Hammer down?

[Beaker650]

Was wondering if someone can clarify for me, what does hammer down mean? Does that mean the hammer is cocked, or decocked? People say they have their pistol loaded, round chambered, with hammer down. Thank you.

[Oneaudiopro]

It means that the hammer is all the way down and resting on the firing pin. On alot of newer pistol designs, there's a steel bar which sits between the hammer and firing pin as a safety feature. In the old days there was nothing between the hammer and firing pin so if the pistol was dropped or the hammer received a blow to it, the gun could discharge. Hope that answers your question.

[Beaker650]

Thank you. Can you explain to me how to achieve this on a gun? Would this be for example only achievable with something like a 1911?

[Kodemonkey]

^^^ what he said.

Hammer down = decocked. This is a normal condition for carry or storage for people who have a DA/SA trigger like in a Sig/HK/Berreta/CZ.

"Cocked and locked" = hammer back with a safety switched on. This is a normal condition to carry and store 1911s and other SAO (single action only) pistols.

[Kodemonkey]

Thank you. Can you explain to me how to achieve this on a gun? Would this be for example only achievable with something like a 1911?

You normally don't have the hammer down on a 1911 when carrying. Reason for this is that a 1911 won't fire unless the hammer is back (it is a single action only pistol - meaning that the hammer HAS to be back when you pull the trigger for it to fire).

Now, at some shooting competitions (IDPA, USPSA) after you are finished shooting they will want you to :

1) take the magazine out
2) show the gun is clear to the RO
3) release the slide
4) point the gun downrange and dry fire the pistol to absolutely confirm it is unloaded. they usually refer to this as "hammer down".

Most clubs don't like to see hammers cocked on a cold range (meaning people are carrying their guns unloaded).

Hopefully I answered your question. If I didn't, I'll give it another shot!

[Beaker650]

Thanks for the replies. I was reading a thread about how people keep their pistols ready in case of HD and people were saying they were keeping their 1911 chambered with hammer down. I have a Sig, so now I know my hammer will always be down (de-cocked).

[Kodemonkey]

Thanks for the replies. I was reading a thread about how people keep their pistols ready in case of HD and people were saying they were keeping their 1911 chambered with hammer down. I have a Sig, so now I know my hammer will always be down (de-cocked).

Okay. Right on. That's not how I would do things with a 1911, but to each their own. My wife is considering changing to her Sig as her home defense gun. Her reason for the switch is the long double action pull gives her a little more comfort that she will less likely have an accidental discharge if she had to use it in self defense. So that is how it would be stored - decocked (hammer down).

[Beaker650]

I think that DA pull would be good if I wake up groggy since there is no manual safety. Plus my cats are a little strange, like to play with things they shouldn't and I don't want it accidentally going off. lol. May be a good idea to have in a holster too.

[9mmepiphany]

Just for clarification, hammer down on a SIG doesn't have the hammer resting on the firing pin. The SIG is designed to lower the hammer to a rest at a position off the hammer. This is an additional safety, besides the Firing Pin Safety to prevent accidental discharge if the pistol should be dropped on the hammer. When you lower the SIG's hammer by either dry firing or by pulling the trigger and manually lower the hammer, you are bypassing this safety feature.

I think the DA first shot is a nice feature of a bedside gun. When awaken suddenly, it will likely take a few moment to orient yourself an determine why you were awaken. The DA trigger gives you tactile feedback should your trigger finger unintentionally creep onto the trigger and you start to curl your finger.

Most 1911 shooters train to flip off the manual safety as the pistol is rotated to the horizontal. It is a good skill when presenting your gun, but it becomes so automatic that it wouldn't be good for feedback in a less than fully oriented state. A 1911 hammer dome on a loaded round is called Condition 2. It is used by shooters who prefer to thumb cock their gun when bringing it into action. Condition 3 (hammer down on a empty chamber) is actually faster and safer, as you would chamber a round and cock the hammer at the same time by racking the slide

[Beaker650]

I'm probably going to go a little off topic here, but can you tell me how "safe" using a de-cocker is? I am very new to firearms, my Sig just got out of jail last week and it hasn't been fired yet. I haven't loaded it and de-cocked it, etc because I wanted to take it to the range first and make sure I am in a safe location to check that it is functioning properly, get used to using the de-cocker, etc.

When the hammer is lowered using the de-cocker, does it engage the firing pin safety so the hammer will never strike the chambered round until you actually pull the trigger?

[9mmepiphany]

The firing pin safety (FPS) is engaged (lowered) whenever you release the trigger. also when you fire a round...the FPS stays up until the firing pin (FP) returns to it resting position and the trigger is released to it's reset point (except for models equipped with the SRT)

When you decock, you would first take your finger off the trigger and the FPS would engage (blocking all forward movement of the FP) The decocker and the FPS are not connected.

When you press down on the decocking lever, it lowers the hammer to the safety intercept notch and it never even comes into contact with the rear of the PF.

You can test the function of the FPS by (after checking that the gun is unloaded 3Xs) cocking the hammer, keeping your finger off the trigger and pushing on the rear of the FP with a pencil or probe. There may be a bit of movement, but the FP will not even move flush with the rear of the breachblock.

The FPS is released during the last part of the trigger travel during the trigger stroke