What's the point of a "half-cocked" Hammer?

[MikeD22]

Just dry firing/admiring my New Sig RCS 1911, and was wondering why they would have the hammer stop at "half-cocked"? Why is there even a stop there? Can't lock safety or pull trigger...whats the point?

Let it be known, I carry it cocked and locked so I don't need a lesson on where my hammer should be. Just wondering....thanks in advance

[Deleted]

From Wika...

Half-cock is a technical firearms term referring to the position of the hammer where the hammer is partially but not completely cocked. Many firearms, particularly older firearms, had a notch cut into the hammer allowing half-cock, as this position would neither allow the gun to fire nor permit the hammer-mounted firing pin to rest on a live percussion cap or cartridge. The purpose of the half-cock position has variously been used either for loading a firearm, or, as a safety-mechanism, or for both reasons.

Early flintlocks had required a half-cock position to prime the pan, in preparation for firing the firearm, after loading the main chamber.

Some early types of revolvers, such as the Colt 1851 Navy Revolver, required the user to place the hammer at half-cock to permit rotation of the cylinder to load the firearm. On such firearms, the standard practice was not to load all 6 chambers and leave the hammer at half-cock, but, rather, to load only 5 of 6 chambers by standard safety practice, and stow the dropped hammer on an unloaded chamber. Nonetheless, some users did use the half-cock notch as a very early safety on such revolvers when all 6 chambers were loaded, often to a dangerous and unintended consequence.

Likewise, some early types of repeating lever-action cartridge rifles, such as the Winchester Model 94 rifle, had a half-cock position that was intended to serve as a safety mechanism, to keep the hammer away from the firing pin while holding the rifle when a round was chambered, such as when in a blind awaiting game to appear. Although the practice is today deprecated, the half-cock notch position on such rifles was formerly used by many hunters as a safety when carrying the loaded rifle with a round chambered while hunting. The half-cock position of the hammer did not serve a purpose while loading such firearms.

The half-cock notch most commonly worked through insertion of a spring-loaded thin metal plate into a slot cut into the tumbler, the tumbler being variously either part of the hammer or mechanically attached to the pivot-point of the hammer, depending on the particular firearm under discussion. When the tumbler/hammer rotated quickly from full-cock, the spring-loaded metal plate could not engage into the slot cut into the tumbler, and the firearm could fire since the hammer would fully rotate. When the tumbler/hammer rotated slowly from full-cock, such as when engaging the half-cock notch, the metal plate would slide into the slot cut in the tumbler, thereby preventing the hammer/tumbler from rotating fully, hence preventing the hammer from falling and the gun from firing.

In practice, the half-cock notch was often prone to breakage when used as an early safety mechanism, whereby the tumbler would have part of the metal around the slot shear away, thereby removing the fragile safety mechanism, and permitting the hammer to fall and the firearm to fire. This could occur from accidentally dropping the loaded firearm onto its half-cocked hammer but once.

The still commonly-used English expression of "going off half-cocked" derives from the failure of the half-cock mechanism to keep the hammer from falling and the subsequent failure to prevent a firearm from firing when unintended.

[IronButt]

The half cock position is considered by some as an additional "safety." Personally, I never use it & I think of it as an accident ready to happen, if you're using it as a safety.

[mrnyman]

OP , what you are referring to as the half cock position on a 1911 gun is not meant to be fired from , it is a safety catch for the hammer , it is meant to catch a slipping hammer in case the hammer slips off the sear etc.

some people like to carry a 1911 in this position because it makes it easier to rack the slide if you carry Israeli style.

[tonyfac]

Derringers are also half cocked pistols. if the hammer is down, the firing pin protrudes and would set off the gun when you close it. they are made to be carried half cocked, which is a safety in case you drop it, also it retracts the firing pin into the body.

[OwnTheRide]

Old style Ruger single six revolvers have a half-cocked setting that is used for loading/unloading. It is the only setting that allows free rotation of the cylinder. Newer styles do not have or need the half-cocked setting.

Semi-autos such as the Ruger SR9 hold the striker at half-cocked position. The trigger completes the cocking while being pulled. My guess is that this is a safety feature that makes it so the only way for the gun to fire is if the trigger is pulled - the striker somehow getting released from half-cocked position that is also somehow able to pass other safety devices that may or may not exist will presumably not have enough force to cause primer ignition.

[Brick]

Just dry firing/admiring my New Sig RCS 1911, and was wondering why they would have the hammer stop at "half-cocked"? Why is there even a stop there? Can't lock safety or pull trigger...whats the point?

Let it be known, I carry it cocked and locked so I don't need a lesson on where my hammer should be. Just wondering....thanks in advance

It depends on the handgun. On 1873 Army revolvers and clones the "half-cocked" position allowed the clylinder to turn without engaing the hammer so the revolver could be emptied of fired cases and reloaded.

On the M1911 the half-cock notch is a safety. It is supposed to catch a hammer that is falling accidently from an "almost cocked postion" by a clumsy operator or a hammer following the slide because of a bad sear when the slide release lever is activated.