Fanning
- Thread starter rmocarsky
- Start date
Fanning's BS unless you're Bob Munden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcZHVspVIDs
A stock Colt SAA has heavy springs and the ability to fan like in
the movies is pretty much impractical.
Fast draw SAs need beefed up locking bolts,
elongated cylinder stops and sometimes spoon-like
hammers to get good leverage. They are 20th
Century "trick" guns.
The recoil of a .45 Colt with a 250 grain bullet and
38 or 36 grains of black powder forces the gun
to ride up a fair amount, negating a second
"fanning" shot with any hope of accuracy.
The fast draw crowd, of course, is using
light loads or even wax bullets to achieve
their fantastic speeds and relative accuracy.
As for Bob Munden, his guns were tricked up
and his fanning consisted of thumb cock and
fire first, index finger cock and fire, middle
finger cock and fire and fourth finger cock and fire
and finally small finger cock and fire.
In effect, he was achieving five shots with
one single "fan" of the hand.
the movies is pretty much impractical.
Fast draw SAs need beefed up locking bolts,
elongated cylinder stops and sometimes spoon-like
hammers to get good leverage. They are 20th
Century "trick" guns.
The recoil of a .45 Colt with a 250 grain bullet and
38 or 36 grains of black powder forces the gun
to ride up a fair amount, negating a second
"fanning" shot with any hope of accuracy.
The fast draw crowd, of course, is using
light loads or even wax bullets to achieve
their fantastic speeds and relative accuracy.
As for Bob Munden, his guns were tricked up
and his fanning consisted of thumb cock and
fire first, index finger cock and fire, middle
finger cock and fire and fourth finger cock and fire
and finally small finger cock and fire.
In effect, he was achieving five shots with
one single "fan" of the hand.
Bob Wright
New member
Whatever you do, don't try fanning a Ruger Blackhawk!
Bob Wright
Bob Wright
Bob is right! Particularly an old (or I guess there's new ones too) Flat-top. The sharp corners on the Micro sight will rip your had to shreds.
I read an account of a gun fight in one of the Kansas cattle towns that took place across a card table. One of the participants fanned his pistol empty, missing every time. The recipient of this intended fire smartly side stepped to a position behind a pot belly stove and from that meager cover fired one aimed shot, killing his assailant.
A good indication of the uselessness of fanning a single action revolver. (smile)
Dave
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
In Cowboy Action Shooting some competitors use a technique called Slip Hammering. This is a two handed technique. The revolver is held at eye level so it can be sighted accurately. The strong had holds the gun and the trigger finger of the strong hand holds the trigger back. The thumb of the other hand cocks the hammer using a rolling motion. As the hammer goes all the way back, the thumb slips off the hammer allowing it to fall. With practice this can be an effective technique to fire a single action revolver very rapidly.
Fanning is completely different. The revolver is not held at eye level, but is instead held at hip level. The trigger finger holds the trigger back while the other hand slams the hammer back and releases it. Since this is hip shooting, careful aiming is not possible. Also, the hand hitting the hammer slams it so hard muzzle control is very difficult and the gun may be pointing just about anywhere when it fires.
Slip Hammering is a legal technique in CAS, however most practitioners of it are shooting very lightly loaded 38s with hardly any recoil. A round that recoils heavily will slow the shooter down as he needs to reacquire the sights after every shot.
Fanning is not legal in CAS because it is difficult to control the gun. Fanning is pretty well relegated to Cowboy Fast Draw competition where wax bullets are used instead of lead.
In Cowboy Action Shooting some competitors use a technique called Slip Hammering. This is a two handed technique. The revolver is held at eye level so it can be sighted accurately. The strong had holds the gun and the trigger finger of the strong hand holds the trigger back. The thumb of the other hand cocks the hammer using a rolling motion. As the hammer goes all the way back, the thumb slips off the hammer allowing it to fall. With practice this can be an effective technique to fire a single action revolver very rapidly.
Fanning is completely different. The revolver is not held at eye level, but is instead held at hip level. The trigger finger holds the trigger back while the other hand slams the hammer back and releases it. Since this is hip shooting, careful aiming is not possible. Also, the hand hitting the hammer slams it so hard muzzle control is very difficult and the gun may be pointing just about anywhere when it fires.
Slip Hammering is a legal technique in CAS, however most practitioners of it are shooting very lightly loaded 38s with hardly any recoil. A round that recoils heavily will slow the shooter down as he needs to reacquire the sights after every shot.
Fanning is not legal in CAS because it is difficult to control the gun. Fanning is pretty well relegated to Cowboy Fast Draw competition where wax bullets are used instead of lead.
"...unless you're Bob Munden..." And his irons are modified for what he does.
Nobody in their right mind fans anyway. It's unsafe and totally inaccurate.
"...One of the participants fanned his pistol empty..." Wouldn't have been his property and it's highly unlikely he had ever fired the thing. Average cowboy did not own a firearm or the horse her ode. Probably wouldn't have been allowed in town, armed, anyway.
