If the 1911 is your EDC, do you ...?

[Jack Ryan]

Cocked, locked, ready to rock, in a Galco combat master.

 

[40Arpent]

Oh and ps don't ever think you are above it

Guess you missed my next post. LOL

 

[The Gunslinger_45]

Always twirl your gun twice before putting it into the hidden holster in your leg?


Sent with my IPhone with electronics and fuzzy logic...

lol I wish. My Sig is hardly meant for twirling. Plus the light makes it a bit off balance.

Now my Desert Eagle? Hell Yeah!

 

[oohrah]

Ha Ha, well seems to be a preponderance of opinion here, cocked and locked. Never thought I'd generate such animated responses. Since I've never carried it in public, I have no experience, hence my question. The comments about training and practice are right on.

And Mikewood, I'll take you on at the range anytime.

Thanks everyone - given me some things to think about.

 

[Mikewood]

I am always up for a range day not that it will prove much of anything other than a condition one 1911 is marginally faster than one in condition two. Or that a Vietnam era M12 holster is slower than a modern kydex pancake design. Or that Vietnam era shooting techniques are less combat effective than modern techniques not that it really means anything when your dealing with thugs that can't shoot at all.

If you really want to carry in condition one please consider tanking a class from any of the many good firearms instructors. Clint Smith, Tiger McKee, etc.
http://www.shootrite.org




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[BRD@66]

.... And Mikewood, I'll take you on at the range anytime.

I am always up for a range day not that it will prove much of anything other than a condition one 1911 is marginally faster than one in condition two....

 

[Savage20]

My humble opinion says that a 2-1/2# trigger on a carry gun is way to light for carry. It's an accident about to happen. My Colt Combat Commander that I had set up for carry has a 4-1/2# trigger - about as light as I feel it should be for a carry gun. Two and a half pounds is ok for target shooting; just my opinion"

To the OP - I used to carry with a round in the chamber and hammer down - and woke up to the revelation that Condition One is safe. Assuming that your gun is mechanically correct i.e. Safeties work as they are supposed to; it's quite safe to carry with one in the chamber with the hammer cocked and safety is on. Thousands of 1911s are carried this way everyday!

I bet there are more NDs from dummies lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber, than there are from guys that have a 2.5lb trigger. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it's wrong.

 

[Charlie]

Lowering a hammer on a chambered round is not a good idea for any handgun, IMO. A 4 1/2 lb trigger is an excellent pull weight for a 1911. To me, trigger pull weight is not as important as smoothness.

 

[V-Tach]

Why would anyone lower the hammer over a live round in a 1911?

What legitimate purpose would it serve?

The concept is illogical and completely foreign to me.....

 

[oldag]

Cocked and locked, always. No safer pistol to carry loaded.

 

[Charlie]

I've heard that some "less informed, less experienced" 1911 owners think it's safer to have the hammer down!

 

[oldag]

My humble opinion says that a 2-1/2# trigger on a carry gun is way to light for carry. It's an accident about to happen. My Colt Combat Commander that I had set up for carry has a 4-1/2# trigger - about as light as I feel it should be for a carry gun. Two and a half pounds is ok for target shooting; just my opinion"

To the OP - I used to carry with a round in the chamber and hammer down - and woke up to the revelation that Condition One is safe. Assuming that your gun is mechanically correct i.e. Safeties work as they are supposed to; it's quite safe to carry with one in the chamber with the hammer cocked and safety is on. Thousands of 1911s are carried this way everyday!

Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire and it doesn't matter if it is 2.5 or 5.5.

Personally, I do not want a 2.5 but if basic common sense is used, it is not a problem.

 

[Deavis]

Cocked and locked is as long as you don't screw up or don't maintain your gun properly.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Mikewood]

Or that if you plan to murder someone in cold blood don't talk to them first.

 

[txinvestigator]

Carry one in the chamber? And how do you do it safely?


So, I'm curious, if you do carry your 1911 for self-defense, how do you do it, and how have you overcome these concerns?

They are not concerns for me. Carry a 1911 or Sig P238 daily. Cocked and Locked. No concerns.

I don't concern myself with non-issues/

 

[Mikewood]

Why would anyone lower the hammer over a live round in a 1911?

What legitimate purpose would it serve?

The concept is illogical and completely foreign to me.....

It is an old school technique. The safe way to carry most revolvers in hammer down right? When folks were transitioning from lever rifles and revolvers to semi-auto pistols they held onto that technique. It also applies to most other guns 1897 Winchester shotgun, 1911 colt, lever guns, 1903 Springfield, 8mm Mauser. Just about every gun made about 1900 could be loaded, and manually de-cocked.

Looking at it from 2017 it must seem foreign but so does the idea of unloading your rifle. Attaching a knife to the barrel and running 50 yards as hard as you can directly toward machine gun nests hoping to jump into a trench and stab someone.

 

[Savage20]

Why would anyone lower the hammer over a live round in a 1911?

What legitimate purpose would it serve?

The concept is illogical and completely foreign to me.....

It's common practice among the type that think cocked & locked is unsafe on a 1911. Seriously, not trolling... lol

 

[Moonpie]

The SAA raffs at you.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I bet there are more NDs from dummies lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber, than there are from guys that have a 2.5lb trigger. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it's wrong.

I bet there's more ND from guys who have their finger on the trigger when they shouldn't than there are from people lowering the hammer deliberately on a loaded chamber.

 

[Jack Ryan]

It is an old school technique. The safe way to carry most revolvers in hammer down right? When folks were transitioning from lever rifles and revolvers to semi-auto pistols they held onto that technique. It also applies to most other guns 1897 Winchester shotgun, 1911 colt, lever guns, 1903 Springfield, 8mm Mauser. Just about every gun made about 1900 could be loaded, and manually de-cocked.

Looking at it from 2017 it must seem foreign but so does the idea of unloading your rifle. Attaching a knife to the barrel and running 50 yards as hard as you can directly toward machine gun nests hoping to jump into a trench and stab someone.

It was pretty common. Hammer down and pulled back to half cock was more common but fashions come and go. Only thing you can really bet on is those guys doing it that way THEN were every bit as cock sure arrogant they knew every single thing there was to know as these kids are now. Only difference was a lot more of them gained their store house of information from the magazine rack at the grocery store or barber shop instead of the internet like the genius of today.