Six shooter C&B

I know it's recommended to carry five rounds in a C&B revolver, but I tested this concept today with a capped, unloaded chamber. First, I rested the hammer on the pins between the cones. I pounded the hammer with a wooden hammer in a decidedly un-period holster, one with a strap and a snap over the hammer. Nope...it didn't fire. And didn't move. The hammer block strap prevented the hammer from moving even when I tried it with my thump. It wouldn't rotate.

Then I moved the hammer over the cap and pounded it 20 times with the wooden mallet. No detonation. And I was swinging it pretty hard.

Is it possible the six shooter IS really a six shooter? I don't want to be a iconoclast, but I do like testing, however limited my resources are. I didn't drop the revolver on the hard ground as I'm not prone to dropping guns.

Hello Gene, I've always wondered the same thing. Maybe with rough handling it may be prudent to only load "5" but why then would it have "6" chambers?
Maybe to keep that $20 bill hidden?

We load 5 because we load 5.

Stick to it. It is far safer and the rules for CAS call for loading 5 and we should do our best to follow them on or off the line.

an old timer on the 1858 forum was eating a meal at his ranch house (was still working as a ranch-hand) when his 1858 Remington slipped from it's holster as he leaned back, and the resulting bounce, left a .45 cal hole in his right hand.......

I still load 6 and use the "safety stops" though.

Remember reading (could have been an Elmer Keith) about a ”˜cowboy’ having a saddle stirrup hit the hammer of his holstered sixshooter while he was saddling his horse. The gun fired, putting a bullet into the cowboy’s leg.

Wouldn’t trust the pins between the cones. Have seen broken, missing pins. To me, just not worth the risk to have a sixth shot available.

:idunno: Iv'e always loaded 6, except in the 5 shot 1849 and I load 5 in it? Mine all have the "safety" notches between nipples and I use them. To each his own. I'm more likely to get lost and die of starvation than shoot myself, dont fall alot and dang near never unholster the gun in the field (carry as back up to hawken, shotgun etc. and never needed the "help" yet).

In an open holster, I can see the five rule. Certainly in CAS, where a lot of emphasis is on speed and range safety. We follow certain rules at the range that we don't necessarily follow at home. But mine has a strap over the hammer and is very secure.

If you're wearing then OK five makes sense but not for killing cans off the front porch.

I agree with you.

If someone is shooting for fun or poking holes in a target loading that last chamber while you have all the stuff right at your fingertips is fairly safe.

If you plan on carrying the gun with you on a hike, I see no reason for loading that last chamber. It's not like you are going to get in a gun battle and really need it.

Before someone says they carry their C&B around for protection I'll just mention there are a lot of handguns available to carry that are far better for that purpose.

If one is at the range or on level ground and not moving around significantly then loading six is just fine.

Regardless of what type of holster one uses, if the shooter will be moving around (like walking trails, hiking broken ground or horseback) then the hammer on an empty chamber is essential.

Those who have seen a shot kneecap or photos of one will certainly agree that a compulsion to always load six is foolish under many shooting conditions.

Pounding on your pistol with a mallet without result proves absolutely nothing. It’s easy to become impatient with that sort of thing.

Gene L said:

In an open holster, I can see the five rule. Certainly in CAS, where a lot of emphasis is on speed and range safety. We follow certain rules at the range that we don't necessarily follow at home. But mine has a strap over the hammer and is very secure.

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Mine has the flap that covers whole gun, so no way to get caught on something and accidentally cocked. And if this were to happen with the hammer on an empty it would cycle to a capped load?

I suppose you're right. My friend shot himself in the leg about 40 years ago with a Blackhawk .44 when it fell off a pile of laundry he was doing.

The range is a dangerous place, IMO. I think more people get shot at the range than in the woods.

I knew a man went shooting with his son and was practicing quick draw snap shooting and shot his leg with a .45 cab n ball. Not a good example for the boy :youcrazy:

It would have been standard practice to load 6 if one was going to battle in one form or another because the risk of getting shot by that other guy was more than the risk of a person shooting themselves.

