[SKIandSKY]

I love the looks of the "commander" (ring) hammers so I want one on my (New to me) Izzy Mark III.

I'm thinking about a C&S trigger and sear......I notice C&S ring hammers look a bit different compared to the original ring hammers. Do the C&S hammers have any inherent advantage over stock?

 

[wild_Bill77]

Yes they are designed to "reduce" the likely hood of hammer bite. Which the original ring hammer was notorious for. For me they completely eliminated hammer bite. Course there are two versions of the C&S ring hammers the no bite one which I have and the regular one. The difference with the no bite is it has the lower shaft hogged out so it won't pinch the web of your hand. Both pretty much eliminate the ring part chafing the back of your hand though.

 

[submoa]

What Bill said...

The '70 "T" is the stock hammer while the '77 Novak has the C&S...





And a couple...three, more hammer options:

 

[Burgs]

I've tried the C&S "No Bite" hammer and after about 20-30 rounds I get a skin break that gets bigger as I shoot. I use a very high grip. I have not tried the C&S skeletal hammer,
but I'd like to, as I like the way it looks.

For me, the only Hi Power that's guaranteed not to bite, chew, pinch or nibble is the SFS hammer, which is shaped very much like the S&W semiauto hammers.
Not only is the hammer spur much smaller, but the hammer doesn't cock far enough to pinch any skin that gets between the grip tang and hammer shaft.

 

[huntershooter]

Everyone's hand is different. I have "medium size, guy hands".
The "hammer bite" I experience is caused by the hammer shank pinching the web of my hand- due to an extremely high hold ("I shoot "high thumbs").
The ring or spur has proven to seldom, if ever, have been the culprit.
C&S makes ONE hammer that works for me; the "No Bite"; all others fail.
Burgs, the skeleton hammer, which looks great, was the worse offender of the lot IME.
I have resorted to grinding and sanding the hammer shank to further eliminate hammer bite.

 

[davidnssbm]

only way is to try. I also use a very high thumb forward grip and I never have spur OR ring hammer bite with BHP. Yet when my buddy even HOLDS my gun I can tell it's gonna be bad news for him.

 

[Burgs]

Huntershooter,

Thanks for the info on the C&S skeletal hammer. You saved me some money.

 

[SKIandSKY]

I don't suffer from hammer bite with a HP and the non-ringed hammer. If the only advantage to the C&S ring hammer is no hammer bite, then I'll probably go for an original Browning ring hammer as I love how it looks.

Thanks guys.

 

[Jäger1]

You probably won't have an issue then.

I've never been bitten by a BHP. Well, the first few times I fired my original BHP back in the 70's when I wrapped my support hand thumb into the web of my dominant hand like we gripped our revolvers... anyone who thinks hammer bite is bad should try having their support hand thumb knuckle meet that slide coming back...

It's a self correcting problem - you only do it once.

Anyways, I've never been bit by the rowel hammer and I shoot pretty hands high. But, I have slightly smallish hands as well; a size 9 glove is just a tad too small for me, and a 9 1/2 glove is a tad sloppy. If I had big meathooks, I might have a problem with the hammers as well.

Spur hammers on BHPs don't bite me either, but for me the rowel hammers look light years more classy.

I prefer the look of the OEM rowel over the others, but they all look pretty good.

 

[Vin63]

I've tried the C&S "No Bite" hammer and after about 20-30 rounds I get a skin break that gets bigger as I shoot. I use a very high grip. I have not tried the C&S skeletal hammer,
but I'd like to, as I like the way it looks.

For me, the only Hi Power that's guaranteed not to bite, chew, pinch or nibble is the SFS hammer, which is shaped very much like the S&W semiauto hammers.
Not only is the hammer spur much smaller, but the hammer doesn't cock far enough to pinch any skin that gets between the grip tang and hammer shaft.

For me, I also get bit once in awhile between the shank of the hammer and the frame tang if my grip moves up where the webbing of my hand extends up over the tang (usually shoot and scoot exercises with sweaty hands). If you have thick webbing and it extends up over the tang, the C&S Chamfered Commander hammer will be unforgiving. It is a little better if you are prone to traditional hammer bite from the top of the hammer. Here is where the webbing of my hand is in relation to the C&S hammer - I normally ride the thumb safety, but lowered my thumb off of it to get a better profile photo:

 

[SKIandSKY]

You probably won't have an issue then.

