Condition zero carry?

A

AndABeer

New member
I was real happy with my performance with my HP today. Got it back from a warranty repair on her MMC sights. Same day my Blade-Tech arrived. Nice combo. So as I was saying I did well enough at the range. I did bobble the safety release once or twice however. This made me wonder if I needed to use it at all. The trigger is a crisp 4#. Similar in weight though not in feel to my G34 and G35 which of course have no manual safety. The Blade-Tech firmly covers the HPs trigger so why should I bother with the thumb safety if I am already use to carrying Glocks?

Burn salve at the ready.
 
It's your hip and leg ...

You can carry it anyway you want. But rememnber that the Glock trigger is locked until you touch the trigger and is designed to carry with a round in the tube. The HP has no lock-up on the trigger and machinery always fails at the worst possible time. It will fail with a Magsafe or +P JHP in the tube and your right leg will never feel the same. But hey, this is one of those lessons where we get to learn from your experience.
 
Hello. I believe it was Jeff Cooper who, some years ago, reported than an "elite group" in South America carried their HPs in "Condition Zero", apparently with no ill effects.

The HP is my favorite handgun and has been for the past three decades.

Points to consider:

1. The HP does have generous take-up before pressure's applied to the sear, but
2. the pressure required to remove the take-up is little, especially compared to the Glock.
3. Current HPs have extended thumb safety levers and several companies offer such units for sale.
4. IF your weapon was taken in Condition Zero, it would be a "point-and-pull" pistol that could be used against you, perhaps more easily than if the safety were engaged.

I respectfully suggest that if your HP has the old, tiny thumb safety that you replace it. If it is more current with the larger safety levers, practice at hitting it at speed. If you do have the current factory safety, you might consider looking at other similar safeties.

With proper handling and a proper safety, I don't have strong reservations against Condition Zero carry, but do lean toward Condition One.

Best and let us know what you decide.
 
The guy who designed that pistol put that safety there for a reason. In my experience when you fool around with mother nature you get burned
 
He also put a magazine safety that pisses off most everyone who has yet to remove it. I kept my HP with hammer back, safety on, empty chamber. Yeah, racking the slide takes time but it was a nightstand gun. The noise of the slide slamming home has a tendancy to deter.

Neither here nor there. I don't see any advantage to Condition Zero unless you are playing quick draw like in the movies. Make it a habit to swipe the safety even if it's off and you'll never go wrong. Practice this, say, 50 times a night.
 
I believe that The SAS carrys their Highpowers cocked and unlocked, but they are a very highly trained group. A better solution for most people is a drop in replacement safety of proper design.
 
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