Effect of hammer cocking?

[doctorhumbert]

I frequently hammer cock an empty auto pistol with a thumb in order to do dry fire practice. I heard that you can actually wearout and worsen the sear this way, compared to cocking it by slide racking. Is this true? Also what damage would it do to sear, if hammer is frequently droppped on half cocking notch? I have 1911 and Sig P210 which I frequently dry fire.

 

[griz]

My vote is don't worry about it. I find it hard to believe that thumbing the hammer would be rougher on the gun than the fairly violent motion of the slide knocking it back.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

There is a very real reason why hammers have serations or checkering and that is so that they can be thumb-cocked.

Does thumb-cocking add undue wear of some sort? Every time parts in contact with one another are moved, there is friction and hence there is wear. How it is that somebody has managed to measure the difference between slide racking and thumb-cocking to determine one cause more wear than the other is amazing.

Okay, so maybe you only get 100,000 rounds off the sear instead of 110,000. Were you able to keep track?

 

[doctorhumbert]

Ok, I too doubt that there is much difference. BUt I am curious about mechanics of sear hammer engagement. Especially on 1911s. when hammer is cocked manually, the disconnector is not pressed. When it is slide cocked, disconnector is engaged. Doese this have different effect on hammer/sear contact method?

 

[BigG]

The 45 Govt Model disconnector just takes the trigger out of contact with the sear. I think the sear acts the same whether disconnector operates or not. YMMV

 

[RustyHammer]

.... "Don't worry, be happy" ....

 

[Old Fuff]

John Browning designed the Government Model so that the trigger didn’t push on the sear. Instead the trigger pushes on the tail (bottom) of the disconector which in turn pushes on the sear. When the pistol is out-of-battery the disconector is pushed downward so that the tail is no longer aligned with the sear. Consequently pulling the trigger while the slide is not fully closed has no effect on the sear.

When the slide is “in battery†or closed the disconector remains lined up with the sear, so the hammer can be thumb-cocked, and the hammer will fall when the trigger’s pulled. Browning intended that the pistol could be carried with the chamber loaded and the hammer fully down. To fire, simply cock the hammer and pull the trigger.

Dry firing is not harmful, and will cause no damage to the hammer or sear. Browning expected the piece would be dry-fired in the course of normal training. If there was a problem it would have been discovered long before now.