Revolver safeties?

Ping: Oleg Volk

Poster Idea: This is a gun. (point to gun) This is the safety. (point to head)

rbmcmjr,

What is the exact mechanism in that lock that they can claim low failure rate? Seems if the device is popular enough to warrant the bad guys needing to defeat it they would just need to have a kitchen magnet handy.

Frankly, the 8 to 10 pound pull on a DA trigger or the need to pull back the hammer on an SA is all the safety I want, thank you. Not being an LEO I would take the BG down before they were too close. Not a good time to hesitate.

....calls to mind the expresion "as useful as an accordian on a duck hunt"
....or was it "as useful as a bicycle at a square dance"

The safety on my S-W 340pd is a 12lb trigger pull. The second safety is the HOLSTER that covers the trigger gaurd. The third safety is ME and knowledge of the gun.

This whole revolver-safety thing is a myth perpetrated by the movies!

But revolvers are totally safe. You can load one, cock it, and then drop it from 10 feet in the air and it will not go off. In fact, in the state of California, each gun manufacturer must submit several editions of every model to the state where this exact test is done (at some expense to the company). They don't go off.

This is a huge misperception among people who have never handled a gun. My buddy used to literally sleep with a loaded revolver under his pillow. He brought this up at dinner one night and several of the women at the table were in complete disbelief. "What if it goes off?!?!" was all they could ask/think about. When they didn't believe that it won't "go off" because the revolver didn't have a "safety" like in the cop movies - the men at the table pitched in money to get them all basic NRA shooting courses - the kind where you go and spend maybe 90 minutes in a classroom and then another 90 on a range - very basic stuff. Well, today, not only are they all convinced that the guns won't go off, but two of them have taken up shooting and one's gun collection is already better than mine (although I'm a revolver guy and she took to small semi autos rather quickly).

The point: LOTS of people do not understand guns. AT ALL.

Don't worry, original poster, no safety is needed.

Interesting topic.....

I've been questioned by new or novice shooters in this regard, with the newcomers...upon hearing my encouragement toward the wheelgun...stating that many "modern" semi's
don't have "safeties"...so why limit one's self unnecessarily, particularly in terms of mag capacity and "overall cool!"

My reply is that the revolver, in my opinion, has SEVERAL safeties...eliciting the response of "what do you mean?". My reply is that the safeties are not so much mechanical as they are psychological and are triggered visually. The first and probably most significant is the cylinder movement...pulled DA or cocked SA. When the shooter sees this, he/she knows something is happening or about to happen! Moreover, the shooter very frequently sees the edge of the case rims..."telling" him or her that the thing is LOADED and so when the cylinder moves the thing is probably gonna go 'Boom!"...and, unless the weapon is hammerless, there is the rearward movement of the hammer also.

Given that the shooter is reasonably awake and alert then, these visual "warning signs" or "safeties" usually are sufficient to cause the mental alarm bells to sound ( most of the time! ). It also reminds the shooter of the relationship of pulling the trigger ( initiating the firing cycle ) to the movement of that cylinder ( cause n' effect) being a necessary requisite for the firing of the thing ( placing the round in a position wherein it might be discharged ).

It is also pointed out that...particularly on the striker-fired autos...there are none of these things!!

In my experience anyway...most new shooters understand and like the explanation, and frequently start out with a wheelgun...at least until he or she "grows" as a shooter in both skill and confidence...

You don't need no stinkin' safety on a revolver. My DAO 9mm Kel Tec P11 has no safety, either. The common bond here is DOUBLE ACTION! You don't carry the gun cocked condition one. You carry it with the hammer down. There are safeties IN the gun, either a hammer block as with old S&Ws with hammer mounted firing pins, or transfer bars as with Rugers with floating firing pins.

When the hammer is down, the gun is not going to go bang. What makes it go bang is a long pull of a 10-13 lbs (or somewhere there abouts) DA trigger. The fact that it has no external safety is a GOOD thing, simplifies the manual of arms. Draw gun, aim, pull trigger, bang.

I think the concept of revolver safeties had merit back when most cops still carried revolvers, being as many cops are/were shot with their own guns. Nowadays, maybe not too useful.

If no one else has done so.....

I would advise you to buy a used Smith & Wesson revolver. An old Model 10 in .38 special with a 4" barrel would do admirably. Then take it to the range and prepare to be amazed. They point like they're a part of you, the smoothness of the triggers have to be felt to be believed, and they are uncannily accurate. And be sure to shoot it double action. It's not that difficult with a really good weapon.

What is the exact mechanism in that lock that they can claim low failure rate? Seems if the device is popular enough to warrant the bad guys needing to defeat it they would just need to have a kitchen magnet handy.

Click to expand...

The device replaces the front strap of the revolver with a "module" that preferentially blocks the rebound slide of the S&W trigger mechanism. When the ring magnet comes within range, it rotates the block out of the way and allows the normal trigger pull. It takes a serious magnetic field to make this work. A kitchen magnet won't cut it, although I have made it work with a magnet from a computer disk drive. I suppose a hardcore criminal would hedge his bets and get the rings, but most aren't aware of the possibility.

Frankly, the 8 to 10 pound pull on a DA trigger or the need to pull back the hammer on an SA is all the safety I want, thank you. Not being an LEO I would take the BG down before they were too close. Not a good time to hesitate.

Click to expand...

That is why I went with the magna-trigger. There is no hesitation. Grab gun, squeeze trigger. It works every time. I check it for operation each month and in the five years I have had it, it has never failed to go bang. Cleaning is simple, it just slides out of the grip frame.

Ultimately, I chose this for a simple reason: In the dark, without my glasses, I don't want to have to fumble for levers or magazines or whatever, so a revolver is the right choice for me. But this provides some "proprietariness" that makes it difficult for someone else to use it against me, which is a risk with point and shoot weapons. Someone who made it into the room would not have a weapon of opportunity (it is on the nightstand) and that moment while they tried to make the gun fire might be just enough for me to take some other action to settle things down.

That's the theory anyway.

The Heritage Arms Rough Rider has a safety that uses a rebounding firing pin without the transfer bar. When the safety is engaged a horizontal bar comes up in front of the hammer to prevent it from stiking the rebounding firing pin. When the safety is in the off position the bar is retracted and the the hammer can hit the firing pin in a normal way when the revolver is cocked and fired. In my opinion the best way I have seen of adding a mechanical safety to a SA revolver and along with one empty chamber an "almost foolproof" safety. It does complicate fast draws though.

If you truly think you need a safety for a revolver, just get a single action. Pulling back the hammer can be your safety.