Half cock.. Whats it for?

[Mity2]

I've been wondering.
whats the purpose of being able to put the hammer on half cock position on single action guns such as 1911 and Browning Hi-Power?

I know the safest way to carry above type guns are either cocked/locked, or hammer rest on empty chamber, and not to carry half cocked...

Just wondering

[SteveXD]

It's just a safety feature. When you cock the gun if your finger slips it will keep the hammer from hitting the firing pin. It's actually an import thing to test on your gun. My EMP had a problem that disabled the half cock and it would hit the firing pin.

[DaveM55]

http://www.sightm1911.com/Care/1911_conditions.htm

The half-cock notch on the M1911 is really intended as a "fail-safe" and is not recommended as a safety. However, it has been used as a mode of carry. From Dale Ireland comes this interesting piece of service history from WWII:

When the hammer is pulled back just a few millimeters it "half cocks" and pulling the trigger will not fire the gun [on genuine mil-spec G.I. pistols]. I imagine this is an unsafe and not a recommended safety position. The reason I bring it up however is that it was a commonly used position especially by left-handers in WWII. My father carried his 1911 (not A1) to Enewitok, Leyte, first wave at Luzon, the battle inside Intramuros, and until he was finally shot near Ipo dam. He tells me that he regularly used the half cocked safety position especially at night and patrolling because bringing the weapon to the full cocked position from the half cocked created much less noise and he was left handed so he couldn't use the thumb safety effectively. He said using the half cocked position was all about noise reduction for lefties while maintaining a small amount of safety that could quickly be released.

Again, the half-cock is intended as a fail-safe in the event that the sear hooks were to fail, and it is not recommended as a mode of carry. It should also be noted that on guns with "Series 80" type hammers, the hammer will fall from half-cock when the trigger is pulled. This would include guns from Springfield Armory and modern production Colts. But, if you happen to be a south paw and find yourself in the jungle with a G.I. M1911A1 and surrounded by enemy troops, the half-cock might be an option.

[JIMMYC308]

It's usually the state between flacid and full erection. I'm sorry I should'nt have gone there.

[billamj]

It's usually the state between flacid and full erection. I'm sorry I should'nt have gone there.

From what I've heard, you would know about that state.

[JIMMYC308]

From what I've heard, you would know about that state.

Have you been talking to my wife again! It's all lies I tell you, lies!!

[ChamberedRound]

On a related note, the expression "going off half cocked" is derived from this position of the hammer on a firearm:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_off_half-cocked
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_b...ages/1129.html

[XUSNORDY]

In SAMI school (small arms marksmanship instructor) they told us it was intended as a "safety" for calvary riders. This way the hammer was not against the firing pin, thus not inducing a accidental discharge from rough conditions (bouncing). We were also told combat drivers and escorts used half cock for the same reasons....however, non of this was in print, only words from the course instructors. We were not allowed to carry in this condition, and did not instruct on it's use. A few old salt armorers I knew said half cock really wore down the hammer/sear engagement after constant use.

FWIW....

[normanvin]

on some single action revolvers the hammer must be in the half cock for loading and unloading. the cylinder turns freely in half cock and the cylinder can be loaded or emptied one at a time.