Wheelgun “Widgetry”
I love single-action sixguns. What could be easier to operate? Cock the hammer and shoot the gun, right? Even loading a single action is relaxing in its own simple way. Manipulating a single action correctly is a series of basic steps.
You need to know how to bring the hammer to half-cock. Traditional, or clone guns, usually require cocking the hammer two clicks when pulling the hammer back, allowing the cylinder to spin freely for loading.
With the gun at half-cock, the loading gate is lifted for insertion of your first cartridge. Using the cowboy loading technique, skip the next chamber hole and load the next four cartridges. After the last cartridge is loaded, close the loading gate and fully cock the hammer.
This cycles the cylinder so the empty chamber is resting under the hammer. Lower the hammer onto the empty chamber for safe carry. When cocking the hammer, the cylinder rotates to a live round and is ready for the next four cartridges after that.
Emptying the cylinder is done pretty much the same way, with either live or fired cartridge cases. Bring the hammer back to half-cock, open the loading gate and use the ejector rod to punch out the empties. Live cartridges will usually fall free from the chamber from their own weight.
Swapping cylinders is a snap. Bringing the hammer to half-cock, push the cylinder locking pin in and remove the base pin. Choose your cylinder and place it in the window frame. With everything lined up, insert the base pin to the first locking notch. You’re done!
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