Ruger vaquero scare

D

Daniel Boom

New member
On halloween, I was dressed like a hunter and I was wearing a prop pistol in my cowboy holster. I decided to take my daughter to trick or treat in a better neighborhood with some other family. My cousin warned me about teenagers who like to mail box bash and egg people in this area and how some bastards even hit a 5 year old girl with an ice cube. I decided to fill the holster with the rightful occupant, A ruger vaqero. A good time was had with No problems other than everyone thinking I was a sucky indiana jones, and was driving my kid back home when I stopped for gas. I had the hoster still on and as I climbed out of the car the hammer ( still held by the tie down) got caught on the steering wheel, went back a bit and struck down rather audibly. I was horrified. The gun was in a positon that it would have taken my leg off if it had gone off. I then realized I knew very little about the operation of revolvers. Could the gun have gone off, should I carry it like Rooster Cogburn with an empty cylinder under the hammer. I'm willing to admit my ignorance in order to learn about what could have happened. Could some one tell me how wrong I was.
 
There was no problem with the Vaquero (but should be more careful)--the story would be different with some other SAs. What the devil are you doing running with around weapon you basically know nothing about? A little time and/or money for good instruction would be a good thing.
 
Could the gun have gone off,
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No
should I carry it like Rooster Cogburn with an empty cylinder under the hammer.
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No

Modern Rugers have a transfer bar safety, the trigger must be pulled and pressure maintained on the trigger throughout the hammer's travel to the firing pin in order fo the gun to go off.

You do realize however that carrying openly in Fla is pretty much against the law even with a CCW permit
 
Had a duster on, so it was somewhat concealed, I thought I knew what I needed to know about it. I've been shooting since four but not as much experience with revolvers. I know how to operate and take it apart but I didn't know if it could go off in that manner. I normally don't carry it at all, But that night it seemed more appropriate. Regardless, I was irresponsible. Forget open carry, what if would have gone off at the GAS STATION. Mea Culpa
 
Forget open carry, what if would have gone off at the GAS STATION. Mea Culpa
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My father is 63 and, being raised in rural Alabama, has been around guns his whole life.
We have had real arguments over my refusal to carry on an empty cylinder.

That practice is so ingrained from the 100 or so years of hammer mounted firing pins on SA revolvers.

It wasn't until about 1973 when transfer bars came to be


If you look at your Ruger with the hammer back you will see a flat bar that comes up to just below the firing pin.
Hold the hammer with your thumb and pull the trigger, the bar will rise up to cover the firing pin.
Ease the hammer down and let go of the trigger after the hammer has started to travel.
You will see the tansfer bar drop completely below the firing pin.

Severing the connection between the hammer , the firing pin, and a hole in your leg
 
I would strongly caution you against combining a costume and a real loaded gun. I just see a potential for a really horrendous accident, either on the carriers part, or, someone else who thinks its a prop. And honestly, not sure mashing mailboxes, throwing eggs and ice cubes could be effectivly dealt with by the ready availability of deadly force. Anytime I have been to a costume party, the real gun I had with me was deeply concealed and totally removed from anything that tied into the costume.
 
Rugers have a safety bar which prevents the gun firing if the trigger is not pulled back (i.e. dropping the gun or having a hammer fall won't set it off). There was little risk of you're leg having a hole in it (there is NEVER zero risk, because safety devices can fail).


But....you really should consider a safety class before handling ANY weapon. Especially one you know little or nothing about.

And further, IMO carrying a loaded gun around that you admit to knowing not much about is a disaster waiting to happen, and at the very least not responsible. Please consider learning the ins and outs of your weapon BEFORE loading, carrying, OR shooting it. I'm glad all went well for you (no one got hurt or arrested), and I hope that you decide to learn more about gun safety.
 
okay, We all learned that I didn't know about transfer bar safetys. And it is a bad idea to incorperate a real fire arm into a costume (Point taken sgt).
 
Your welcome srg, And I thank you , I started this thread to learn what I did wrong. I'd be lying if I didn't say I've felt a little insulted by some of the repeated comments. However, you have all been doing nothing but showing concern and being extremely helpful. What I did was irresponsible and I gotta take my lumps . I thank you all for your input. I'm at this very moment review technical schematics for the revolver in question and tomorrow I'm going to my gun smith (whose also an instructor and IPSC Champ) and talking to him about the situation at hand.
I'm very glad I started this thread and I appreciate all of you.
 
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