Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless (Second Model)

I believe this is the least expensive gun we have yet covered on Forgotten Weapons – this particular example cost me $49 at a local gun shop. Why bother with a cheap old (and pretty commonplace) revolver? To be honest, there is one reason that specifically pushed me to buy it: the safety.

You’ve seen the clever and innovative trigger safety on the Glock – and now on a bunch of other striker-fired pistols – right? Well, Iver-Johnson was doing that over a century ago.

For the record, this is a 2nd model Safety Hammerless, which is not intended for smokeless powder. I was using light handloads, which is still not a good idea for the pistol, as smokeless powder burns faster than black powder, and creates a higher peak pressure for the same muzzle velocity as a BP load. Continued shooting of light smokeless loads will cause the cylinder gap to grow and impair the timing. Shooting full-power smokeless loads could cause more serious and spectacular damage, so you do so at your own risk. I decided it wasn’t a problem to run a handful of light rounds through for the purposes of the video.

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Forgotten Weapons

At Forgotten Weapons I think the most interesting guns out there are the most obscure ones. I try to search out experimental and prototype weapons and show you how they work, in addition to more conventional guns that you may not have heard of before. You’re much more likely to find a video on the Cei Rigotti or Webley-Fosbery here than an AR or Glock. So, do you want to learn about something new today? Then stick around!

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