Down on the cartridge, “half-cock,” and “full-cock.” The latter is when the pistol is ready to be fired, when at half-cock it cannot be fired by pulling the trigger and is supposed to be safe against accidental discharge, but it can be fired accidently if, in raising the hammer to full-cock it slips, owing to clumsiness or a greasy hammer or thumb, or the hammer may get caught in something and be raised accidentally.
For this reason it is best to have the part of the hammer the thumb presses against in cocking corrugated, roughed like a file.
Take the barrel in the left hand, holding the pistol horizontally pointing at the target.
Take the grip in your right hand, put your right thumb on the projection of the cock (not from straight behind it but slightly from the right side); this enables you to get a firm grip of the hammer and at the same time of the stock with your other fingers.
Now, do not do what all beginners do.
Do not put your first finger on the trigger when cocking. Keep all your fingers outside the trigger guard to avoid any chance of your touching the trigger when cocking.
There are two causes of accidental falling of the hammer in cocking and so causing an accidental discharge of the pistol.
One is the hammer slipping from the thumb, or being released by the thumb before it is fully at full-cock.
The other is pulling at the trigger at the same time that the pistol is being cocked (which learners invariably do).
The result of pulling the trigger at the same time is that the hammer does not catch into the bent which holds it, and falls as soon as the thumb is removed.