Manual

To avoid the possibility of assembling
a hammer without a half-cock notch in
the wrong pistol in the field, each such
hammer carries a marking designating
its use for a particular model of pistol.
A hammer marked for use in a specif-
ic model must only be used in that
designated model.
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FIRING
With the muzzle pointed in a safe
direction and your finger outside the
trigger guard, rotate the manual safety
lever fully up into the "fire" position.
Except for the Models 52 and 745,
which can only be fired single action,
the first shot from an uncocked center-
fire pistol will be fired in the double-
action mode. As the trigger is drawn
fully to the rear, the hammer moves
rearward and is released to strike the
firing pin. Upon firing the slide moves
rearward thereby extracting and eject-
ing the spent cartridge case and rotat-
ing the hammer to the fully-cocked
position. The slide then returns for-
ward feeding the next cartridge from
the magazine to the barrel chamber.
The hammer remains cocked position
and the trigger is in the rearward posi-
tion so that subsequent shots will be
fired in the single action mode. This
sequence can be repeated until the
last round has been fired at which
time the magazine follower exerts
upward pressure on the slide stop
causing it to engage the slide and to
hold it in the open position.
Warning:
Single-action firing requires signifi-
cantly less trigger pull and trigger
travel than double action firing.
MANUAL COCKING
On a pistol with an exposed hammer
spur, the first shot may be fired in the
[
single-action mode when so desired.
You can prepare your pistol for single-
I
action firing by pointi~g the muzzle in a
safe direction, removing your finger
from the trigger, rotating the manual
safety lever fully up into the "fire" posi-
tion, and pulling the hammer spur as
far rearward as possible into the fully-
cocked position.
DECOCKING
If you decide not to fire after you have
manually cocked the hammer or if you
decide to suspend firing, keep the
pistol pointed in a safe direction,
remove your finger from the trigger
guard, and rotate the manual safety
lever fully down into the "safe" position.
This action will decock the hammer
allowing it to fall against the manual
safety block and will release the trigger
to its forward position. The pistol may
now be holstered and carried safely.
CLEARING MISFIRES
If, during firing a cartridge fails to fire,
the pistol will remain in the double
action mode. If the situation permits,
the trigger may be pulled once or twice
more. If ignition still fails, the chamber
must be manually cleared. Rotate the
manual safety lever fully down into the
"safe"
position and wait ten seconds
while keeping the muzzle pointed in a
safe direction. Grasp the serrated sides
of the slide from the rear and briskly
pull the slide fully rearward to eject the
misfired round. Do not obstruct the
ejection port, and do not attempt to
catch the round by placing your hand
over the ejection port. Also, remember
that any time you release the slide
while a magazine containing cartridges
is in the pistol, you will have reloaded
the chamber.
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