Half Cock Position

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whichwatch

Blackhawk
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Dec 18, 2012
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I'm a dyed in the wool revolver guy and not a 1911 guru. I have a new SR1911, what is the half cock position with the hammer? Is it just an added safety to keep the hammer from resting on the firing pin?
 

Snake45

Hawkeye
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It's to catch the hammer in case the full-cock notch breaks, which just about never happens.

No real 1911 guy I know of actually uses the half-cock notch for anything.
 

Pat-inCO

Hawkeye
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Oct 17, 2009
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In the AZ oven (Phoenix basin)
Personally, I believe it is just nostalgia.

The one thing I . . strongly . . recommend is to NOT attempt the mode 2
with any 1911 (hammer at half cock, chamber with live round in it).
Mode 2 is inherently unsafe to attain. Can it be done? Sure can, but it
is a poor choice. I would use either a mode 1 ("cocked and locked") or
a mode 3 (magazine full, chamber empty).

For any watchers that want to go into a tirade about mode numbers,
we've almost all been there, let's just skip it.
 

1911Tuner

Single-Sixer
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Jun 12, 2013
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The half cock position was Browning's intended manual safety and was referred to as such in the 1910 patents, along with instruction for lowering the hammer to that position with one hand. The patents also described the redesign of the grip safety tang that allowed the safety to be depressed with the back of the hammer spur.

With the exception of the Model 1900 with its sliding rear sight...which disappeared on the 1902...using the half cock for a safety was the way that Browning designed all his exposed hammer guns. Examples are the Models 1892 and 1894 Winchester carbines, and the 1897 shotgun.

The manual safety was added on request of the US Cavarly as a means to quickly make the pistol safe for hasty reholstering in order to free up both hands in the event that the mounted trooper found himself trying to hang onto a frightened, unruly horse...with the assumption that the pistol would be redrawn when that was accomplished. Of course, the manual/thumb safety made the half cock redundant and unnecessary, but it remained as originally designed until the appearance of the flat quarter cock shelf of the Colt Series 80.

The thumb safety, as many believe, was not added with the intent of maintaining the pistol in Condition One. The 1911 CAN be carried cocked and locked, but it wasn't designed specifically TO be carried that way. It's simply another option.
 

1911Tuner

Single-Sixer
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Jun 12, 2013
Messages
243
One of only two of the original eight remaining 1910 pistols that were submitted to the US Army Ordnance Department for evaluation. They were returned with the request for a manual, slide locking safety. Six were retrofitted and resubmitted...accepted...and the rest is history.

1910 Colt courtesy of Charles W. Clawson.

1910.gif
 

DGW1949

Hunter
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Apr 10, 2005
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whichwatch said:
I'm a dyed in the wool revolver guy and not a 1911 guru. I have a new SR1911, what is the half cock position with the hammer? Is it just an added safety to keep the hammer from resting on the firing pin?

You should note that the firing pin of a properly-fitted 1911 is slightly shorter than the channel it resides in. What that means is that even when the hammer is fully forward, the firing pin IS NOT in contact with the primer of the cartridge.

In other words, it's the transfer of energy from the falling hammer that "throws" the firing pin into the primer, so it follows that an "at rest" hammer can't cause the gun to fire.....end of story.

DGW
 

dakota1911

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
1,021
You are playing with old Ruger revolvers if there is a half cock. O.K. The new Bear Cats have it. I am playing with a new "birds head" in 45ACP right now by the way. Ruger SR1911s have a half cock notch. Colt went to a "quarter shelf" when they came out with the Series 80. The difference is with a half cock you pull the hammer back about half way and it clicks and locks. You have to pull it back all way to full cock to pull the trigger and drop the hammer and fire the gun.

With the "quarter shelf" you pull the hammer back and it clicks and locks but if you pull the trigger the hammer drops and the gun does not fire. You have to pull the trigger back all the way to lock it in full cock to fire the pistol. To make life more complex Colt has used the "quarter shelf" triggers on many of their new "Series 70" pistols.

Time to look at some pictures. On top is a Colt hammer with the "quarter shelf". Then an older Colt hammer with a true half cock. On the bottom is a fun one. It is out of a SA Range Officer and SA puts a quarter shelf and a half cock notch on its hammers. When you cock that puppy it reminds you of an old revolver; a whole lot of clicking going on.



And here is another view of the three hammers.

 
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