How many clicks in a Colt Detective Special?
- Thread starter johnm1
- Start date
Not really. In firing a DA/SA Colt single action, there is one click when the bolt is released by the rebound lever, another when the bolt ball snaps into the slot in the cylinder, and another when the sear part of the trigger falls into the notch in the hammer. The only difference between the newer Colts and the SAA is that there are no clicks as the sear falls into the safety notch and the half cock notch, since the DA guns don't have those notches.
In firing a DA Colt in DA mode, the sear part of the trigger does not enter the bolt full cock notch, so that noise is not there, but the others are.
Jim
In firing a DA Colt in DA mode, the sear part of the trigger does not enter the bolt full cock notch, so that noise is not there, but the others are.
Jim
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
OK, here is the deal. With a single action revolver, like the classic Colt Single Action Army, or any single action with the same style mechanism, you will get four clicks when you cock the hammer.
The first click happens when the hammer is drawn back about 1/8" and the sear falls into the so called 'safety cock notch' on the hammer. The second click happens at half cock, when the sear falls into the half cock notch on the hammer. This is the loading position for this style revolver, the bolt has been withdrawn at this point and the cylinder is free to spin for loading and unloading. The third click is the bolt popping up against the surface of the cylinder, and the fourth click is the hammer going to full cock. If you cock the hammer very slowly, you may hear five clicks with a SAA or similar single action revolver. If the revolver is not perfectly timed, and most are not, the hammer will go to full cock a teeny bit before the bolt pops into the locking slot on the cylinder. But for all intents and purposes, a Colt Single Action Army and its replicas have four clicks when cocking the hammer.
Modern double action revolvers have a very different mechanism. Generally speaking, when cocking the hammer on a modern double action you will hear a soft click as the bolt pops up against the cylinder, then a louder click as the hammer goes to full cock. There are no 'safety cock' or half cock notches on the hammer of a modern double action revolver. Again, if the revolver is not perfectly timed, you may hear the hammer go to full cock a teeny bit before the bolt pops into the locking slot on the cylinder, but you would have to put some drag on the cylinder and listen very closely to hear two separate clicks at the end of the cycle.
OK, here is the deal. With a single action revolver, like the classic Colt Single Action Army, or any single action with the same style mechanism, you will get four clicks when you cock the hammer.
The first click happens when the hammer is drawn back about 1/8" and the sear falls into the so called 'safety cock notch' on the hammer. The second click happens at half cock, when the sear falls into the half cock notch on the hammer. This is the loading position for this style revolver, the bolt has been withdrawn at this point and the cylinder is free to spin for loading and unloading. The third click is the bolt popping up against the surface of the cylinder, and the fourth click is the hammer going to full cock. If you cock the hammer very slowly, you may hear five clicks with a SAA or similar single action revolver. If the revolver is not perfectly timed, and most are not, the hammer will go to full cock a teeny bit before the bolt pops into the locking slot on the cylinder. But for all intents and purposes, a Colt Single Action Army and its replicas have four clicks when cocking the hammer.
Modern double action revolvers have a very different mechanism. Generally speaking, when cocking the hammer on a modern double action you will hear a soft click as the bolt pops up against the cylinder, then a louder click as the hammer goes to full cock. There are no 'safety cock' or half cock notches on the hammer of a modern double action revolver. Again, if the revolver is not perfectly timed, you may hear the hammer go to full cock a teeny bit before the bolt pops into the locking slot on the cylinder, but you would have to put some drag on the cylinder and listen very closely to hear two separate clicks at the end of the cycle.
Thank you all very much. It was something that came up in a conversation and I don't have one to check.
I am somewhat familiar with the 1860 Colt Army and figured there wasn't a half cock notch or respective click. Rarely do I feel the need to clean the inner workings of a modern revolver. So I rarely open the sideplate.
Now I have an H&R 732 and I swear there are 6 disinct clicks when operated in single action. I haven't looked at a schematic for the H&R but i bet there are a couple of springs not found in other makers revolvers.
I am somewhat familiar with the 1860 Colt Army and figured there wasn't a half cock notch or respective click. Rarely do I feel the need to clean the inner workings of a modern revolver. So I rarely open the sideplate.
Now I have an H&R 732 and I swear there are 6 disinct clicks when operated in single action. I haven't looked at a schematic for the H&R but i bet there are a couple of springs not found in other makers revolvers.
There is some disagreement primarily because the "clicks" in a DA revolver are not usually as loud and obvious as those in an SA revolver. Sometimes, the bolt dropping into the cylinder notch might not even be heard at all except by someone with very sharp hearing.
H&R's vary depending on the age of the gun; the later H&R 732 has the same clicks as the DA Colt but as the fitting is "looser", they will be louder. The trigger draws the cylinder stop down and then releases it to strike the cylinder (1); the cylinder stop drops into the stop notch in the cylinder (2); the sear drops into the full cock notch in the hammer (3).
Jim
H&R's vary depending on the age of the gun; the later H&R 732 has the same clicks as the DA Colt but as the fitting is "looser", they will be louder. The trigger draws the cylinder stop down and then releases it to strike the cylinder (1); the cylinder stop drops into the stop notch in the cylinder (2); the sear drops into the full cock notch in the hammer (3).
Jim
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy Again
There is a half cock notch on the hammer of the 1860 Colt Army. That is the hammer position that allows the cylinder to spin freely for loading and unloading. What is lacking on the 1860 Colt, and most Colt style C&B revolvers is the so called 'safety cock' notch, that engages when the hammer is eared back about 1/8". The C&B revolvers lacked the safety cock position because most had a separate provision to make the gun safe, such as pins between the nipples for the hammer to rest on. So with the 1860 Colt you get half cock, bolt popping up, and full cock. Three clicks.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
I was answering two questions at once, by explaining the difference between the two different types of actions.
Sorry, 44 AMP, there are three. The rear of the bolt is released by the cam on the rebound lever, so the front end rises, striking the cylinder. Then as the cylinder turns, the bolt drops fully into the notch in the cylinder. Lastly, the sear portion of the trigger engages the full cock notch in the hammer. None of those noises is very loud, but they are there. That is true whether the Colt has an alloy or steel frame.
Jim
Jim
Sorry James, but we're both right. 
You are right, there ARE three clicks. I was right, I only HEARD two!
The click of the bolt dropping into the cylinder slot and the hammer reaching full cock are so close together that it took me a couple dozen times, cocking the gun as SLOWLY as I could to hear them as separate sounds. (and its a stiff spring!
)
SO, you are right there are 3 clicks, but cocking the gun normally one only hears 2, one "click", and one "ka-clunk" (which is the last two clicks together).
Or, at least I only hear 2 clicks. On the other hand, the word I speak the most to my wife these days is "what???"
My hearing, like the rest of me, isn't as good as it was decades ago...
You are right, there ARE three clicks. I was right, I only HEARD two!
The click of the bolt dropping into the cylinder slot and the hammer reaching full cock are so close together that it took me a couple dozen times, cocking the gun as SLOWLY as I could to hear them as separate sounds. (and its a stiff spring!
)SO, you are right there are 3 clicks, but cocking the gun normally one only hears 2, one "click", and one "ka-clunk" (which is the last two clicks together).
Or, at least I only hear 2 clicks. On the other hand, the word I speak the most to my wife these days is "what???"
My hearing, like the rest of me, isn't as good as it was decades ago...