Hi guy's: I am thinking of having the hammer cut down on my M&P- 360 J-frame , but i know i will lose the use of the single action. Any input will help , has anyone else done this. Thanks----Pete---

Suggest you buy a new "bobbed" hammer and keep the original as is. That way you can go back to the original if desired.

Steve

What is it hanging up on when you practice drawing it from concealment? If the answer is nothing then there is no need for action. If it is hanging up on something that can be fixed I would fix that. The last answer is to get another bobbed hammer.

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Front sight and squeeze

Another solution (although a bit more expensive) would be to go buy yourself one of the new, no-lock, Model 340's that are available.

That way, you would still have the use of the single action on your model 360, but you wouldn't have to worry about the internal hammer on the 340 getting hung up on anything.

I do not believe that a factory, MIM'ed, bobbed hammer is available. However, you could buy a hammer meant for one of the shrouded hammer J-frames and that would work. Several members have done this conversion and posted pictures of it.

I am a strong proponent of bobbed hammers for defensive revolvers. In my opinion, there is no need to cock that hammer in a fight. Furthermore, the inability to cock it shows that firing was as deliberate as a twelve pound double action trigger can be.

It is also important to train as you expect to fight. I see people at the range all of the time shooting a double action revolver in single action the vast majority of the time. I am a bit of a purist and almost never cock my revolvers that still have the spur. Why? I want the trigger time to perfect my double action trigger manipulation. Shooting revolvers in double action requires better trigger control and is indeed a much more useful skill in a defensive situation than shooting single action.

best of both worlds

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Professional Trainer

Groo here
Each has his own ideas, I have but one bobbed DAO gun
and will have no more.
To limit your self to DAO is to limit your self range and the ability
to hit precisly.
Unless you bobb a pocket snub for very close range,,
you should retain the single action by cutting the hammer
like doc540's pic..
The farther away ,the more time you have to shoot,the better you must shoot..
Ps. I carried a revolver for 12 years as a Dep. and even we were taught
to cock a gun as the ranges went farther than about 10 to 15 yds..

I like doc540's idea, i 'll try to find a good gun smith that can do that, Thanks--

top gun 638,

doc540 appears to have a hammer mounted firing pin. Your Model 360 has a frame mounted firing pin.

The hammer will be different and I doubt you will find that it has enough material to do what doc540 did to his hammer.

I think your best bet is to get a Model 638 hammer and install it into your Model 360.

This may not be the safest method in the world, but it does work. I had a bobbed hammer on my 3913, but when target shooting slow fire, I found I could take my first shot in single action by pulling the trigger part way and then getting a grip on the hammer as it came back and cock the gun. Then I could have the SA trigger pull for the first shot. I would recommend this only for this type of shooting as you should already have the weapon pointed at the target, so should it discharge it would go down range. For self defense I don't see why SA mode would be used, I'm not going to cock my weapon and point it at someone, if I need it, the first round is going to be DA. Just a though on the subject. Thanks.

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Endeavor to persevere. <><

Your wright i checked my 360 and it is not very wide . I'll look into 638 hammer. Pete--

Lookup a fine gentleman over on the Colt Forum, "ednred".

He does great hammer work, and I'd visit with him before I wrote off the idea.

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Professional Trainer

My only carry revolver has a bobbed hammer on it.

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~ S&WCA No.2159 ~

Try placing your thumb over the hammer when you draw from a pocket or IWB, it works great. Practice, with AN EMPTY GUN, at home until you get it to be second nature.

No problem w/a bobbed hammer but give this a try and see what you think.

Any probs with light primer strikes with bobbed hammer? Just got a 36 Saturday with a bobbed hammer and had about 3 light strikes in 4 cylinders

I think i'll give this try and leave the gun alone. Thanks everyone for all help.---Pete---

For me the best CCW is the Bodyguard style frame. I, like others don't believe in cocking a revolver, however if it suits one to cock their gun, it can very easily be done.

By all means try using the thumb-over method for removal from your holster. I am one of those that feels single-action in a defensive revolver is not needed. DAO negates the liability-factor, which we know will be a ploy used by attorneys should you ever go to court. Second, the time involved in cocking a hammer negates the need for speed in a defensive situation. If you have time to aim and pull back the hammer to fire at a greater distance, then you have time to apply concentration and fire DAO with good success.

A short-barrel revolver is not a long-distance shooter for accuracy. It is meant for up-close and personal work, defensive-work. If you wish to be accurate at a distance, use a long-barrel revolver or rifle. Snubs are not meant for long-range shooting. Sure, there are those that are accurate with snubs long-range, but they are the exception.

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GA Carry member
Vietnam Vet

The MIM hammer has a flat face and if you cut off the spur it will not be necessary to checker the top. You can easily grab the face of the MIM hammer with your thumb once the hammer has been started back with the trigger. There is no hammer mounted firing pin to get in the way.

Anybody who tells you that you need to thumb cock the hammer of a revolver when shooting man size targets beyond 10 yards does not understand the double action revolver at all. For many of us shooting DA is actually easier than SA out to 50 yards.

A hammer spur is a liability on a pocket gun. Considering how S&W has become so obsessed with cheapening the product, I'm surprised they haven't eliminated the hammer spur altogether on the J Frame just to save a few pennies in the MIM mold.

Dave Sinko

You won't lose DA. With just a bit of self-training, you can very easily learn to start the hammer back with the trigger, get your thumb in front of the hammer, release the trigger, and bring it safely back to full cock. Decocking is even easier -- put your thumb in front of the hammer, pull the trigger, release the trigger, then let the hammer down. Piece of cake. And before someone protests -- if you cannot learn to do this safely, maybe you should reconsider handling a handgun at all.

