"Carrying your weapon should be looked at as a deterrent, not an ambush. If you do things right, the display of confidence you exhibit, as well as the display of the weapon and the sound of chambering a round will dissuade anyone thinking about making you his midnight snack."
"Nothing personal Joe, but what are you smoking? A firearm should never be used as a deterrent. It should only be used (drawn or displayed) when someone is in danger of serious injury or death."
No disagreement there- at least in a general sense. What I think we've been talking about is the process of going past that point. It's in that strange, funky escalation of tension in an encounter, where the threat is gathering- and building. What I believe is not being considered is that an encounter on the streets will not be a neat, tidy event that fits a textbook definition. It's not bad guy pops out of the bushes, and *boom*, I pop him. There's an escalation of force involved in most street encounters. Somewhere in that escalation, there should be verbal commands, placing your hand on your (holstered) weapon, more verbal commands, drawing and going to condition one, etc.
"In the time it takes you to exhibit the confidence you are so proud of, then chambering a round, a BG can put a couple of rounds your way."
True, if you're getting held up at gunpoint, in which case condition 1 won't make much difference than cond. 3. That becomes a race between you (drawing, acquiring sight picture, and squeezing off a round) and your mugger's trigger finger. In such an instance, only your brains are going to get you out alive, and the fact that you have a round in the chamber can do nothing except give you a false sense of security.
Quote:By racking your slide, you create that unmistakable metal on metal sound, informing your attacker that you mean business.
"You also create the unmistakable opportunity for the BG to shoot you."
Again, that's in the case your assailant is holding you at gunpoint. Obviously, drawing your weapon on someone holding you at gunpoint-in 99% of cases- will get you shot. In such cases, cond.1 vs. cond.3 won't make a bit of difference. I'm talking about the multitude of other cases (read: more likely) where your concealed piece can save your life, i.e., knifepoint, faced with an assailant brandishing an improvised weapon, or numerically superior assailants. In such cases, I'm drawing, racking my slide and taking aim. Just because you draw does NOT mean you have to shoot.
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Racking the slide takes a fraction of a second if you are training at the range this way.
That fraction is on the order of 1/2. That is long enough for a shooter of intermediate abilty to fire 2 rounds. In a defensive situation, the ability to put lead on the target quickly is the single most important skill.
Again, if you are being held AT GUNPOINT, sure, he can squeeze off 2 rounds while you draw, rack, sight in, sqeeze off your rounds. And like I said before, the fact that you have a round in the chamber on your hip won't make a bit of difference. If you go for the "quick-draw" while someone's muzzle is in your face, you're taking a huge risk regardless of whether you're carrying Cond. 1 or Cond. 3.
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I would also only load 75% of capacity in the magazine to save wear and tear on the springs.
Tactically unsound and unneccessary. You aren't saving any "wear and tear" on the springs, you are only limiting your round capacity. Modern magazine springs can be left loaded for extended periods (years) without any negative effect.
I disagree with that statement. Maxing out the capacity of your magazines, and storing ammunition that way is not only bad for your springs, but it can also create a dangerous situation. If you constantly carry your mags fully loaded, and then you one day have to empty that mag, you're more likely to face a failure to feed while trying to fire the last few rounds in that mag, and possibly a misfeed in the 1911, as well as many other "modern" weapons, including any Pre-ban mag, i.e. the 15 rounder in a 92FS. These are problems you wouldn't face if the springs in the mag are new, and still have their full tension. A magazine at full capacity should be discharged or have the rounds removed while in storage if you want to not only maximize the life of the springs, but also decrease your chances of failure to fire/feed. I've shot thousands of rounds through the M9 (92FS), 1911, my .40 and .45 Ruger, a Glock 17 & 19, and other small weapons over the years. A weakened spring in any of the mags can, and has (on exceptionally rare occasion- admittedly) led to misfeeds.
If you aren't comfortable carrying cocked and locked, you should give serious consideration to carrying a different firearm or maybe not at all.
I don't know if that comment was directed at me, or not, but I never said anything about "comfort", nor did I reference safety as a concern. In fact, I explicitly stated that I'm not worried about safety on this class of weapon, and carrying it C&L. My position is that it is unecessary if you are training properly, unless you are a law enforcement officer, or work under environments where you'd have to minimize the time from drawing to firing. An example of this type of person might be a State Trooper, Sheriff, etc. For the safety conscious citizen, walking through the waterfront district, etc., I believe you don't need a round in the chamber.
