Revolvers Are Not "Drop Proof" Are They?

[The Expert]

I saw a news story a little while ago where a CCW holster "dropped" her handgun while using the restroom. It fired and struck the person in the next stall in the leg. Not good. Police were labeling it an "accidental discharge".

In the comments section a lot of people were saying how it's strange that when there are no witnesses the gun always seems to find a way to go off "by itself" but when there are witnesses it always seems that finger came in contact with trigger.

Others chimed in saying that most guns are drop proof, so that adds to the probability of it being a "negligent" discharge.

After thinking about it though, I came to the realization that if I spilled my S&W 686 out of my holster while dropping trou and it fell onto a hard surface and it landed on the hammer, the gun would probably go off.

Am I right on this? Are the majority of revolvers not drop proof?

 

[TechBrute]

Good quality revolvers have a bar that blocks the hammer or firing pin until the trigger is pulled. Can't speak to all revolvers made, though. I'm sure there are some cheap guns out there.

 

[highorder]

I came to the realization that if I spilled my S&W 686 out of my holster while dropping trou and it fell onto a hard surface and it landed on the hammer, the gun would probably go off.

Your 686 would not discharge. Modern S&W revolvers are drop safe.

 

[MartinS]

A Colt SAA and its true clones have nothing to keep the firing pin off a primer if it hits the floor on the hammer. Drop one on the hammer with all six loaded and it can make a loud noise. Embarrassed Wyatt once.

 

[Guillermo]

you could chuck your 686 into a vise and pound on the hammer with a sledge and it would not fire

 

[Kernel]

99.9% of new revolvers sold are drop proof. The exception being some replicas 19th century designs that are sold specifically to mimic cowboy era guns. Not the kind of firearm most people would typically have as a concealed carry piece. That said, some revolvers made 30 years ago, and more, were not drop proof. Though, most made in the time frame of the 20th century, were.

 

[JellyJar]

It is easy to remove the hammer block from any modern S&W revolver. I once met a man who had shrapnel scars on his leg. He had a used M29 that was dropped on its hammer. The gun discharged, the bullet hit a hard surface and fragmented with the fragments hitting his leg.

Buy a used S&W revolver, check to make sure the hammer block is still there. The rebound hammer alone is not safe.

 

[Buck Snort]

If they were not drop proof they'd not be available for sale in the PRC.

 

[bigfatdave]

I came to the realization that if I spilled my S&W 686 out of my holster while dropping trou and it fell onto a hard surface and it landed on the hammer, the gun would probably go off.

Seriously? Really?
Why do you carry a gun you aren't familiar with the internal workings of? OF COURSE you have a drop-safe gun, unless someone has been tinkering with important components.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_(firearms)
A modern DA revolver probably has a Hammer Block or a Transfer Bar type passive safety. When you pull the trigger, either a shutter moves out of the way or a link of the hammer->primer chain is moved into place, what this means is that a hammer at rest is incapable of bonking the primer, and even a hammer bashed off of the cocked position would be prevented from firing the gun.

Take a look at the place where the hammer lands as you dry-fire (dry-fire is done with an unloaded gun, be absolutely sure your gun is not loaded to attempt dry-fire, snap-caps are recommended but not a requirement for occasional dry-fire).
Something should move into or out of the path between the hammer and firing pin.

 

[DickM]

Just to add a little historical note that I'm sure many here already know, but may be new information for others . . .

The hammer block feature was added to S&W revolvers in 1944 at the request of the US Navy following an incident in which a revolver was dropped on a Navy ship and discharged, killing a sailor. Approximately 40,000 revolvers were retrofitted with the new design and it became standard on all S&W revolvers manufactured since that time.

 

[Oyeboten]

Yeahhh...some have a block or other devise or design aspect, which will prevent or help prevent the Revolver Firing if dropped or if dropped on the Hammer over a loaded Chamber, and, others, older Revolvers or older designs, do not, or may not.


I think some of the idea of responsible Operation and Ownership of a Revolver, if not of self esteem possibly also, is to be aware enough, and to have enough of an intact motor cortex, and circumspect, to manage one's self and the Arm, without dropping it.


Babys are like this also...as are many things.

 

[Old Shooter]

Buy a used S&W revolver, check to make sure the hammer block is still there. The rebound hammer alone is not safe.

OF COURSE you have a drop-safe gun, unless someone has been tinkering with important components.

Keep both of these comments in mind whenever you buy ANY used gun. I have seen a lot of Bubba'd guns that parts removed, installed incorrectly or whatever. A lot of people remove safety features THEY don't like such as mag safes, disabled grip safeties, hammer blocks, etc and then the guns get sold/traded, whatever.

The new owner doesn't reliase he now has a gun with some missing/modified features that may not be evident until some sort of event happens that the missing feature was designed to deal with.

This may result in an "OOPS!, What the heck? Why'd it do that? or mayby a sudden loud noise with results in varying degrees of disaster.

I always strip a "new to me" used gun down and check it for any mechanical/safety issues prior to the first range trip. Most tmes it's just a chance to become more familiar with that particular guns' maintenance history and internal workings but on occassion I have found items that needed to be addressed before putting it to use and feeling comfortable with it.

