Well - I didn't know an Open Top had a safety.

[Tangle Eye]

I was doing some minor maintenance on my fairly new Open Tops yesterday and got to wondering about the little wedge-shaped device on the inside of the hammer.  I notice it moved easily so I turned it to see what happens....hmmmm.  OH - the hammer won't go down all the way now.  So - I check the exploded diagram at Cimarron and, sure enough, its called a hammer safety or some such.  Looks like the idea is if its flipped forward the hammer can't fall far enough for the firing pin to strike the primer.  Cool - I guess - I'd have for it to get flipped forward during a match.   

I guess this must have been the first safety on a revolver!  Now - I wonder how these safeties were really used on this pistol when it was in its heyday.

[john boy]

TE, a pard at last month's match was shooting a pair of Cimarron OT Army's.  One fired perfectly, the other kept having misfires.  After inspecting it at the unloading table, determined that the pin for the hammer safety was keeping the safety up slightly in the Safe Position.  He proclaimed that it was going back to Texas.

He didn't know they had hammer safety's either

[Tangle Eye]

Hmmmm - I have OT Army's and, while I'm not at home right now and can't go look, I'm almost positive the safeties are secured by screws.  Are you sure it wasn't the pin holding in the firing pin?  I've seen those just barely get outside the hammer and hang on the frame causing misfires.

I'm not sure if these safeties were really used in the day or not. Maybe somebody can shed some light on that. They seem pretty inconvenient - certainly not easy to change in a hurry.

I know this - if the safties start giving problems they are either a candidate for some locktite or just removal altogether. 

[john boy]

TE:  My apologizes, it is a screw that holds the hammer safety.  A month and a half was a looooog time age for me

[Delmonico]

Real Colts didn't have this, modern bull poop for ignorant giverment idiots that want ta make simple things complicated, has to do sumthin' with importin' the things from eytaly.  Same bunch a idddyouts that make us shoot steel shot, put warnin' lables on every thing.  (Shouldn't people dumb enough to dry their hair in the bath tub be eliminated from the gene pool?)  Heck even the pump that I use ta put gas in ma car says not ta drink the gasoline!  Next thing they'll be puttin' safeties on 94 Winchesters (Woops to late) Now ya done did it I have frothed all over the key board again.  Must see about a warnin' label fer me, "Warnin' the camp cook goes in to a rage at extreme stoopidity".

[SIR WILLIAM]

IIRC and understand your descriptions,  that was a POJ idea of Ubertis to comply with GCA '68  Import safety restrictions.  I thought most of those revolvers had faded away 4-5 years ago. The common complaint was activation by itself, falling apart or broken hammers.  The best thing to do is a hammerectomy.  Replace it with a original style hammer.  It was a bad MODERN addition.

[Cuts Crooked]

I had to do a "hammerectomy" on an older AWA Open Top! Hammers for AWAs were not availaqble at the time and I managed to acquire a Cimmy hammer, which still has the stoopid safety, and modify it to fit the AWA. This turned out to be quite a job because the position/angle of the firing pins is different between the different brands, and so is the location of the half and full cock notches. It took sum doin' but I made it work...and better than the originals! Mine now has an extremely short hammer throw! Quick, smooth, and the "safety" has been removed!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I had to do a "hammerectomy" on an older AWA Open Top! Hammers for AWAs were not availaqble at the time and I managed to acquire a Cimmy hammer, which still has the stoopid safety, and modify it to fit the AWA. This turned out to be quite a job because the position/angle of the firing pins is different between the different brands, and so is the location of the half and full cock notches. It took sum doin' but I made it work...and better than the originals! Mine now has an extremely short hammer throw! Quick, smooth, and the "safety" has been removed!

Good solution, Cuts. My EMF 1890 Remmie has one of those weird safety things that engages when the hammer is put in the safety position. Can't say it does anything good or bad. It can't get in the way unless the spring breaks. If that happens, I'll gut it.