[AlbertJohnson]

Got to see him him in Louisville once and he was just phenomenal; very confident but down to earth too, he'd talk to you and just shoot the bull.
Everyone knows who I'm talking about right?
Below he is fanning. Soon I'm acquiring my first SA piece so question:
Each time he cocks it, he has to pull the trigger, right? no just holding the trigger back and keep fanning? Or does the recoil of the revolver pull the trigger each time? You can skip to 1:25 for the real show if you like.
B.M. age 69 R.I.P.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXXxQ1OuDc

 

[Varminterror]

Soon I'm acquiring my first SA piece so question:
Each time he cocks it, he has to pull the trigger, right? no just holding the trigger back and keep fanning?

No, a shooter "fanning" a revolver is NOT pulling the trigger for every shot.

The definition of "fanning" is simply holding the trigger back and "fanning" the hammer repeatedly to fire rapidly. This works in single action revolvers but NOT in double action revolvers because they are designed differently.

First - recall that the pawl, aka hand, is what rolls the cylinder to cycle the action in a revolver.

In double action revolvers, like those you're familiar with, the pawl/hand is mounted to the trigger, so if you hold the trigger back and "fan" the hammer, it will fire once, then will not cycle the action - will not roll the cylinder - on the subsequent shot, so it will not fire again.

In a single action Ruger revolver, the pawl/hand is mounted to the hammer, so the shooter can simply hold the trigger, then fan the hammer to cycle through and fire all loaded cylinders.

 

[tylosaurus]

Just hold the trigger back and fan the hammer. It will fire each time. No need to pull the trigger each time.

Just beware, that fanning is very hard on your gun, and could cause breakages. Also, fanning is usually very inaccurate. Munden must have practiced a lot.

 

[AlbertJohnson]

Well I'll be dog...woulda lost a bet on this.
Guess he tricked out his 45's so the pull was very light. I notice
his fanning was good bit quicker with his left hand, i.e. shooting with his right.

So I guess you have to fan far enough back so that something clicks, or the cyl turns, or catches that notch.
Course on 2nd look, looks like he's THUMB fanning, not fanning with the bottom of his palm.

 

[Neon Horse]

That was a fun video. Impressive skill. Thanks for sharing the vid!

 

[Varminterror]

Well I'll be dog...woulda lost a bet on this.
Guess he tricked out his 45's so the pull was very light. I notice
his fanning was good bit quicker with his left hand, i.e. shooting with his right.

So I guess you have to fan far enough back so that something clicks, or the cyl turns, or catches that notch.
Course on 2nd look, looks like he's THUMB fanning, not fanning with the bottom of his palm.

Go to a gunshop, touch a single action revolver, all of these questions would be answered.

Hold the trigger back and slap the hammer back and down and your palm will slip off of the spur and the revolver will fire.

They don't work like DA revolvers.

BUT!!! I just watched this particular video...

Munden isn't FANNING these revolvers at all. He MIGHT be slip-hammering - cocking the hammer with this thumb with the trigger held back and just letting the hammer "slip" and fire - but he's NOT fanning.

 

[Single Six Shooter]

Great video. Lots and lots of practice.

 

[AlbertJohnson]

That's why I said he looked to be THUMB fanning.
Guess he's cocked with his thumb a million times and is good at it.
Always a pleasure to see him shoot and put on an exhibition.
In person, you don't believe your eyes what he's doing...though you
can't see it anyway.
If interested, see him shoot TWO balloons and you only hear ONE shot - what
he does is thumb the first shot and fan the 2nd, so close together it's unreal.
Went to southern California to see him, but some screw up by the owners of the
event made Bob not perform. He was cool about it and just stood around and talked
to everyone. (who we all were disappointed) 100 feet away was ole Newly Brian, deputy
marshal for Matt Dillion, who was selling his paintings - aka Buck Taylor.

