I don't shoot at public ranges. SASS only allows five except for C&B then you can load six and leave one chamber uncapped. If I've got a SA revolver it's loaded full up. If I go hunting with one or just out shooting and other people are going to be around me I'll tell them it is, it's up to them whether to go with me or not.
SAA can safely load all 6 rounds
- Thread starter D.A.Clark
- Start date
Jim Watson
New member
Just for the record, if you shoot yourself in the foot, are you going to sue the gunmaker?
Ruger didn't go to transfer bars for the fun of it, they lost multiple lawsuits by people who shot themselves through failing to read the instructions.
Ruger didn't go to transfer bars for the fun of it, they lost multiple lawsuits by people who shot themselves through failing to read the instructions.
Of course not.
I grew up with these guns. I was turned loose with my first sa when I was 10.
I know them inside and out. I bought my first 58 Remington with my own money when I was 12. Carried it on an almost daily basis till I was 15. I'm not advocating anybody else do it. I mainly brought it up because IMHO it wasn't done by the vast majority of gun owners back in the day. Those lawsuits you mentioned are when loading five got so much attention.
marcseatac
New member
The early single action revolver is arguable the most dangerous firearm one can possess. These accidental shootings fall into the realm of freak accidents. There are so many variables to consider. People say caps are safe, I agree but at what point? Is there a sharp edge on the nipple? Whats the temperature? Has the gun been exposed to direct sunlight?
I blackpowder deer hunt and I know from experience carrying BP rifle and pistol that you can't turn your back on these things. I had an ash fall off a cigarette one time and the wind almost blew it into my open holster. Freak accident?, yes it could have been, but I was lucky that day.
Also I remember something about people rolling up a dollar bill and putting it in that empty chamber. Don't know where I got that from an old movie maybe. Anyway it went that it could end up being your last dollar and you always hung on to your last dollar. A dollar being a good amount of money once upon a time.............I always remembered that.
I blackpowder deer hunt and I know from experience carrying BP rifle and pistol that you can't turn your back on these things. I had an ash fall off a cigarette one time and the wind almost blew it into my open holster. Freak accident?, yes it could have been, but I was lucky that day.
Also I remember something about people rolling up a dollar bill and putting it in that empty chamber. Don't know where I got that from an old movie maybe. Anyway it went that it could end up being your last dollar and you always hung on to your last dollar. A dollar being a good amount of money once upon a time.............I always remembered that.
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The old timers did not buy a six-shooter and then carry five rounds. All that "five beans" and "$20 in a chamber" baloney was invented by Colt's lawyers in the modern era.
The old timers used the safety notch for what it was intended for, but in the Colt SAA (and many other SA revolvers) any hard blow on the hammer will break the trigger and allow the firing pin to reach the primer of a round under the hammer. They also carried the SA with the hammer down between rounds, quite safe and easy to do with any caliber but .45 Colt.
Jim
The old timers used the safety notch for what it was intended for, but in the Colt SAA (and many other SA revolvers) any hard blow on the hammer will break the trigger and allow the firing pin to reach the primer of a round under the hammer. They also carried the SA with the hammer down between rounds, quite safe and easy to do with any caliber but .45 Colt.
Jim
That's what I do. It's the way I was taught by real old timers. I carry 44-40's.
Actually back in the day it worked with .45's too. The case heads on original .45's were smaller than they are now. That's why no rifles were originally chambered in .45 Colt. The extracter couldn't get a grip on those small case heads.
marcseatac
New member
I don't disagree with anything that has been posted so far in this thread. I'm just of the school to "err on the side of caution". Plus I'm getting old and I notice I have a tendency to drop things now and then.
W C Q,
That is quite an experience! I will wager you have an old Cow Boy limp to go with that injury.
The hammer down on an empty..... is for carrying the SA on your body. I see no need in it when at the range shooting.
There is another benefit in loading 5, that is when your revolver, (or any gun) is in a fire, home, cabin, truck etc.
If you leave it loaded and its in a fire the one aligned with the barrel is going to come out at full velocity.
