Cold Steel
New member
When I took my first handgun shooting lesson years ago, my friend took his S&W 66 out of his holster, cocked it and very carefully put it on the table. His point was that unless someone pulled the trigger, it would stay there forever. Only human intervention, he said, would result in its firing.
I got his point. He then picked up the pistol and showed me how to safely decock it. But since then, I wondered, if someone did put a revolver like a modern 629 or 686 on a table (uncocked), how long do you think it would remain operable given a cool, dry indoor environment? And would it remain operable for longer than an auto like a S&W 5906? (I recall pulling a Ruger Speed-Six out of my safe a few years ago. Hadn't even peeked at it for ages. It would barely work. The lubrication was gone, the cylinder wouldn't rotate and I had to use some BreakFree to loosen it up again. But once I did it worked fine.)
I also wondered...will these guns be able to be safely fired by our great, great, great grandfathers in some far future time? I know many guns from the 1700s aren't safe to shoot now, but metallurgy back then isn't what it is today. Will a gun that works fine, if properly lubricated, work five hundred years from now? Is there anything in a modern revolver or auto that would deteriorate over time, like the springs?
I got his point. He then picked up the pistol and showed me how to safely decock it. But since then, I wondered, if someone did put a revolver like a modern 629 or 686 on a table (uncocked), how long do you think it would remain operable given a cool, dry indoor environment? And would it remain operable for longer than an auto like a S&W 5906? (I recall pulling a Ruger Speed-Six out of my safe a few years ago. Hadn't even peeked at it for ages. It would barely work. The lubrication was gone, the cylinder wouldn't rotate and I had to use some BreakFree to loosen it up again. But once I did it worked fine.)
I also wondered...will these guns be able to be safely fired by our great, great, great grandfathers in some far future time? I know many guns from the 1700s aren't safe to shoot now, but metallurgy back then isn't what it is today. Will a gun that works fine, if properly lubricated, work five hundred years from now? Is there anything in a modern revolver or auto that would deteriorate over time, like the springs?