# How about the old cowboy guns



## PhotonGuy (Jan 1, 2014)

How about the old cowboy guns of the old west? I belong to an organization called the Single Action Shooting Society or SASS which is all about the guns that the cowboys of the old west used, from lever action rifles and break open shotguns to single action six shooter pistols. I would think the main disadvantage of a single action handgun is that it has to be cocked each time its fired, but hopefully if used properly it can be just as effective as any other gun in self defense.


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## seasoned (Jan 1, 2014)

Years ago I watched all the cowboy shows on tv. They would pull that trigger back and fan the hammer and shoot multiple times. Probably just in the movies...


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## Grenadier (Jan 1, 2014)

A good single action revolver can be quite serviceable as a home defense gun.  As long as you select a premium hollow point load that you can shoot accurately and reliably, then it will do as well as any, provided that the user is familiar with the operation of such weapons.  

The disadvantages to a single action revolver are that it must be manually cocked before each round can be fired, not making it the ideal gun for follow-up shots, except for those intimately familiar with such operations.  Also, most of the older single action revolvers have the firing pin resting on the cartridge itself, making a round in the chamber susceptible to unintentional discharges if, say, the firearm were dropped on the right spot.  


The cowboy-action shooting games are always a lot of fun, and if you don't have all of the needed gear, a lot of times, someone will be willing to let you borrow some.  It's a very friendly group of shooters, and their marksmanship skills are as good as any IPSC / IDPA / USPSA shooting league.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 2, 2014)

seasoned said:


> Years ago I watched all the cowboy shows on tv. They would pull that trigger back and fan the hammer and shoot multiple times. Probably just in the movies...



Fanning is mostly just done in Hollywood. From what I know, its hard on the gun if you fan it and the gun will need repairs if you do it much.


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## PhotonGuy (Jan 2, 2014)

Grenadier said:


> Also, most of the older single action revolvers have the firing pin resting on the cartridge itself, making a round in the chamber susceptible to unintentional discharges if, say, the firearm were dropped on the right spot.



That can be a problem if its a gun that's got the firing pin right on the hammer. Some of the modern day duplicates of the old fashioned six shooters, such as the Ruger Vaquero, do not have the firing pin on the hammer so that would not be a problem. If the gun does have the firing pin on the hammer, than what you would want to do is to only load five chambers not six and have the hammer resting on an empty chamber. That way you won't have an accidental discharge.


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## seasoned (Jan 2, 2014)

View attachment $Doug.jpg
You will probably know more about Doug's hardware then I do. Doug is a long time friend of mine that does competition shooting western style.
Myself, I'm more into the modern firearms.


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## chinto (Jan 20, 2014)

the biggest draw back to any single action revolver is it is slow to reload compared to an magazine fed auto loader.  However, a solid hit from a .45 colt will be very hard to beat when it comes to tisue damage and things.  the weapons in question are efficent and deadly if you hit the target.


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