pistols, gun-safety, terminology, decockingWhat does it mean that a handgun has a decocker? I thought that all handguns can be “decocked” by holding the hammer, pressing the trigger and gently lowering the hammer.
Handguns with decockers have a lever on the side of the gun that will drop the hammer safely while blocking the firing pin. Decocking the handgun by holding the hammer and pulling the trigger is an unsafe method: it leaves the firing pin in a position to ignite the primer. If your hand or finger should slip from the hammer, it will fall forward under the tension of the hammer spring. Depending on how far back it was before slipping this presents the very real possibility that you will negligently discharge a round into whatever the weapon is pointed at.
If you must decock your weapon and it doesn’t have a decocker, the only truly safe way to do it is to unload it first. With an empty chamber, there is no possibility for discharge.
Decocking a weapon that does not have a built in decocker is almost never necessary. Some people do it to prevent wear on the springs, but springs weaken by cycling, not by being under constant load. Some people do it because it’s “safer” (like my father), but on most weapons with a thumb safety, engaging the thumb safety engages a firing pin safety while decocking prevents the safety from being activated. If you were to have a round in the chamber and smack the hammer hard enough, the gun will fire from this decocked state. One notable exception to this is the older “Series 70” style 1911s that have no firing pin safety: even with the thumb safety engaged if you drop them on their hammers they can and have fired.
The purpose of decocking a handgun is to do one of two things: first, to put the first trigger pull of a single- and double-action (SA/DA) weapon into double action mode; second, to put a single-action-only (SAO) pistol into a non-operable state.
Pistols like most standard Sigs have no thumb safeties, and carrying them chambered and cocked is considered unsafe. Having them decocked with a very heavy initial trigger pull is considered to be the proper way to carry a pistol of this type. Pistols like most HKs (with their non-DAO trigger packs) support both thumb safeties for cocked-and-locked (loaded, chambered, cocked, and on safe) carry and use, being on safe and decocked, or being decocked and on fire.
Pistols that are double-action-only (DAO) can not have a decocker, as they are never cocked except when halfway through their firing cycle (pulling the trigger will both cock and fire the gun, returning it to a decocked state — in this way, perhaps the trigger could be considered the decocker).
A decocking lever is generally seen on handguns that have a DA/SA action. That is they have a long double action trigger pull for the first shot and a short single action pull for subsequent shots. The decocking lever allows you to return the pistol to a decocked state (so you get the long double action trigger pull) after loading or firing the weapon. This sort of system is found on many SIG and Beretta handguns, among others.
Decocking a loaded pistol by pressing the trigger is potentially very dangerous. There may be situations where it is required (a cocked revolver, for example) but it should be avoided if at all possible. In particular, if a pistol has a decocking lever, manually decocking it by pulling the trigger and lowering the hammer may not engage all of the internal safeties, leaving the pistol in a state that is not drop safe (this is the case for SIGs).
All content is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.