Not me, but I saw a guy at the grocery store tonight carrying open with a cocked single action 6 shooter. I just stayed clear,but I thought about telling him he was an idiot. Was I being too nervous or am I right that he is an idiot?

Situations like this are what smart phones were invented for.


E.g. Pics would have been great!

Who knows, maybe the hammer got caught on the seat belt and he wasn't aware. I think I would have told him. Then if he didn't respond appropriately I would have made some space between him and me.

Yep, easily done.

👆this is my safety. 😀

YES! Especially on an empty chamber - So I can fire a warning click!

Hell NO! Idiots abound every where nowadays!

He was absolutely an idiot.

i'd a told him. years ago i was out hunting and a guy came up with a pre-safety marlin slinged over his shoulder and cocked. i told him and he kind of got a sick look on his face and said "thanks" and uncocked it and sidled off. mistakes happen.

It's pretty easy to cock at least some single actions that are holstered when getting out of a car or truck with the seatbelt. I can't see any reason to intentionally do it.

I'd probably have mentioned to the fellow that his revolver was cocked.

I think its a really bad idea if done on purpose. If it was an accident he should be told so he is aware.

In my mid teens I watched a friend shoot himself in the thigh while attempting a fast draw with a 22 SA and it was all the incentive I needed to be careful. I carried single actions for years and still carry one under a jacket occasionally.

Once in my 20's, I came in from the woods exhausted and carelessly tossed a loaded, holstered Hawes 45 Colt into a recliner on my way to the bathroom. When I came back to put the gun away the SOB was out of the holster, cocked and with the barrel pointed right where I was standing when I deposited it. That was the result of stupidity on my part and nothing else. Fortunately a mother's prayers carry over a couple of decades and I am here to tell on myself.

With a decent holster and careful handling, there is no excuse for being surprised by a cocked SA in your holster.

What, no tie down thong or snap? If a guy is dumb enough to walk around without the gun secured he deserves to shoot himself in the leg, just so he doesn't shoot someone else, He is an idiot for sure. I don't buy the nonsense of a decent holster & a cocked single action but I am surprised someone else isn't surprised. Are you saying you can't cock that thing fast enough to protect yourself if you're confident enough to carry it cocked! Wow!


Dick

I keep my distance from people that open carry, I just don't see the reasoning behind it.

Yep.

That cop picture isn't open carry........ It's just some guy at work with his tool belt on.

You know, thinking about doing something and doing it aren't the same thing. If you ain't gonna mention it to the guy, WTF tell us?

When I saw him carrying it open,in a holster cocked I thought it was an incredible dumb and dangerous way to carry. I asked to make sure I wasn't wrong. I thought it might be possible that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. I wanted to be sure when I see the old guy again and politely tell him that he is doing something very dangerous. I haven't been around many single action revolvers. I've never carried one or known anyone to carry one. I live in a small town and will likely see the guy again if he doesn't shoot himself or someone else first.

I carry concealed and have for 20 or more years. I carry a pistol that is small enough and comfortable enough to conceal easily. If I thought I had to carry something like a full sized 1911 I would open carry it just for the comfort difference. It does make me nervous when I see some folks open carrying,like a guy with a cocked and locked 1911 in the cheapest ill fitting holster he could find. It makes me wonder if he is smart enough and safe enough to properly carry since he picked such a crappy holster.

Personally, I would not, but then.........................

WTF has money for holsters? 'Crappy', or not........ Don't go having a 'nervous breakdown' now.

Single action revolver--no. I have carried various iterations of the 1911 for over 40 years--always cocked and locked, but almost always in holsters with a snap strap between the hammer and the slide. I have occasionally carried them stuck in my jeans at 4 o'clock or 6 o'clock. These days, I no longer carry single action autos for self-defense.

I normally do not strike up a conversation with folks who carry openly unless I know them.

A guy who was the mayor in a small town where I was living some years ago had the hammer of a holstered Ruger BH .357 mag get drawn back and released getting into or out of a car. The gun went off and shot him in the leg.

