Half-cock is kind of like the safety on a single-action revolver. The first click when you pull back the hammer will stay there, hense half-cock. It saves time and effort of cocking the hammer and firing because you are already halfway there. Every second counts in a hit, you know. If you were to accidentally pull the trigger on half-cock, there is not enough momentum in the down stroke to set off the bullet's primer. That way, you can have the gun kind of "loaded" without having to worry about blowing your kidney out getting your gun out of the side holster. So the only thing that I can think of why Lefty is called Half-Cock is because he his careful. What is it? 27 hits under his belt and he's not dead or been pinched? That's pretty careful, if you ask me. Fuhgiddaboutit!