Handling the 1858
- Thread starter dyl
- Start date
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
Gripping a Colt Single Action Army. Notice my pinky is below the grip. This causes me to lower my grip on the gun, not raise it. I discovered a long time ago that with a relatively hard kicking round like a 45 Colt stuffed with Black Powder under a 250 grain bullet, jamming my entire hand onto the grip kept my middle finger pressed hard against the trigger guard. This caused the trigger guard to whack my knuckle hard. By curling my pinky under the grip, this moved my hand down far enough so that there was about 1/4" of space between the trigger guard and my knuckle, just enough to keep the guard from whacking my knuckle in recoil.
I have fairly large hands and I can reach the hammer to cock it just fine this way. Notice my finger is just a hair forward of the trigger when I am about to cock the gun. My Colts have 2 1/2 pound trigger pulls, and that is enough so that I can feel the trigger when I cock the gun, but I don't press it hard enough to drop the hammer. Just for safety's sake though, the muzzle should always be pointed in a safe direction.
The other thing is, do not hold the revolver with a death grip. Do not be afraid of recoil. Instead, use it. Allow the grip to rotate in your hand slightly while the muzzle rises in recoil. Your pinky will stop it from rising too far, and no it will not hurt. Then while the muzzle is up you can reach the hammer more easily to cock it.
A Bisley Colt has a lower hammer spur, but the grip is about 1/4" longer than a standard SAA grip. Keeping the pinky curled under the longer grip is a bit challenging, but not difficult.
Notice the gun has rotated back a tad when I reach for the hammer spur. Plenty of purchase with my thumb.
Gripping a Colt Single Action Army. Notice my pinky is below the grip. This causes me to lower my grip on the gun, not raise it. I discovered a long time ago that with a relatively hard kicking round like a 45 Colt stuffed with Black Powder under a 250 grain bullet, jamming my entire hand onto the grip kept my middle finger pressed hard against the trigger guard. This caused the trigger guard to whack my knuckle hard. By curling my pinky under the grip, this moved my hand down far enough so that there was about 1/4" of space between the trigger guard and my knuckle, just enough to keep the guard from whacking my knuckle in recoil.
I have fairly large hands and I can reach the hammer to cock it just fine this way. Notice my finger is just a hair forward of the trigger when I am about to cock the gun. My Colts have 2 1/2 pound trigger pulls, and that is enough so that I can feel the trigger when I cock the gun, but I don't press it hard enough to drop the hammer. Just for safety's sake though, the muzzle should always be pointed in a safe direction.
The other thing is, do not hold the revolver with a death grip. Do not be afraid of recoil. Instead, use it. Allow the grip to rotate in your hand slightly while the muzzle rises in recoil. Your pinky will stop it from rising too far, and no it will not hurt. Then while the muzzle is up you can reach the hammer more easily to cock it.
A Bisley Colt has a lower hammer spur, but the grip is about 1/4" longer than a standard SAA grip. Keeping the pinky curled under the longer grip is a bit challenging, but not difficult.
Notice the gun has rotated back a tad when I reach for the hammer spur. Plenty of purchase with my thumb.
Driftwood Johnson, thank you for the pictures.
Catman42, Driftwood Johnson, thanks I tried the pinky, it works to keep my hand down low. Much better. I had no idea that anyone shot single actions this way.
Yes that's me. And here I thought I was old school for having started shooting on double action revolvers. I should take the 1858 to a class someday and baffle the high speed operators. (But where are the forward serrations?)
Thanks all for the input. I wasn't planning on getting any more single action revolvers but I might just have to someday. For science.
Catman42, Driftwood Johnson, thanks I tried the pinky, it works to keep my hand down low. Much better. I had no idea that anyone shot single actions this way.
Yes that's me. And here I thought I was old school for having started shooting on double action revolvers. I should take the 1858 to a class someday and baffle the high speed operators. (But where are the forward serrations?)
Thanks all for the input. I wasn't planning on getting any more single action revolvers but I might just have to someday. For science.
I have a couple of DA revolvers but when I shoot them it's always SA. I've only owned one DA semi and I couldn't get rid of it fast enough.Started pistol shooting with a Colt 1860 I bought before I was 18 (in the "60s) and can pull, point and shoot one in my sleep. Anything else I have to "think about". The only reason to have a DA would be a hammer-less in your pocket.
I do have a couple semi autos, only because they have a special history to me, but I do have to think about trigger finger safety when I handle them.
I do have a couple semi autos, only because they have a special history to me, but I do have to think about trigger finger safety when I handle them.
rodwhaincamo
New member
I had to try the pinky grip thingy:
My short digits don’t allow for that. It barely gets a good enough bite with a higher grip:
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My short digits don’t allow for that. It barely gets a good enough bite with a higher grip:
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