IIRC there is an old saying about safely carrying SA revolvers , "5 beans in the wheel", which I understand to mean 5 loaded chambers with the hammer down on an empty chamber. It seems like a potentially dangerous situation to me, but I'm a DA guy.

A high school bud was getting out of his truck with a loaded revolver stuffed under the seat. An older model with the firing pin on the hammer. Knocked the gun out on the ground getting out of the truck. Gun landed perfectly wrong and discharged. He's been in a wheelchair ever since. That was ~ 40 yrs ago.

The only way the hammer got released and the gun fired was that the trigger got pulled. Unless it happened to be a three screw that hadn't been converted to the transfer bar.

That's what I was thinking seeing that guy with his single action revolver cocked. Even so it would be like carrying a 1911 in condition 1 with the grip safety tied down and the side safety disengaged. I imagine that single action revolver would have a very light trigger pull as well. There's no way I can see it is a safe practice for anyone.

R H Clark: NO!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Someday that fella is going to earn the nickname Stumpy, Gimpy, Peg Leg.... What an idiot.

This happened at a time when all Ruger BH's were three-screws.

WOW, good luck with being you.

Yep, and his current nickname:

Thanks,I like me just fine.

he was just saying leave me alone I'm ready, cocked and loaded

nope

If it had a thumb strap that blocked the hammer from falling until I pulled it.

Saw a guy one time mexican carrying down the front of his pants. I wanted to say if someone grabs that thing your gonna get your dick shot off

I don't think I have ever seen a Ruger with the firing pin on the hammer.

I was deer hunting on an uncles farm and ran into a guy that worked for him that he's let hunt there also. This goober was carrying a Winchester 94 with the hammer down, not at half-cock as he should have been. I left the farm immediately.

As to being somewhat concerned about people who open carry, about the only place I've ever noticed it was at Walmart. Every single one of them appeared to me to be card carrying goobers, who just wanted to be noticed. People like this remind me of the Black man I knew that pulled into the parking lot of the little country store one day, with his old truck sporting a pair of CB antennas. This was back in the day when CB radios were popular. I said to him that I saw he now had him a CB radio, and he replied....."no suh, I just wants to make people think I do".

Got a Nephew, that like His Dad is kinda spacey. Friend of mine and I were working on a building that I was putting up when He walked by, going deer hunting with a caplock muzzleloader, with the hammer cocked and a cap in place. I made mention that His rifle was cocked, and He replied that you had to cock it to get the cap on. He had no clue that you could let it back down, until I showed Him. He has done a lot of strange stuff over the years, but that one takes the cake. miles

Loading only five in a single action will (help) prevent ADs caused by dropping the piece onto its hammer spur, but won't much help prevent the hammer from being accidentally cocked and the cylinder turned when the hammer snags on something. Hammer snags are due to open-top holsters with no strap or snap closure.

For revolvers, I much prefer holsters in which the piece sits deep in the holster pouch, and with a strap, thumb-break, half-flap or full flap. In other words, trigger and hammer less exposed to something snagging them. The Three Persons model holsters which are commonly sold as 'sportsman's" holsters are just an accident waiting to happen when you're crowding through the brush. IMO.

carrying a single action cocked and loaded on your side would be like having a knife fight in a Phone Booth, somebody is going to get hurt real quick

Yep, and seeing a guy produce a G26 from his front pocket sans holster is in the same league.

That's cool. I'm guessing if you see a woman walking in front of a moving bus you'll just ask the 'Fire if that is stupid, as opposed to doing something about it.

Congrats?

The whole thing is just absurd. I would probably ease up to the guy and say "Hey pal, just noticed your hogleg is cocked and I wanted to make sure you are aware of that" and see where it went from there.

That is why you should check your gun every now and then. I mostly carry a 1911 and check periodically to make sure the safety is on. I have had it knocked off occasionally.

Agree that carry a cocked single action is akin to carrying a "cocked" Glock!

Mike