Posted on 05/26/2015 7:50:24 PM PDT by OK Sun
In the world of modern firearms which use centerfire cartridges, there are two major types of mechanisms used to trigger the cartridge primer. One uses a hammer and another uses a striker. Therefore, mechanisms that use a hammer are called hammer-fired and the ones that use a striker are called striker fired. As you can guess, each mechanism has its own group of supporters. In today's post, we will study what this all means.
In a hammer fired mechanism, the hammer is a heavy piece that is allowed to rotate about a pivot point. When the hammer is cocked, it compresses a spring. When the trigger is released, the spring pushes the hammer and forces it to rotate forward. The end of the hammer strikes the back end of a firing pin, which is a thin steel pin with a hardened tip. The front end of the firing pin strikes the primer of the cartridge, thereby detonating it. The image below shows how this works.
In some revolvers, the firing pin is attached to the hammer directly.
(Excerpt) Read more at firearmshistory.blogspot.com ...
I have 4 Glocks and besides the safety thing, it always kinda depresses me to hear that “thoing” when the strike is released. It just ain’t the same as a good solid hammer striking the firing pin.
As for the revolvers with the firing pin mounted on the hammer, there probably are some models of revolvers out there that could present a safety problem. But models like a real SAA with a 4 stage hammer lockup sequence have that first carry-able position that keeps the pin off the primer. Other later revolvers have the option built into the cylinder pin where it can be set to hold-off the hammer pin from the primer.
The one thing I do not like is S&Ws crossbar safety. It was implemented as an appeasement to liberal government and made the revolver unnecessarily more complex. I also don’t like the machinations one would have to go through to replace a pin striker in one of these.
Thanks for the information! I think I finally understand the difference now. :-)
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