After the vetting of answers by Researcher, it's obvious that it isn't striker drag. And in any event, that would have been eliminated, whatever the hammer/pin relationship, by opening without shells in chambers. Seems comical now but I didn't know the gun was unloaded or "assumed" it was in the "loaded and fired" state and you know what that does to us. You don't want any more "top of the head" answers so have to ask: Is the gun "hard to open" as in it appears hard to retract bolts sufficiently to unlatch or it appears that there's tremendous mechanical load after it is unlatched? As you say, if it's cocked, there's no demand for effort required to do the work of cocking springs so what is left besides friction in the rule joint or resistance to "lifting" of the ejectors?
jack
