I am an automobile mechanic and carry a full size smith 1911 (SKU 8282). The unique challenge my job presents while carrying is the various positions I find myself in several times a day. From rolling under the car on a creeper to laying on my back under the dash, my carry weapon comes in contact with a lot of objects. I used to carry full cocked with thumb safety engaged. However, removing my gun one evening I noticed the thumb safety had become deactivated. This spooked me and now I carry half cocked. Any recommendations or suggestions on full cocked V half cocked in my line of work would be great. If I need to go back to full cocked are there any modifications to the thumb safety that will make it less sensitive to deactivation?

Get a smaller pocket gun. Less chance of AD and scratching the finish of a car your working on.

I carry IWB under my uniform shirt.

I would carry a J-Frame in my pocket. If it needed to be moved because of job or position I would use a IWB Holster.

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Two Handguns every day

Not sure if it will fit a 1911, I use the Tuff Products iTuck phone case/holster.



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Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

I'm in a similar situation. I carry a Bodyguard .380, in a pocket holster. I realize the limitations but accept them. I don't notice that I'm carrying, even with a spare magazine.

Several companies make holsters with retention straps that go between the hammer and the slide (full cock). In the event your safety becomes disengaged you still have the strap blocking the hammer.


Incidentally, I personally don't think the safety becoming disengaged is that big on an issue. There would have to be several other events that must happen together to ever cause an AD. Not knowing much about S&W 1911's I don't know if they have an 80 series Colt type firing pin block or not. Regardless, the grip safety and trigger must be disengaged at the same time or it wont fire.


NOW, having said all that, if your holster has an exposed trigger there is a REMOTE chance of an AD, but I think you would stand a better chance of getting struck by lightning...twice.

I second the idea of getting a holster with a thumb snap retention strap, also you might consider a smaller gun...unless your shop is *prone* to being robbed.

I had a co-worker whose son worked at a auto repair shop but did not carry a gun. One day a customer came to pick up his car after having a new transmission installed. When told the final cost he pulled a gun on the kid and demanded the keys to his car. His son said he could see his co-workers in the background, moving themselves into firing positions behind cover. All at once the customer heard the sound of multiple guns being cocked and a shotgun being racked. They shouted to the customer to leave the kid alone, put the gun down, pay him for the car...and leave.
His son said - "dad, if shooting had broke out I would have been the ONLY person in the shop that didn't have a gun!"

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Stay protected my friends.

Thank you everyone. I currently use an Alien Gear cloak tuck 3.0. The trigger is not exposed but it does NOT have a retention strap. Any recommendations on IWB holster with retention strap that goes between hammer and slide???

I think the old Bianchi Pistol Pocket did. I carried a full sized Colt 1911 in one for years.
I think Bianchi is owned by Safariland now.

While I don't usually recommend it, I think condition 3 may be the best choice for your situation. You must however practice with it to become proficient in application. The Israeli military pulls it off pretty well. Being in a commercial situation such as your self, an accidental discharge could be a disaster, shooting a hole through my Mercedes would be the least of it.

I do lots of mechanical work and have had my 1911 come off safety as well. Had it fall out of the holster because I'm upside down under a car..

The best thing I have found is to carry a bobbed hammer SA/DA 3rd gen like a CS45...

Ive had the safety come off many times with 1911s. I think part of the problem in my case was the Bianchi holsters. They mold the holsters on dummy guns, and the safety is OFF on the dummy guns. That makes a positive pressure point pushing the safety OFF on a gun with the safety ON. I can take the thumb snap area of the holster and push it, and the safety snaps off easily with little effort. The holster could be wet molded to the gun with the safety ON and it should help, but its also partly poor leather that's too soft in some cases.

If you look at your safety, the flat flange with the angled nub that cams/pushes the plunger in, you can carefully file that cam area (undercut it a bit more) until it changes the amount of pressure it takes to disengage the safety. Ive done several, its fairly easy and works well. I saw where some goob tried it with a grinder, with predictable results. Its simple with a file, and you shouldn't ruin the part like the goob did.

