Whats with the '9' on the grips on some artillerys?

[alvin]

Originally Posted by cirelaw

Dumb but why a hole in the hammer?

That's actually a great question.. From a report on rifle design, I heard the designer tried to reduce its weight, measured in grams, here or there. And that's for a rifle.

For pistol, given material and size, it's not easy to reduce its weight. Three major parts: slide needs weight, you don't want to cut corner there, the weight on slide is functional. Barrel needs strength, it cannot be made thinner. Frame is usually a big saver on weight. On small parts, drill a hole on hammer can reduce 1 or 2 grams without affecting its function nor strength.