Did S&W ever make a semi auto with a Commander style hammer spur? (Other than the PPK they made under licence). Any 3rd party manufacturers?

Just wondering.

Aftermarket Colt Hammer

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Not sure if all of the M39's had them, but all of the M39-2's I've seen (including mine) had a commander style hammer.

I believe the spur style hammer appeared with M59.

Attached Images

M39-2 RH1.jpg (99.5 KB, 84 views)

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Anyone know if such a hammer was ever made for the 3rd Gen?

Will a M39 hammer work in a 3rd Gen?

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

I would like to bump this and see if there is any new information on this question.

All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen hammers will "fit".
1st and 2nd gen hammers have a half-cock notch.

John

BTW, do you know what the hole in the hammer spur is for?

John:

That hole is for two purposes on a Colt; First is to provide a gripping spot for the thumb and forefinger to grasp the cocked hammer and to allow lowering it safely to the down position. The second is to lighten the hammer mass. With the kinetic energy potential stored in the hammer spring that hammer does not need all that weight. I'm sure these reasons also apply to other manufacturer's handguns, but perhaps to a different weight in the engineering and ergonomic parameters. .....

Good information, Big Cholla, but that was not the story I heard.

The story as I heard it was the hole in the hammer was for the attachment of a cord.
During the lean days between the wars, budgets were tight and ammunition was expensive.
The trainer held the cord while the trainee dry fired the pistol.
When the hammer fell the trainer would yank the cord, re-cocking the hammer and creating the sensation of recoil and muzzle flip.
Once the trainee showed some ability, live ammo was issued.

I don't know if this story is true, but I always found it fascinating

John

GI .45s did not have Commander-style hammers, AFAIK.

Commander hammer was post WWII and never issued to troops in mass. Nice story though

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It is the Indian not the arrow

The version that I heard was that a cavalry man could push the rounded hammer against his thigh to cock the pistol while maintaining a strong grip with his right hand, reins in the left. The Radom pistol had one before WWII. It could be that it was a styling device, or to shorten the hammer spur.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

My first FIL was a trained and experienced actual mounted Cavalry Soldier in the US Army. We sat and discussed his experiences with both horses and equipment on a great number of times. The only handgun that he ever trained with in the Cavalry was the Colt M 1911. He told me that they carried their Colt with a loaded magazine and and empty chamber. They trained to open the flapped holster and draw with the right hand. They then dropped the closed rein (sometimes reins) onto the horse's neck and chambered a round. They then applied the thumb safety unless they were going to immediately make a shot. They re-holstered the Colt with the hammer back and the thumb safety on. They were guiding their horse with their knees during this exercise. They left the Colt that way until their feet were on the ground when they were then expected to eject the magazine and eject the loaded round onto the ground. Then the Colt was recharged with a full magazine and re-holstered. He was never taught or expected to ever charge an empty chamber by pushing the Colt against himself or his equipment and working the slide with only one hand on the gun. I had to show him how I could do that by hooking the rear sight on a piece of my equipment, my pants pocket or my boot and charging the chamber on my Colt M 1911.

He was horrified at the thought of having to thumb cock his M 1911 while on horseback. I showed him how I could do that with one hand. He asked me if I had ever tried that while riding one of my Morgans. I told him that I hadn't because I valued my horses too much to even try. We never addressed trying to cock a down hammer by pressing the rear of the handgun against himself or his equipment. Therefore, I'm sure that was never an approved procedure and would seem to me to be a good way to insure that a few horses, riders or spectators would get shot over a period of time.

An aside: I am dead certain no actual US Army Cavalryman ever saw a Colt M 1911 that had a rounded Commander style hammer.

Big Cholla no doubt the first hand information that you received from your father in law is correct. The Colt hammer is a post WWII development, at which point the US Cavalry was vehicle mounted . My comment was related to a "commander style hammer."

The Polish VIS 35 has a rounded hammer, reportedly at the request of the Polish military. The following article describes its use as I explained. Is it correct or based on an old wives tale? I don't know.

Poland’s Premier PistolGuns Magazine.com | Guns Magazine.com

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!