1. I've seen a Colt ad circa 1885 advising that after loading six to let hammer down on the "safety notch," the quarter cock position.
2. Primers were much harder back then and setting them off usually took a strong main spring; yes a good blow to the hammer in "safety notch" could
and likely would set off a round but it probably happened so seldom to most people's knowledge that they thought nothing of loading six.
3. Despite our image of the Old West from movies, most holsters were very protective of the six shooter, often with only a bit of gun butt and the tip of the
hammer showing above the leather. Hence any chances of setting the gun off were very small. (Charlie Askins Jr. wrote of an old border lawman who carried
six for decades and decades. Then one day while mounting his horse, somehow he managed to have the hammer hit the cantle and boom went the gun.
And the horse took off as well.)
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2. Primers were much harder back then and setting them off usually took a strong main spring; yes a good blow to the hammer in "safety notch" could
and likely would set off a round but it probably happened so seldom to most people's knowledge that they thought nothing of loading six.
3. Despite our image of the Old West from movies, most holsters were very protective of the six shooter, often with only a bit of gun butt and the tip of the
hammer showing above the leather. Hence any chances of setting the gun off were very small. (Charlie Askins Jr. wrote of an old border lawman who carried
six for decades and decades. Then one day while mounting his horse, somehow he managed to have the hammer hit the cantle and boom went the gun.
And the horse took off as well.)
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