Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Cowboy Action Shooting Which thumb do you use on your SA

A friend of mine didn't want to purchase a SA revolver, he wanted double action, unrelated to CAS, but for carrying in the woods as a "backup" while rifle hunting. His "assinine" argument was, what if you injure your thumb or an animal injures your thumb. I told him you have two thumbs, a hand, a forearm, your leg if you need to pull the hammer back.

It got me thinking though, which thumb do you use to pull the hammer back?

the one on the hand the iron is in...

I use a "squaw grip" both hands on gun, cock with the off hand.

Two different ways in two posts.

Hey Aaron!

I shoot mostly right handed, but left handed if that fits the shot better. With a two handed grip I may use either the strong side thumb or weak side thumb, just whatever feels right for the shot at hand. Lot of that depends on exactly which grip I'm using. With a "low thumb" support with the weak hand I usually thumb the hammer with my strong side thumb. If I'm using a "high thumb" on the support side, then I may well use that thumb to operate the hammer.

In other words ... I'm completely spastic. But that's not really new news.

Tom

I thought maybe you of all people would use T_O_M Thumb.

I use my strong side thumb. If a bear bit my strong side thumb off I think I'd just throw the pistol at it instead of using my left hand thumb Thanks S_p_a_s_t_i_c_T_O_M !!!

Owwww!!! That's bad. 20 lashes with a wet noodle for bad puns. Pun-ishment for pun-itive damages.

Hmmm ... can you throw well enough left handed to hit the bear with it?

I was thinkin' about that as I wrote the rest of my reply, which I actually wrote first. I throw a baseball or rock right handed but I throw frisby with my left.

I cast a fly and shoot pistol right handed most often but I'm certainly functional with either hand. Funny thing about pistol shootin', my apparent eye dominance switches to whatever hand the pistol is in. I've had 2 eye docs go goofy trying to prove me wrong 'cause "that can't happen."

I kinda figure I might be a natural left hander that's been conditioned to do most things right handed and I'm near enough ambidexterous enough to do it. Whatever hand I learn to do a thing with, that's the one I usually wind up doing that thing with most naturally.

In that sense, strong side doesn't mean much to me. I've mostly shot pistol right handed 'cause the hand-me-down holsters I started with were right handed so that's where the gun was. I tend to use a low thumb grip on the support hand if I'm shooting two handed and in that sense, I use the strong side hand on the hammer ... whichever hand that happens to be.

I've never done much two-gun shooting. I wonder how that'd work out since I can do fairly ok with either by itself.

Tom

Tell us before you try that, so's we kin git behind of you.

If'n he throws like my sister that ain't safe. If he gets to where he can shoot like her, he'll be doing _fine_.

Fortunately for BOTH of 'em, he don't look much like my sister.

Tom

I use a low thumb on the support hand too but in reality I think I could get the hammer back if a bear chewed off my strong hand thumb. I'd just have to ask him to wait a few minutes before mauling me the rest of the way dead! Really, right, left, using a thigh or forearm to get the hammer back would be easy enough if the bear would wait just a few seconds before continuing to chew off my appendages. I thought it was one of the dumbest arguments against a single action versus a double action I'd heard, what would you do if you hurt one of your thumbs (it was two friends talking about it and after the conversation I didn't want to admit to being either of their friend ).

Gen'rly speakin'

when assaulted by large carnivores with less than Christian benevolent attitude,

....I shoves my revolver up their nether orfice, and commences to twisting it around.

most all the time so far, they go to tryin' to pull the 6 shooter outta' this private area.

In that process cocking Col. Colt's Masterpiece.

I gen'rly lights a segar while waiting for said ready condition, and just squeezes her off, as appropriate.

No scratches or tears, so far,....though I did start a pretty bad bush fire once.

Best omit the Segar smokin'

GTC