Half-Cock Good For Carry?

[Gun1]

I have a question. If the cylinder doesn't have safety notches is it safe to carry with all 5 chambers loaded and the hammer at half cock?

[OLD and GRUMPY]

No. What do you have with no notch?  Others will know more but I thought they all had them. The Companions don't.

[Uncle_Lee]

No, NO, No, it is not safe to carry it on half cock.
If you will return it to NAA, they will replace the cylinder for one with the safety slots. From what I understand, free of charge.
Give them a call or an e-mail.

[Uncle_Lee]

No. What do you have with no notch?  Others will know more but I thought they all had them. The Companions don't.

All the older minis had no safety slots.

[Gun1]

No. What do you have with no notch?  Others will know more but I thought they all had them. The Companions don't.

I have two with no safety notches. One is a Companion, the other is a .22 LR vintage mini; that's why I want to keep it original and not have the cylinder changed.

[OV-1D]

  Maybe Jesseica can enlighten us on that carrying in a half cock position ? Myself I've tried to make it fail in that position but were unsuccessful , its almost like a safety if not . Please tell us the absolute truth but before the cylinder notch that seemed to work just fine even for the Freedom Arms pieces . It would be under very extreme conditions for the hammer if not impossible to touch the cartridge and or the gun would have been under a very used condition , pretty much wore out or broken in some manner ... Inquiring minds need to know like us who like to keep our weapons original ..

[bearcatter]

The old phrase "Don't go off half-cocked" translates to "don't do something without thinking about it". As in, it may be a bad idea.

[OV-1D]

The old phrase "Don't go off half-cocked" translates to "don't do something without thinking about it". As in, it may be a bad idea.

   I read that another way don't go off half cocked because your hammer won't drop . Full cock your ready to storm off and fire .

[bill_deshivs]

Half-cock is there to catch the hammer if it slips while cocking the gun. It is not a safe way to carry.

You can carefully put the hammer all the way down BETWEEN case heads and carry relatively safely.

[RogueTS1]

What Bill said above. The half cock position on most sears, if not all, is not made to withstand hard blows. It is there to merely catch the hammer if it slips from full cock. The sear at half cock is made thus so as not to ruin the trigger pull. If it was made sturdy, the trigger pull would be extremely heavy and/or gritty.

[theysayimnotme]

  Maybe Jesseica can enlighten us on that carrying in a half cock position ? Myself I've tried to make it fail in that position but were unsuccessful , its almost like a safety if not . Please tell us the absolute truth but before the cylinder notch that seemed to work just fine even for the Freedom Arms pieces . It would be under very extreme conditions for the hammer if not impossible to touch the cartridge and or the gun would have been under a very used condition , pretty much wore out or broken in some manner ... Inquiring minds need to know like us who like to keep our weapons original ..

The hammer on my Freedom Arms mini is a different design. It appears to be a rebounding hammer & isn't in direct contact with the cartridge.

[OV-1D]

  This is a great discussion , there should be more on the internal workings of firearms to teach everyone who owns one knows of just what all these parts are for and their use and design , to know what to do and what not to do especially in terms of filing parts or modify in any safe way a powder driven cartridge weapon . We here on this forum are the best of the best in such matters no other forum comes close for communicating back and forth information . So all you new timers , first time gun owners , ask away anything that crosses your minds to find the answers nothing is too dumb to ask you'll never be ridiculed for asking .

[grayelky]

My original mini was a LR, pre safety notch. I always carried it with 4 rounds, and the hammier on an empty chamber. The only truly safe way to carry a single action made like these, and the Colt SAA. If you run across a 3 screw Ruger with out a transfer bar, it is not safe to carry with 6 rounds loaded.

Like Bill_Deshivs pointed out you can put the hammer between the chambers, but, if it were to slip over onto a primer, it could discharge if dropped. Hence his "relatively safely" comment. Not likely to happen, but it could.

[Dirt Road Cowboy]

This is just my story, not advice!

I have been carrying my NAA Companion half cocked for several years. I have it in a leather holster, front pocket carry, and even through 3 motorcycle crashes where I hit that side, it never went off.

It would seem that carrying my NAA half cocked is safer for me than riding motorcycles! LOL!

[Uncle_Lee]

Hey, that mini is YOURS.
Carry it in what ever manner suits you best.

[Armybrat]

My 35+ year old Spanish Fork Mini has the safety notches, but I only carried it back then with the hammer resting on an empty chamber.

[autofull]

no. period.

[Twainman]

"no. period."

THIS would be the definitive answer.

Here is how to test this:  Load all chambers with spent rounds. Secure your loaded revolver in a vice, pointed in a safe direction.  Move the hammer to half-cock position.  Clear the area and hit the hammer a sharp blow with a heavy hammer (such as a framing hammer or a heavy ball-peen hammer).  If the firing mechanism on your pistol breaks but does not fire, you may have to replace the pistol.  If the pistol does fire (indicated by a new dent in the rim of the cartridge), consider that you no longer need to worry about possibly having to support someone else's family  (and have yours destroyed) for the rest of your life.

[bearcatter]

 Okay, we're waiting on the first volunteer to do this test!   

[Canoeal]

Nope for me carry as designed. For me that means in the safety notch; no other way. YMMV and so might your accidental discharges. Half cock is for my Henry.

[top dog]

Gun1,
My humble advise is to contact NAA,they will send you a shipping label and you can then send the piece to them. In short order it will come back ready to go at no cost to you.

If you do not wish to do that,then carry the piece with the hammer down on an empty chamber and you will have a 4 shooter.

If you carry it in the half cock position................you may very well end up with a no cock position!

Understand?

                                                                                                          Top Dog

[OV-1D]

  How's that saying "Don't go away half cocked" . Half cocked is surely not wise with a worn out gun .

[OLD and GRUMPY]

If you carry it in the half cock position................you may very well end up with a no cock position!


                                                                                                         

Understood!

[Dinadan]

I have posted this before, but I do think it has a place in any discussion of carrying at half-cock.

When in half-cock the mini cannot be fired by pulling the trigger, though perhaps dropping it on the hammer would do the trick. However, it is possible to place the hammer of a mini in a position which appears to be half-cock but is not. I call it false half-cock. From that position the hammer will drop if the trigger is pulled, and it has enough force to fire the gun. I tested that myself, and it was a shock when the Mini fired.

Below are a couple of photos showing the two positions using my Magnum-mini. Note that the trigger and the hammer are positioned differently in false half-cock. Normally a mini hammer will not just fall into the false half-cock position, but if you release the trigger at exactly the wrong time as you lower the hammer, it can happen. Three of my magnum minis and my LR can be positioned in false half-cock. Top photo is half-cock: bottom photo is false half-cock.


So be darned careful if you use half-cock!

[OLD and GRUMPY]

Thank you.

[OLD and GRUMPY]

FYI. The Companions do NOT have a safety  notch. Must be carried over a empty chamber. Would hate for you to blow your nuts off.

[OV-1D]

  Are those cashews or macadamian ?   

[Canoeal]

peenuts.