I have a Charter Arms .38 Off Duty that is a blued version with a hammer.
Wanted to know if anyone out there has bobbed the hammer down and if you had to do it over again, would you. Mine is still intact but I have considered cutting it down to a lower profile to keep from snagging on clothes when quick drawing.
I bought this Charter Arms Off duty about 15 years ago for my wife and she wants to be able to have a gun with an external safety as she feels that a revolver in her purse could accidentally get caught on something and go off.
I like the little gun and will make a great BUG,or if I want to just carry something in a pocket around town without being weighted down with a .40 PPS tucked in my waistband.
If you have a similar gun with hammer intact in a pocket holster does it cover the hammer enough to still be able to draw without snagging or getting caught while drawing from pocket.
If anyone would have some before and after pics of bobbing tail and give me some hints on the best way to do it I would greatly appreciate it as I really do not feel the need to invest in a $300+ for another BUG when this one will do the job.
Thanks in advance for any and all information
sunrock3:scratchchin:
:santaclaus:
I had a Smith Chiefs Special (model 36) that hung up on the hammer when practice drawing from a jacket pocket. Also, an old friend had to draw on a bad guy and he told me it became comical when the hammer on his Chiefs Special got caught up in his pants pocket. Seems the thug who knew him got tired of waiting for his would be handout and left. Lucky for both of them. Call Charter and see if they will sell you a factory spurless hammer.
That's what I was thinking, see if you can get a spurless hammer and then if you ever want to change it back you already the part. If not, buy another full hammer and cut it down.
At various times, I've carried three different .38 spcl. snubbies. I've bobbed the hammer on all of them, and had absolutely no problems. Careful work with a cut-off wheel in a Dremel, an emery grinding wheel, and some metal polish with a stiff buffer will make it look like a factory job.
I'd do it again. There's just something wrong about cocking a snubbie.
You can buy a Charter Arms Hammer & Bob that one.
That way you can always restore your revolver to original should you ever want to sell.
They pop up on Gunbroker often enough.
Example: There is one listed now. Charter Arms revolver hammer,Undercover/Pathfinder : Other at GunBroker.com
But, please note that I personally do not know if all Charter Arms use the same hammer as the seller states in the auction.
There are advantages to having the hammer on the snubbie...this has been discussed several times in the past.
I would not cut down the hammer on my snubbie (S&W 637), but rather learn to cover the hammer with the thumb when drawing...muscle memory takes care of that problem. OMO
I have had too many hammer hang ups not to BOB all the hammers on my carry revolvers. I also make them double action only. Keep it simple - when the heat is on, don't count on remembers to put your thumb over the hammer. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
All the new J's I have are internal hammer. All the old ones are BOB'd along with my 65's and 13's. The only snubs not BOB'd are my old Colts - I don't have the heart!
I'm with retsupt on his one...It's not a big deal to learn proper drawing techniques...IMO it actually makes it a little easier to draw with a thumb over hammer...It's easier to get the gun thru the pocket opening with your thumb on top of the hammer, or where it would be, because it makes your hand profile thinner...If I get a full grip on the gun, I have trouble clearing the pocket opening...try it out...
If you do it yourself be careful, if you take off too much, you will make the gun unreliable...
Good point. Even with a bobbed or concealed hammer, the thumb over makes it easier to draw, unless your hand is already in the pocket, and the pocket is way big enough. Here the wife's lasered 357 hammer is concealed, but I'm perfectly OK with a spur on my 41. In single action mode I can put 250 grains of hard cast lead in a specific spot.
Thank you for all of your advice. I did carry it around today in various positions and it did feel natural to have my thumb on the hammer when withdrawing so instead of doing a butcher job I will by a hammer that does not have the spur since changing hammers is easy to do. That way I can keep it original if I ever decide to sell it.
I have a S&W 442 38spl with internal hammer DA only and also a 60s era S&W model 49 38spl "Bodyguard" with shrouded hammer for that reason. I've seen a few bob jobs on chief specials that looked ok and were functional when done right, and some that were butchered. If you can buy another one factory spurless or research and do it yourself on a second one and keep your original hammer, you can't go wrong.
If you want a bobbed hammer I would say go for it. I have bobbed many hammers on my own guns and for customers and on a carry gun it is an advantage. Don't believe the myth that people say that reducing the hammer's mass will cause light hits and failures to fire. The mass has nothing to do with strike force. The spring driving the hammer is what makes the primer fire. Reducing the mainspring force is what causes light hits on the primer, not lightening the hammer. Reducing the hammer's mass will actually cause it to fall faster and decrease lock time. I would recommend trying to find another stock hammer just so you can restore it back. While keeping your thumb on the hammer while drawing seems like a good idea keep in mind that when doing so some other part of the gun may snag on the draw and if you keep yanking you will cock the hammer. Having a hammer cocked while the gun is still in your pocket is a bad thing.
I bought a spurless DAO hammer directly from Charter Arms. Go to their website and you can actually order from them. It's extremely easy to replace the hammer in these revolvers. Basically take out a screw, pull the old hammer out, put the new hammer in and put the screw back in.
Charter has a model 13811 which has a bobbed hammer in it. I would imagine that you could order the hammer and change it out.
I had one of their first .38 "undercover" models back in the early 70s. It was my first CC gun, and used an IWB holster. Must of put 3000 rounds thru it practicing. I had reloading capibility and would go thru 2-300 rounds on a range visit. Never misfired.
I carried it with the stock hammer. I drew with my thunb on the hammer and trigger finger alongside the gun, not on the trigger. This was the way the local sheriff firearms instructor taught his deputies (and myself). Never snagged clothing.
Just be sure to check fire all types of ammo after cutting the spur as you lose some inertia by lightening the hammer. You may need a bit more spring. I bought a 642 which is spurless and shrouded,so you don't gather pocket dust in the action.
Yes, that is why my favorite J frame is a 649 S&W, if you do it yourself I would copy the hammer of the 649 and leave a very small area that you could checker or grid to allow grip, so you still have SA when you want it but no chance of snagging. I like having the option!!
Purchasing the extra hammer sounds prudent. But the only snubby I have with an intact hammer spur is a Chief Special which is no longer made. I don't want to screw it up now it's a collector's item.
I own and have carried extensively a conventional snub and a snub with a shrouded hammer. While I intuitively used my thumb on the hammer of the former when drawing it, I will state without hesitation that the shrouded hammer model (or a bobbed-hammer, or hammerless equivalent) is far superior in achieving a snag-free draw from a pocket.
Further - why on earth would you cock the hammer on a snub in a self-defense situation? SA is useful in practice for learning where the gun shoots, but I conscientiously avoid SA use in training.
I fully support you in bobbing the hammer on your Charter, but you ought to consider going the complete route to DAO with an appropriate action job. The DA trigger pull could probably be reduced by 20% or more by converting to DAO
i bobbed two j-frames, an model 36 and model 60. was the best thing that i done. did them many mango season ago. makes carrying them easy. to me if you carry one you should bobed the hammer.
Ok after some digging , I found that some don't like bobbed hammers because if a bad guy was to grab your cylinder he can stop it from firing double action (because the cylinder want turn). But if you have it cocked then it will still go boom.
I don't know what the chances are of a bad guy grabbing your revolver cylinder are but wouldn't think the odds would be very good. And I would think a twisting motion on the revolver as you pulled the trigger would cause him to loose enough grip to allow it to rotate and fire.
I think you would have a better chance of snagging the hammer spur than someone grabbing the cylinder.
I'm one of the few people I know that like a hammer on my revolvers.
I don't like DAO on any handgun, I'm getting old I guess.
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