That is quite an experience! I will wager you have an old Cow Boy limp to go with that injury.
The hammer down on an empty..... is for carrying the SA on your body. I see no need in it when at the range shooting.
There is another benefit in loading 5, that is when your revolver, (or any gun) is in a fire, home, cabin, truck etc.
If you leave it loaded and its in a fire the one aligned with the barrel is going to come out at full velocity.
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I ALWAYS load my single actions with five rounds. Traditional or transfer bar. It is a really good habit to be in and assures that I won't rocket a 250gr lead slug down my leg because I forgot where I was. It is second nature and it feels strange to load it with all six. As it should.
Not a good idea to have multiple protocols.
Not a good idea to have multiple protocols.
Loading 6 in A Colt SAA
This whole thread makes me laugh because it is typical of the misinformation the gun writers have passed on and on for over a half of century. This whole BS about how cowboys kept a $20 bill or $5 bill or whatever in their Colts is total BS that someone made up and it is passed on and on as the truth. Yeah, some kid is going to keep a month's pay in his gun so he can be buried not to mention it would render the cylinder inoperable. Where do these idiots get this crap? Oh, from each other! Few to none do any primary research. If they did they would have a very difficult time finding where the old timers only carried 5 rounds in a gun designed to carry 6.
It is just repeated nonsense. Is it safer to carry the gun with only 5 rounds? Well yes. It is even safer to carry it totally unloaded and even safer not to carry it all.
I will tell you what. If you have an original Colt SAA load a case with just a primer in it. Rotate it to the fire position and put the hammer all the way down on it. Now get a rubber hammer and beat the hell out of it. I have tried it many times and can't get it to go off. The primer will be dented but it will not ignite. If I pull the hammer all the way back it will go off.
Sure it is possible but it isn't very likely. Do I carry the gun with six? No, because I don't carry the gun! Let's face it, as nice as it is it is archaic.
My point is that this whole 5 only in an SAA is an invention of the mid 20th century. An answer to some lawsuits where the plaintiffs shot themselves in the leg I would suspect more from playing quick draw than anything else.
I can remember reading how the Colt SAA wasn't safe to carry in a holster fully loaded because the hammer could be partially cocked by brush and go off! What the hell! Did this gun writer even handle a Colt? It has two safety notches. It couldn't happen without the trigger being pulled.
If a Colt SAA is dangerous loaded with six then so are many, many other firearms. Really just about all with external hammers. My God, those hammer shotguns! What about Winchester, Marlins, Remington rolling blocks? Single shot Stevens?
You want to see a gun that is unsafe to carry with a round up the spout? Well look the Glock. There have been more ADs with that gun than any other in recent times. Look at the Washington D.C. police AD reports with Glocks. A Colt SAA is way safer than a Glock but no one says that a Glock shouldn't have a round under the firing pin.
"In the 10 years since D.C. police adopted the Glock 9mm to combat the growing firepower of drug dealers, there have been more than 120 accidental discharges of the handgun. Police officers have killed at least one citizen they didn't intend to kill and have wounded at least nine citizens they didn't intend to wound. Nineteen officers have shot themselves or other officers accidentally."
You're worried about a Colt SAA!?
This horse poop about the old timers only loading 5 is just that, horse poop. Like I said, yes, it is more dangerous but walking out of your house is dangerous too. Gun writers are idiots that just repeat what other gun writers say.
This whole thread makes me laugh because it is typical of the misinformation the gun writers have passed on and on for over a half of century. This whole BS about how cowboys kept a $20 bill or $5 bill or whatever in their Colts is total BS that someone made up and it is passed on and on as the truth. Yeah, some kid is going to keep a month's pay in his gun so he can be buried not to mention it would render the cylinder inoperable. Where do these idiots get this crap? Oh, from each other! Few to none do any primary research. If they did they would have a very difficult time finding where the old timers only carried 5 rounds in a gun designed to carry 6.
It is just repeated nonsense. Is it safer to carry the gun with only 5 rounds? Well yes. It is even safer to carry it totally unloaded and even safer not to carry it all.
