accident

[Norinco]

Which Confederate knockoff Colt 1851 had a cylinder with twelve bolt notches? I remember seeing a picture of it somewhere.

 

[Zonie]

Which Confederate knockoff Colt 1851 had a cylinder with twelve bolt notches? I remember seeing a picture of it somewhere.

That would be the Rigdon-Ansley made in Augusta, Georgia.

 

[scrubbs]

I guess in the end its all about muzzle control.
Thats what i taught in hunter safety. And a safety is a mechanical device that can fail. Half cock isnt a safety.

Unloaded cylendar is best on revolvers.Even John Wayne said that in the movie, the shootist."so i dont shoot me"

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Agreed, but don't load six and cap five thinking you'll just cap that chamber after firing one or two. That open nipple behind a loaded chamber is a chainfire waiting to happen.

 

[Dphar]

If only 5 chambers are loaded the hammer can rest on the unloaded chambers uncapped nipple and the cylinder cannot turn.

The better reproduction Colts also have a small pin located on the rear of the cylinder between each nipple.

These pins are safety devices meant to have the hammer face lowered down on one of them.
The pin fits into the slot on the face of the hammer and prevents the cylinder from rotating.

Of course, if the hammer is raised slightly it will disengage from the pin allowing the cylinder to rotate.

Remington cut big notches into the rear of their cylinder for the nose of the hammer.
With the hammer nose in one of these notches the cylinder cannot rotate.

As with the Colt, if the hammer is raised, disengaging the nose from the cylinder notch the cylinder can rotate.

The safest way is to just load 5 chambers and rest the hammer on the unloaded chambers uncapped nipple.
My reading indicates this was fairly common with civilian revolver owners back in the day.

I am going to repeat much of my previous post since I think its important to support and expand on Zonies comments. The concepts are well worth repeating.
The 5 loaded only is the only real choice with round cylinder Colts, never owned a Remington, Colt is more ergonomic. But this concept is true for all "old school" SA revolvers.
Loaded but uncapped can have the uncapped chamber firing due to flash at the back of the cylinder.
As previously stated only the full fluted Colt can be carried with 6 loaded and this needs experimentation to assure it does not move to a cap when so used. If there is any doubt only load 5 (or 4 in some models).
ALL of the other Colts will end up with the hammer on a cap unless the cylinder is trapped in a tight fitting holster and may do so when drawn from the holster. Very little movement of the hammer will result in the cylinder rotating unless the arm is one of the 12 lock bolt notch Colt copies from the Civil War era. This requires more hammer movement to unlock since the lock bolt needs to be pulled from the cut in the cyl.
I have carried a full flute 60 army a lot, every day for a couple of years and the edges of the lock bolt will mark the cylinder flutes but the hammer will not get on a cap at least mine never did, unless the hammer in pulled back so far the lock bolt is retracted. A Colt Navy carried in a sash as per Hickock will be on the adjacent nipple in very little time in my experience. With the hammer down on the nipple the lock is its cut and its much less likely to shift.
I would NEVER uncap a percussion gun and assume to was unloaded. Once capped the chance of having some compound on the nipple is just too great.

Dan

 

[shovelhead]

After thinking this over a bit it seems to me that even if there are notches, pins, etc there is the chance in putting a holstered gun away that it could slip out of the holster AND if you were dead tired at the end of the day and picked it up by the muzzle- drawing it to you, you could catch the hammer spur on the car seat enough to pull it back and when it comes free of the snag and falls on a capped chamber- it fires.
So.....load and cap only five. Makes sense. It doesn't make the gun "accident free" but it does add a layer of safety.

 

[boar]

In Ohio too. Dilly

 

[MSW]

Don't know if it's true, but i read somewhere that folks in the Old West would carry paper money rolled up in the cylinder that was 'under the hammer,' thus ensuring that there was nothing that would accidentally go off, and this was called "burying money."

just macabre enough to be plausible.

 

[pargent]

With the hammer resting on an empty chamber ,if the hammer catches on something the cyclinder will most likely move arround to the next chamber & as the hammerslips it may very likely fire that chamber if it is loaded.Carrying a revolver hammer down on an empty chamber is realy only a safegaurd against an AD if the pistol is dropped.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Can't argue with that. :thumbsup:

 

[DutchmanDick]

Putting a capped gun in a car is an accident looking for a place to happen and illegal. When people get killed doing something like that I call it death by stupidity.

AKA "earning a Darwin Award".

 

[David Teague]

You guys ever read the period journals with the western expansion?

Quite a few graves were filled by men pulling their capped rifle towards them while geting it out of the wagon.

This isn't anything new. :idunno:

Signed,

David (My wagon train ancestors were smart enough not to shoot themselves) Teague

 

[Mulebrain]

The guy who got killed, violated one of the simplest rules in firearms safety.

Too bad! :shake:

 

[shovelhead]

The gun must have been out of its holster, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a rawhide thong,loop over the hammer spur to make sure it stays in the holster.

 

[chuck-ia]

I guess if he had a concealed carry permit it would be legal to carry in the car capped, don't know why he would though. I would guess he was cold and got in a hurry (careless) to get the car warmed up. It would be interesting to know the details. If it was carried on an empty cyl. the hammer would have had to come back far enough to rotate the cyl. to a loaded chamber and fall, BOOM. I would guess it was carried with all 6 loaded and was tossed in the vehicle, BOOM. flinch