Cocked-and-locked carry. Good idea, or bad?

[one eye joe]

Carried a cocked and locked early Colt 1911 in my waistband w/o a holster as a back-up to my M16 in Vietnam 1968-1969. Neverhad a problem. IMHO-Don't use a holster with a snap or strap that intereferes with the removal of the weapon. while you are fumbling with your holster some bad guy could pop a cap on you ! one eye joe

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by Seaforth:
Why take a chance to save less than a second of time?

Take a chance on what, exactly, happening?

 

[cmort666]

Originally posted by GatorFarmer:
Browning Hi Powers came with a "safe system" or some such name for it not too long ago. This conversion was also offered for other guns by someone or another. This allowed safe hammer down carry on a live round.

I believe it was called the "Fast Action" system. I almost bought one when CDNN was practically giving them away.

Daewoo has/had a similar system. My best friend's wife (who's Korean) has one. Decent gun and a decent system.

I believe that Para Ordinance has something similar, "Light Double Action", I think.

If you're carrying an M1911 and you're not carrying it cocked and locked, you should probably be carrying something else. I've got zero interest in trying to chamber a round while somebody I need to shoot has hold of one of my arms. I've seen people in internet fora claim that you can chamber with one hand. None of them explains how you can do this while you're wrestling with somebody hitting you with a claw hammer or stabbing you with a steak knife.

Any gun that's 100% "safe" isn't of any use for its alleged purpose, about as relevant as non-flammable gasoline or a circular saw that won't cut anything.

 

[cmort666]

Originally posted by andyo5:

So now I'm wondering which risk is higher:
1. The risk that you would accidentally discharge the firearm due to carrying it loaded and cocked, or...
2. The risk of being hurt or killed because you could not get your gun into action in time to save yourself.

Unless they're in fires or are shot so much in a short period of time that they might as well be, properly designed guns in proper working condition just don't "go off". Somebody or something has to work the firing mechanism.

Unless you're planning to carry a Japanese Type 94,

if your gun goes off, it's because you pulled the trigger or allowed some other instrumentality to pull the trigger. And with an M1911, that means deactivate the thumb safety and activate the grip safety BEFORE the trigger is pulled.

As far as the gunshop owner goes, a "safe" gun can't accomplish its task, namely stopping a lethal force attack by using lethal force. I don't know if he was being a dolt, being cryptic, or what, but he's not going to have to pay the piper if you get up close and personal with somebody who grabs your left arm when you're carrying a semi-auto with an empty chamber and tries to beat, stab or shoot you.

 

[Spotteddog]

May all images of that accursed device be forever and always banned!