colt or likemade revolver. I also know that you are aware of these little tidbits. Take Care Link to post Share on other sites
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 16 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: I shot a .357 once with my left forefinger and thumb gripped at the cylinder gap. It did smart and throb a bit but there was no damage. I don't recommend doing any testing to see if your result will be the same. Blackfoot Anything less than ubermagnum loads is not gonna do much except teach ya a lesson. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Texas Jack Black Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Is it winter already ??? Link to post Share on other sites
Griff 1,648 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Heat exhaustion is at play. Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Bullweed 484 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Old-style three-screw Rugers are also subject to this warning. Personally I load five and spin the cylinder to make sure that I do not have any high primers. Yep, I have scratched cylinders. No, I do not care about the scratches. I spend a lot of time and money to get to matches and will sacrifice the cosmetics of a finish for that final bit of check to make sure that I do not have problems waiting for the buzzer. When it gets to the point of bothering me I hvae will the cylinders refinished. Link to post Share on other sites
Virgil Ray Hality, SASS# 37355 0 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Anything less than ubermagnum loads is not gonna do much except teach ya a lesson. +1 for this based on experience. Back in my tounger day I did this with a 44 mag Vaquero. No real damage, but it did teach me good lesson. Link to post Share on other sites
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 16 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 +1 for this based on experience. Back in my tounger day I did this with a 44 mag Vaquero. No real damage, but it did teach me good lesson. About 15 years ago, I let my brother shoot my 7.5" .45 Colt BH, loaded with a HOT load of Unique. (1100 fps) He wasn't a pistol shooter, and before I could form the words, he'd touched off a round while his left hand cradled the cylinder. He wore a "Unique" tattoo on his fingertips for a while, the powder under the skin, but aside from that, he just flinched, and said "How do ya hold this thing? It bit me." Link to post Share on other sites
Wrangler Jones, SASS # 64178 0 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Had a Swede visiting a few years back who had been a competition rifle shooter, but had no experience with revolvers. He shot the first couple of stages cradling the front of the cylinder with his off hand (light .38 Special loads). He did get some mild powder burns. Now, if he'd -a been shooting my BP loads, one shot would-a learned him. Link to post Share on other sites
Johnny The Kid , SASS 22917 0 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 No Wrangler.....that Swede wouldn't larned nothing....can't teach 'em...hardheaded...stubborn, etc.....( I am married to one....I oughta Know !!!) Johnny Link to post Share on other sites
Squint Westwood SASS#2165 0 Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Tom Bullweed, I check all of my reloaded rounds for proper fit before I box them up. Saves time and scratches at the range. Happy trails, Squint Link to post Share on other sites
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