1/2 cocked

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Thedub88

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This was mentioned in another thread. Whats up with 1/2 cock? Anyone want to fill me in?

I have a s+w 1911 single action
 
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Half Cocked is designed to catch the hammer if you either didn't cock it all the way or the full cock slips off.
 
Mike-Mike said:
Half Cocked is designed to catch the hammer if you either didn't cock it all the way or the full cock slips off.
Click to expand...

So, if i understand correctly, if im trying to fully cock my gun with a round in the chamber, and the hammer slips before it is cocked, than the gun wont fire because the hammer only falls to half cock. Am I understanding this correctly?
 
Thedub88 said:
So, if i understand correctly, if im trying to fully cock my gun with a round in the chamber, and the hammer slips before it is cocked, than the gun wont fire because the hammer only falls to half cock. Am I understanding this correctly?
Click to expand...

Thats correct, With that said, Most modern firearms have other internal safeties that come into play as well.
 
Thedub88 said:
So, if i understand correctly, if im trying to fully cock my gun with a round in the chamber, and the hammer slips before it is cocked, than the gun wont fire because the hammer only falls to half cock. Am I understanding this correctly?
Click to expand...

Also you should never be cocking your 1911 with a round already in the chamber anyway. If you were to do so, that would indicate you were carrying in condition 2 (round in chamber, hammer down) which is NOT safe! So you shouldn't have to worry about it firing if you don't rack the slide all the way, thus cocking the hammer back all the way, because you wouldn't have racked the slide back enough to chamber a round (in most cases)
 
Mike-Mike said:
Half Cocked is designed to catch the hammer if you either didn't cock it all the way or the full cock slips off.
Click to expand...

Although this is true, it's not why it's there. The half-cock is a failsafe in case the hammer hooks wear or fail. It will keep the pistol from firing if the trigger hasn't been pulled.
 
EddieCoyle said:
The half-cock is a failsafe in case the hammer hooks wear.
Click to expand...

Causing the hammer to slip off the full cock which is what I was referring to. My series 70 Colt used to land on half cock every time I went slide forward on an empty chamber until I fixed it.
 
EddieCoyle said:
Although this is true, it's not why it's there. The half-cock is a failsafe in case the hammer hooks wear or fail. It will keep the pistol from firing if the trigger hasn't been pulled.
Click to expand...

+1

You should never be loaded and in the half-cocked position because with the original 1911 design you're only one failure away from a AD. Some newer 1911s have firing pin locks now, which is another layer of protection but you don't want to walk around loaded and half cocked! [smile] This also applies to some other auto-loaders like my Beretta 21.
 
bhmax16 said:
Also you should never be cocking your 1911 with a round already in the chamber anyway. If you were to do so, that would indicate you were carrying in condition 2 (round in chamber, hammer down) which is NOT safe! So you shouldn't have to worry about it firing if you don't rack the slide all the way, thus cocking the hammer back all the way, because you wouldn't have racked the slide back enough to chamber a round (in most cases)
Click to expand...

Wouldn't you have to cock the gun with the round in the chamber to then flip up the safety and carry C1 "cocked-and-locked?"
 
EddieCoyle said:
Although this is true, it's not why it's there. The half-cock is a failsafe in case the hammer hooks wear or fail. It will keep the pistol from firing if the trigger hasn't been pulled.
Click to expand...
Yup. If the hammer hooks wear or fail, the sear will intercept the half-cock notch on the hammer. Of course, if the sear nose fails, then you are SOL.
 
Kalahari said:
Wouldn't you have to cock the gun with the round in the chamber to then flip up the safety and carry C1 "cocked-and-locked?"
Click to expand...
Charging the chamber on a 1911 (and on every semi-auto with a hammer that I'm aware of) automatically cocks the hammer. You never have to manually cock a 1911 unless you are carrying condition 2, which I don't recommend.
 
what would be unsafe carrying in condition 2. I would say not smart, not unsafe. Then again, I could be totally wrong.
 
Serapis said:
what would be unsafe carrying in condition 2. I would say not smart, not unsafe. Then again, I could be totally wrong.
Click to expand...

getting it into condition 2 is the place where it's mainly not safe. Then again you might not be safe if you have to take the time to cock it before you need it..badly.
 
Well, I could be wrong,,,but I think you have the firing pin resting on the primer,and the exposed hammer resting the firing pin.
 
Pilgrim said:
getting it into condition 2 is the place where it's mainly not safe. Then again you might not be safe if you have to take the time to cock it before you need it..badly.
Click to expand...
+1

Those are the issues with condition 2. Several negatives and no positives that I see.
 
BrianWilson said:
Well, I could be wrong,,,but I think you have the firing pin resting on the primer,and the exposed hammer resting the firing pin.
Click to expand...
I believe that is not the case. The firing pin is shorter than the firing pin channel -- it is an inertial firing pin. So when the hammer is down, while it is resting on the firing pin, the firing pin is not touching the primer. And since the hammer is resting on the slide as well, smacking a hammer in condition 2 won't actually cause the firing pin to move.
 
M1911 said:
I believe that is not the case. The firing pin is shorter than the firing pin channel -- it is an inertial firing pin. So when the hammer is down, while it is resting on the firing pin, the firing pin is not touching the primer. And since the hammer is resting on the slide as well, smacking a hammer in condition 2 won't actually cause the firing pin to move.
Click to expand...

Depends on the firing pin length and the FP block. In stock form, Its more than likely. But all but one of my 1911 style gun, the FP is flush at rest and sticks out when the hammer is down
 
I just went up and looked thru the pile. Looks like about half stick out and half dont. Enough to lite something off? Mebbe..but probably not. I didnt bother to look at the hi-po super,primer flow and all.The upside is I found a couple of pistols I forgot about.
 

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