OT Twirling Sixguns

[Old Savage]

You see this in the movies. Tombstone comes to mind. Now did someone do that or was it camera tricks.

Well now, here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRPl4EWi ... re=related

[Wind]

Hey there Old Savage - Yep, people do that for real. I know a few folks that are real good at it. Figured to give it a try once (the operative word here is ONCE). Grabbed up a big ol' stainless Ruger Bisley Vaquaro. Stuck my right index finger through the trigger guard and gave it a big twirl. That gun came 'bout 2/3 of the way around, the tip of the trigger and the trigger guard grabbed a goodly chunk of my finger, and with the weight and mass of the gun still spinning, came very close to unscrewing it from my hand. I had visions of being called lefty for the rest of my life flash before my eyes, so decided to quit whilst I still had most of ten digits. It is fun to watch though, but not for me. Watch yer top knot. Wind

[Old Savage]

Yeah Wind, that's what I found particularly on that chest high sideways thing but - this guy can do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0acMU9nO ... re=related

[Lefty Dude]

Joey Dillon is one of the best these days.

Several years ago I was an extra in a short DVD he produced. I got to see him do his tricks first hand. He is very good.

[Old Savage]

Himself, maybe you are here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p7caGeiLmU

[gamekeeper]

Wow Joey Dillon is awesome.

I seem to remember Sammy Davis Jr. doing some twirling at the London Palladium.

[Borregos]

Fascinating

[Str8man]

I USED to be pretty good at gun twirling but it took time, bruised toes (from dropping the gun on them) and a few dented up grips.
I was quite fast at one time when I was in my 20s and 30's.
Now that I am winking and waving at 50 twirling guns doesn't that important.
I can still do a little twirling but I am not nearly as fast or as good as I once was.
It's one of those "use it or lose it" things.
I have one Uberti "Practice gun" that I bought brand new and pretty much wore the guts out of it twirling and fast drawing with it.
I finally got around to replacing all the internals including the hammer on that poor gun.
I practiced with that one and only twirled my nice guns when someone was around to witness how incredibly awesome I was with a gun LOL!
I've since outgrown that
I'll tell you someone else who is really good is the country singer "Randy Travis"
I saw him once do some fancy single action work and he was really good.

[kimwcook]

Holy smokes, I just watched that last link of Joey Dillon and I've got to say, I'm impressed.

[jeepnik]

They've got competitions for this. I've been to a couple. The guns are modified, and those I've seen were set up as non firiing. Makes sense to me. But it is amazing what these talented folks (a fair number of women compete) can do. They usually dress pretty glitzy too. It's a great bit of showmanship on the part of the competitors.

[OJ]

Unfortunately, there have been some NDs because some people fail to recognize the revolvers safe to twirl are single action revolvers that require cocking before they can be shot - speaking as a retired surgeon who took care of more gunshot wounds than I caan count - but, at my age, my memory isn't as good as it once was.



Yes -



No - even then, it violates rules 2 & 3 -

[Rexster]

Not so long ago, the "Four Rules" did not exist, at least not as currently stated. Single action sixguns were routinely handled with finger on trigger, and strictly speaking, SA sixgun triggers are just one step in firing the weapon. It is the hammer that is the critical part in SA sixgun safety. With a hammer down on an empty chamber, the SA sixgun is totally inert.

FWIW, I taught myself a version of the "road agent spin" with my old duty S&W M58, a DA sixgun. I unloaded the weapon to practice, but yes, it was still a violation of the Four Rules as we presently know them. If I had to reach across my body, to draw my duty sixgun from the break-front duty rig, with my "weak" hand*, I wanted to be able to get the grip into my hand and fire ASAP, and used the road agent spin as inspiration, except that I spun the sixgun the other way, as cocking the hammer was not needed with a DA sixgun. I believe that twirling/spinning sixguns, a frivolous activity, had its origins in the road agent spin and border shift, which had serious and deadly purposes in real life.

*In actuality, I carried, and still carry, my duty handgun on my right hip, in spite of being left-handed, because I am right-armed and right-legged, and the whole draw-and-fire of heavy revolvers, with heavy DA triggers, seemed more natural from the right hip. Doing the road agent spin variant with my more dextrous left hand was therefore not so remarkable. I shoot some handguns, including SA sixguns, better as a lefty.

Just to be clear, I am not advocating that any person violate the "four rules" of firearm safety.

[Ysabel Kid]

IIRC, sixgun twirling was common with folks who carried them in the west. Part was to relieve boredom, part for show (same as today), and a good part was simply to strenghen the trigger finger and become more practiced in grabbing the handgun in several different positions.

Makes a lot of sense, if you do it safely!