safety notch and half cock notch questions

[Mad Miles]

Good morning,
I have a first generation Colt 1873 Army Chambered in colt 45.
I've been reading about the 4 clicks and what they are supposed to do. 

When at the first click, the safety notch, the trigger will not release the hammer, but the firing pin is still sticking though the hole behind the cylinder.  I assume the firing pin is supposed to be behind the flat part of the frame of the gun behind the chambers, what ever that's called.

When at the second click the bolt drops down and I can turn the cylinder for loading, but the trigger can release the hammer.  I assume it isn't supposed to fire in the second click.

The third and fourth clicks don't happen simultaneously as the gun is somewhat out of time, but when full cocked the cylinder is locked and the trigger will release the hammer.

The gun cocks and fires with little effort and is very smooth through the action.  I would like to fix it so the hammer is out of the chamber area when on safety notch and the gun wont fire when in the loading notch.  I think it's most likely trigger or hammer wear, or both.  I don't have the trigger or the hammer out of the gun at present, I was hoping for some advice as to what to look for and if there are any other tests I should do before or during disassembly . 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[The Pathfinder]

Short answer, your notches on the hammer need to be rebuilt or the hammer need replaced. If you're already talking to Lever action Bill, he's who I would recommend.

[Coffinmaker]

  Hi Miles 

A tiny amount of firing pin beyond the face of the recoil shield is sort of "OK."  Just a "TINY" amount of protrusion.  The trigger Sear should fit fully into the safety "notch."

The trigger SHOULD NOT release the hammer from Half Cock.  A).  The half cock notch is broken.  Or  B.) The trigger sear is warn and doesn't fit into the half cock notch.  Both the Hammer and the trigger need attention and possible replacement.

Third and fourth clicks don't have to happen simultaneously.  Very Close is good.  Most important is the Hammer should not continue to push the Hand after lock-up.  Often, an action "over travel stop" is needed.

People Are Hazardous to Yer Health

[russ1943]

Short answer, your notches on the hammer need to be rebuilt or the hammer need replaced. If you're already talking to Lever action Bill, he's who I would recommend.

Here is a picture of the action

[Abilene]

Here is a picture of the action

That picture only shows and describes the full cock notch on the hammer.  That notch is probably good, based on MM's description.  It does sound like his half-cock notch (and/or sear) needs work.  I would be okay with the safety notch as described since I would never carry the gun on the safety notch, but if the hammer is getting reworked anyway for the 1/2 cock notch, I'd probably get the safety notch fixed as well.

My 1st gen Colt is currently getting the hammer rebuilt by Lonnie Amman (Tejas Long Rifles).  The trigger was too light.  He is charging me $125 for that, which I think is good. 

[The original bad bob]

Yes.. this is a common issue with antique Colt saa's.

I had a pistol with this same problem go off in my hand as I was loading it because I touched the trigger at half cock ... my hammer had a broken off half cock notch.

A Colt with a broken half cock notch is a dangerous issue.

[Trailrider]

The so-called "safety notch" (first position on the hammer notches) was intended to catch the hammer should the half-cock either break or the trigger/hammer relationship was not fully/correctly engaged resulting in the hammer falling. It was never intended for the gun to be carried with the hammer on the safety notch. Should the gun fall and land on the hammer spur, the notch would probably break off and the gun might fire. I once was carrying a Colt's SAA in my belt, UNLOADED, and it slipped through, landing in soft dirt, with the hammer contacting the ground, and the barrel pointed straight at my gizzard! That is why we load "five beans in the wheel", with the hammer fully down on an empty chamber!