Can the gun fire if I drop the hammer to fast
- Thread starter Gunsmoker
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Rumble
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Are you asking "if I pull the trigger to drop the hammer on a chambered round, will it fire?" If so, the answer is "in all likelihood, if the gun isn't defective, yes."
I think you're assuming that you are holding the hammer with your other hand and decocking or lowering it manually with the trigger depressed--I think in that case it depends on the gun (does it have a firing pin block? grip safety?), but I would assume that if you let the hammer fall too fast, it could fire the round. What kind of gun are you talking about?
I think you're assuming that you are holding the hammer with your other hand and decocking or lowering it manually with the trigger depressed--I think in that case it depends on the gun (does it have a firing pin block? grip safety?), but I would assume that if you let the hammer fall too fast, it could fire the round. What kind of gun are you talking about?
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
And that's why carrying a 1911 with a full chamber and hammer down is the dumbest move you can make, since you have to play Russian Roulette every time you load the gun.
I fully agree. If you are not comfortable carrying it the way it was designed to be - you shouldn't. I was new to the design (trans from a Glock) and wasn't sure about C&L. As a result, I did something stupid and negligent on my part (luckily I remembered rule #2). I learned my lesson and I have been carrying a 1911 for 15+ years without further incident.
I've decocked many times at the range and at home. Once even decocked on every shot just for practice. Never ADed.
It's a basic skill to learn, practice at the range with pistol pointed downrange.
Not really if you practiced, know what you are doing, or have additional safety by placing other fingers/objects between pin and hammer. Might as well say crossing the road is the dumbest move you can make, since you have to play Russian Roulette every time. Or driving a car, flying a plane, skydiving, eating, drinking... you get my point. My pistol has a decocker but I don't use it.
It's a basic skill to learn, practice at the range with pistol pointed downrange.
Not really if you practiced, know what you are doing, or have additional safety by placing other fingers/objects between pin and hammer. Might as well say crossing the road is the dumbest move you can make, since you have to play Russian Roulette every time. Or driving a car, flying a plane, skydiving, eating, drinking... you get my point. My pistol has a decocker but I don't use it.
The firing pin generally needs a pretty hard smack to set off a round. Where people get AD's when lowering a hammer is when the hammer slips from their grasp and falls under the power of the hammer spring unrestricted for at least 1/2 of its normal distance. On old single actions revolvers and guns like the 1911 the purpose of the 1/2 cock notch is to catch a hammer that slips from the thumb during cocking. An accidental release prior to the 1/2 cock position would not have enough energy to set off a round. The same is true when decocking, however when decocking the trigger is being held back so the 1/2 cock will never engage.
A simple description of safely decocking any firearm is: maintain positive control of the hammer with the thumb while lowering the hammer through the full distance of its travel.
A simple description of safely decocking any firearm is: maintain positive control of the hammer with the thumb while lowering the hammer through the full distance of its travel.
Shweboner
Member
I 'manually decocked' my Walther P22 and had the round go off.
Scared the $#!^ out of me. not to mention snagging my thumb on the slide as is the pistol recoiled.
Scared the $#!^ out of me. not to mention snagging my thumb on the slide as is the pistol recoiled.
carpettbaggerr
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Decockers can break, if they do, the gun may go full-auto
Remember to keep it pointed in a safe direction even with the decocker
I remember reading somewhere that if your gun has a decocker, use it to lower the hammer. If you don't on some models, and the article didn't mention which ones, the firing pin block may not properly engage. If you manually lower the hammer and the gun is dropped or the hammer is smacked hard enough, it may discharge. The article mentioned several people, one of which was a LEO have been killed this way. The cop supposedly dropped the gun off of a stack of paper he was carrying. While I read this article (I can't recall the mag) with a grain of salt, it's something to think about.
The officer who was killed was LAPD SWAT. He was carrying a Sig 220 that he had manually decocked (thereby bypassing the safeties and putting the hammer dangerously close to the firing pin) in a holster that was stacked amidst other belongings he was carrying. The Sig fell to the ground and discharged upwards, striking him in the torso.
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