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Pisgah

I don't need to pull the hammer back in a situation ,i am just concerned the barb will hang up in my pocket, so i asked for some feedback . I'v been shooting for about 45 years and owned alot of handguns,so i don't need any training in how to handle a firearm. ----Pete----

If the sights are lined up on the target correctly at the instant the gun fires, it doesn't really matter if the hammer was cocked or not....point being that a revolver that has been converted to DAO can be fired just as accurately as a conventional SA/DA as long as you don't milk the grip or jerk the trigger. Rather than trying to catch the hammer as you pull the trigger back so you can thumb cock it, to me it makes more sense to practice achieving a good smooth DA trigger stroke, concentrating on the sight picture the whole time, so that you can hit just as accurately as with a cocked hammer and a SA pull. I like a bobbed hammer for certain types of carry, but I always remove the SA cocking notch from the hammer as well, making it a true DAO. I personally feel that good grips do more to enhance the handling/shooting qualities of a J frame than just about anything else.

If you bob the hammer and should want to de-cock a weapon from single action, you have just made the process much more difficult and dangerous. If you don't want an exposed hammer, do the safe thing and trade the 360 in for a 340.

I guess if you're too sissy to carry six in your exposed hammer-nose single action you don't need to handle a handgun either, right? To me, a bobbed hammer means double action only. It's unsafe to use it in any other manner. You should always try to eliminate as many what ifs as possible.

bobbed and checkered is safe as mother's milk

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Professional Trainer

I agree. I bought a used Model 58 that came with a bobbed hammer. I didn't really like it that much so after a few years, I had to purchase an original N frame service hammer, which I had a hard time finding.

Keeping the original hammer is a smart idea.

My wife's M37 has had the hammer bobbed for about 30+ years with nary a problem. When the Centennial/442 came back that was my preference.

Lots of reasons to fire a DA revolver DA, and very few to fire it SA. As an instructor I usually spent a couple of minutes on that and then advised the student to spend the rest of his career firing the gun DA.

Good evening;

I have a 337PD that I bought used. It has a bobbed hammer and it still has SA capability. I love this gun, it's a wonderful carry piece. But once cocked for SA, short of firing it there didn't seem to be any way to decock it. Not a good condition!
I worried about this until realizing that the trigger has to be fully pressed for there to be any firing pin movement. If the trigger is not fully pressed, the hammer can drop but the round will not be fired. discharged.

So to decock a bobbed hammer that you cocked for SA by any means,

1. point the muzzle safe as you can
2. put your finger in front of the hammer
3. pull trigger, letting hammer fall on your finger
4. release trigger and remove your trigger finger from guard
5. gently remove hammer finger, letting hammer and trigger both move forward.

By the point where you have to fully remove your hammer finger, the firing pin movement is already blocked. The hammer will fall a short distance and go "snap" when it hits. This is VERY scary, but firing pin movement is blocked and discharge is prevented.

You should verify this with your own gun (empty, of course) before relying on it to decock a loaded gun. To verify, look into the gap between breech face and cylinder. With the trigger fully back, firing pin movement from hammer fall is obvious. But using the above method, if the trigger has moved forward at all (and it will have) then the hammer fall will produce no firing pin movement. This is also obvious, you should see no firing pin at all when the hammer falls after removing your finger.

Like I said before, this is scary but it does work. I remember being scared using the decocker on an '80's auto pistol - the hammer falling (hard) unnerved me - but there was no discharge because the pin was blocked. Same idea here.

This finger method is cruder than a decocker but is far better than discharging a round into a garbage can or leaving a cocked revolver for somebody else to handle. Talk about an accident looking for a place to happen! Now, THAT'S scary!

Old Cop has the right idea. Put your thumb over the hammer when drawing. I carry a J frame with an unbobbed hammer and just put my thumb over the hammer and out it comes no mess or fuss. Frank

Normally you should not get light primer strikes with a bobbed hammer. I have a Model 36 and 60 with bobbed hammer no problems. Make sure that a previous owner didn't cut a turn or two off the main hammer spring. I have seen some people cut a turn or two off to lighten the trigger pull.

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640Pro 340PD Shield M&P 22

I got a 337 in a very good trade a few years ago. I prefer concealed hammer snubs of the Centenial type but the 337 was available in trade so I got it. I had my favorite gunsmith remove the hammer spur. The hammer can still be cocked but I see no reason to ever use this revolver in single action. I am aware of the thumb over the spur method but I am concerned that under stress or in an awkward position when drawing, I might miss that and snag the spur. It is strictly a concealed carry gun so drawing from under clothing or from a pocket is always an issue. So, since I have no need for the single action and removing the spur helps to eliminate a possible problem when using this gun as it's designed for, I see no reason not to. I tested it with the ammo I always use in it and it runs 100%...When I went through the police academy back in the 1970's, we fired prone at fifty yards single action one time. The instructor told us that the fifty yard part of qualification in the academy was mandated by the state. He said that once we left the academy, to NEVER cock our issued M10 when on the street and forget fifty yard shooting when working in the city.

The hammer on this 66-1 was bobbed in the late 1970s. My dad used it as an off-duty gun. He rarely used a holster; it was tucked into the small of his back. The spur hammer affected his draw, so he bought a second hammer & had it bobbed. It has thousands upon thousands of rounds through it. I do not ever remember a Failure to Fire that was not the result of faulty ammunition.

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If it were me I would look at a 638 that will give you the best of both worlds. This is a .38spc but can be had as a .357 also.
Frank.