Bobbing the hammer spur on a Bulldog

[Jorah Lavin]

I've got a Bulldog Pug .44spl from Charter Arms Corp; probably more than 10 years old.

About half the time I carry the revolver in a belt holster, but the other half it is likely to be in a coat pocket. Drawing or just plain removing it from the pocket is a major pain.

Anything I need to be cautious about in terms of cutting the spur completely off? Should I get the range gunsmith to do it, or would my friendly hacksaw and a file be good enough? I don't care a whit about altering the value of the gun (I don't plan to sell it); I'm more worried about damaging the functionality of it.

I make a point of never thumbing back the hammer; it is a carry gun and since if I ever need it, I'll be firing double-action, that's how I practice, so the lack of single-action isn't a problem.

Will lightening the hammer make it work differently?

-Jorah

 

[Old Fuff]

Charter Arms made a version of the Bulldog that featured a cut-off hammer. There is no reason you can’t duplicate it using a hacksaw, files and fine-grit sanding cloth or paper. The only downside is that the lightened hammer won’t hit as hard. It’s unlikely you’ll get misfires, but if you do you’ll need to get a heavier hammer (main) spring. You may also want to remove the notch on the hammer so that it can’t be cocked into the single-action position. If all of this seems to be too complicated go to a good pistolsmith, such as Cylinder & Slide.

 

[Jorah Lavin]

O.F... a quick question

What you say about the lighter hammer not hitting so hard makes sense, but if so, why the emphasis on light hammers on 1911s? Quickness, I'd guess, but is there a similar problem with lighter strikes from them?

I can't decide if a lighter hammer would be moved faster by the existing mainspring...

Hmmm.

-Jorah

 

[Mike Irwin]

Jorah,

Using a lightened hammer on a Colt CAN cause ignition problems, which is why you can replace other parts, such as the firing pin and the firing pin spring, to make up for the lighter hammer.

Because of the design, making those sort of alterations is a bit harder in a revolver.

Generally, though, there's enough excess force in a revolver design that it can easily handle this sort of alteration.

If ignition does become a problem, you can always have the hammer slightly built up by having a replacement block welded into place, fit a heavier main spring, or doing a good action job.

 

[Deadeye Fife]

Since Charter is back in business, you might just want to e-mail them and purchase the needed parts(s) directly.

http://www.charterfirearms.com/

They have made a bobbed-hammer version for years, so they've probably already worked out the ignition problems.

 

[AK103K]

I did what you propsoing to my S&W Mod, 29. If the hammer is case hardened, you will need to "break" it with a file, or the hacksaw will just "skate" across it. I also took the single action notch off so the gun was truly DAO. (If your trigger is serrated, you may want to hit that with the file and some emery while your at it, and polish it smooth.) It was the best thing I ever did for my revolver shooting. Shooting DAO forces you to concentrate on that front sight, your scores on a target will come up a lot once you get it down, especially with a hard recoiling gun. That was the last double action revolver I owned, they are all now
"double action, single actions".

 

[Old Fuff]

Actually the ignition problems referred to probably won’t happen, but it’s something to bring up because primers vary in hardness.

In a Government Model the hammer hits the firing pin directly, where in a Charter Arms revolver the hammer hits the transfer bar, which in turn hits the firing pin. Thus the hammer’s energy is distributed to the firing pin through another part that absorbs some of the blow. You could buy another hammer as someone suggested, but I’d alter the present one that you’ve already paid for.

Frankly, if you expect to carry this revolver on occasion as a weapon and are not sure of your own skill at pistolsmithing I’d send the gun to someone like Cylinder & Slide and have the double-action tuned as part of the alterations. Professional work is more expensive but I’d charge it up to life insurance. Do your own experimenting on guns that won’t likely be used for serious purposes – at least until you get the hang of it.