Hammerless
Encyclopedia
A hammerless firearm
is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer
or hammer spur.
In rifles, using a firing-pin rather than a hammer is a substantial improvement because the time from trigger pull to firing can be less. This makes the rifle more accurate, because the rifleman's muscular tremors have less time to move the rifle off-aim.
One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency to get caught on items such as clothing; covering or bobbing the hammer by removing the spur reduces this tendency.
ancestors, had exposed hammers. The conversion was done by replacing the flash pan
with a nipple for a percussion cap
, and the flintlock's cock with a hammer to crush the cap and ignite the powder. The hammer was on the side of the firearm, easily reached for priming and cocking.
The earliest cartridge
firearms simply copied the older style of action; the .45-70
"Trapdoor" rifle and most early cartridge double-barreled shotgun
s are good examples of this. In these designs, the loading of the cartridge(s) and the cocking of the hammer(s) were separate operations. While rifles evolved away quickly away from these early breech loading
designs, the double barrelled shotgun retained its popularity, and, for some time, its exposed hammers.
American inventor Daniel Myron LeFever
was the first to develop a "hammerless" shotgun in 1878. It used internal strikers that were cocked manually, but in 1883, he developed a version that cocked the strikers automatically as the action was closed. This type of hammerless action, or the similar cock-on-open variation, is nearly universal in modern double barrelled shotguns.
. Like the double barrelled shotguns, soon the early pump shotguns were replaced by models that enclosed the hammer completely in the action. Modern pump shotguns, with the exception of replicas of older exposed hammer designs required in Cowboy action shooting
, are all hammerless.
s, are available with the hammer shrouded or with the spur bobbed off. To be able to conceal or bob the hammer of a revolver, it must be a double action design, and most automatic pistol
s with bobbed or concealed hammers are also double action.
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer
Hammer (firearm)
thumb|150px|Hammer with an integral [[firing pin]] on a [[S&W Model 13]] revolver The hammer of a firearm was given its name for both resemblance and functional similarity to the common tool...
or hammer spur.
In rifles, using a firing-pin rather than a hammer is a substantial improvement because the time from trigger pull to firing can be less. This makes the rifle more accurate, because the rifleman's muscular tremors have less time to move the rifle off-aim.
One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency to get caught on items such as clothing; covering or bobbing the hammer by removing the spur reduces this tendency.
Early hammerless designs
Early caplock firearms, patterned after their flintlockFlintlock
Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
ancestors, had exposed hammers. The conversion was done by replacing the flash pan
Flash pan
The flash pan or priming pan is a small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzleloading guns. Flash pans are found on gonnes, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplocks, snaphances, and flintlocks....
with a nipple for a percussion cap
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
, and the flintlock's cock with a hammer to crush the cap and ignite the powder. The hammer was on the side of the firearm, easily reached for priming and cocking.
The earliest cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
firearms simply copied the older style of action; the .45-70
.45-70
The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873...
"Trapdoor" rifle and most early cartridge double-barreled shotgun
Double-barreled shotgun
A double-barreled shotgun is a shotgun or combination gun with two parallel barrels, allowing two shots to be fired in quick succession.-Construction:...
s are good examples of this. In these designs, the loading of the cartridge(s) and the cocking of the hammer(s) were separate operations. While rifles evolved away quickly away from these early breech loading
Breech-loading weapon
A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....
designs, the double barrelled shotgun retained its popularity, and, for some time, its exposed hammers.
American inventor Daniel Myron LeFever
Daniel Myron LeFever
Daniel Myron LeFever was an American gun maker, popularly known as "Uncle Dan LeFever". He is best known as the inventor of the hammerless shotgun, first introduced in 1878.-Biography:...
was the first to develop a "hammerless" shotgun in 1878. It used internal strikers that were cocked manually, but in 1883, he developed a version that cocked the strikers automatically as the action was closed. This type of hammerless action, or the similar cock-on-open variation, is nearly universal in modern double barrelled shotguns.
Pump shotguns
Early pump action shotguns, like the lever action rifles that preceded them, had exposed hammers. Most famous of these is probably the Winchester Model 1897Winchester Model 1897
The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...
. Like the double barrelled shotguns, soon the early pump shotguns were replaced by models that enclosed the hammer completely in the action. Modern pump shotguns, with the exception of replicas of older exposed hammer designs required in Cowboy action shooting
Cowboy action shooting
Cowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...
, are all hammerless.
Handguns
While shotguns have gone almost entirely hammerless (inexpensive single shot models being the main exception), handguns are available in significant numbers in many different forms, with or without exposed hammers. Striker fired guns, which are becoming more common, have no hammer, while many guns that do have hammers, such as revolverRevolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
s, are available with the hammer shrouded or with the spur bobbed off. To be able to conceal or bob the hammer of a revolver, it must be a double action design, and most automatic pistol
Automatic pistol
Automatic pistol may refer to:* Machine pistol, a handgun-style, magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and chambered for pistol cartridges...
s with bobbed or concealed hammers are also double action.