Hazards of Carrying a 1911

J

Jamie Young

New member
I love my 1911 and it is the most comfortable handgun i own. I really don't want to have to go out and buy a new gun just to carry but i'm not too sure about how safe it is to carry a gun like the 1911. Does anyone else carry one? Does everyone carry them cocked? I thought about putting the magazine in the gun and not cocking it but that kind of cuts back reaction time which could be crucial in some situations. I think there great Combat pistols but maybe not carrying?
 
The 1911 was designed to be carried cocked and locked. As long as the grip safety is functioning and the thumb safety is engaged, and the trigger properly covered by the holster, there is not a safer, faster into action handgun in the world. So many failures of the safety features would have to occur along with extreme incompetent handling of the weapon to make it go off as to be astronomical. Any weapon has the potential to go off, but accidents with the 1911 you have to work at.
 
I carry a Commander most of the time and have never had a problem with it. The 1911 is indeed safe to carry "cocked & Locked". It was designed that way.
Try doing a search in the Handguns archive, we've chewed on this subject many times in the past.

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TFL's official "Curmudgeon Member" and damned proud of it!
 
Grayfox is correct, this one's been worn to the bone. The answer is always a resounding, "I carry cocked and locked every day." You shouldn't have a dingle problem and long as you understand how the gun operated and you have a reliable weapon.
 
I took Grayfoxes advice and did a search on this topic and i'm laughing about how grumpy everyone gets on this topic. I guess I'll just check back everyonce in awhile and chuckle over all the bitching and groaning everyone has over this topic. I personally don't feel comfortable with it yet!!!! But I guess I'll strap it onto my underwear and march around the house until I'm comfortable with it. Without a bullet in the chamber!!!
 
Theres only two ways to carry a 1911.Condition 1 and condition 3.IMO condition 3 is not an option.I carry my Kimber in a Galco M.O.B..This has a thumb break which blocks the hammer from dropping on the firing pin if it ever did happen.1911's are as safe as your handling skills.I would have no problem with a open top holster either.The only reason I choose the thumb break is just because I feel safer only in the fact that if someone goes for my weapon its alittle more secure. SHOKz
 
If you are not comfortable carrying a cocked and locked 1911 which is the correct way to carry this firearm then maybe you should consider selling it and getting something that you are comfortable with.BILLG
 
hmmm..
I'm almost afraid to post this.... :o
.. I carry without one in the tube.. :)
(Ziiiipppp <-- nomax suit zipping up)
I know.. I'm a big chicken :)

In fact I never carry a revolver with one in the snout either... (uugghh <-- sound of 51 year old male ducking)
I know.. I'm a big chicken :)

I had it drilled into me as a kid, never point a loaded gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.

Years ago in Muncie I witnessed a real ugly fight between a guy wearing a 1911 in a horizontal shoulder holster and a guy who took serious offense about having a loaded gun pointed at him. This was at the Monroe twp shooting range, a real childish altercation. It went to court in a civil suit after they duked it out. I moved from muncie before it settled.. so... don't know what happened but an anti-gun judge could really screw that one up.

Actually, I was carrying without one in the tube way before that.. because I'm a big chicken.. :)
 
Pat, actually you must be far braver than I to carry without a round in the chamber. You must also be confident that in a crisis, you will have the extra time and (more importantly) space and freedom of motion to pull your auto and chamber a round before the bad guy shoots/stabs/hits you. Me, I am a big coward who is afraid that the time I would waste putting my gun into the condition in which I should have been carrying it already would get me killed.
 
Ibeen carrying coked and locked for over 5 years and no doubts it is the safest way to carry a 1911 it is far safer to carry a 1911 in this condition than a Glock.(I`m not flaming the glocks i have one also).Whats the differance between carrying a 19911 coked and locked between a revolver ,(it has no safety ) the 1911 has 2(at least) if it is a series 80 then it has three safetys that have to be disengaged before it can fire .The glock has one you pull the trigger it goes boom .Arevolver is the same way you pull the trigger it goes boom.I agree if you do not feel comfartable with one in condition one ,you do not need to cary or use one period .

killer45auto
 
Rik brings up the best point in this debate...

Not much point in carrying a gun if your first move would be to throw it at the perp. I would rather be able to pull the trigger, rather than cycle the slide, but then I am not as brave as some others.

If you are uncomfortable carrying in C1, sell the gun, or buy another gun for carry. There are many options out there. If you are uncomfortable carrying a loaded weapon, maybe you may want to rethink your priorities, because there is a good chance that if this bothers you, you may not have the mental ability to pull the trigger when the time comes, and that could get you or someone you care about killed really quick.

Just MY $.02 cents worth!
 
Soda,

This view that the M1911 is somehow unsafe to carry in its intended cocked and locked mode is such crap. I remember when I too used to think this way.

