Over the years I have mostly shot hammerless guns, but on occasion when i did shoot hammer/s I did it exactly as Damascus describes.
Safeties are there "ONLY" for the un-expected. If nothing unusual ever occurred safeties would not be needed. Many people consider a hammer gun as safe cocked as a hammerless which is always cocked upon loading it as the safety on most hammerless guns lock only the triggers. However "IF" dropped the hammers on a hammerless are exposed only to jar, & are not subject to a direct blow as is a hammerless. The sears & bents on many hammer guns are quite subject to breakage in the case of a heavy blow as in the weight of the gun falling upon the hammer spur.
In this aspect I consider a gun loaded, cocked & open as no safer than one loaded, cocked & locked. When that Un-Expected event occurs the gun may quite well be slammed shut.
Hammer guns with rebounding hammers as a general rule do normally have sturdier notches the non rebounders so are generally not as apt to discharge from a blow to the hammer. I have hunted some with an original muzzle loading double which of course did not have rebounding hammers. i always hunted it loaded. capped & hammers in the safety notch but treated it with extreme care in where I walked with it etc. If I had to pass through a particularly treacherous spot I would uncap it, wipe off the top of the nipples to ensure no priming compound was there, let the hammers down & then re-cap after I got on better ground.
