I'm not looking to get into fast draw this is just curiosity on my part. I've seen it mentioned several times how continually fanning a revolver can cause damage over time and that special modifications are done to the revolvers used in competitions. I couldn't find much info on what those modifications are though and was hoping some of y'all could shed light on that for me.
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Fast draw revolver modifications.
- Thread starter Polinese
- Start date
A hammer stop prevents hammer overtravel. A bolt block prevents side to side movement of the bolt. Shortening the hand lets momentum carry the cylinder into battery instead of it violently going into battery and creating excess wear of the bolt and bolt notches. A hammer stop(action stop)by itself wont prevent that but if you try to cock it normally you will have to turn the cylinder that last little bit into battery by hand.
Driftwood Johnson
New member
Howdy
In my own, very biased opinion, fanning is just a bad thing to do with any revolver. No, probably a little bit of fanning will probably not damage it, but think of how it will rip up the palm of your hand as you drag your hand across the hammer spur.
Also, unlike slip hammering, there is very little control of the revolver when it is fanned. The guys who compete in Cowboy Fast Draw are always shooting blanks, never live ammunition. Despite what you have seen in the movies, there is less control of the revolver when fanning than slip hammering, or firing conventionally. The physics of fanning a revolver requires it to be fired from the hip, so precise aiming is not possible. And slamming the hammer with the palm of the hand will cause the barrel to wobble all over the place, so accurate shooting is pretty impossible. OK if your opponent was right in front of you, but it would be difficult to hit him if he was more than a few paces away.
Fanning a revolver is just a bad idea, in my humble opinion of course.
In my own, very biased opinion, fanning is just a bad thing to do with any revolver. No, probably a little bit of fanning will probably not damage it, but think of how it will rip up the palm of your hand as you drag your hand across the hammer spur.
Also, unlike slip hammering, there is very little control of the revolver when it is fanned. The guys who compete in Cowboy Fast Draw are always shooting blanks, never live ammunition. Despite what you have seen in the movies, there is less control of the revolver when fanning than slip hammering, or firing conventionally. The physics of fanning a revolver requires it to be fired from the hip, so precise aiming is not possible. And slamming the hammer with the palm of the hand will cause the barrel to wobble all over the place, so accurate shooting is pretty impossible. OK if your opponent was right in front of you, but it would be difficult to hit him if he was more than a few paces away.
Fanning a revolver is just a bad idea, in my humble opinion of course.
45 Dragoon
New member
Well, a fanner setup involves reducing the main spring tension which gives some ability to stabilize the revolver. You don't want to slap back an 8 lb hammer but a 3.5 lb hammer is fairly easy (glove on the off hand for protection).
If you think about it more like setting up a race car it may make more sense. Driving a Formula One car in traffic to the grocery store and back will probably end with a cooked engine. It needs airflow! So that type of driving would be "abusive" since the car isn't set up for that slow of a speed. Likewise, a true fanner is set up for fanning and has built-in protections for the action parts to handle that activity.
Obviously fanning a stock S.A. isn't a good idea but with the above modifications will let you do so occasionally.
I've set up only a few dedicated fanners (cap guns !!!) for customers years ago and like Hawg mentioned, a shortened hand is part of the package. The cylinder relies on "coast" (old time parlance for "momentum" ) to finish carry-up. For this reason, I would remove some material on the left side of the hammer face to prevent ignition if the cyl was out of battery (cocked slowly by an "unaware" party). But basically, my tuning services include all the mentioned mods (and a few extras) because I like the mechanical precision and protection it gives to the action . . . and of course the hand is of correct length for timing purposes.
So, all above comments are good advice and I agree but if you just want to "scratch the itch" occasionally, you need the mods mentioned (again, the short hand would be for dedicated . . . not necessarily the occasional itch!! )
Mike
If you think about it more like setting up a race car it may make more sense. Driving a Formula One car in traffic to the grocery store and back will probably end with a cooked engine. It needs airflow! So that type of driving would be "abusive" since the car isn't set up for that slow of a speed. Likewise, a true fanner is set up for fanning and has built-in protections for the action parts to handle that activity.
Obviously fanning a stock S.A. isn't a good idea but with the above modifications will let you do so occasionally.
I've set up only a few dedicated fanners (cap guns !!!) for customers years ago and like Hawg mentioned, a shortened hand is part of the package. The cylinder relies on "coast" (old time parlance for "momentum" ) to finish carry-up. For this reason, I would remove some material on the left side of the hammer face to prevent ignition if the cyl was out of battery (cocked slowly by an "unaware" party). But basically, my tuning services include all the mentioned mods (and a few extras) because I like the mechanical precision and protection it gives to the action . . . and of course the hand is of correct length for timing purposes.
So, all above comments are good advice and I agree but if you just want to "scratch the itch" occasionally, you need the mods mentioned (again, the short hand would be for dedicated . . . not necessarily the occasional itch!! )
Mike