Thanks to the 20 guys who gave me the same answer

Gumbo · Jul 7, 2009

I learned the goodness that is 1911 when I shot my old man's 1911 Mark IV S80 Gold Cup last weekend. Naturally, I want to pick up something on that platform now, and I've considered carrying a 1911 because they're pretty lean beasties. My concern is that there's no easy way to decock the hammer. Does anyone here carry a 1911? Which model and does walking around with a cocked hammer both you?

Ben Segrest · Jul 7, 2009

Gumbo said:
I learned the goodness that is 1911 when I shot my old man's 1911 Mark IV S80 Gold Cup last weekend. Naturally, I want to pick up something on that platform now, and I've considered carrying a 1911 because they're pretty lean beasties. My concern is that there's no easy way to decock the hammer. Does anyone here carry a 1911? Which model and does walking around with a cocked hammer both you?

This is an old debate. No, walking around with a cocked hammer does not bother me.

ETA: striker fired pistols such as glocks, XD's and sigmas are, essentially, "cocked" all of the time when loaded. You just can't see the working parts like on a 1911.

FishingBack · Jul 7, 2009

Just be sure to spend many hours taking the safety off before every shot. That way, it will be natural to turn off the safety if you need to shoot in a jam.

Hitman · Jul 7, 2009

Gumbo said:
My concern is that there's no easy way to decock the hammer. Does anyone here carry a 1911? Which model and does walking around with a cocked hammer both you?

1: No safe way?
Unload then Dry Fire.
Unload then Let hammer down manually.

2: No, Guns don't scare me, neither does their hammers.

lefty · Jul 7, 2009

FishingBack said:
Just be sure to spend many hours taking the safety off before every shot. That way, it will be natural to turn off the safety if you need to shoot in a jam.

whats wrong with disengaging the safety after you holster it (assuming that you have a decent holster)?

Gumbo · Jul 7, 2009

Hitman said:
1: No safe way?
Unload then Dry Fire.
Unload then Let hammer down manually.

2: No, Guns don't scare me, neither does their hammers.

Since the gun is single action, the goal would be to leave a round in the chamber, with the hammer down thereby drastically limiting the likelihood of an AD. I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

Gus McCrae · Jul 7, 2009

A 1911 should be carried cocked and locked. Learn to use the safety as you draw and keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.

You run a greater risk of ND trying to lower the hammer on a loaded chamber. If you can't carry cocked and locked then carry without a round in the chamber or realistically, use something else.

Gus McCrae · Jul 7, 2009

Gumbo said:
Since the gun is single action, the goal would be to leave a round in the chamber, with the hammer down thereby drastically limiting the likelihood of an AD. I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

No, you will increase the likely hood of a ND by manipulating the mechanism that causes the weapon to fire both cocking and decocking. The thumb safety is easy to manipulate. Keep the gun in good shape and your finger off the trigger until ready to fire and you'll be perfectly fine.

NDs happen because people put their finger on the trigger when they shouldn't.

Get a good holster to go with the gun. You want a holster that doesn't collapse.

FishingBack · Jul 7, 2009

Well said BBQLS1. Cocked and locked with 1 in the barrel. Don't unholster unless you are trying to shoot somebody. Make sure to practice switching off the safety as part of your draw. Instead of standing there, disengaging the safety, and shooting the whole magazine at the range, you should practicing drawing and disengaging the safety with every shot. People die from forgetting to turn off the safety. Make it automatic.

Hitman · Jul 7, 2009

Gumbo said:
Since the gun is single action, the goal would be to leave a round in the chamber, with the hammer down thereby drastically limiting the likelihood of an AD. I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

Au contraire my friend,

As BBQ pointed out.

Here this will help you better understand. Read it thoroughly.

http://www.sightm1911.com/Care/1911_conditions.htm

Condition 2 - A round is in the chamber and the hammer is down.
Condition Two is problematic for several reasons, and is the source of more negligent discharges than the other conditions. When you rack the slide to chamber a round in the 1911, the hammer is cocked and the manual safety is off. There is no way to avoid this with the 1911 design. In order to lower the hammer, the trigger must be pulled and the hammer lowered slowly with the thumb onto the firing pin, the end of which is only a few millimeters away from the primer of a live round. Should the thumb slip, the hammer would drop and fire the gun. Not only would a round be launched in circumstances which would be at best embarrassing and possibly tragic, but also the thumb would be behind the slide as it cycled, resulting in serious injury to the hand. A second problem with this condition is that the true 1911A1 does not have a firing pin block and an impact on the hammer which is resting on the firing pin could conceivably cause the gun to go off, although actual instances of this are virtually nonexistent. Finally, in order to fire the gun, the hammer must be manually cocked, again with the thumb. In an emergency situation, this adds another opportunity for something to go wrong and slows the acquisition of the sight picture.

