The thing is, SA revolvers don’t have a decocking mechanism. He would have had to pull the hammer back with is finger on the trigger to lower it.
He has stated he never pulled the trigger.
Hmmm.
***He has stated he never pulled the trigger.***
He would have had to have fully cocked the hammer, and pulled the trigger to make it go “Boom”, unless it had been modified as a “slip hammer” pistol, with the trigger tied back or removed.
Pietta makes two types of copies of the 1873 Colt. One like the originals, and one with a transfer bar in which the hammer must be fully cocked to raise the transfer bar.
Below is a schematic of the two types made by Pietta. One like the old style and a transfer bar model.
https://www.vtigunparts.com/store/images/1873%20Pietta%20SA.png
One more thing I forgot about, when the hammer is cocked, a pawl connected to the hammer pushes up on the cylinder to rotate the next chamber into firing position. When in firing position the “bolt” on the bottom locks the cylinder into position.
If you thumb slips before the cartridge in the chamber is aligned, the firing pin will not hit the primer, but to one side.
To make it fire, the hammer has to be at full cock. If at full cock, then the trigger has to be pulled to make it fire.