 

[caryc]

Here is a picture of two of my fast draw guns. The top gun has a fanning hammer on it for fanning, the bottom gun has a thumbing hammer on it. For shooting doubles one cocks the thumbing hammer for the first shot then holds the trigger and fans for the second shot.

Bob Munden never held the Fast Draw Association championship. He just wouldn't play by their rules. His guns were too modified. He was incredible though.

Of course on the fanning hammer gun, one just holds the trigger and fans the hammer for each shot.

 

[caryc]

Just hold the trigger back and fan the hammer. It will fire each time. No need to pull the trigger each time.

Just beware, that fanning is very hard on your gun, and could cause breakages. Also, fanning is usually very inaccurate. Munden must have practiced a lot.

Guns built for fast draw are very modified and built to handle it. As you said, a stock single action would never stand up to the punishment of fast draw.

 

[caryc]

Well I'll be dog...woulda lost a bet on this.
Guess he tricked out his 45's so the pull was very light. I notice
his fanning was good bit quicker with his left hand, i.e. shooting with his right.

So I guess you have to fan far enough back so that something clicks, or the cyl turns, or catches that notch.
Course on 2nd look, looks like he's THUMB fanning, not fanning with the bottom of his palm.

For guns built for fast draw, the timing is modified. The cylinder notches and approaches are deepened so the bolt is sure to catch. If you cock a fast draw gun slowly, it may not even lock up into firing position. They are timed so that the cylinder actually free wheels into the final lockup. They also have a hammer stop block built into the handle. If you take a stock single action (unloaded) and cock it fully, then hold the cylinder with one hand and pull the hammer back some more as far as it will go, you will feel the cylinder still trying to turn. That is what will beat up a stock single action. The hammer stop block prevents this from happening. That cylinder coming to a sudden stop like that in a stock gun is what would tear up the insides. Below is a pic of the hammer stop block.

 

[AlbertJohnson]

Thanks for the photos. Both look brand new, though I guess early 2000's? with the 3 screws.
And thanks for the explanation.

 

[caryc]

Thanks for the photos. Both look brand new, though I guess early 2000's? with the 3 screws.

The old three screws are the only Rugers that will stand up to fast draw action when they're modified. I never looked at the serial numbers and checked the manf. date.

I purchased those guns from Bob Graham in Texas. He has held four World Fast Draw Association championships.

 

[rclark]

I've always enjoyed seeing Bob shoot when doing his thing live and now on video. There are other videos on you-tube for the those who are interested. I've several guns now that have been modified by Bob's successor in the Six Gun Magic Gunsmithing part of the business . Been Satisfied with the work.

 

[caryc]

Here is another one of my fast draw guns. It's a little different in that it's a 22/38. It started life as a Single Six. The barrel end of the cylinder is bored out to .38 caliber to use wax bullets but the rear of the cylinder is still the .22 caliber. You use a .22 cal blank to fire the .38 cal wax bullets. Oh yeah, the barrel is aluminum lined with a .38 cal rifled steel barrel. It's a neat little gun.

 

[tigger]

I had the opportunity to meet Bob and witness one of his shooting demonstrates it was impressive. At that time he showed fanning the hammer by spreading his hand out and hitting the hammer with each finger as he rolled it over the gun while holding the trigger back. This was incredibly fast, like a beast from a full auto.
RIP Bob

 

[caryc]

Wow, I didn't notice the "RIP" at the end of the original post. I didn't hear anything about him passing away. That's a real shame. He was quite a showman. When did it happen?

 

[bwinters]

I saw his performance in person it was unbelieveable.

 

[riverrat45]

Dec. 10, 2012

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Munden

Bob Mundon was a gunsmith also.
Here is a video showing a Bob Mundon Custom Birds Head Vaquero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1CQ0gxH4DE

Best,
Rick

 

[CaliforniaKid]

I read some time ago that gunslingers good at fanning would wire their triggers back with bailing wire so they didn't have to worry about holding the trigger back. Made them extremely fast. Might have been in Elmer Keiths Hell I was There book.