Sometimes its due to normal wear, other times it has been "Uncle Bubba" and his handy-dandy Dremel tool gunsmithing special.

 

[MachIVshooter]

SAA and clones have been covered, and as well many of the cheaper guns imported before half the members on this board aren't drop safe (especially lots of .22's). Sometimes it requires the user understand the gun, too; THe NAA mini's aren't inherently drop safe, but have safety notches for carry. If one fails to rest the FP in those notches, it most cerrtainly can discharge if dropped.

Know your gun.

The 686 you have, if unmodified, absolutely cannot discharge from being dropped.

 

[rscalzo]

In most cases of dropped handguns, they are semi-autos and the instinct to catch them causes the discharge. We investigated one of those incidents and due to carrying in a shoulder holster the became unsecured, the handgun dropped and the individual attempted to catch it.

As a mechanical device, anything can fail but the internal workings of handguns (top quality ones at least) are well made and as foolproof as possible. Being involved in the training of many new shooters in the early 80's when revolvers were still the norm, I've seem them dropped with no discharges. Not that it can't happen as nothing is absolute.

 

[Tallinar]

In a nutshell, revolvers with transfer bar or hammer block mechanisms should be impervious to drop discharges.

 

[MCgunner]

A Colt SAA and its true clones have nothing to keep the firing pin off a primer if it hits the floor on the hammer. Drop one on the hammer with all six loaded and it can make a loud noise. Embarrassed Wyatt once.

That's why you load 5 and leave the hammer down on an empty chamber. If you were really super duper raging paranoid about a 686, you could always carry it on an empty chamber. Me, I'm not paranoid. If I owned a 73 Colt clone, I'd carry it five up, though, just like the cowboys did.

 

[CraigC]

If I owned a 73 Colt clone, I'd carry it five up, though, just like the cowboys did.

It's the only way to fly.

 

[dunnington]

Seriously? Really?
Why do you carry a gun you aren't familiar with the internal workings of? OF COURSE you have a drop-safe gun, unless someone has been tinkering with important components.

hey Dave, lets be a little more high road on this. Are you really flaming some one for carrying a gun for self defense? No, not everyone is going to know EVERYTHING about the guns they carry, and by all rights while it is wise to know your weapons, the number one concern is safety, which our fine op seems to be on the right track about. Yes his gun is as drop proof as a gun can be, but do not make him feel stupid for not knowing that. He is asking a question. Don't make someone feel stupid for asking.
And as mentioned, all mechanical devices CAN fail, and strange flukes DO happen so you can never be TOO careful when it comes to firearms. I learned this recently with an accidental discharge(cause by not being careful) I posted a thread about in the shotgun forum. so yes be careful not to drop any gun, because the number one safety feature for any gun is a careful gun user.

 

[Kernel]

The hammer block feature was added to S&W revolvers in 1944

I’m surprised it took them that long. How about the S&W “Lemon Squeezer”, was that drop proof?

 

[Oyeboten]

Well...it'd be kinda hard for a 'Lemon Squeezer', if dropped, to land on the Hammer anyway.

I don't have one to study, but, if I had to guess, I would guess the Hammer has a rebound position which it reverts to when at rest, and, this would probably preclude the Revolver firing if dropped.


Just a guess though...

 

[oneounceload]

never mind

 

[Jim Watson]

S&W's had a hammer block long before 1944, it just turned out to be possible to override it by dropping the gun on a steel deck. So they redesigned it to be positive in action.
Colt double actions had a postive hammer block from about 1905, the basis for model names like Police Positive.

Most makes other than S&W have since gone to transfer bars which were originated by Iver Johnson and Harrington & Richardson.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

As with all S&W revolvers made from about WWII, it has a very positive hammer block. If everything is in good working order, you could drop it from an airplane and it would not discharge.

I saw a news story a little while ago where a CCW holster "dropped" her handgun while using the restroom. It fired and struck the person in the next stall in the leg. Not good. Police were labeling it an "accidental discharge".

As with most such incidents, we are not getting the whole story.

 

[BCRider]

posted by dunnington;
hey Dave, lets be a little more high road on this. Are you really flaming some one for carrying a gun for self defense? No, not everyone is going to know EVERYTHING about the guns they carry, and by all rights while it is wise to know your weapons, the number one concern is safety, which our fine op seems to be on the right track about.

To be fair to Dave I didn't read it that way. What I did read is a serious appeal for any carrying user to know their gun. And if they are not self sufficient enough to be able to open the gun up and check it for condition then any used gun they purchase should be checked by a smith to ensure that it is in original condition and has all the parts in place.

As someone metioned already often used guns have a questionable past. For range use where only loaded and pointed at paper or steel this isn't a big deal. But for carry in public it should be the responsibility of the new owner to have the gun be checked or, if able, to check it themselves to ensure that nothing has been tampered with. To my way of thinking this ranks right up there with ensuring the gun is unloaded and magazine free before beginning to clean it or dry fire practice with it or even to pick it up and fondle it.

So I would say that if he came across a little strong it was only with the best of intentions.

 

[orionengnr]

I'm sorry to have to ask this, but after choosing a screen name like "The Expert", aren't you a bit embarassed to ask a question that is so trivial? If not, you should be....