As for youre alien Gear holster, could a safety shield be attached to it so your clothes or body cant push against the safety?

I carried a hammerless J frame doing carpentry and construction work. It was reasonably easy to keep it out of trouble, even with crawling around in tight places and odd positions. Not as much horsepower as the 45, but it was always there. I often was wearing a t shirt and being around the homeowner a lot while working. The J and speedloader in the front Carhartt pocket worked fine. The front sight wears through the pocket now and then and has to be stitched up. Painting the front sight orange fills in the serrations and helps keep the wear down some.

Well I carried a 1911 for a while working at my buddies speed shop/ garage in the 70s. To keep from printing and be out of the way as much as possible and still be handy I went with a Bianchi shoulder holster. It concealed well under a jacket for the most part. We had lifts there so no rolling around on the floor to do repairs!

After a while I left the 1911 home and carried a Model 60 in a couple different holsters, it was much more comfortable.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I am with 29aholic on this one. BUT, IF you decide to change up how you carry - definitely practice, practice, practice. If you already have certain muscle memory built in you will need to relearn.

If a different holster w/ retention - A completely different draw.

If a different carry condition - A longer time to get that trigger pulled (if only by a second or two).

etc...

Just an anecdotal message: Within the last year or 2 I stopped carrying my 1911 all together. Why? Because I wanted to eliminate as many variables that could go wrong on my part if I needed the guns to go bang. I switched to guns with no external safety at all. Just pull the trigger and they go bang. My semi has one in the chamber and my revolver, well....

Now many will say: "as long as you practice enough you will gain the muscle memory needed to NOT screw up". I agree with this statement 100% BUT, how many of us truly dryfire and livefire enough to truly be as confident as possible that when the SHTF, we will not:
-forget to take off the safety
-forget that we now have a different type of retention
-forget to rack a slide
-etc

Just a warning in case you do change from your current carry mode, retention and/or condition.

Good Luck!

It wasn't the safety that was foremost in why I ended up carrying something else, but that there was a gun that weighed about half as much and held twice as many rounds, and was very simple to use. If I don't have the J, its one of the plastic guns from Austria. I finally got over the ugly part, its just a tool.

My fanny pack knocks the safety off of my 1911. After the first couple of times I stopped caring. I have since switched to a Shield 9 without thumb safety.

Don't carry at half cock.

Thank you for all the info, just what I wanted. I realize a full size 1911 has a lot of negatives, but I am currently not budgeted (time or money) to change. I will have to run this set up for at least another year. I have quite a bit of range time with this old girl so I do feel comfortable with my draw times, shot placement, and mag changes. It's heavy by the end of the day, but I was told concealed carry should be "comforting not comfortable".

I work at a decently sized shop and know that several of the techs carry while they work on vehicles. Most of them carry smaller guns like the Shield, Ruger LC9, Glock 42/43. Many of them have pocket/DeSantis type pocker or IWB holsters. This allows them to have themselves comfortably armed, and still crawl around the cars. While I saw you said it wasn't in the budget, maybe its something to keep in mind for the future?

As for the now, would you be able to modify the current holster to have a safety strap? or could you find a different holster that would prevent the safety from being toggled? The drawback would be having to learn and train yourself for the new configuration.

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John 14:6, Luke 21:11

S&W or Ruger .380

They work.

They are galaxies-easier to carry than a 1911.

They are inexpensive.
You could easily pay for one with the cash you can earn on one or two small side jobs.

.380 ammo has gotten a LOT better.

Lock your 1911 in your tool chest, and keep the key in your pocket if you think you might have to tackle a rhinocerous in your auto shop.

Seems unlikely that anybody is going to stick-up a mechanic at his workplace anyway. I figure a mechanic is the sort of guy who would win most fights on his own turf, even without a firearm. Moreover, how much cash does a mechanic carry? Lunch money?

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?