First, to be clear, I am not belittling any of the posts in this discussion. I consider this to be a valid discussion, from the beginning of the original post.
Quote: “So to reiterate: my question is not about what is right/wrong or safe/unsafe in 2021, but what actually happened in the 1870's-1890s.”
Well, the only way to KNOW, is to find a statistically-meaningful sample of folks, from that era, and poll them. If we cannot find enough of them to interview, well, second best would be to find a poll that was conducted, during the time those folks were still available, to be polled. I am not sure when such polling became commonplace. We will probably have to rely upon researching the non-fiction writings of as many authors’ accounts, as we can. We know that Elmer Keith was acquainted with some number of folks who carried guns during the 19th Century, and he wrote prolifically, so, that would be a start.
Thus that still leaves these questions:
Why did Colt in the 1870's design their gateloaders with a safety notch?
Why did Colt in the 1870's advertise being able to load cartridges and carry on the safety notch?
Why do contemporary writers and target shooters from the 1880's recommend carrying on the safety notch?
And the key question: how did the average person actually carry these revolvers in the 1870's-1890s?”
Regarding the first two bold-print questions, I have little doubt that Colt’s engineers intended for the Safety Notch to work, as intended. Even if they knew that folks might tend to carry with an empty chamber, under the hammer, it was probable that loaded chambers would end up under the hammer, one way or another, so, the safety notch is something that would be a desirable feature.
In the 19th Century, as today, writers write what writers write. It is up to the educated reader to believe, or not believe. Then, as now, there was news, and fake news, and fiction, and non-fiction. Regardless, there is what I have seen called “the mist of time,” which I reckon to be a milder-mannered cousin of the often-heard “fog of war.”
Your fourth bold-print question is addressed, above. To get an “average,” one would need to find a statistically-meaningful sample.
As I type this, I am trying to remember where I read about “emergency loading” the SAA. The author/speaker recommended carrying five chambers loaded, but that one would “emergency load,” with a cartridge in each chamber, and trust the Safety Notch, when trouble was expected. “Emergency Load” just might be a term used in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. The practice was discussed by the character J.B. Books in the movie “The Shootist,” as UncleEd already mentioned, but I do not remember the words “emergency load” being spoken by John Wayne, so I think I read it elsewhere.
Quote: “So to reiterate: my question is not about what is right/wrong or safe/unsafe in 2021, but what actually happened in the 1870's-1890s.”
Well, the only way to KNOW, is to find a statistically-meaningful sample of folks, from that era, and poll them. If we cannot find enough of them to interview, well, second best would be to find a poll that was conducted, during the time those folks were still available, to be polled. I am not sure when such polling became commonplace. We will probably have to rely upon researching the non-fiction writings of as many authors’ accounts, as we can. We know that Elmer Keith was acquainted with some number of folks who carried guns during the 19th Century, and he wrote prolifically, so, that would be a start.
Thus that still leaves these questions:
Why did Colt in the 1870's design their gateloaders with a safety notch?
Why did Colt in the 1870's advertise being able to load cartridges and carry on the safety notch?
Why do contemporary writers and target shooters from the 1880's recommend carrying on the safety notch?
And the key question: how did the average person actually carry these revolvers in the 1870's-1890s?”
Regarding the first two bold-print questions, I have little doubt that Colt’s engineers intended for the Safety Notch to work, as intended. Even if they knew that folks might tend to carry with an empty chamber, under the hammer, it was probable that loaded chambers would end up under the hammer, one way or another, so, the safety notch is something that would be a desirable feature.
In the 19th Century, as today, writers write what writers write. It is up to the educated reader to believe, or not believe. Then, as now, there was news, and fake news, and fiction, and non-fiction. Regardless, there is what I have seen called “the mist of time,” which I reckon to be a milder-mannered cousin of the often-heard “fog of war.”
Your fourth bold-print question is addressed, above. To get an “average,” one would need to find a statistically-meaningful sample.
As I type this, I am trying to remember where I read about “emergency loading” the SAA. The author/speaker recommended carrying five chambers loaded, but that one would “emergency load,” with a cartridge in each chamber, and trust the Safety Notch, when trouble was expected. “Emergency Load” just might be a term used in the 19th or early 20th Centuries. The practice was discussed by the character J.B. Books in the movie “The Shootist,” as UncleEd already mentioned, but I do not remember the words “emergency load” being spoken by John Wayne, so I think I read it elsewhere.
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