One factor not often considered in the equation is the fact you can still shoot yourself in the leg even if you have the hammer down on an empty cylinder, if your hammer catches on something and gets pulled back while some other factor holds the trigger back. I can see this happening, riding in thick brush on horseback, or even pushing through thick brush on foot, or falling while climbing a steep ascent, getting bucked off a horse, or falling off a motorcycle into a bobwire fence. So, I guess you need to keep two cylinders empty to be one step safer; the one under the hammer and the next one up.

I usually load 5, just because that's how many fingers I have on one hand, and I can keep track of how many shots I've fired.

Good point. I wonder how far the hammer has to be drawn back to bust a cap. My holster fits so tight and the leather is stiff so the hammer can't rotate the cylinder at all. Maybe 1/16" or so back, but no rotation. And I pounded on the hammer to see if I could detonate the cap by percussion. Which I couldn't. So it wasn't entirely a waste of time.

OK Gene.

I just placed two caps on the nipples on my Italian replica of a Colt 1849 Pocket pistol.

Lowering the hammer on each capped nipple I hit the hammer spur with a small ball peen hammer.

I didn't hit it hard but I did hit it with a sharp blow.

BOTH CAPS FIRED !!! :shocked2: :shocked2:

In tests I've made before I found that it takes a real sharp blow on a cap to get it to fire.

An example of how this could happen in the real world is the gun falling out of a holster or just being dropped by accident and the guns hammer landing on concrete or a hard rock.

Now some might say they don't walk on concrete or hard rocks but because the cap's did fire just from the impact on the hammer I wouldn't want to trust my health or life to the idea that the gun will land on a softer surface.


:cursing: Now I have to go clean my gun and I didn't even have the fun of shooting it. :cursing:

A good and valid test! My mallet was wood and not very heavy, and I suppose that's why it didn't detonate. I won't tap the hammer with a ball-peen hammer, so your test was better than mine. And I hope we all learned something.

I often question things as stated; that's just how I grew up. Some things stand as they are stated, some do not. And the world turns.

I have had two ”˜unintended discharges’ over the years.

First one happened when a 22 fired as I closed the bolt during a small bore rifle competition. No one hurt, but was shooting off a pad/mattress (prone position) and sent a lot of the pad’s stuffing down range so everyone at the range knew I screwed up.

Second time was with an inline muzzleloader that had a number 11 cap on the nipple. Was checking to make sure I had good contact with the nipple and pushed on the plunger that was already on the cap. BANG. No sharp blow. I was just pushing. Maybe cap was not fully seated and the push caused enough of a blow as it seated to detonate. Fortunately the gun wasn’t loaded, although I had to check that something else hadn’t auto loaded after the experience.

Neither of these ”˜unintended discharges’ involved a sixgun or dropping one, but sure reinforced the importance of keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction and making sure you don’t have contact with a percussion cap or primer unless you are ready to shoot.

Well I may just start loading 5 after the Zonie test? Although I keep the hammer in the notch between nipples It could happen? And if its gonna happen, well ya gotta know me :idunno:

As for accidental discharges....only once. Changed everything. 20Ga pump after son and I just chased some tomes. Outta breath and tired, back to truck. I didnt tell him to take the shell out. He put the gun in , I uncapped 12GA and about half way through my 8 pt turn in a dirt road (trail) it went off. Seems the "manure" in between the seats caught on his trigger as other "manure" slid the safety off. NICE hole in the floor board and a scare. It didnt really hit home till back at camp and he took off his shoe and noticed his pants shredded and dumped a few pellets out :shocked2: Now NO GUNS WITH CHAMBERED ROUNDS OR CAPPED NIPPLES EVER in truck/car/boat

A shot 20GA shell plugged the hole perfectly and went with the truck when I sold it! (didnt want en to wonder how that perfect hole got there)

Well the pins were put on the percussion gun for the express purpose of caring six loaded chambers.
On the 1873 peace maker there are no pins for safe carry so it makes sense to carry five there with the hammer down on the empty.
What was necessary for the 73 to carry safely does not pertain to the percussion guns with safety pins in good working order.
There was no reason for the 58 to fire being dropped out of a holster unless it was on a live cap and not in the safety notch. Also it would never have dropped had a hammer spur loop been in place which was common practice in an open holster or had it been in a flap holster.