DAO S&W ??

[Grayrock]

Shot a S &W the other day that belonged to a friend. I was shooting single action pistols. I told him he was cheating because he did not pull the hammer back after each shot, then he told me he COULDN'T. I looked at his gun. It was a 4 inch barrel .357- but I do not know what model. It was about the same size as my Ruger Security Six. It has a traditional hammer on it, but if you tried to pull it back to fire single action, it would not stay. You could only fire it double action. Did Smith sell revolvers like this? My feeling was that it was either broken, or had had a garage mechanic grind off the single action notch in the hammer. I did notice that on the left side of the frame was engraved "C.A.I." Does that have any relevance?

 

[denfoote]

My first guess would be that your friend has something amiss with his gun and should have a smith look at it!!
As far as I know, the DA revolvers had either an enclosed or bobbed hammer. If there is a hammer, then you should be able to cock it single action!!

Also, as far as I know, CAI stands for Century Arms International, which means the gun could be a police trade in that was modified to shoot DA only!!! I would still have your friend take it in to a gunsmith!!

 

[Jack2427]

S&W has made DAO revolvers with a hammer spur for a number of agencies. In the early 80s, the Chicago PD required a .357 DAO Smith or Ruger, but required a hammer spur. My wife had one of them(still does). Interestingly even though the PD required a .357, they would only allow .38 Special ammo. The required load was the 158 gr SWHP+P, the rationale was probably to have the .357 for the +P ammo. This requirement was short lived as the PD went to semi autos in the late 80s, early 90s. Some of the revolvers were locally altered to DAO and some were direct from Smith. The hammer spur requirement was so the revolver would fit regular holsters with a hammer type restraining strap.

 

[Old Fuff]

Jack is correct. S&W did make DAO revolvers with the hammer spur for the reasons Jack explained. Your friend could replace the hammer with a standard one, which would return the revolver to a SA/DA configuration.

 

[pezo]

that is very bizzare, I would have the hammer replaced with a bobbed version. I do love DAO revo's but having a hammer spur on it would make me uneasy, someone would want to cock the hammer for a nice steady shot then kaboom unexpecticaly.

 

[4v50 Gary]

A relative bought a S&W from a lady whose husband had passed away. He was retired LAPD. Like all LAPD revolvers, it had the SA notch ground off the hammer. He knew I could fix it and bought it. I got a used part, fitted it and he was happy as a clam.

 

[Elmer]

that is very bizzare, I would have the hammer replaced with a bobbed version. I do love DAO revo's but having a hammer spur on it would make me uneasy, someone would want to cock the hammer for a nice steady shot then kaboom unexpecticaly.

They won't fire unless the trigger is held to the rear.

 

[Grayrock]

They won't fire unless the trigger is held to the rear

How does that work? The firing pin is on the hammer, right? Is there a transfer bar safety?

 

[JoeHatley]

No transfer bar, but there is a hammer block.

Joe

 

[mainmech48]

Can't remember the place where it happened, but there was a messy trial complete with overwrought media many years ago concerning an LEO in a major city. IIRC, the major prosecution argument was that the officer had cocked his service revolver, setting up a "hair trigger" situation which resulted in the death of the suspect via ND.

While I believe that the officer in this case was eventually acquitted, the upshot was that his department converted all of their issue revolvers to DA-only and made that feature a specification for future contracts. A good many other departments followed suit, and S&W manufactured a considerable number of revolvers in several models (mostly 'K' frames, IIRC) where the SA function had been removed but the outward appearance of the hammer was unchanged to supply these contracts.

IMO, your friend's revolver is likely one of these which was traded-in during the switch by LEAs to semi-autos and subsequently sold on the civilian market.

 

[Jack2427]

You are referring to a case in Miami, FL. Where a riot ensued after the shooting of a minority group member by an LEO. The Officer was charged criminally but acquitted, then there was the usual civil action in which the theory of the cocked weapon with a "hair trigger" was introduced by the plaintiffs lawyer purely as speculation, but it got great play, and did result in a number of agencies going to DAO revolvers. The "hair trigger" was never proven, but was never disproven either.