Hammer on a firearm?

Question

What does a hammer do on a semi-automatic handgun? I know its mainly for hitting the firing pin, in turn igniting the primer and this is particularly for revolvers. But what what about semi-autos, is it not just a safety measure? I know that after a hammer is pulled back the trigger is depressed slightly. My friend recently bought a Browning and he started customizing things like the hammer, and I told him its not necessary, and that hammers are nothing but a safety measure. Such weapons as glocks don't include hammers, for tactical reasons and i love glocks :).

Answer 1

The hammer does the same thing in a semi-auto that it does in a revolver. Some guns (including some revolvers) have internal hammers that you can't see. But they still have one.

On some guns you can pull back the hammer and it will slightly move the trigger, but since you didn't seat a round there's nothing for it to do.

It is NOT a safety device. The safety prevents the hammer from hitting the firing pin.

Answer 2

There are "hammerless" handguns ...not really.

They all have a hammers ....they are  just concealed in a sense for safety to avoid accidental discharge in some types.

A hammer "safety" is just an extra detent cant say ( half c..ck on YA )that will not allow the hammer to fall when the trigger is pulled & is the only safety on revolvers unless you leave the hammer down on an empty chamber.

Autoloaders can have a slide safety or both.

Best regards

Answer 3

It hits the firing pin. Thats all it supposed to do.

Answer 4

in a semi-auto handgun, the hammer also allows you to switch from single-action to double action. meaning that if you pull the hammer back, the trigger will be pulled back and their will be much less tension when you pull the trigger.

Answer 5

The hammer is just the design of the firearm. It has one role and that is to strike the firing pin thus to fire the round. Though it has the option to be lowered softly and not be in a ready position to fire, it is not a safety mechanism. to me a safety mechanism would be something that is put in that would help prevent the gun not fire, and that it is not necessary to fire. A hammer on pistols is necessary to fire the gun, thus not a safety feature but part of the design of the gun. Now i know not all guns have a hammer like the glock you mentioned. this is just another design that was created to suit the designers idea of what is wanted. I don't know if its for tactical reasons, because i have no clue, if it is i would like to learn of how so but i could see it as a redesign as to not make the hammer easier to block, and prevent the gun from firing. last, the no hammer design does not nenecessarily make the gun less safe than the guns that do have it.

essentially, if you try to breakdown how both models function they both have a moving striker under tension by a spring, that once released by the pull of the trigger, fires.

Answer 6

like mentioned the hammer is not a safety measure it is a functioning part of the firearm striking the firing pin. not all guns have hammers like glocks, xds, and a host of others. i'm not sure what u mean by it being a tactical reason for not having a hammer. for example the glock is striker fired...check out this vid on youtube it explains how it works better than i can in words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPPgmvcsJ...

as for the second part of your question no its still not a safety measure in fact if you have a single action firearm such as a cowboy action revolver or most 1911's you would still have to **** the hammer to fire since pulling the trigger doesn't **** the hammer.