Intercepting Sear

A second sear, poised just behind a second notch in the hammer.

It is possible that when a cocked firearm is dropped or sharply jarred, a single sear could jump out of its notch and the hammer could fall, firing the gun accidentally. In this event, an intercepting sear would engage before the hammer could fall completely, preventing an accidental discharge. On a gun with intercepting sears, only by pulling the trigger are both sears moved out of the way simultaneously, allowing the gun to fire.

In the above photo of the inside of a Holland & Holland back-action lock, the intercepting sear is the long bar, hinged around a screw near the lower right and extending upwards to the left where it presents a notch, ready to intercept the hammer if it should be inadvertently knocked out of its primary sear and begin to fall.

Intercepting sears are usually found on better sidelock actions. They are sometimes found on best boxlocks, and can be recognized by an extra screw behind the action fences, in addition to the usual two screws (or pins) along the lower rear of the receiver.

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