Modified hammer and safety flag problem

[earplug]

Several years ago I dehorned and hollowed out my 625-8's hammer. Was cleaning it after a match today and the flag was loose enough to fall into the hollowed out area of the hammer. I took the side plate off due to the locking bolt/cylinder release dragging. It was dragging on the loose safety flag.

Easy to yank the safety parts out and cure the problem. Just a heads up for others with modified hammers.

[Ty Hamby]

Remove it. No longer required. Don't use a part that can render your firearm inoperable.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Ty Hamby

[harleytech]

IDPA requires the hammer block to be installed. They were looking for them at the Nationals last week. Ted Murphy was shining a flashlight into the action looking for them.

[R1valdez]

Does it make the action smoother if you were to remove the safety flag?

[revoman]

hammer block and safety flag are two different things

[Toolguy]

Can you elaborate on that please?

[revoman]

Hammer block is used to keep the hammer from hitting the firing pin when hammer is in the down position or in other words if the revolver is dropped with a live round under the hammer and it lands on the hammer it will stop it from firing. The flag in which I think earplug is referring to would be the lock that is now found on all new S&W revolver.

[Carmoney]

If the hammer foot properly engages the rebound slide, the hammer block has no immediate function and is merely a redundancy. I usually take it out in a competition gun.

[pskys2]

The Safety Lock can be discarded in NRA Action Pistol and UPSPSA, I've heard it must be in for IDPA but who knows for sure?

The Hammer Block MUST be in for NRA Action Pistol and IDPA. USPSA allows it to be removed. I used to take it out but since I started shooting NRA Action Pistol again I now leave it in. At least in the 627 which I might use it in AP. I still have the Action at 100% and at 5 lbs. But this pistol does seem to be working especially well. My 625 always seemed to get heavier if I put it back in.

[R1valdez]

hammer block and safety flag are two different things

Oops! sorry my bad. I thought the part that looks like a flag was the safety flag. I guess I'll just take off my safety block since I only shoot USPSA. I wish we had IDPA too here in Hawaii.

[Toolguy]

The need for the hammer block is for a hammer with a spur. If the gun is dropped and lands on the hammer spur it is likely to break off the part of the hammer that rests on the rebound slide. I have seen ones that broke there. Then the hammer block is there to keep the gun from firing.

The hammer block has been called a flag in revo circles for many years before key locks ever showed up. As long as everyone knows what we're talking about it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

On competition guns with the spur or more gone from the hammer it is very unlikely that dropping the gun can make it fire.

[revoman]

I am like Carmoney and have removed all hammer blocks from my competition revolvers and all revolvers with key locks and hammers skeletonized or Carmonized I have removed the key lock as it no longer serves it's purpose and I don't like them anyway.

[Carmoney]

I have never seen a hammer break in a matter that compromised safety, spur or not.

[pskys2]

I didn't realize the Hammer Block had ever been called a flag, but it does look like one.

Clark removes them from Competition Actions even with the spur still on. I had them do a m29 and thought WTF when I got it back and it was missing.

I could see it cracking the hammer, but it would be one heck of a blow and would likely cause other serious damage. Unless it's been whittled down to mini thong size by those darn dremel mites.

More likely is tampering too much with the rebound block/hammer and getting a push off situation in single action and then the Hammer Block would keep it from firing unless the trigger is held back (when one would expect it to fire).

Edited September 29, 2013 by pskys2