Being ignorant of any gun beyond my brother’s .22 rifle, I am always perplexed by one aspect of gun handling I often see in movies. When someone with a handgun is pointing it at a cowering victim, they will often pause to cock it, usually to scare the person even more. Which begs the question, was the gun not ready to fire before that? If not, why was the person scared at all? Is the cocking purely a threatening gesture, or does it in some way actually make the gun more dangerous?
Please answer this question so that the next time someone sticks a gun in my face without cocking it first, I’ll know whether or not it’s safe to spit in his eye and run away laughing.
I’ve seen this and I think it’s used just because racking the slide does seem menacing. You’re right, though; if the gun holder cocks it and it doesn’t eject a shell, then it was not ready to fire.
I’m not sure that there’d be any good way for you to know, looking at the barrel end, whether the gun is ready to fire or not.
A revolver may be “single action” or “double action.” The former must be cocked before it is fired, so an uncocked single action revolver is not much of a threat. A double action revolver can be fired from an uncocked position, although it takes more trigger pressure to do so. So cocking a double-action revolver is somewhat credible as a threat: “I’m halfway to pulling the trigger now!”
Most revolvers these days are double action. That means that you can just pull the trigger without cocking it but the trigger pull is longer and it takes more effort. Cocking it means that the trigger pull is lighter and can be carried out quicker. It does sound scary but it would also be easier for someone to move away from the barrel if the villain fired it double action as opposed to cocking it first.
Single action revolvers had to be cocked and there are still some made but they are less common.
I don’t think racking the slide of an automatic is what the OP meant by “cocking” although I certainly could be off base.
When an automatic is fired, the slide racks back automatically (heh) ejecting the spent casing and placing a fresh cartridge in the chamber. The hammer remains in the cocked position. You may uncock the automatic, or re-cock it, without racking the slide.
Having a hammerless semi-automatic and a revolver, I can add that the cocking of a handgun is usually just a movie shorthand thing that says, yes I am ready to fire. Real world, it is a lot easier to fire in single action than double action. Until I got used to the difference in my Rossi revolver, I made sure it was always pointed in a safe direction and shot a few ceiling tiles at the indoor range I went to.
Worse are the movie guys who walk into banks and announce their presence with the big shu-shuk! of a pump-action shotgun. Up until that moment, the shotgun was about as dangerous as a hockey stick. Worst of all are the guys that keep pumping the shotgun to threaten the hostages into shutting up. I saw this in a movie once - a guy pumped his shotgun at least three times without firing it.
Basic safe gun handling for a revolver states that when you are carrying the gun the 1st chamber should be empty to prevent accidental firing. Therefore, you only load five bullets into a 6-shooter. Cocking it loads the second chamber so it is ready to fire but adds that dramatic effect where there is time for all parties to reconsider their actions. It works great in the movies and keeps the audiences’ attention.
If you were at a gun range and really were aware of safety you would load the five bullets, take your stance, aim, cock, aim again and fire. That way you avoid the double action which can throw off your accuracy.
Since when? Modern revolvers are designed so that dropping them on concrete doesn’t do a thing other than scratch the finish. Percussion-cap revolvers, sure. Even revolvers made in the 50’s. But now? No problem loading all six cylinders. Why sacrifice 17% of your firepower for an illusory bit of safety?
If a gun is already cocked, pumped, and whatever else it needs to fire, would it be possible to re-cock or re-pump it, and if possible, would doing so be detrimental in any way? Could it be that the baddie already has it readied, and is just re-cocking to be intimidating?
Agree with Silenus on this one.
I have a nice black powder pistol that has little notches between the chambers where you can rest the hammer, so that you can carry the gun with six loaded and still be safe.
I never took apart my S&W .357 to see its mechanism, but it appears that there is a little steel gate that remains between the hammer and the cartridge until the moment the trigger is pulled.
As far as recocking a revolver, there is one detail that Sarge didn’t mention: if it’s already cocked, you have to decock it by pulling the trigger while gently lowering the hammer with your thumb before you can repeat the menacing cocking maneuver. Probably not a good idea in any pressure situation.
“Racking the slide” is how one cocks a single action automatic with a fresh magazine and nothing in the chamber; and I do believe that’s what the OP referred to. I’ll admit, though, that I wasn’t thinking about revolvers when I responded.
As noted, racking the slide, or recocking an already ready to fire automatic would only result in one losing one round of ready fire ammuntion.
Anybody else ever found in counterintuitive that firing a single-action revolver requires two steps (cock and pull) while firing a double-actions revolver requires only one step (pull)?
[sub]Yes I realize the “single-action” and “double-action” refer to the firing mechanisms themselves, not the actions of the shooter. You learn these things when your dad is a cop and hunting enthusiast.[/sub]