I was an adamant S&W, Sig and Glock guy. First I did my homework by reading about this gun, its history and its proper use. Further, let me tell you after carrying a cocked and locked commander for over 2 years now I can honestly say that I believe the M1911 is probably the safest auto out there. Or at least as safe as any other design.

I find it funny how many local police departments here in AZ won't even consider allowing their personnel to carry a cocked and locked SA, instead preferring the "advanced" Glock. Meanwhile we keep hearing about how the Phoenix police department, Glendale, Peoria, Tempe, etc., etc. are continually having accidental (read: negligent) discharges with their Glocks.

This is not a Glock bash, its just a fact. Obviously these officers have not had quality gunhandling training. Imagine that, pull the trigger on a loaded Glock and the weapon discharges!!! Anyway, your M1911 has 3 safeties. Yes, 3. (1) Thumb Safety, (2) Grip Safety and (3) You and your brain. This is one more safety than the Glock.

Note: if you have a Series 80 Colt you reallyl have 4 safeties to include the firing pin plunger safety.

Think about it. Oh, and if you're worried about weapon retention get a thumb break. That will add yet a fourth safety with the hammer block effect.

DR

[This message has been edited by DesertRat (edited May 07, 2000).]
 
Point is.. some people don't like loaded guns pointed at then from a horizontal shoulder holster.. I know we could tell them to kiss off but life is never that easy.
 
Tomorrow morning when I put on my uniform and go outside and get in my patrol car, I will have a 1911, snapped down in my hoster. It will be in condition 1, the same as its always been in since I have been a LEO, over 22 years. It is perfectly safe and secure and is not a threat to anyone except the bad guys.

7th

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
I carry a Colt .45 ACP L.W. Commander, cocked and locked. Have owned the pistol for many years and have carried it in that C&L condition, ever since I bought it. I have no worry whatsoever with that C&L condition. (By the way, that pistol has saved my life.)

I can not even imagine carrying a D.A. revolver by Colt, S&W, or Ruger, with no round under the hammer. Whatever the cylinder holds, that's what I carry.

I can come up with some real life stituations, in which a person would have gone under, if he/she had been carrying a pistol in Condition 3. Different strokes for different folks, of course. But not for me.

FWIW. J.B.
 
Hypothetical senario:

You're sitting in your car, minding your own business... You have your drivers side window rolled down and you're waiting for someone.

A man walks up to your drivers side window to ask for the time... you glance at your watch and politely tell him what he wants to know...

Unexpectedly, he grabs your exposed arm and reaches into the window.

You're carrying condition 3, strong side... what are you going to do?

Draw and point an unloaded gun at him as a bluff?

Smack him upside the head with it?
 
I've been a .45 man all of my life. It's my dad's weapon of choice; and, he passed that passion along to me. I've been carrying locked and cocked ever since I was old enough to hold ol' big mouth. Since I've been on my own my confidence in the 1911s safety has only grown. The previous posts are correct: if one hasn't the confidence and/or training to carry in condition one, sell the piece and buy something you are comfortable with. And you can send all of your 1911s to me. I'll be sure to give them a new home.

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"...We be sick of this lawlessness, and we would be Free People once more."
-Rudyard Kipling, from The Jungle Book
 
On all 1911 style pistols there are 3 real safeties. 1) the thumb safety, 2) the grip safety, 3) the safety stop on the hammer. Some even have the half cock (older ones) safety.
 
Sodapop, let me suggest a couple of things.

First, only carry inside your house for awhile. Carry with an empty magazine & empty chamber but cocked and locked. Try this for a week or two. See how many times the hammer falls without your meaning for it too. It's a real confidence builder to realize the gun really does work just like it's designed too.

Next, incorporate into your regular ritual testing the safety mechanisms. Again, after a double check the gun is unloaded, cock your 1911 and place the thumb safety in the "safe" position. Squeeze the grip safety and pull the trigger. If the hammer stays cocked and doesn't fall, you can check that the thumb safety off as working properly.

Next (again after a double check that the gun & mag. is empty), cock the gun & flip the safety off. Without depressing the grip safety, pull the trigger. If the hammer stays cocked and doesn't fall, you can check the grip safety is working properly.


I do the safety check at least weekly. Run some tests with your equipment. That's where confidence and peace of mind comes from.

Then, ya only gotta worry about the safety betwixt yer ears.

RJ

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"Never turn your back on the crew."

[This message has been edited by Captain Bligh (edited May 08, 2000).]
 
I carry and HK USP which can be carried cocked and locked. I have no concerns that it would ever go off in this position, but I carry it hammer down with a round in the chamber.

Why?

Because there have been times while at the range while shooting quickly that I have pulled the trigger prematurely; always pointing down range, but sometimes I shoot the floor. In a high pressure situation, I am concerned that the light S/A trigger will get pulled while it's still pointed toward my holster. The D/A pull feels much better.

Of course, accuracy is more difficult in D/A mode, but I practice that way too.

[This message has been edited by Mikul (edited May 08, 2000).]
 
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