Revolver Technique of "Babe" Magnan

So, I just read that Martin "Babe" Magnan used to shoot his timed/rapid fire by cocking his revolvers with his weak hand...I've read that this is legal, but could someone describe the technique? What does he do with his weak hand when he's actually preparing the shot? Can you touch/steady your weak hand on part of your firing arm without touching the gun? I just can't conceive of how to get consistent repeatability with two hands just dangling out there in front of you. I'm assuming that he was still bladed somewhat to the target. Anyone?

You are not allowed to touch the arm of your shooting hand with your weak arm during the shot.  I've never seen Magnan shoot, but I've seen shooters use that technique and they put their arm against their chest in-between shots.

I have done what Rob said.  Hand on chest.  Away from shooting shoulder.

Like in action shooting...I can't see how that would help you keep your body "Quiet". Why not just thumb cock with the same hand?

Pretty sure he used a pencil eraser on his revolvers.  That acted as a stop, then he pulled thought from there.

Ahhh, well, I'm going to be competing in the production division myself, and that would take me into "metallic sights" so I'll keep working on my thumb cocking. I did try that when I went out today, and the whole act of bringing my arm in just increased my movement. To each their own, my body type might not be compatible. I'd like to see a video of someone successfully using the technique though. If anyone in his area can convince "Babe" to demonstrate for a youtube...

I could never get the hang of regripping after cocking the hammer during a timed or rapid fire string.  You'd be surprised how easy shooting double action is once learned.  I used to re-cock the revolver shooting slow fire but not sustained.

I'm on the verge of starting to get some cleans on the short line while thumb cocking. For the long line, I grip higher, and cock with the weak hand, but depending on what the Scatt can teach me, I might go to the lower grip I use for the 25 Yardline, same hand cocking for the Slow Fire too. And when I say I'm on the verge, I'm still waiting to shoot my first clean in a match...and I've been doing this since 93! Lol. So, as far as how I'm feeling, shooting revolvers have really set me free! I feel like I'm progressing again!
I guess the power lifting I used to do helped build my hand strength to the point where I'm not even realy involving my thumb in the grip. I press the grips back into the meaty part of my palm. The thumb is just there to keep the handles from sliding up my arm...the act of cocking it also seems to keep my conscious mind occupied, so that I can get into the flow easier...

I know several HM shooters who shoot double action during TF/RF and are always in the top of the pack.. Now there's your roll trigger..
Jerry

Hemphill, and most of the other l.e. guys do d.a.

Well that's interesting. About the only thing keeping me from that is whether an action job would nullify the production rating for the guns? Thanks for all the insight!

The reason we haven't seen many matches that allow the production class is because match directors don't have time or the resources to administer that kind of match.  Match directors aren't going to be able to figure out if this revolver had an action job or this one is truly off the shelf.  You just don't know.....and you have to get the work done because the cheater on the other end of the firing line did, and you want to be on even ground.

I haven't seen any match bulletins in my area that mention production class.  Has anybody been seeing them in their area?  We will need to see how these matches are actually run and see how the match directors rule on these things.  If they can't tell if the gun has work done, is it still "production" or what?

Profe5s0r wrote:Well that's interesting. About the only thing keeping me from that is whether an action job would nullify the production rating for the guns? Thanks for all the insight!

It's rather easy to do a very smooth DA trigger job, and maintain the required SA trigger pull.
In the PPC, almost no one used SA.. So the DA was made quite smooth and light. The engagement angles on the hammer and sear are altered to achieve a solid 3.5/4 lb  pull,  insuring the trigger always passed inspection. The gun would have to be disassembled and inspected if a virgin out of the box gun is required. I have never seen such a requirement for distinguished classes.
Jerry

As I've said before, imho, if it stays within the OEM specifications, it's not cheating. It's doing what the manufacturers  USED to do for precision shooters..

S&w, colt, didn't mix and match like Armorer's now, they just hand fitted and polished their finest guns. Those guns were the face of the company back then.

Jim Chapman

Well, as of now, the rules do say "no visible internal or external modifications except as follows" and there is no exception made for trigger jobs. I know that the only place where being in production class counts is Camp Perry, but that's enough for me. I will likely be looking for someone to get the cylinders and the forcing cone into an "Optimal Factory Condition", but likely won't go farther than that. About the only thing that I might have to have done would be to turn the barrels back a bit to get to the "6 inch" length rule. But I won't do that till a referee tells me that I lost a national record because my guns were "6 1/2" or something like that.

The rules do say that the sear or sear notch can be honed for a more crisp trigger.  That certainly qualifies as a single action trigger job.  Does that mean smoothing the action for a clean double action pull violates the rules?  That's probably debatable.

How in the world does anyone consider removing burrs or swapping springs a violation???

What next, measure the mainspring screw to make sure it's tight?

I don't believe I've ever heard of a match removing a sideplate. Not happening on my guns...

Well, I'm more than happy with the results I'm getting by thumb cocking, so for now it's a moot point. But I'd still like to see Babe shoot a wheel gun.