Drop safeties on Ruger Revolvers?

T

twoblink

New member
I know how the drop safeties on say something like a Glock works, but I was wondering why it's safe (or is it??) to have a round in front of the hammer on something like what I have, an SP101...

So if someone can explain the drop safety system on a Revolver (and specifically a Ruger) if the ruger system is different than others..

Thanks.
Albert
 
I am not 100% sure if the SP101 is set up like the Vaquero, but here is how the Vaquero works...
When the trigger is pulled, there is a little wedge of steel that slides between the hammer and the firing pin. When the hammer drops, it hits the wedge. The wedge hits the firing pin, and the firing pin hits the primer. When the trigger is not pulled, the wedge is pulled away from the whole deal. If the hammer gets shoved forward, it does not hit the firing pin because it cann't reach that far. It needs the wedge to fill the gap between it and the firing pin.
 
It's just like PreserveFreedom said. Ruger, Smith, and most others use a "transfer bar" system. You pull the trigger, this engages the transfer bar, the hammer hits the transfer bar, the transfer bar hits the firing pin. You could pound on the hammer with a lead pipe, as long as the trigger is not pulled to the rear then the transfer bar will not engage, and the hammer will come no where near the firing pin.

Drop safety? What drip safety? The only revolver I know of with a drop safety is the old British Enfield.

The safe way to decock a loaded modern revolver is to grasp the trigger with you thumb and forefinger, pull the trigger to the rear until you feel the hammer release, remove your finger from the trigger, while maintaining your grasp slowly let the hammer go forward until it is at rest. The key is to take your finger off the trigger, even if your thumb and forefinger were to slip the hammer would not be able to hit the firing pin since the transfer bar would not be engaged.

Enjoy that SP101. It's one of the best handguns on the market. -- Kernel
 
PF described it correctly. The transfer bar 'transfers' the blow of the hammer to the head of the firing-pin. The S&W system is not quite the same. The hammer-block prevents the hammer from contacting the head of the pin. When the trigger is pulled, it slips down and out of the way to allow for the hammer's impact. When you release the trigger, it shoves upward again and interposes between the hammer and the pin. Either way, each revo is just as safe as can be for carrying all chambers loaded.:)
 
OK, I went and checked, I can see the transfer bar, so that makes sense..

I am VERY scared to decock a revolver though. On my SP101, the trigger in SA is like like Ally McBeal weight; about 2lbs, and so sneezing while your finger is in the trigger is enough to set it off..

Ok, now I know how the system works, I will carry my revolver with more confidence..

Thanks.
Albert
 
Hey Twoblink, pracitice decocking with snap-caps until you are comfortable performing this operation. Then when you have to with live ammo you won't end up in a cold sweat and slip-fire. My sp101 is DAO. But my super rehawk isn't, and belive me you don't want a 44 mag to go off unless you have AHOLD of it. So I always practice decocking for a couple of weeks before hunting season.
 
Thanks for the advice.. I will practice with snap caps..

The triggers on every Ruger I have ever owned, is always a bit rough.. I am thinking about Flitzing a few parts down, see if that smooths the trigger out a little bit. I sometimes put snapcaps in, and pull the trigger a few hundred times.... But that's usually when Dan Rather, or Peter Jennings are on :D I hope the trigger smooths out.. But it's a tank...

Albert
 
twoblink:

You can put your weak-side thumb between the hammer and the frame as you're decocking, too. This should help you to be a little more confident and safe.

straightShot
 
WARNING!!!

Kernel's instructions were wrong, and guaranteed to cause an ND:

"The safe way to decock a loaded modern revolver is to grasp the trigger with you thumb and forefinger, pull the trigger to the rear until you feel the hammer release, remove your finger from the trigger, while maintaining your grasp slowly let the hammer go forward until it is at rest. The key is to take your finger off the trigger, even if your thumb and forefinger were to slip the hammer would not be able to hit the firing pin since the transfer bar would not be engaged."

What he meant to say in the first sentence was:

"The safe way to decock a loaded modern revolver is to grasp the HAMMER..."

Even with that major mistake corrected, this is bad technique.

My suggestion: with the gun flat on the table as one example, start by curling your strong-hand thumb down in front of the cocked hammer. Curl your whole strong-hand around the whole gun, and trip the trigger with your strong-hand forefinger. Once the hammer is squeezing your thumb, get *everything* clear of the triggerguard and then lower the hammer.

Regarding the firing pin: on a 1911 type, the firing pin is very long and when made of steel, somewhat heavy. So on the 80-series, they lock up the firing pin because very rarely with a 70-series and below, dropping the gun right on the end of the barrel allowed the firing pin to shift forward with enough energy to set off a primer.

One way to solve this with a 70-series is to install a lighter TI firing pin which has less potential momentum on a drop.

On revolvers, the firing pin is a LOT shorter, so even factory steel parts DO NOT have the momentum to possibly crank off a primer on a drop. Therefore the firing pin is a fully floating part, which is OK. The critical thing is the transfer bar and that part as used by any reputable outfit such as Ruger is VERY reliable.
 
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