Originally Posted by Goat Man

There was a time when any revolver I bought had to have a hammer. After reading a lot of information, I came to the conclusion it depends upon what you plan to use the gun for. If it is one that will stay home in a drawer all the time the hammer version would be to my liking. In my case I wanted something reasonably light that I could pocket carry. I tried a light weight gun with a hammer on it. It worked OK. I never had an issue with it snagging when I went to remove it from my pocket. I always drew with my thumb on top of the hammer. I sold it because the hammer opening accumulated a lot of lint and other trash. I was constantly cleaning the opening out. I found that most of the time when I practiced I fired double action anyway. In a self defense situation I do not think anyone is going to take the time to cock a gun first. One day I tried the model 642. There was just something about that gun that fit me. If you plan to pocket carry, I suspect you will practice firing double action. That being the case then why buy a revovler with an open hammer?