Is a model 36 drop safe?
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29aholic
Member
All Smiths have had a transfer bar since about the mid 40's. Everything post war is drop safe.
ParadiseRoad
Member
...DA revolvers made after about the time the Colt Police Positive came out (first decade of the 20th century) with an exposed firing pin on the hammer... have a hammer block rather than a transfer bar...S&W improved their version during the WWII years...
If the model 36 you are referring to is still in the condition it was in when it came from the factory, then yes, it is safe, and will not go off when dropped & hammer falls.
All modern S&W revolvers are fitted with internal, designed safeties, which include a hammer seat/rebound seat interface, which prevents the hammer from going into battery unless the trigger (and the rebound slide) is fully back. Since the trigger assembly returns fully prior to hammer fall if the gun is dropped, this interface (aka: primary safety) prevents discharge. (with or without the hammer block installed)
Also, the internal hammer block acts as an additional safety as it cams off of the returning rebound slide and rises between the hammer and frame when the trigger is released......and it also prevents the hammer from going into battery/forward in the event of impact on the uncocked hammer, or in the unlikely even the hammer stud would be sheared off by force. S&W revolvers do not have a transfer bar.
Additional safeties also include the rear leg of the bolt, which prevents cocking the action when the cylinder is open.....and the lug (pin) on the rear of the hand, which, if the gun is fitted with this pin, prevents the cylinder from being opened if the gun is cocked. (note: some early models are not fitted with this pin)
Disrepair, improper intervention or alteration, lack of maintenance and using the wrong type of lubricants can prevent the revolver and it's built in safeties from working properly.
See the attached Midway video for more: Gunsmithing - Safety Features of the S&W Revolver - YouTube (actually, there are more than three built in safety features, as Larry states in the video)
All modern S&W revolvers are fitted with internal, designed safeties, which include a hammer seat/rebound seat interface, which prevents the hammer from going into battery unless the trigger (and the rebound slide) is fully back. Since the trigger assembly returns fully prior to hammer fall if the gun is dropped, this interface (aka: primary safety) prevents discharge. (with or without the hammer block installed)
Also, the internal hammer block acts as an additional safety as it cams off of the returning rebound slide and rises between the hammer and frame when the trigger is released......and it also prevents the hammer from going into battery/forward in the event of impact on the uncocked hammer, or in the unlikely even the hammer stud would be sheared off by force. S&W revolvers do not have a transfer bar.
Additional safeties also include the rear leg of the bolt, which prevents cocking the action when the cylinder is open.....and the lug (pin) on the rear of the hand, which, if the gun is fitted with this pin, prevents the cylinder from being opened if the gun is cocked. (note: some early models are not fitted with this pin)
Disrepair, improper intervention or alteration, lack of maintenance and using the wrong type of lubricants can prevent the revolver and it's built in safeties from working properly.
See the attached Midway video for more: Gunsmithing - Safety Features of the S&W Revolver - YouTube (actually, there are more than three built in safety features, as Larry states in the video)
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ParadiseRoad
Member
...transfer bar system uses a frame mounted firing pin...the transfer bar is raised by the trigger being pulled fully to the rear where it covers the rear of the firing pin and transfers the blow of the hammer to the firing pin...when the trigger is forward the transfer bar is lowered and the hammer will strike the frame and stop before contacting the firing pin...
...revolvers with the firing pin on the hammer use a rebounding hammer and a positive hammer block that slides up when the trigger is forward to positively block the hammer...when the trigger is pulled fully rearward the hammer block is retracted and the hammer can then carry the firing pin fully forward to strike the primer of the cartridge...
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Remember, the hammer block in the S&W revolver is not a transfer bar, and is not involved in the firing sequence at all. It moves on a cam pin on the rebound slide, and returns upward when the trigger is released. It serves as an additional passive block to prevent the hammer nose from entering the breechface, along with the rebound seat and hammer seat previously mentioned.
Ruger revolvers (and others) employ a transfer bar to move energy from the falling hammer impact to the frame mounted firing pin.
Ruger revolvers (and others) employ a transfer bar to move energy from the falling hammer impact to the frame mounted firing pin.
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Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
This is not intended to insult anyone's intelligence here by being too simple, but when I explain this to a newbie, I have them perform the following exercise:
With the revolver unloaded, safety-checked, and pointed in a safe direction, but sideways to the trainee's view, I have them observe the slot between cylinder and recoil shield as they pull the trigger and hold it back. They will observe the tip of the hammer/firing pin drop into the space where the primer would be if the gun were loaded. Then I have them release the trigger so they can observe the firing pin retract and disappear when the trigger is at rest. Then the technical explanation follows. This exercise tends to remove any nervousness about keeping a round under the hammer.
With the revolver unloaded, safety-checked, and pointed in a safe direction, but sideways to the trainee's view, I have them observe the slot between cylinder and recoil shield as they pull the trigger and hold it back. They will observe the tip of the hammer/firing pin drop into the space where the primer would be if the gun were loaded. Then I have them release the trigger so they can observe the firing pin retract and disappear when the trigger is at rest. Then the technical explanation follows. This exercise tends to remove any nervousness about keeping a round under the hammer.
Kernel Crittenden
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
To be clear, all post-war S&W's have a passive hammer block device, irregardless whether they're firing pin is on the hammer or in the frame.
If dropped, the hammer spur will break before it goes off. As getting a new replacement for an older 36 is nigh on impossible, I believe that accounts for a fair number of the bobbed hammers I see on older Chiefs Specials.
