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.
***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.***
This stirred something deep in my memory from the early 1970s.
I believe it was a RUGER Super Blackhawk, old style that some man was loading. He then lowered the hammer on six rounds, and accidentally dropped the revolver. It landed on the hammer going off, killing the man.
Ruger was sued, and lost, so they had their engineers redraw up the internal plans for their revolvers.
When done, they had designed a new loading system, in which you open the gate to free the cylinder, and a transfer bar so the revolver will absolutely not fire unless the trigger is pulled.
What type of Pietta copy of the Colt did Baldwin use? The old style or the transfer bar style as Pietta makes both.