I will tell you what. If you have an original Colt SAA load a case with just a primer in it. Rotate it to the fire position and put the hammer all the way down on it. Now get a rubber hammer and beat the hell out of it. I have tried it many times and can't get it to go off. The primer will be dented but it will not ignite. If I pull the hammer all the way back it will go off.
Sure it is possible but it isn't very likely. Do I carry the gun with six? No, because I don't carry the gun! Let's face it, as nice as it is it is archaic.
My point is that this whole 5 only in an SAA is an invention of the mid 20th century. An answer to some lawsuits where the plaintiffs shot themselves in the leg I would suspect more from playing quick draw than anything else.
I can remember reading how the Colt SAA wasn't safe to carry in a holster fully loaded because the hammer could be partially cocked by brush and go off! What the hell! Did this gun writer even handle a Colt? It has two safety notches. It couldn't happen without the trigger being pulled.
If a Colt SAA is dangerous loaded with six then so are many, many other firearms. Really just about all with external hammers. My God, those hammer shotguns! What about Winchester, Marlins, Remington rolling blocks? Single shot Stevens?
You want to see a gun that is unsafe to carry with a round up the spout? Well look the Glock. There have been more ADs with that gun than any other in recent times. Look at the Washington D.C. police AD reports with Glocks. A Colt SAA is way safer than a Glock but no one says that a Glock shouldn't have a round under the firing pin.
"In the 10 years since D.C. police adopted the Glock 9mm to combat the growing firepower of drug dealers, there have been more than 120 accidental discharges of the handgun. Police officers have killed at least one citizen they didn't intend to kill and have wounded at least nine citizens they didn't intend to wound. Nineteen officers have shot themselves or other officers accidentally."
You're worried about a Colt SAA!?
This horse poop about the old timers only loading 5 is just that, horse poop. Like I said, yes, it is more dangerous but walking out of your house is dangerous too. Gun writers are idiots that just repeat what other gun writers say.
Well Mr. Horsepoop,
Pat Garrett (killer of Billy the Kid in 1881) mentioned loading five rounds in his book "The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid" published in 1882. About the moments after he shot the "Kid" he says..... "We examined his pistol-a self cocker( double action, colt thunderer), calibre .41. It had five cartridges and one (empty)shell in the chambers, the hammer resting on the shell, but this proves nothing, as many carry their revolvers this way for safety; besides this shell looked as though it had been shot some time before"
Again, this book was published in 1882.
I guess not....
Too true. Perhaps you could benefit from a bit more yourself?
For the record, I load five or six, depending on what I am doing at the time. I have carried both ways for 20+ years without a problem yet. If you feel better loading five, load five. If you want to load six, load six. Just play safe.
P.S. Jim1776, Welcome to the forum.
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Even if it were a 20th century baby, it was weened from decades of experience from accidents. Do you honestly believe the gun manufacturers came up with the bright idea that admonishing against carrying six up would sell more guns? Rubber mallet? I dare you to try it with a hard plastic or metal hammer, as would be more like a hammer hitting compact dirt or rock, or a stirrup hitting a hammer which apparently happened with enough frequency that many a cowboy soon learned the errors of his ways.
Loading 6 in A Colt SAA
OK, to the person that said I should try it with a plastic hammer, well I did and it wouldn't go off no matter how hard I hit it. I am not saying it will never go off but the odds are slim. Really, how often have you dropped your handgun? I can say I never have and I have carried them in some pretty damn rough places. Now you try it and tell me if it goes off.
As to the person saying that so and so carried only 5 rounds, hey, I don't doubt it. It just was not common practice until the mid 20th century due to law suits. It was called a six shooter you know, not a five shooter. If you want to carry the gun with only 5 go ahead. Just don't say it was always done this way because that is simply not true. Is it safer? Well of course it is. Like I said before it is even safer not to load it at all too.
I still say most of those law suits where the person shot himself in the leg were not due to the hammer being hit but rather to some idiot playing cowboy quick draw. I also maintain that a Glock is more unsafe than a Colt SAA when both have a round in the chamber.