I've never been bitten by a BHP. Well, the first few times I fired my original BHP back in the 70's when I wrapped my support hand thumb into the web of my dominant hand like we gripped our revolvers... anyone who thinks hammer bite is bad should try having their support hand thumb knuckle meet that slide coming back...

It's a self correcting problem - you only do it once.

Anyways, I've never been bit by the rowel hammer and I shoot pretty hands high. But, I have slightly smallish hands as well; a size 9 glove is just a tad too small for me, and a 9 1/2 glove is a tad sloppy. If I had big meathooks, I might have a problem with the hammers as well.

Spur hammers on BHPs don't bite me either, but for me the rowel hammers look light years more classy.

I prefer the look of the OEM rowel over the others, but they all look pretty good.

I read you brother! Once, while shooting our Colt Ponies, I wrapped my weak hand over my shooting hand probably in the manner you describe. My friend asked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but I pulled the trigger anyway.

The slide nicked my supporting thumb and gave it a nice scar I can still see to this day. I never did that again!

 

[huntershooter]

HIGH grip:

 

[Burgs]

Vin63,

Thanks for the illustration!

 

[wild_Bill77]

I gotta ask you all who get pinched like shown in the pics above. Is this because you're literally holding the pistol on the tang? Or is it cause your webbing spreads over it? I have huge hands, literally the size of a person who is 6,7 or more. I can palm a basketball, and yet I do not suffer from web pinch!??

 

[Matquig]

I used to get bit years ago, but I made a mental note to eliminate hammer bite, and it seems to have worked. I always liked the original rowel hammer, and when I reacquired Browning HP's into my lineup, I just ignored the possibility of hammer bite. I think I may have been bit a couple times in the last 10 years, but not enough to say it remains a problem. I may be subconsciously holding the gun in a better position to avoid hammer bite, or....who knows. I do know this: Men! Get tough! A little battle scar now and then makes the ladies think you are tough. If you get bit, ignore it. An original BHP is worth the pain.

 

[Vin63]

Vin63,

Thanks for the illustration!

You bet! Sometimes it helps with making that decision since the parts are not cheap.

I gotta ask you all who get pinched like shown in the pics above. Is this because you're literally holding the pistol on the tang? Or is it cause your webbing spreads over it? I have huge hands, literally the size of a person who is 6,7 or more. I can palm a basketball, and yet I do not suffer from web pinch!??

Fortunately in my case, the webbing of my hand is not as meaty on the palm side and usually does not roll up over the tang, so it's only happened to me a few times...but, I empathize with those who do get pinched between the hammer shank and the frame tang regularly. I do, however, have a lot of scar tissue on the backside of my hand where the spur hammers of a NM and GCNM chewed me up pretty good as a kid.

 

[wild_Bill77]

I used to think that the spur hammer coming back and hitting the web of my hand was the hammer bite everyone was talking about. But alas it is literally the web of their hands gets pinched. I can see this being a pain, but if you had a beaver tail it would prevent this right? But also wouldn't a beaver tail prevent a high hand hold as well? Either way I don't think I would like the hi power as much if I got pinched every time I shot it. Ouch!

 

[Jäger1]

I read you brother! Once, while shooting our Colt Ponies, I wrapped my weak hand over my shooting hand probably in the manner you describe. My friend asked, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but I pulled the trigger anyway.

The slide nicked my supporting thumb and gave it a nice scar I can still see to this day. I never did that again!

This was the early 70's - I was the only guy on the block with a pistol of ANY kind. So nobody was there about to tell me there was going to be a bloodletting.

I didn't get nicked; I got mauled. To the considerable amusement of all the guys who had come to the range to see my new Awesome Tool Of Awesomeness and try it out.

None of them did what I did... they helpfully told me it didn't hurt one little bit, and was nicer to shoot than the +P ammunition we were being issued for our Model 10s.

My ego was as wounded as my thumb, and it was a long time before anybody let me even try to forget it.

 

[Burgs]

I used to think that the spur hammer coming back and hitting the web of my hand was the hammer bite everyone was talking about.

Actually it's both. Commonly, one is hammer bite, and the other is hammer chew. Both can be unpleasant.

A couple of mags worth is an annoyance, but it one shoots 150 - 200 rounds during a range session it can get messy.

 

[KDKSAIL]

Frankly...'..hammer bite..' only seems to be a problem for those who use a '..high grip..' or have extra-beefy hands. For everyone else the problem doesn't seem to exist. But there is another reason for a new C&S hammer and sear. They are machined to work better/smoother together, for a smoother trigger pull....remove the mag disconnect and tune-up the springs while you've got your H-P apart and you're good to go.