When you guys carry,.....

S

Slyster

New member
Do you leave one of the cylinder chambers empty? What I mean is, do you leave the chamber empty where the firing pin is lined up with? I'm sorry if I'm not explaining it well, it's late and I'm kinda lost for words. I think you guys know what I'm talking about. I was told that when carrying a revolver you should do this just in case something happens (something bumps or hits the gun), your life as well as others will not be in danger.

I carry an SP101. If I leave one of the cylinder chambers open, that would mean I'd only have 4 rounds instead of 5, which would still get the job done, but a bummer no less!

What do you guys think?
 
Your SP101 is safe to carry fully loaded. The need to have an empty chamber under the hammer applies primarily to the older design single action style revolvers such as colts and their copies and rugers made prior to 1973.
There are others but a complete list is beyond my knowledge level.
 
Agreed, load it up. Newer double action revolvers have safety devices such as "transfer bars" that prevent hammer to firing pin contact unless deliberate pull of the trigger. The hammer on the empty chamber rule only applies to old school single action cowboy guns. :)
 
What they have all said thusfar, load it up with all 5. The practice of leaving one chamber empty was the result of the fact that the older SA handguns like the Colt SAA and early Rugers with integral/fixed firing-pins and hammers could, if the gun was dropped or the back of the hammer struck, discharge. Not so with newer revolvers. I do recall a sad case about 10 years ago near where I live where a young man had an old style Ruger Blackhawk 357 fully loaded and laying on the seat of his vehicle. When he exited the vehicle and pulled out some items that were laying on top of the gun, it slid out and landed on the ground, discharging and shooting him through the abdomen which resulted in his death. That would not/could not have happened with your SP101.
 
To explain why the transfer bar system is safe to carry fully loaded. The hammer rests fully against the frame of the gun with a space between it and the firing pin. When you pull the trigger fully the transfer bar moves up between the firing pin and the hammer to fire the shot. So unless the trigger is pulled fully to the rear the gun will not discharge. You could even hit the gun hammer with a hammer and the gun would not discharge (wouldn't recommend it though :) )
 
This only applies to the old Single Action army guns for Colt, Smith & Wesson (I think smith and wesson) and their italian replicas (in other words, all the Cowboy guns) The reason for this is that when the hammer is resting in place, the firing pin is sticking through the hole that it goes through to strike the primer of the cartridge. This being the case, that pin is resting up against a loaded primer ready to pop. If that sixth chamber is empty then the pin is resting on an empty chamber. If you drop the gun fully loaded and it lands on the end of the hammer the gun is going to go off.

On modern handguns (including the Ruger version of the cowboy gun) the pin is retracted inside the gun frame with a safty device once it strikes the primer to prevent the above problem. Say on a double action python you pull the trigger and hold it back you see the pin sticking out of the hole where it would hit a primer, when you let the trigger go, the internal mechanics pull the pin back into the gun.

You would be fine loading all six shots on a modern made handgun (Excepting cowboy exact replicas).

Doug
 
Definitely don't have to worry about one under the hammer.

However ... when carrying around my toddler I have been known to leave the first chamber in line empty (depends on what we're doing) -- so even if the trigger got pulled accidentally it would come down on an empty chamber. Also has the advantage of being something I know but a BG who takes the gun doesn't (though by the time a BG gets my gun, I expect it will be empty and he'll be leaking red stuff all over the place).

But man ... taking one round out of a 5 shot is a big percentage of firepower. It's definitely a give and take ... I would regret my decision if I actually found myself in a bad situation and actually needed the firepower -- and needing 5 shots instead of 4 is pretty believable even for civilian carry.

But 4 is better than 0.
 
For some reason the EAA Windicator manual recommends that you keep one chamber empty. Is this just for liability purposes?
 
thats old

old revolvers were really unsafe if you did not unload a camber. now days things are very different. I owned a ruger 22 revolver once and it was impossible to fire without the hammer drawn all the way back and the trigger held back while the hammer fell. those things are alomst infalible. if not infalible. :) :rolleyes: :) :cool: ;)
 
It's generally safe as everyone said but its good to be sure. There's a few guns floating around that aren't that old and are not 100% safe to fully load. I have an old model Super Bearcat that looks just as new and modern as the new ones but has no transfer bar, so only gets 6 at the range but 5 on the trail. Plenty of other Ruger's are the same and Ruger will convert them for free. Another is a totally modern Freedom Arms 22LR mini-revolver which has no safety notches between the cylinders as the NAA mini-rev's do. These are just the ones I know of, be sure what you have before just assuming that they're safe with 6. Good question.
 
Is the "carry on an empty chamber" rule valid for older S&W DA revolvers with a hammer mounted firing pin, too?

I understand how transfer bars work, as well as the other type (who's name escapes me at the moment, but works by blocking the hammer fall unless the trigger is engaged, rather than "transferring" the hammer energy).

With the S&W DA (my new/used Model 19, 'firinstance) there's no transfer bar, and the hammer nose sits in a slot in the frame just behind the pin. While it doesn't extend to contact the pin (I don't think) I could see how a sharp blow to the hammer could possibly cause an "undesired ignition".

-- Sam
 
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