But hell, it's a good maximum, huh? No non gun person will know of it and it will make the teller sound educated. Tell me, how many of you believe the $20 bill in the empty chamber thing? Are you going to tell me that was common practice too?
Sorry but I don't believe everything I read. It was something that was beat into me at a young age by Jesuits. Question everything. Just because some self-proclaimed gun expert says it doesn't make it so no matter how many times it is repeated.
OK, to the person that said I should try it with a plastic hammer, well I did and it wouldn't go off no matter how hard I hit it. I am not saying it will never go off but the odds are slim. Really, how often have you dropped your handgun? I can say I never have and I have carried them in some pretty damn rough places. Now you try it and tell me if it goes off.
As to the person saying that so and so carried only 5 rounds, hey, I don't doubt it. It just was not common practice until the mid 20th century due to law suits. It was called a six shooter you know, not a five shooter. If you want to carry the gun with only 5 go ahead. Just don't say it was always done this way because that is simply not true. Is it safer? Well of course it is. Like I said before it is even safer not to load it at all too.
I still say most of those law suits where the person shot himself in the leg were not due to the hammer being hit but rather to some idiot playing cowboy quick draw. I also maintain that a Glock is more unsafe than a Colt SAA when both have a round in the chamber.
But hell, it's a good maximum, huh? No non gun person will know of it and it will make the teller sound educated. Tell me, how many of you believe the $20 bill in the empty chamber thing? Are you going to tell me that was common practice too?
Sorry but I don't believe everything I read. It was something that was beat into me at a young age by Jesuits. Question everything. Just because some self-proclaimed gun expert says it doesn't make it so no matter how many times it is repeated.
Apparently you missed the line "many carry their revolvers this way for safety". Sounds kinda common, don't it?
No point even addressing this. Imagine what the bill would look like after one shot from a full load BP round.
Not a matter of believing EVERYTHING you read, but when you read it from a source that was there in the era, and it was written at the time, I say that carries some weight. It's called a first hand account.
Do you have any evidence to back up this claim, or are you just assuming? I can find several contemporary accounts about carrying only five rounds.
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A young friend was killed when his pre-1973 Ruger loaded with six rds discharged. He tossed the holstered revolver on his car seat as he sat down. The hammer struck a flash light and bang.
Another friend was also carrying an older Ruger in a belt holster, and when climbing through a two strand fence, the top wire pulled back the hammer and released it. The half cock notch was sheared and bang. He got a bullet through his leg but survived.
Another friend was also carrying an older Ruger in a belt holster, and when climbing through a two strand fence, the top wire pulled back the hammer and released it. The half cock notch was sheared and bang. He got a bullet through his leg but survived.
Jim Watson
New member
As best I recall, the major big lawsuit against Ruger was by an Alaskan guide who had his fully loaded Old Model SBH slide off the wing of his bush plane and shoot him when it hit the rocky ground. Silly place to put a gun, wasn't it?
Some old guy name of Elmer Keith recounted the case of a horseman who was tightening the girth and the stirrup slid off the saddle seat onto the hammer of his fully loaded SAA and set it off into his leg. Ouch.
Rare occurrences, obviously. But Mr Keith thought it worth mentioning from probably 70+ years ago, and Ruger finally got the idea to put an Iver Johnson design in their guns.
Oh, yeah. A gunzine writer rolled up a dollar bill and put it in one chamber, loaded and fired the other five. The bill was burnt beyond expenditure.
Some old guy name of Elmer Keith recounted the case of a horseman who was tightening the girth and the stirrup slid off the saddle seat onto the hammer of his fully loaded SAA and set it off into his leg. Ouch.
Rare occurrences, obviously. But Mr Keith thought it worth mentioning from probably 70+ years ago, and Ruger finally got the idea to put an Iver Johnson design in their guns.
Oh, yeah. A gunzine writer rolled up a dollar bill and put it in one chamber, loaded and fired the other five. The bill was burnt beyond expenditure.