How do you uncock a single action pistol

F

FUD

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After inspecting the chamber of a 1911 type gun (Browning Hi-Power, Para-Ordnance, etc.) to make sure that it is unloaded, the hammer is left in the cocked position. How do you bring the hammer down? I've heard repeated warnings that pulling the trigger on an unloaded gun (dry firing) can damage the firing pin. So how do you uncock it?
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FUD,

Those repeated warnings are false - they just keep getting repeated!

But...if you still don't want to dry fire...grasp the hammer spur between the thumb and forefinger (pinch) of your left hand and you will have full control over the hammer as you gently lower it while holding the trigger back with your right forefinger.

Mikey
 
First of all, I disagree with those who warn that dry firing will damage the firing pin. There are some pistols that are susceptible to damage from dry firing, but you shouldn't worry about it with a Browning Hi-Power or a 1911-style pistol. Unless you have a defective pistol, you should be able to dry fire it hundreds or even thousands of times without harm. Military marksmanship instructors have had their students dry firing 1911s for the last 80+ years; if there were a problem, I think they would have noticed it by now. :)

So, to clear your 1911:

1) Remove the magazine.

2) Retract the slide and confirm that the chamber is empty.

3) Ease the slide forwards.

4) Point the pistol in a safe direction (just in case) and press the trigger.

If, for some reason, you just can't stand to see the hammer fall on an empty chamber, use the thumb of the non-shooting hand on the hammer spur to ease it down.

By the way, please note that a shooter who wishes to carry a CZ-75 or Witness pistol with the hammer down has a different problem, since he has to lower the hammer on a loaded chamber. This is why I don't consider the double action feature very useful on these pistols.
 
"By the way, please note that a shooter who wishes to carry a CZ-75 or Witness pistol with the hammer down has a different problem, since he has to lower the hammer on a loaded chamber. This is why I don't consider the double action feature very useful on these pistols."

This is not a problem if you know what you're doing. Gently ride the hammer down with your thunmb, and no problem. If you accidentally release the hammer there's a half cock feature on older CZs and newer ones have a passive firing pin safety. Of course as with any pistol, I'm sure accidents have happened. Interestinly, as areaction to the US market, CZ now offers DAO and decock pistols. See www.cz-usa.com

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
The above advice is correct except I don't use the thumb of my non-shooting hand. Instead, I take hold of the sides of the hammer with my thumb and "bird" finger with my index finger on the front of the hammer. I don't pull the index finger out of the way until the last moment. That way, if something slips, the hammer is still blocked.

The only problem I have with this method is that some of the more extreme beavertails prevent me from getting to the sides of the hammer. In those circumstances, I put my index finger against the hammer and press it as I pull the trigger. Then, just ride the hammer until it's clear of the beavertail.
 
For whatever reason, Kimber recommends that you not let the hammer down slowly, but rather drop the magazine, clear the chamber and dry snap the gun. Something about damage to the sear. Whether this is true of other brands I don't know. File this in the FWIW drawer.

Dick
 
Tecolote,

I'm sure that there are thousands of CZ/Witness shooters who manage to safely decock their pistols on a regular basis. Even so, I find the design troublesome for a number of reasons:

1) The primary advantage of a double action trigger is supposed to be its safety and simplicity for poorly trained and/or highly stressed shooters. Requiring a relatively risky and complicated action to decock the pistol after loading or firing seems to negate that advantage.

2) A two-handed decocking procedure slows down double action training at the range. Imagine drawing an uncocked pistol, double tapping a target, decocking, and reholstering. Now imagine doing that twenty times with a CZ-75 and twenty times with a SIG P226. Which pistol is going to let you finish faster?

3) Shooters accustomed to manual decocking with a CZ/Witness might have a hard time adapting to almost all other traditional DA pistols with mechanical decockers: SIG, S&W, Beretta, Ruger, HK & Taurus. I know that SIG at least has printed warnings against manual decocking, apparently because some SIG shooters have had negligent discharges by lowering the hammer manually instead of using the decocking lever.

I still think highly of the CZ design, though; I just think of it as a single action pistol with a "second strike" capability. :D
 
Point the pistol at the ground. Pull the hammer with the gun hand thumb back even further and while holding the hammer back, pull the trigger for only the instant that it takes to allow it to go forward a little bit. Let the hammer go to the half cock notch. Then repeat it and pull it just out of the half cock notch and pull the trigger again and ease the hammer forward. On this second step, you have to use the non gun hand to hold in the grip safety.

Also, when allowing the slide to slam forward whether the gun is loaded or not, hold the trigger back and keep it held back until the slide slams into battery against the barrel. This takes the stress off the interrupter and is the way it operates when firing anyhow.

But.......when I ....KNOW....the 1911 is EMPTY, I just pull the trigger and let it click.

[This message has been edited by Lavan (edited April 05, 2000).]
 
A further word of advice. No matter what, if the gun belongs to someone else, ASK if you can just dry fire it to let the hammer down.
 
