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Old July 1, 2009, 09:01 PM   #51
Glenn E. Meyer
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A cocked revolver may be an ND waiting to happen if you don't have training. A lot of human factors research has been done on gun handling under stress and a single action pull can easily occur.

Also, Mas has documented a police officer who got into trouble as he was trained to cock his gun and then shot a person by a twitch.

So the technical answer is that it is a bad idea. About clearing the house, it is difficult against an opponent by yourself. The suggestions to train and/or rearrange the house for security make a lot of sense.

Those are much more important than the issue of cocking the revolver.
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Old July 1, 2009, 09:16 PM   #52
buck9
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Thanks

This thread has made me think. I now will never cock my revolver until I am sure I will fire. I know now I need to practice d/a more than s/a. I can only speak from my knowledge. My revolver with the hammer cocked is a dangerously light trigger pull. Once again thanks for making me think.
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Old July 1, 2009, 09:16 PM   #53
OldMarksman
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Quote:
A cocked revolver may be an ND waiting to happen if you don't have training. A lot of human factors research has been done on gun handling under stress and a single action pull can easily occur.
And that's one reason why I chose a DAO revolver for concealed carry. Here's a worthwhile article on the subject:

http://www.snubnose.info/docs/daovdasa.htm

Relevant excerpts:

Quote:
...people who carry a revolver for self defense should practice almost exclusively for double action fire, as if the single action option wasn't even there. Why? Because there are almost no situations in which single action fire is appropriate in self defense. Most self defense situations unfold rapidly. There isn't time to thumb cock a revolver and take careful aim in the way one would do while target shooting. A cocked revolver is dangerous in the adrenaline dump of a lethal force encounter. The trigger is just too light. Its too easy to fire when you don't mean to. There was a well-publicized case in Miami several years back in which a police officer accidentally shot a suspect he was holding at gunpoint with a cocked revolver. The suspect was killed and the officer faced a lengthy court process which ultimately destroyed his career.

In a nervous situation, a cocked revolver is dangerous. When you're really nervous or scared, the heavy double action trigger pull is an asset rather than a liability. I can hear you say, Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire, and that's true, but we also know that people don't always do what they're supposed to do in the stress of a deadly encounter. The police officer in Miami is a good example. I'm sure he had heard the rules. A firm double action trigger can be a welcome piece of insurance against an accidental discharge. With a DAO revolver, manual cocking isn't possible, nor is it possible to be accused of negligently cocking the hammer in a civil action which could follow a self defense shooting.
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About clearing the house, it is difficult against an opponent by yourself. The suggestions to train and/or rearrange the house for security make a lot of sense. Those are much more important than the issue of cocking the revolver.
Very true indeed.

No, I didn't know about not cocking the revolver before I took CCW training. And I had no idea how foolish it was to walk around the house with gun in hand to investigate a noise, though simple common sense should have made that very clear.

Yes, training is a good thing--maybe a lifesaver.
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Old July 1, 2009, 09:35 PM   #54
ninjatoth
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Quote:
Your question gave you away. No one who has had professional training would have had to ask it. All the major schools teach to not cock a DA revolver.
I am asking a question as for "what would you do?"Would you cock the hammer in an encounter or not?One person stated that the BG backed down after cocking the hammer,and that is a good answer.For me personally,no I would not cock it because of the adrenelin would probably cause me to accidentally discharge.My question isn't personal to me and the fact that people are questioning my experience for asking others what they would do is strange to me.
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Old July 1, 2009, 09:53 PM   #55
OldMarksman
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One person stated that the BG backed down after cocking the hammer,and that is a good answer.
I don't think it is a good answer. The guy was lucky. Very lucky.

As was I, 41 years ago, when I cocked a revolver that I had aimed at someone who had gained entrance into my rented cabin at night in Colorado. Fortunately--very fortunately--things turned out OK.

Cocking a revolver is OK for hunting and target shooting, but not for personal defense.

Quote:
My question isn't personal to me and the fact that people are questioning my experience for asking others what they would do is strange to me.
Don't take it that way. This is a very serious subject. You can't afford to learn what you should have done if you were wrong.

The required eight hour training class I took last year for the CCW permit covered a lot of subjects. About four hours were devoted to legal issues.

The subject of cocking a revolver was addressed. I had never even considered the question and in a home invasion situation would probably have cocked the gun.

So was the issue of what to do when a perp is in the house (ans: let the perp come to you). I would most certainly have gone to find the guy.

Find out what training is available in your area and take it.

You won't regret it.
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Old July 1, 2009, 10:05 PM   #56
ninjatoth
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well,it's a good answer not because it's right,but because it is a different response than just no!But I can't personally take a CCW class,I can't even get in there,so that option is out.In my state if you have any mental condition,which I do,they refuse to let you take ccw,yet willy nilly hand me over the pistol permit.Kind of stupid and a whole nother issue alltogether.
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Old July 2, 2009, 10:02 AM   #57
Glenn E. Meyer
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This one is too weird. Before we go off on some psychobabble, the question is asked and answered.

Don't cock the gun.
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