P-35HP said:
Before this post degrades into the usual passionate and useless "Condition 1 vs. Condition 2 vs. Condition 3 carry" argument, I would point out that the Colt 1911 was developed in response to the US military requierment and the "Grande Puissance ", Hi -Power, P35, HP35 or the Browning HP as it is known here in the US, was developed in response to a French military requirement.
Neither one of those militaries required a handgun specifically designed as to be carried "Cocked and Locked" as a matter of routine.
In my opinion, the assumption that the designers specifically designed those two handguns to be carried C&L is speculative and most likely far from the truth.
The M1911 was designed for the United States military as a military sidearm. One of the old jokes about how to win a fight is to bring a gun, and invite all your friends to bring their guns. In the military, whenever soldiers find themselves in situations where/when they may need a gun, they usually have a bunch of friends nearby who also have guns. When you or I leave home and venture forth onto the mean streets of the Yoo Ess of Ay, we can't rely on having a bunch of friends to post sentry duty and give us a heads up before we are attacked. We're on our own (usually).
Where am I going with this? The original Colt/Browning 1910 prototype pistol didn't have a mechanical thumb safety. The thumb safety was added specifically at the request of the Ordnance Department.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1910
http://www.coltautos.com/images/1910_5.jpg
IIRC, the Army wanted a thumb safety because the cavalry had to use one hand to control their horses. This meant if a cavalryman had to use his sidearm and then holster it, he needed a way to make the pistol safe using only one hand. That precluded manually lowering the hammer. So they requested a thumb safety, and Browning and Colt added a thumb safety.
The general mode of carry for sidearms in the military is either unloaded, or with a loaded magazine but an empty chamber. The following is quoted from Field Manual 23-35,
Automatic Pistol, Cal. .45, M1911 and M1911A1:
METHOD OF OPERATION.-a. A loaded magazine is placed in the receiver and the slide drawn fully back and released, thus bringing the first cartridge into the chamber. (If the slide is open, push down the slide stop to let the slide go forward.) The hammer is thus cocked and the pistol is ready for firing.
b. If it is desired to make the pistol ready for instant use and for firing the maximum number of shots with the least possible delay, draw back the slide, insert a cartridge by hand into the chamber of the barrel [NOTE: We don't do that these days, because experience has demonstrated that this damages the extractor], allow the slide to close, then lock the slide and the cocked hammer by pressing the safety lock upward and insert a loaded magazine. The slide and hammer being thus positively locked, the pistol may be carried safely at full cock and it is only necessary to press down the safety lock (which is located within easy reach of the thumb) when raising the pistol to the firing position.
I can't find it, but there's another field or training manual for the M1911 that references carrying cocked and locked "when the possibility of enemy action is imminent" (or something pretty close to that). So the military's idea is that, if you are authorized to be wearing a sidearm, your
pistola is NOT carried ready to rock and roll when you are inside the wire. You load it and lock it "when the likelihood of enemy action is imminent."
But we are not in the Army, we are not inside a fortified and defended encampment area, and we are not surrounded by friends with guns. Muggers don't call ahead to make an appointment. When we are out on the mean streets, the whole point of carrying a gun is that the likelihood of "enemy action" is
always imminent. We hope it won't happen but, if it does, it's going to happen like RIGHT NOW!
So the Ordnance Department did contemplate carrying cocked and locked, even though that's not their preferred mode of carry when enemy action is NOT imminent. When our guys go outside the wire on patrol, they carry cocked and locked. Why? Because Harry Hadji doesn't make appointments to attack American patrols.
