straightshooterjake
New member
There is a reason that highly tuned competition revolvers for speed games have bobbed hammers, and it is not just because the single action is not needed. These revolvers have lightened hammers because they can get reliable ignition with less mainspring tension than a heavier hammer requires. That's right, competition revolvers use a lighter hammer and a lighter mainspring. And these are games that do not have alibis, so reliability matters, and misfires are not being tolerated.
Of course, the hammer does need some mass to set off primers, so it is possible for the hammer to be too light. But on many stock hammers, there is more far mass than necessary. This makes sense since the factory probably uses the following criterion for hammer design: cost of machining, ergonomics, and appearance. So as long as there is more mass than necessary, I don't think it is important to them.
Anyone interested in this subject should google "carmonized hammer" to learn more about the work done by gunsmith Mike Carmoney in this area. Pretty cool stuff.
Of course, most of the real world testing on bobbed hammers has been on S&W. I am not aware of a lot of testing on the Charter Arms revolvers that are the subject of this thread. But I would be pretty surprised if trimming the spur caused a problem.
Note though, that the lighter hammers only work for centerfires. Centerfire primers like to be struck very fast, and light hammers will move fast. Rimfires need to be crushed, and it generally takes a heavier hammer and a stronger spring to do it.
Of course, the hammer does need some mass to set off primers, so it is possible for the hammer to be too light. But on many stock hammers, there is more far mass than necessary. This makes sense since the factory probably uses the following criterion for hammer design: cost of machining, ergonomics, and appearance. So as long as there is more mass than necessary, I don't think it is important to them.
Anyone interested in this subject should google "carmonized hammer" to learn more about the work done by gunsmith Mike Carmoney in this area. Pretty cool stuff.
Of course, most of the real world testing on bobbed hammers has been on S&W. I am not aware of a lot of testing on the Charter Arms revolvers that are the subject of this thread. But I would be pretty surprised if trimming the spur caused a problem.
Note though, that the lighter hammers only work for centerfires. Centerfire primers like to be struck very fast, and light hammers will move fast. Rimfires need to be crushed, and it generally takes a heavier hammer and a stronger spring to do it.
