1911 bedstand gun... cocked & locked???

[PAC 762]

For those that keep a 1911 in their bedstand, do you keep it in condition 1 or 3? I've been keeping a kimber in condition 3 for some time, but a recent 3:00 am wake-up (false alarm) left me fumbling to rack the slide.

I am very comfortable carrying in condition 1, but the thought of leaving one for weeks on end cocked & locked leaves me a little unsettled for both parts wear and, to a lesser extent, safety. What are your opinions?

BTW, there are no children in my house to worry about.

 

[John Forsyth]

C&L here.

 

[bratch]

Have my Kimber and 870 both in Condition 3. The 870 has the slide started so I don't have to fumble with the button.

 

[wally]

C&L.

The pump shotgun is dry fired on a snap cap, tube filled, safety off, with stock folded (I've a rather narrow hallway to deal with).

--wally.

 

[Zonamo]

I am very comfortable carrying in condition 1, but the thought of leaving one for weeks on end cocked & locked leaves me a little unsettled for both parts wear

Springs do not wear by being maintained in a compressed state as the force on the spring is designed to always be well below the yield limit of the spring material. Springs fail when their stresses reach the material's fatigue limit as a consequence of the repetition of oscillatory loads. Loading and unloading your pistol each night will actually wear the springs in your firearm faster than simply leaving it cocked and locked.

and, to a lesser extent, safety.

A firearm in good working order without any material defects loaded with two separate safeties engaged is no more or less safe than a firearm with the safeties disengaged and the chamber empty-until you place your finger on the trigger. It is a lot handier to put into immediate use, however.

 

[Guido_the_Legbreaker]

Cocked, Locked and ready to rock....it's easier to knock the safety off and stand ready for trouble....try both ways from a laying down position to a roll out and stand up postion with an empty weapon....

 

[HSMITH]

I have mine with chamber dry. I want them to KNOW what is coming if they pursue the issue and it takes a fraction of a second to charge the weapon. Hopefully they head the other way at high speed when they hear me charge the 1911 and then the 870. Then there would also be the sound of my wife charging a Glock or a 1911, depends on which one she picks up. From there we can defend until we can get to serious weapons. I would much rather the bad guy retreats and I don't give up but a small part of a second over just picking it up and wiping off the safety, I think the noise of weapons being charged would turn most bad guys around. If for some reason I wanted to be quiet about things there are always revolvers around too.

Whatever you are comfortable with is the right way to do it.

 

[OEF_VET]

I have two 1911's (Para/Ord C745LDA and P/O Stealth HiCap 1445LDA) in my bedside table, both of which are ready to rumble by simply lowering the safety. They alternate as my carry weapon, depending on what I'm wearing that day, so they both reside next to where I get dressed. I don't worry about any undue stress being put on the springs or about it being unsafe. It is highly unlikely that all the safeties built into those pistols are going to fail at one time. I shoot both pistols quite often, so they don't just sit there either.

I also keep an 870 Police Magnum close by, "cruiser ready", which is to say the chamber is empty, trigger is pulled, safety off, with the tube loaded one less than full capacity.

 

[jem375]

mine is in condition 2...............

 

[crucible]

C&L, but with the hammer down-I'm using a C&S SFS on my Dan Wesson.

Cruc

 

[PaleRyder]

C&L in all situations.

 

[Chuck Jennings]

870 "cruiser ready" 1911 C&L.

 

[wildehond]

C&L

Hi

My carry a Government model cocked and lock allday and it goes in my night stand like that every night. I have no problem with that.

wildehond

 

[Shovelhead]

1911 C&L, Mossberg 500 five in the mag, 4 in the stock, one in the spout.

 

[Swamprabbit]

C&L'd

 

[Bacchus]

C&L at all times.

 

[1911Tuner]

How Long C&L?

I have personal experience with a Colt that was stored cocked and locked....magazine loaded...for over 60 years. The chamber was cleared, examined, reloaded and fired with the same ammunition. It functioned just like it was designed to, right up to slidelock on empty.

 

[Matt G]

This is funny-- I find myself the proponent of an obstacle. Unusual for me.

I carry a 1911 cocked and locked. While at home I keep one in Condition One on a high shelf. But at bedside... I want an obstacle to my dreamlike conditions.

Think to yourself. Be HONEST, here-- haven't you had your significant other or a friend refer to a conversation that they had with you after you had answered the bedside phone, but which you had ZERO recollection of? I've had half-hour conversations (proved by information that I gave out or I wouldn't believe it) that I have no memory of.

My wife's family has a strain of somnambulance running through it. My wife's father used to walk around the house, dead asleep. My wife doesn't seem to do it (though she sleeps with her eyes open), but my eldest daughter has a few times. Scares me, actually. I have no idea if I could ever do that. I sure hope not. But here's the deal-- my bedside gun requires a little finagling to actuate. I have a DAC SportSafe with a pushbutton code bolted to my bedside table. Yes, it does actually add about 2 full seconds to getting my gun (virtually silently), but I don't find myself terrified of my actions in my sleep.

My mother, before her arthritis made it unfeasible to rack it, used to keep a Colt Government Model as her house gun. When I was still a teenager, I noticed and was surprised that she kept it in Condition Three. (She had been trained properly, and knew that Condition One was an inherently safe way to carry. I asked her why. She expressed just my above concern, and said that she would rather have to rack a round than worry about taking lethal action before waking fully. I didn't understand then. As a daddy of two and a husband, I understand now.

 

[1911Tuner]

Points

Very good points made by MattG, and something to think about on a serious level. I'd like to take the opportunity to recommend the best first-line of defense that would jolt us awake and provide the buffer of time to shake the cobwebs out and take the first steps to defend the home against an invader.

That device would be none other than man's best friend...the dog. The mouthier the better. I have four Collies that free-roam the house at night.
The female is the alarm...The three males stand by to repel borders when they're alerted by the Labs, who maintain a vigil over the yard unless they're in the basement.

It's a good system...and you'll quickly learn to tell the difference between a
"What's the moon doin' in my window" bark and the real deal.

Woof!

 

[45auto]

Condition 3.

 

[unreal45]

Cocked & Locked on top of my nightstand.

 

[Swamprabbit]

Good point about needing an "obstacle". That's why mine is located across the room on top of a closet. I figure that if I need something quicker than that, the BG is too close for me to come up out of a dead sleep and deal with anyway. Besides, in my case, I have three kids in the house so "bumps in the night" happen about 6 times every night .

 

[1911 TERRY]

1911 on the night stand is cocked and locked. Shotgun on the wall just needs a shell cycled into the chamber. I want the intruder to hear that round chambered.

 

[Black Majik]

My 1911 is in Condition 3 on the nightstand.

 

[dairycreek]

C&L all the time