"...with a shotgun in a dark alley..." From a dark alley.
Nobody in their right mind fans anyway. It's unsafe and totally inaccurate.
"...One of the participants fanned his pistol empty..." Wouldn't have been his property and it's highly unlikely he had ever fired the thing. Average cowboy did not own a firearm or the horse her ode. Probably wouldn't have been allowed in town, armed, anyway.
"...with a shotgun in a dark alley..." From a dark alley.
T.O'Heir,
Not everyone involved in a gunfight was a "cowboy". In this case one was a gambler and the other participant was a teamster (I think the gambler was the winner but I'm not sure - it's been too long since I read about it).
And which ever of the cow towns this was (again, memory fails me) no gun prohibition was in effect at the time.
Dave
Not everyone involved in a gunfight was a "cowboy". In this case one was a gambler and the other participant was a teamster (I think the gambler was the winner but I'm not sure - it's been too long since I read about it).
And which ever of the cow towns this was (again, memory fails me) no gun prohibition was in effect at the time.
Dave
Contrary to the Western myth, most ranches did not allow the hands to carry their own guns, especially handguns. If a cowhand was taken on by a ranch, his gun(s) would be locked up and kept tor him until he left. Ranch guns were issued if/when needed, and turned back in when the need had passed. Mostly that meant rifles for use against marauders, whether two or four footed, and sometimes hunting.
And the well-dressed, clean-shaven "cowboy" of the old Westerns was himself a myth. The real cowboy tended to be a drifter. economically on a par with the burger flipper at your local Mickey D's, and his chances for social and economic advancement were less. His acquaintance with a wash tub was both slight and infrequent. The chances of his owning a $17 SAA on his $.50 a day pay was about nil; his gun, if he had one, was more likely to be a $2 rimfire or a cheap .32.
Jim
And the well-dressed, clean-shaven "cowboy" of the old Westerns was himself a myth. The real cowboy tended to be a drifter. economically on a par with the burger flipper at your local Mickey D's, and his chances for social and economic advancement were less. His acquaintance with a wash tub was both slight and infrequent. The chances of his owning a $17 SAA on his $.50 a day pay was about nil; his gun, if he had one, was more likely to be a $2 rimfire or a cheap .32.
Jim
OneFreeTexan
New member
Jim K, Could you please indicate where your information came from?/. thank you.
45 Dragoon
New member
Actually, historically correct or not, practice is a must with any kind of shooting. I've seen folks on Instagram fan with rather incredible accuracy. I don't understand why folks like to "berate" fanning. If the person wants to do it/ learn how/ willing to practice and has the appropriate work done on the revolver/revolvers, nothing wrong with that. I see it in the same light as auto racing.
Cars set up to race are the tools the drivers need to participate in such a venture. Same with S.A.s. An out of the box S.A.(of any kind) is a wreck all ready for serious fanning. A lot goes into setting one up for fanning but done well, the performance and reliability is just like a tuned revolver for " normal " use. They are incredible machines but can be a hazard in the hands of those not privy to their setup. Normal cycling of the action leaves the cylinder short of battery and is obviously dangerous if fired in this situation. Likewise, driving an F1 car in traffic leads to a cooked engine! They're just tools . . . .
Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks
Cars set up to race are the tools the drivers need to participate in such a venture. Same with S.A.s. An out of the box S.A.(of any kind) is a wreck all ready for serious fanning. A lot goes into setting one up for fanning but done well, the performance and reliability is just like a tuned revolver for " normal " use. They are incredible machines but can be a hazard in the hands of those not privy to their setup. Normal cycling of the action leaves the cylinder short of battery and is obviously dangerous if fired in this situation. Likewise, driving an F1 car in traffic leads to a cooked engine! They're just tools . . . .
Mike
www.goonsgunworks.com
Follow me on Instagram @ goonsgunworks
Deaf Smith
New member
Ed McGivern could fan a sixgun very well. Amazing feats. But it took him buckets of ammo to do those tricks he did, and even then he used .38 spl. wadcutter loads.
And Wyatt Earp said he didn't have much respect for fanners (but apparently some did try it for him to even mention it.)
Deaf
And Wyatt Earp said he didn't have much respect for fanners (but apparently some did try it for him to even mention it.)
Deaf
I doubt it. And not because we can confidently say it wasn't done, or was never done, but because the "documentation" from the wild west days is simply either nonexistent, or unreliable.
First off, valid accounts from those days rarely concerned themselves with the nuances of technique.
Second, even when/if they did, it was common practice to ..embellish.. "stories".
SO, if you do find "documented" evidence, take it was a grain of salt, it may be true, or it may be "proven" by eyewitness accounts given to the likes of Ned Buntline....
One of my favorite westerns is Eastwood's UNFORGIVEN. Not because of the action, or most of the plot, but because of the way the characters "debunk" the popular western mythos about guns and gunfighting.