Did you read the above, was it helpful ?

dragginaknee · Jul 7, 2009

I carry a 1911, I carry it cocked and locked!
I praticed taking the gun off safe a ton, before I actually carried it and still do to pratice muscle memory.
I rather drop the safety than to **** the hammer back!

dmiculek · Jul 7, 2009

I carried a 1911 for many years as a duty weapon and still do at times off duty. Cocked and locked is the correct method in my opinion. As with any firearm, you must practice with it, learn it's controls. When you think you have it down pat......practice somemore. It's not as complicated as some here would have you believe it to be.

spanky · Jul 7, 2009

Gumbo said:
I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

I mean no offense by this but have you actually ever handled a 1911?

Eta. Guess I could have read the op. Anyway, thumbing the safety is 100x easier than the hammer, not to mention the possibilities of an nd while doing so.

SpeedRacer · Jul 7, 2009

A 1911 should not be carried any way other than Condition 1, thumb safety engaged. That's what it's designed to do, and the only way I consider it a valid self defense weapon.

I carried a small 1911 for about a year and a half. I honestly don't think it's a great carry gun compared to all the options on the market today. They are generally heavy, and have limited ammo capacity. They are slim though, and incredibly easy to conceal.

I also think they require more skill and training to operate effectively compared to the "idiot proof" striker-fired pistols on the market. And everyone turns into an idiot when the SHTF.

I do love 1911s though. I'd absolutely recommend you buy one and shoot the hell out of it. Later on once you're more comfortable with it make the decision to carry one or not.

Just my humble opinion...

SeventhSon · Jul 7, 2009

I agree, a 1911 should only be carried cocked and locked. There is really no 100% safe way to de-**** a 1911 with one in the pipe. I've carried one off and on for years and I always carry it the same way, Condition 1. Never had a problem, never had the safety slip off, never had it go bang in the holster or on the draw.

Witness · Jul 8, 2009

lefty said:
whats wrong with disengaging the safety after you holster it (assuming that you have a decent holster)?

did anyone else catch this?

1 word for that question.... totally****inginsane.

Gumbo said:
Since the gun is single action, the goal would be to leave a round in the chamber, with the hammer down thereby drastically limiting the likelihood of an AD. I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

trying to let down a hammer on a live round is idiotic to the suicidal degree.

lets face the obvious here, you just dont like the way a 1911 looks with the hammer back and a round in the chamber. its no different than any other simiautomatic. youre basing this question solely on the way the gun LOOKS. if you dont like the way it looks dont carry it. trying to let the hammer down on a live round will end poorly, and trying to rack the slide under intense stress may not only get you killed but it might get someone else killed as well.

Witness · Jul 8, 2009

Gumbo said:
Since the gun is single action, the goal would be to leave a round in the chamber, with the hammer down thereby drastically limiting the likelihood of an AD. I think if I had to draw and fire, it would be easier to pull the hammer back than work that thumb safety.

also let me add that when the hammer is down on a 1911 it can be resting directly on the firing pin. one good knock and bang....

Ben Segrest · Jul 8, 2009

Also, I've heard/read/whatever that the halfcock on the 1911 is only there to catch the hammer in the event that it slips off the sear, not to act as a safety in and of itself. That's second hand info that I can't cite a source for, though.

artabr · Jul 8, 2009

Cocked and locked is the only way to go. Incorporate the operation of the safety into your grip.

Art

Ben Segrest · Jul 8, 2009

That reminds me that I wanted to look up this post to show the OP.

Thanks to the 20 guys who gave me the same answer

The Best online firearms community in Louisiana.

Member Benefits:

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Slave to Society

® ™

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

No sir, I ain't.

No sir, I ain't.

Slave to Society

® ™

Gun Addict!!

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Evil Conservative

&amp;gt;Glock

&amp;gt;Glock

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Log in

Forum statistics

>Glock

>Glock