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![A page of the 1976 Smith & Wesson catalog, detailing the Models 36, 37, 38, 48, and 49. A hammerless Smith & Wesson revolver is located in the middle 1976 [?]S&W Catalog J-Frames & Model 48.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/1976_%CD%9CS%26W_Catalog_J-Frames_%26_Model_48.jpg/220px-1976_%CD%9CS%26W_Catalog_J-Frames_%26_Model_48.jpg)
A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks an external hammer that the user can manipulate directly. One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency for it to get caught on items such as clothing; covering (shrouding or bobbing) the hammer by removing the hammer spur reduces this from occurring.
Early caplock firearms, patterned after their flintlock ancestors, had exposed hammers. The conversion was done by replacing the flash pan with a nipple for a percussion cap, and the flintlock's cock with a hammer to crush the metallic cap and ignite the powder. The hammer was on the side of the firearm, which is easily reached for priming and cocking.
The earliest cartridge firearms simply copied the older style of action; the Springfield Model 1873 "Trapdoor" rifle and most early cartridge double-barreled shotguns and double-barreled rifles are good examples of this. In these designs, the loading of the cartridge(s) and the cocking of the hammer(s) were separate operations. While rifles evolved quickly away from these early breech loading designs, the double-barrelled shotgun and the double rifle retained its popularity, and for some time, its exposed hammers.
First produced by British gunmaker George Daw 1862, but his model[ clarification needed ] was not a success. However it inspired other models by a number of makers using trigger-plate designs by Green (1868), Murcott (1871) Gibbs and Pitt (1873), and F.B. Woodward in (1876). [1] [2] The first American inventor was Daniel Myron LeFever in 1878. It used internal strikers that were cocked manually, but in 1883, he developed a version that cocked the strikers automatically as the action was closed. This type of hammerless action, or the similar cock-on-open variation, is nearly universal in the majority of modern American double-barrel shotguns.
A hammerless weapon is a modification of the original firing mechanism of firearms. Hammerless firearms do not feature an exposed firing hammer or firing “spur”. This feature is easily identifiable in the rear of the weapon's stock and requires the operator to manually “cock” it to arm the weapon. Rifles with an exposed firing hammer were frequently subjected to accidental discharges due to the exposed firing pin. With a hammerless weapon an internal firing pin reduced the risk of accidental discharge to the operator, because of the safety features of the internal firing pin. The rifle and shotgun subsequently became capable of having a more rapid firing rate as well, because the operator no longer had to manually “cock” the exposed firing hammer(s) on the weapon prior to each time the weapon was discharged. The exposed firing hammer was also frequently caught on clothing and interfered with the operator's ability to aim accurately. The introduction of hammerless firearm technology in rifles and shotgun and later on, handguns greatly improved their safety, firing rate, and accuracy.
The Savage Arms Company pioneered the use of hammerless technology in repeating rifles during the late nineteenth century, and this feature has carried on to the majority of firearms today.[ citation needed ] Compared to pistols and handguns of the nineteenth century, which had exposed firing hammers, weapons such as the Glock series have enclosed firing mechanisms that do not use an actual hammer. The firing pin is put under spring tension during cocking and the trigger simply releases the pin. [3] Hammerless technology has increased the safety of firearms by reducing the risk of injury to the operator and by increasing the technological capabilities of a firearm's mechanical features.[ further explanation needed ]
Early pump-action shotguns, like the lever-action rifles that preceded them, had exposed hammers. The most famous of these is probably the Winchester Model 1897. Like the double-barrelled shotguns, soon, the early pump-action shotguns were replaced by models that enclosed the hammer completely in the action. Modern pump-action shotguns, with the exception of replicas of older exposed-hammer designs required in Cowboy action shooting, are all hammerless.
While shotguns have gone almost entirely hammerless (inexpensive single-shot models being the main exception), handguns are available in significant numbers in many different forms, with or without exposed hammers. Striker-fired guns, which are becoming more common, have no hammer, but they have a striker that is used as a firing pin instead, while many guns that do have hammers, such as revolvers, they are available with the hammer shrouded or with the hammer spur bobbed off. To be able to shroud or bob the hammer of a revolver or semi-automatic pistol, it must be of either a double-action or double-action only design.
The hammerless repeating rifle is a firearm that operates without any external hammer or firing pin. [4] Hammerless firearms do not use a firing pin. This device was first introduced in 1879 with the Climax Safety Hammerless Gun, which was developed in order to prevent accidents from occurring while firing a weapon with a worn hammer/ firing pin. [5] The hammerless rifle was further developed, and Arthur William Savage of the Savage Arms Company introduced a more perfected model in 1895. [6] This rifle may be referred to as a six-shooter repeating rifle due to its capability to carry five rounds within the internal magazine as well as one round in the rifle's chamber. This modification to firearms reduces risk of injury to the operator because of the enclosed firing pin. Older versions of the rifle had external hammers, which did not always remain cocked until the trigger was pulled. [5] The Hammerless Rifle encloses this firing mechanism utilizes a “locking bar”, which secures not only the triggers, but also secures the “firing blocks” while the barrel is opened to discharge shells.