They make a point of how the fastest draw and the fastest shot often were the LOSERS in the gunfight.
and in the real world, wasn't it Hardin, who was shot in the head, and the coroner couldn't tell if he was shot from in front, or behind?? The statement about how "if he was shot from the front, it was an excellent shot, if shot from behind, it was excellent judgment" comes to mind....
Now, Slip hammering is a technique, and does get results, from those practiced in its use. Elmer Keith had a couple of SA set up for that, and they had lowered hammer spurs.
Fanning a Ruger Blackhawk? something you will likely only do ONCE!!
You CAN build a SA for fanning, but fanning a stock SA is good way to break something, quite rapidly.
The real Old West was not nearly as entertaining as movie and TV westerns.
jackmoser65
New member
Fanning is a great way to ruin a good gun.
Pathfinder45
New member
While I can readily imagine that real working cowboys on a ranch would seldom if ever need a gun for their job, and we know darn well that some ranches did not allow guns on the job, this hearken back to the era of the settled West. Roll the calendar back further to the time of those cattle-drives across hostile Indian country, and it's quite a different story. And if you think for one minute that you could just pay the Comanches to let you through, say ten cents a head, and not have weapons to back yourself up should the deal go sour, you'd better think again. There wouldn't even be a deal if you weren't armed. If your life depends on it, you must have a gun, whatever the cost, because you can't afford not to.
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bedbugbilly
New member
I remember a friend of mine - he warlike a "second Dad" - telling the story many times about a local "town character". This would have been in the late 1920s. He claimed he had been a "cowboy" out west in his younger days. His stories - o I should say "BS" seemed to always impress the young men in town. The guy carried a Colt SAA. Anyway . . . one day, the kids egged him on to shoe them his "cowboy skills" - my friend was evidently one of those egging him on the most. They begged him to show them his "gun skills" so he proceed to tell them how he could "fan" his pistol and brag about how he had done it many times on the "range". He finally started to demonstrate his "fanning skills" and as he went to slam the hammer spur with his hand, he opened up his palm with the hammer spur - ripping his palm wide open. Evidenly, that was one of the last times he tried to "show off". LOL
My friend was "gun say" and knew the guy couldn't do it. He always laughed about it and enjoyed telling the story. My friend went on to enlist in the Marines two days after Pearl Harbor and spent all of his time in the Pacific.He's been gone now for a number of years andI still miss him and his stories!
My friend was "gun say" and knew the guy couldn't do it. He always laughed about it and enjoyed telling the story. My friend went on to enlist in the Marines two days after Pearl Harbor and spent all of his time in the Pacific.He's been gone now for a number of years andI still miss him and his stories!
Pathfinder45,
Yes, regarding cowboys being armed especially during the great drives north
is quite correct.
In one instance I remember reading the outfit was armed with new Remington
Rolling Block rifles, which greatly surprised the Comanches.
In another, a much later drive, the cowboy author relates how he had a
lever gun and while he didn't record hitting any Comanches, he does
tell of having his leg grazed by an arrow while hunkered down
under a wagon. He related that it hurt like the blazes.
A good reason for handguns, especially on the trail or brush popping, was that longhorns
were vicious and would attack man and horse, charging a rider. A handgun
gave the cowboy a chance to stop the longhorn....a chance at least. Longhorns
liked to bloody those pesky horses and the men aboard them.
A handgun also allowed a score or two to be settled with rattlesnakes
that abounded in the brush where the cowboys and their brush popping
dogs worked to flush out the wild cattle.
True, regards cowboys, that when they became ranch hands, they were ranch
hands and less the cowboys that first rode the early cattle trails into Missouri,
Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas or on to Montana or the Dakotas.
Of course, cowboys also existed and armed in such form as the Clantons
of Arizona, the Hoodoo War in Texas, the Lincoln County War in New
Mexico and so on......
Yes, regarding cowboys being armed especially during the great drives north
is quite correct.
In one instance I remember reading the outfit was armed with new Remington
Rolling Block rifles, which greatly surprised the Comanches.
In another, a much later drive, the cowboy author relates how he had a
lever gun and while he didn't record hitting any Comanches, he does
tell of having his leg grazed by an arrow while hunkered down
under a wagon. He related that it hurt like the blazes.
A good reason for handguns, especially on the trail or brush popping, was that longhorns
were vicious and would attack man and horse, charging a rider. A handgun
gave the cowboy a chance to stop the longhorn....a chance at least. Longhorns
liked to bloody those pesky horses and the men aboard them.
A handgun also allowed a score or two to be settled with rattlesnakes
that abounded in the brush where the cowboys and their brush popping
dogs worked to flush out the wild cattle.
True, regards cowboys, that when they became ranch hands, they were ranch
hands and less the cowboys that first rode the early cattle trails into Missouri,
Illinois, Oklahoma, Kansas or on to Montana or the Dakotas.
Of course, cowboys also existed and armed in such form as the Clantons
of Arizona, the Hoodoo War in Texas, the Lincoln County War in New
Mexico and so on......
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