FWIW, I do not like the "finger pinch" method of dropping the hammer. This is mainly because there are certain occasions when we may have reason to lower the hammer on a loaded chamber with some weapons....the pinch technique is subject the hammer to slipping. (the one handed decock, using the strong thumb, is even more prone to this.) One technique that satisfies both instances is preferable, IMHO.

My method, despite the type of weapon or availability of decocking levers, is to place the thumb of the weak hand between the hammer and the slide or hammer shroud and pull the trigger, allowing the hammer to ease down on the flesh of the thumb. Remove the finger from the trigger and allow the hammer to lower the rest of the way slowly by removing the thumb....sounds like it'll pinch, but it doesn't. Try it before attacking. ;)

In any case, with most modern pistols, one should attempt to develop a method whereby the finger is removed from the trigger before the hammer is allowed to be lowered it's final distance. Since most modern handguns have some sort of transfer bar or disconnect that (hopefully) prevents firing unless the trigger is depressed at time of strike, this affords you an extra margin of safety.
Rich

[This message has been edited by Rich Lucibella (edited April 05, 2000).]
 
Matt VDW,

I'm not intimately familiar with the CZ/Witness, but I am with USPs. The way you describe the action of the CZ, it really is not and should not be used as a double action gun, even though it can be fired as such. My duty carry is a SIG 229, and, as noted, after shooting, you decock and holsster a "safe" weapon. This drill is performed this way because this weapon is designed to be carried as a double action gun. The CZ, like the 1911, is designed to be carried in SA mode, it doesn't seem to me that it would make sense to carry it decocked-it should be carried, and reholstered as a C&L SA gun.

I own and love a V1 USP, which has both decock and safety on the lever. I've heard it said that it is quite likely that when drawing C&L under stress, one can hit the lever to go off safe too hard and decock-not a fatal mistake as you can still fire, you just lose the SA accuracy. I'm seriously considering changing to V9, which is intended for true SA operation, even though it will still operate in DA.

The last sentence of your post hit the nail right on the head (at least for the V9 USP), in the USP manual on page 9 it states that the pistol can be carried in DA mode and provides second primer strike ability to SA shooters. I personally feel that the CZ and the V9 USP should be carried as SA only pistols C&L and the DA function should only be used if there is a hang in the chamber. There is also an excellent argument to be made for just racking a round out if the primer failed on the first strike, rather than pulling the trigger again on a failed round.

The most important thing in all of this stuff is to be intimately familiar with the guns you own and use, whether you carry them daily or not.
 
The way you de-cock a single action, is you grasp the gun by the grip to deactivate the grip safty(if youre dealing with a 1911)thenput you thumb firmly over the spurs of the hammer to hold on, and genlty pull the trigger, slowly putting the hammer down with your thumb.

[This message has been edited by MrBlonde (edited April 05, 2000).]
 
Rich's method is what I use and teach. The thumb is placed between the slide and the hammer and acts as a safety to prevent the hammer from striking the firing pin.
 
Rich (and others):

What you suggested works well for a Para-Ordnance and a Colt but not for a Browning -- it seems that the Hi-Power has a half cock position and the hammer will not lower beyond this point unless you pull the trigger not not interfer with the hammer on it's way down.

FUD

[This message has been edited by FUD (edited April 05, 2000).]
 
Very Very Carefully!!!

i think dry firing the gun is a strange way to just get the hammer down.

all i do is manually decock the gun by putting my shooting hand's thumb on the hammer, i pull the trigger and then i slowly lower the hammer.
On some guns this is hard to do if the gun is too big in my hand so then i just do it extra carefully by also putting my non shooting thumb on the hammer also.
 
Hey!

Get this! Me and rik agree!

Anyway,it is best to point the muzzle at a backstop of some kind to catch anything unexpected. A trash can filled with sand is good.or a stack of magazines or something to catch one of those dreaded AD;s.

As for how to do it? I aint falling into that potential liability trap.

Good Luck!
 
etc,

Thanks for the tip! I'd never thought about filling a trash can with old phone books.

Back to the CZ75.

Lowering the hammer on a CZ75 is a on handed operation, not two. Pull the trigger and with your thumb gently lower the hammer. As I said above the pistols, both older and newer versions, have safeties to protect against the hammer slipping. I prefer the old style flat hammer to the newer type spur hammer. It's easier, for me, to get a good hold on the old style hammer style than with the new. The CZ75 is the mainstay of many militaries, e.g. Turkey (bought over 200,000) and Guatemala. These countries instruct that the pistol be carried DA with a round in the chamber. To the best of my knowledge the one hand hammer drop is standard operating procedure. Of course it is also true that worries over insurance and money grubbing ambulance chasers doesn't factor into their costs, so it might be more prudent for a police force in the US, where lawsuits are an imminent danger, to adopt a hammer drop type pistol.

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So many pistols, so little money.

[This message has been edited by Tecolote (edited April 05, 2000).]
 
I stand corrected on the number of hands required to decock a CZ75. Years ago, I owned a TZ-75 (an early Tanfoglio copy) but I must not have done much decocking with it.

I'd also like to congratulate the militaries of Turkey and Guatemala on their excellent taste in handguns. :D
 
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