Prior to this hammerless technology, rifles were fixed with an exposed firing hammer and, at times, would be dangerous to the operator. Rifles without this hammerless technology could be cocked and accidentally discharge while the breech was opened. [5] The fear from gun owners of these accidental discharges were well deserved, and even applied to the earliest models of hammerless weapons. Hammerless weapons were initially accepted with some hesitation because the hammerless guns were manufactured with a locking bar, which secures the trigger only and not the firing hammer. Hammerless weapons, such as the Climax Safety Hammerless Gun, was manufactured with a locking mechanism that locked the trigger and featured a strong block that would move in front of the weapon's firing hammer while being reloaded. The hammerless repeating rifle produced by Savage Arms in 1895 was coined the “Model 1895 Rifle” and drastically improved the standard lever-action rifle of the time period. This weapon was similar to the Climax Hammerless Gun in design but was manufactured in mass quantities for commercialization. The Savage Model 99 and the Winchester Model 88 are probably the most well-known examples of this type of firearm.
A double-barreled shotgun, also known as a double shotgun, is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession.
A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A revolver is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six cartridges, before needing to be reloaded, revolvers are commonly called six shooters.
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by directly manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm.
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.
A semi-automatic firearm, also called a self-loading or autoloading firearm, is a repeating firearm whose action mechanism automatically loads a following round of cartridge into the chamber and prepares it for subsequent firing, but requires the shooter to manually actuate the trigger in order to discharge each shot. Typically, this involves the weapon's action utilizing the excess energy released during the preceding shot to unlock and move the bolt, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge case from the chamber, re-cocking the firing mechanism, and loading a new cartridge into the firing chamber, all without input from the user. To fire again, however, the user must actively release the trigger, allow it to "reset", before pulling the trigger again to fire off the next round. As a result, each trigger pull only discharges a single round from a semi-automatic weapon, as opposed to a fully automatic weapon, which will shoot continuously as long as the ammunition is replete and the trigger is kept depressed.
A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.
A lever action is a type of action for repeating firearms that uses a manually operated cocking handle located around the trigger guard area that pivots forward to move the bolt via internal linkages, which will feed and extract cartridges into and out of the chamber, and cock the firing pin mechanism. This contrasts to other type of repeating actions such as the bolt-action, pump-action, semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode actions. A firearm using this operating mechanism is colloquially referred to as a levergun.
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring acts directly on the firing pin to provide the impact force rather than it being struck by a hammer.
The lock of a firearm is the mechanism used to initiate firing. It is a historical term, in that it generally refers to such mechanisms used in muzzle-loading and early breech-loading firearms. Side-lock refers to the type of construction, in which the individual components of the mechanism are mounted either side of a single plate. The assembly is then mounted to the stock on the side of the firearm. In modern firearm designs, the mechanism to initiate firing is generally constructed within the frame or receiver of the firearm and is referred to as the firing or trigger mechanism.
H&R 1871, LLC, or more commonly known as Harrington & Richardson, is an American brand of firearms and a subsidiary of JJE Capital Holdings. H&R ceased independent production February 27, 2015.
In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, and is suitable for concealed carry in a pocket or similar space.
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a power tool, or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy.
Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel(s) are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be required for the cocking of a hammer to fire the new round. There are many types of break-action firearms; break actions are universal in double-barreled shotguns, double-barreled rifles, combination guns, and are commonly found in single shot pistols, rifles, shotguns, including flare guns, grenade launchers, air guns, and some older revolver designs. They are also known as hinge-action, break-open, break-barrel, break-top, or, on old revolvers, top-break actions.
The hammer is a part of a firearm that is used to strike the percussion cap/primer, or a separate firing pin, to ignite the propellant and fire the projectile. It is so called due to the fact that it resembles a hammer in both form and function. The hammer itself is a metal piece that forcefully rotates about a pivot point.
The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
The boxlock action is a firing mechanism with the lockwork mounted internally, as opposed to being mounted on the side of the weapon. Boxlock actions were common in the 18th and 19th centuries. The action gets its name from the lockwork typically being installed in a box of sort, usually inline behind the barrel.
A multiple-barrel firearm is any type of firearm with more than one gun barrel, usually to increase the rate of fire or hit probability and to reduce barrel erosion or overheating.
In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling.