Did Old Westerners Generally Load only Five out of the Six Chambers?

Did Old Westerners generally load only five out of the six chambers? -Dan Clutter of Denison, Iowa Yes, letting the hammer rest on an empty chamber was safer, as any accidental blow might fire the charge. I once dropped a .45 revolver with all six bullets in the cylinder, and it went off when the hammer hit the deck. Fortunately, the barrel was pointing away from me. I knew better and nearly paid dearly for my mistake. When a firefight was imminent, however, most gunmen fully loaded their pi