Henry Rifle Forums

some of us are old enough to remember the Mattel Fanner 50 cap gun as shown in this commercial ===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8qXLxHi9_8 <=== you know what they say about assuming .... until earlier today I thought it was common knowledge that fanning a single action revolver and expecting to hit anything is purely a product of Hollywood .... yep, while watching some guys at a local pistol range, I saw two young guys trying to fan single action revolvers with live ammo .. .. they appeared to be decent shooters who, from what they were saying, had been watching Eastwood westerns .... basically, they had convinced themselves that if he could do it, they could do it .. .. lets just say that things weren't going well for them .... misfires were frequent, bullets were hitting most everywhere but their target .... thankfully, they weren't trying to add a fast draw, from what I saw that could have gone bad in a hurry .... as one might expect, it didn't take long for some older guys to step in .... my hope is, they learned something .... my fear is they may not have

Yikes! It didn't go well for Don Knotts in the Apple Dumpling Gang, that was enough to scare me off.

At the range where I shoot, "fanning" a revolver is strictly prohibited -- and so is a "fast draw". The rules are posted in several places. Those who do it are banned from the range.

I'm glad that some older folks were willing to "step in" and offer those young shooters a bit of advice. It's a shame that they had to, though. Jumping from a second floor balcony onto a standing horse is a bad idea, too. I'm pretty sure.

CT_Shooter wrote:At the range where I shoot, "fanning" a revolver is strictly prohibited -- and so is a "fast draw". The rules are posted in several places. Those who do it are banned from the range.

I'm glad that some older folks were willing to "step in" and offer those young shooters a bit of advice. It's a shame that they had to, though. Jumping from a second floor balcony onto a standing horse is a bad idea, too. I'm pretty sure.

Ouch.

Fanning is also good way to destroy a good single action revolver and can actually make it unsafe for regular use. Beats the tar out of the cylinder bolt and cylinder notches and trigger parts. Completely unnecessary. Watch champion CASS shooters shoot without fanning. There are blinding fast AND accurate and shoot thousands of rounds a year without destroying their guns. Fanning, like so much other gun movie nonsense was created by Hollywood to make westerns more exciting. It was never used in actual gunfights, nor, for that matter, was the legendary fast draw. Wyatt Earp once said the most important thing in a gunfight was to take your time and not hurry.

No fanning or fast draw allow in SASS or CAS .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpIDrqHLtYk

North Country Gal wrote:Fanning is also good way to destroy a good single action revolver and can actually make it unsafe for regular use. Beats the tar out of the cylinder bolt and cylinder notches and trigger parts. Completely unnecessary. Watch champion CASS shooters shoot without fanning. There are blinding fast AND accurate and shoot thousands of rounds a year without destroying their guns. Fanning, like so much other gun movie nonsense was created by Hollywood to make westerns more exciting. It was never used in actual gunfights, nor, for that matter, was the legendary fast draw. Wyatt Earp once said the most important thing in a gunfight was to take your time and not hurry.

When Wyatt Earp talks, I'd listen.

FOOLISHNESS !!

Not a fan of fanning.

I learned from a very early age - perhaps 7 or 8 - that fanning a cap gun didn't produce the same results as the cowboys and outlaws achieved on the [then black and white] TV and matinee movie screen. I've never been tempted to try it since.