Viral Video Explains ‘The Cowboy Load’: How To Load Your Single-Action Revolver

In this era of instant gratification & large capacity magazines for pistols (and rifles too), it may seem like we’re taking a step backward when it comes to old school (and old fashioned) revolvers. Truth be told, I kind of like old fashioned revolvers…especially cowboy guns, ya know, like the colt peacemaker.

Those types of guns served your great-great grandfather’s quite well ‘back in the day’ and proficiency with firearms often meant the difference between life and death on almost a daily basis. Back in the old west, it wasn’t so much about how fast you were on the draw, alot of times, it just came down to whether or not you had the sand to pull the trigger when your life was at stake. But we are talking about a time in history when  almost everyone carried the same type of firearm and being familiar with that weapon made all the difference.

Now there might be some who will disagree with the video below, but yet it all comes down to what your personal preferences are and what you feel comfortable with.

If you do have any doubt as to whether a particular single-action revolver is safe to carry with all chambers loaded, here is a simple examination; ensuring that the gun is empty, hold the gun up with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and carefully look at the gap between the breech-face of the revolver frame and the cylinder. If you see the firing pin protruding from the breech-face, either on its own or when you apply thumb pressure on the hammer without holding down the trigger, carry it with an empty chamber under the hammer.