TexasRebel said:
Had they been filming, there may not have been people at the camera. They were moving/resetting the camera at the time.
Hammers can slip. Mechanical safeties are not infallible, especially those from 1873 (unless it was an updated replica with a block). If he was rehearsing a cross-draw technique he's unfamiliar with, he could have slipped his trigger finger in the guard (maybe that's why he was practicing).
Yes the whole situation makes little sense, but you don't figure out what happened by saying, "that wasn't supposed to."
1873 era mechanical safeties on single action revolvers? That's new.
On 1873 ra revolvers, especially the Colt Peacemaker didn't have mechanical safeties. It's a reason that a LOT of safety concerned people from that era only loaded five rounds in their six shooter leaving an empty chamber under the hammer. Yet when they had to draw to fire, when the cylinder clocked a live round was moved into position. SIngle action mechanical safeties were actually introduced in the 20th century by Ruger on their single action revolver line well into the 20th century, where they developed a extra notch in the cocking mechanism called a safety notch, sometimes referred to as "half-cocked."
The safety notch is a relief cut made in the tumbler at the base of the hammer, that allows the sear to catch and hold the hammer a short distance from the pin or cartridge primer, in a "half-cocked" position. The safety notch works first by allowing the handler to retract the hammer a short distance from the firing pin or primer, so that dropping the firearm on its hammer will not result in an energy transfer to the pin or spur, which could then discharge a chambered cartridge. A second purpose is to allow the sear to "catch" a hammer that is falling when the trigger has not been pulled, such as in cases where a drop jarred the sear loose or when the hammer was not fully cocked before being released. However, a safety notch used to "half-cock" a firearm is an active feature that must be engaged, and does not positively prevent accidental discharges in all cases. A certain amount of manual dexterity and familiarity with a firearm is also required to "half-cock" a firearm; unfamiliarity with how to engage the "half-cock" position can result in accidental discharges. Moreover, safety notch and "half-cock" style safeties are prone to breakage which can result in unintentional discharges leading to accidental discharges.
By the way according to the Sheriff's Office report, this pistol in question was a F.LLI Pietta 1873 .45 LC, which is a direct knockoff of the Colt Peacemaker. Pietta's are easier to come by than an actual 1873 Colt Peacemaker especially era specific. That and they are notoriously cheap, you can pick Model 1873 Pietta's up for $350-$400 all day long. Still a single action revolver and they have no safety notch or half-cocked position to act as any type of mechanical safety.
By the way, there is a legend that cowboys had a rolled up bill in the sixth chamber to pay the undertaker in case they die. This is, of course, a myth, because refusing to use your sixth slot at a shootout would be stupid. Also, that bill would likely burn pretty quickly from all the hot gasses escaping the cylinder.
"We're going to turn this red Prius into a soup kitchen!"
