Posted on 12/06/2021 8:23:59 PM PST by Tired of Taxes
John Schneider: "Share this with your friends if they are still apt to believe that a handgun can load and fire itself."
Video at link:
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I’d like to see a report on the condition of the gun in question.
Wouldn’t you rather see the report of the condition of the person (Baldwin) who had his finger on the trigger while drawing back the hammer?
Many single action reolvers have a very light trigger pull where just resting your finger on the trigger can make it fire. Even if this were the case the hammer must be manually cocked back and that requires an intentional act.
It looks like Baldwin pulled back the hammer and then released it. I do not believe he would have had to pull the trigger to fire the gun.
I just watched the video you linked. Interesting... Sounds possible.
It’s been established how a mechanically sound Colt SAA functions. Let’s find out if the gun in question is mechanically sound.
It depends on the single action in question. The term, “going off half cocked” isn’t fiction. That’s why people carried a six gun with an empty chamber.
But... that shot was very accurate.
Despite what you see in the movies one shot, one kill is not that easy.
At 2:20, Schneider tries to cock the hammer and loses it. The half-cocked sear catches it. I’m wondering if the hammer on the actual weapon is worn. Hollywood dummies could have been abusing it. And I wouldn’t trust this film’s “armorer” to catch it.
How Alec Baldwin's single action army revolver fired 6:25
But this comment left below that video is the best description of exactly how the trigger mechanism works with the hammer and what can and cannot happen.
Jim IvyI have been using single-action Colt recovers for over 60 years and have never had one fire unless I pulled the trigger. The hammer on this style of revolver has 4 positions: 1) un-cocked, 2) quarter- cock, 3) half-cock, and 4) full-cock.
In the un-cocked position, the firing pin is fully forward. If the revolver is dropped and if there is a cartridge beneath the firing pin, and if the revolver lands on the hammer, then the revolver could fire. That is why those who are familiar with this revolver will load only five cartridges. You always leave an empty chamber beneath the firing pin.
Quarter-cock is the "Safe" position. In quarter-cock the trigger sear engages a notch in the hammer. This notch has a hook that captures the trigger and prevents it from being pulled. The trigger cannot be pulled and the revolver cannot fire from the quarter-cock position. Again, if the revolver is dropped and lands upon the hammer, there is a slight possibility that the steel hook that captures the trigger could break and allow a cartridge beneath the chamber to fire. Another reason why intelligent people do not load a full six cartridges in this type of revolver.
Half-cock position, like quarter-cock, captures the trigger so that it cannot be pulled. Half-cock position allows the cylinder to be rotated for loading and unloading the weapon. In half-cock position the cylinder does not line up with the hammer. In half-cock position even dropping the revolver on it's hammer will not fire a cartridge because the quarter-cock notch would capture the hammer before the firing pin could hit the cartridge.
In full-cock position the trigger can be pulled and as long as the trigger is held back, the hammer will strike the cartridge and fire the revolver. However, the trigger must be pulled and held throughout the full length of the hammer fall. Otherwise, the half-cock notch will capture the hammer and not allow the revolver to fire. If the half-cock notch were to fail, then the quarter-cock notch would capture the hammer and the revolver would not fire.
If the hammer is released while it is between positions, and if the trigger has not been pulled, then the hammer will be captured before it can strike a cartridge and fire.
In short, there are only two possibilities: 1) The revolver mechanism had been altered to bypass the safety features that were built into the design and that have been working reliably for well over 150 years, or 2) Baldwin is not speaking the truth. Since the New Mexico authorities have the weapon, it should take no more than a few minutes to verify whether or not the revolver was in good working condition. If it is in good working condition, then Baldwin is for one reason or another not speaking the truth.
A few nights ago I tried every variation possible with my SAA and came to the same conclusions this guy did but he describes it better than I could.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed that the firearm was an Italian-made Pietta Long Colt revolver. Most likely, an Uberti made replica.
It was an 1880 type Colt revolver so it would have had the first position hammer hold-off position (as in a carry situation). It also could not allow the hammer firing pin to strike unless the trigger was also pulled.
As I said earlier, we know how a mechanically sound SAA works. Now we have to find out if that’s what we’re dealing with.
Nah. He's a card-carrying azzhole. Always was, always will be.
If it was a Pietta, how can it be an Uberti?
Aren’t those two competitors that make similar repro guns?
“How the live ammo got into the pistol is the most intriguing aspect of the case, to me.”
Ditto
It doesn’t matter much if it does add up or not. If there hadn’t been a live round in the thing nothing that fool did would have mattered.
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