New to Me 459 and a Question

[Redcoat3340]

Just took delivery of a 459 in nice shape and I think I did okay pricewise on the big auction board ($300). (At least it looks nice so far, and all the parts seem to work with snap caps. Will be stripping it down, cleaning, and oiling it tomorrow and changing out a few springs.)

Put some Big Mike's grips on (did same with model 59 I have) and am looking for curved backstraps for both/either 459 and 59. (Got a post in Want to Buy section.)

Question: Both the 59 and 459 seem to have a half-cock, where a light trigger pull moves the hammer back one notch (and then the safety doesn't "work") and then I can pull in double action, nice and smooth at 12 lbs to go bang (single action is 5#s). I'll probably put a slightly lighter hammer spring in when I clean it to see if I can get the DA pull a bit lighter.

So I'm wondering what the purpose of the half cock was.

And while it seems safe to carry at the half cock...is it really safe?? I don't think it affects the hammer block added in the 2nd gens...but hopefully someone who knows about this will help me out about this.

I'll send a pic out tomorrow 'cause it ain't real unless there's a picture.

 

[toddimusnimski]

looking for curved backstraps for both/either 459 and 59. (Got a post in Want to Buy section.)

I believe I saw an ad for those here a while back; they were plastic and several were available. Try the search function.

Todd

 

[mscampbell2734]

The half cock notch on most modern DA autos with a hammer block serves no real purpose.

The 39/59 series guns were never strictly single action autos (please no one jump in with some small semi custom runs to prove me wrong). In all likelihood the notch was incorporated into the design because people at the time when the gun became commercially available, the early 70s, expected a half cock notch. At that time the most common designs seen in the US would have been the 1911 and Hi Power.

 

[jsbethel]

The 2nd gen half cock notch came with a recall - check your serial number and function. Text of recall - https://smith-wessonforum.com/139617057-post5.html

 

[Redcoat3340]

jsbethel -- many thanks for that hint, it's very much appreciated. (And my gun "passed." Whew.)

Redcoat3340 (tom b.)

 

[JohnHL]

Just took delivery of a 459 in nice shape and I think I did okay pricewise on the big auction board ($300). (At least it looks nice so far, and all the parts seem to work with snap caps. Will be stripping it down, cleaning, and oiling it tomorrow and changing out a few springs.)

Put some Big Mike's grips on (did same with model 59 I have) and am looking for curved backstraps for both/either 459 and 59. (Got a post in Want to Buy section.)

Question: Both the 59 and 459 seem to have a half-cock, where a light trigger pull moves the hammer back one notch (and then the safety doesn't "work") and then I can pull in double action, nice and smooth at 12 lbs to go bang (single action is 5#s). I'll probably put a slightly lighter hammer spring in when I clean it to see if I can get the DA pull a bit lighter.

So I'm wondering what the purpose of the half cock was.

And while it seems safe to carry at the half cock...is it really safe?? I don't think it affects the hammer block added in the 2nd gens...but hopefully someone who knows about this will help me out about this.

I'll send a pic out tomorrow 'cause it ain't real unless there's a picture.

The half cock notch IS a safety.

If something (other than pulling the trigger) caused the hammer to fall, the half cock notch was there to arrest its movement before it struck the firing pin.

The firing pin safety didn't show up until the 2nd gen (459) which added a redundancy to the half cock notch.

On a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd gen S&W, the manual safety body is the "hammer block" only when applied.

The firing pin safety (a separate mechanism) locks the firing pin until the trigger is pulled all the way to the rear.

The half cock notch was never designed for carrying.

According to S&W, carry the pistols with the hammer "at rest".

If your manual safety does NOT drop the hammer from the half cock notch, then the pistol fails the recall and needs to go back to the factory to have a new sear release lever fitted.

The half cock notch was eliminated on the 3rd gen pistols because users complained about the quite noticeable "hitch" it caused in the DA trigger pull and the firing pin safety had rendered it redundant.

I hope this explanation was helpful.

John

 

[stansdds]

The half-cock notch serves the same purpose as it does on single action pistols like the M1911 and Hi-Power, it is to stop the hammer from hitting the firing pin if the sear fails to hold the full cock notch. This was deleted during the production run of the 2nd gen S&W pistols as the firing pin safety locks the firing pin in place until the trigger is pulled.

 

[BigBoss3006]

I believe I saw an ad for those here a while back; they were plastic and several were available. Try the search function.

Todd

That was my ad, i’ll have to dig around and see if i have any more factory arched backstraps.