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oohrah wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 12:17 pm
My Piettas are Cap & Ball, but I also have conversion cylinders for them that take 45LC cartridges. Those cylinders replace the C&B cylinders and they have the firing pins on each cylinder. There is no transfer bar system. There is an "in-between" notch to rest the hammer for safety. Other wise the hammer strikes the firing pin directly. I have n o idea what type Baldwin was using, but it wasn't C&B.

Supposedly it was an 1873 .45 Long Colt replica. If that’s the case, then it should have a transfer bar safety.

According to some reports I’ve seen he claims he cocked the hammer, and it dropped and the gun fired. My guess is he had the trigger depressed enough to disengage the transfer bar, cocked the hammer and when he let the hammer go it fired. This would be a proper function of the gun since you can ‘fan’ an 1873 hammer as long as the trigger is pulled.

oohrah wrote: ↑Fri Dec 03, 2021 12:17 pm I have several Pietta SA revolver replicas. It is quite possible that he merely pulled back the hammer and then let it go or it slipped accidentally, without getting fully cocked. Those triggers are pretty light also. I believe the latter, an accidental slip of the hammer, so Baldwin is quite possibly truthful about that.

That still doesn't exonerate him from violating the other rules, and he should be held liable as much as the armorer.

With a transfer bar safety system, as long as it is functioning as designed, a hammer dropping without the trigger depressed should not result in the hammer being able to strike the firing pin.

There is also another item that makes this statement by Baldwin highly suspect. This from a review of the Pietta 1873 single action revolver prior to this incident:

‘Mechanically, the 1873 Single Action Revolver is similar to the original, with at least one important exception. Pietta engineered a transfer bar safety into this platform. In short, the transfer bar safety is designed to allow the hammer to transfer energy to the frame-mounted firing pin only if the trigger is pulled once the hammer is in the fully cocked position. This system prevents accidental discharge due to a drop-fire or a blow to the hammer even if a cartridge is in the cylinder and in front of the firing pin. With the transfer bar safety, you can safely carry a full cylinder.’

So, unless the new model revolver had been modified or was malfunctioning (unlikely IMO), he is either blocking it out of his memory, or just outright lying about not pulling the trigger.

Testing being conducted by the FBI should determine whether the firearm was properly functioning or not.