HM2PAC
Member
How do you CCW a 1911?
Cocked-and-Locked or hammer down?
Cocked-and-Locked or hammer down?
1911 Ccw
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Black Majik
Member
Cocked and locked is the ONLY way to go.
longtooth
Member
Agree 100%. JMB intended it.
dasmi
Member
If I carried a 1911, it would be cocked and locked. Dropping a 1911 hammer on a loaded chamber is a very, very bad idea.
Mad Magyar
Member
This way.....
hexidismal
Member
C&L of course. Hammer down doesn't do you much good when you need to draw and fire fast. Also, more than half of every AD/ND I've ever heard about with 1911s has come from a slip of the two hand decock on a loaded chamber.
In fact theres a C&L 1911 on my hip right now, just as there is most of the time I'm dressed.
In fact theres a C&L 1911 on my hip right now, just as there is most of the time I'm dressed.
Schmidlin
Member
Just want to ask a guestion, is it only becuase its got a hand safty or becuase thats just how you like to carry? Would you carry any other gun this way or only because of the 1911 design?
I only ask cause im curious as ive never heard of this
I only ask cause im curious as ive never heard of this
DMK
Member
The 1911 is a single action only (SAO) handgun. If the hammer is down, you can't pull the trigger. You would need to cock the hammer with your thumb before you can bring the gun into action. That's very awkward to do, especially under stress. I doubt I could do it quickly enough.
I do carry other guns with the hammer down, those that have double action triggers. But not 1911s.
You only have two carry options with a 1911:
1) Live round in chamber, hammer cocked, safety on. (Disengage grip safety by squeezing grip, thumb safety off, pull trigger to fire)
2) Chamber empty, hammer down, safety off. (Disengage grip safety by squeezing grip, cycle slide with off hand, pull trigger to fire)
Safety First
Member
cocked and locked is the only way to carry a 1911...JMB designed it that way...but if you feel better having to rack the slide to put one in the snout when you need it to defend yourself...well then,rack the slide to chamber the round
Schmidlin
Member
I completely forgot all about that. Thanks for teh reminder, and man you guys are quick
For CCW, cocked and locked, a.k.a. Condition One. If the hammer is down, and the chamber empty, a.k.a. Condition Three, deployment is much slower, and requires two hands to accomplish in a hurry, unless one has mastered one of the more arcane alternative techniques, which are still slower than Condition One. The other carry method, Condition Two, hammer down over a loaded chamber, requires a moment of peril as the trigger is momentarily pulled to release the hammer, which is hopefully controlled by a thumb, and then guiding the hammer gently downward to its rest position. This is increasingly seen as being so unsafe that it is no longer worth it. If one wants to use Condition Two, IMHO, get something like a SIG P220, which has a decocking mechanism that safely lowers the hammer, with no need to touch the trigger, yet allows thumb-cocking. I find my SIG P229 to actually be fairly easy to thumb-cock, compared to a 1911, and seem to remember the same being true of the P220 I owned in the early 90's. Of course, the normal way to make a standard SIG go bang in a hurry is to fire the first shot in DA mode.
weisse52
Member
Cocked and Locked. It is the only safe way to carry.
1911 cocked and locked is actually alot safer then say a glock. Think about it.
If the trigger gets depressed on a glock it will go bang. On a 1911, you need to remove the safety, depress the grip safety and then pull the trigger for it to go bang.
If the trigger gets depressed on a glock it will go bang. On a 1911, you need to remove the safety, depress the grip safety and then pull the trigger for it to go bang.
The Lone Haranguer
Member
OK, who is the one "hammer down" responder? Show yourself.
Condition One ("cocked and locked") is the only way to carry this design safely (a relative term when talking about something dangerous) yet instantly ready for action.
Condition One ("cocked and locked") is the only way to carry this design safely (a relative term when talking about something dangerous) yet instantly ready for action.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Cocked-Locked, And Ready To Rock~!
chieftain
Member
If it ain't cocked and locked, you are just transporting it, not carrying it.
Go figure.
Fred
Go figure.
Fred
Big Boomer
Member
cocked, locked, and ready to rock 
Captain Bligh
Member
Cocked and locked, the way John Moses Browning intended it.
DMK
Member
Obviously either someone who does not own a 1911, or someone who owns a Para Ord.
Cannonball888
Member
You forgot the half-cock option
1911Tuner
Moderator Emeritus
Happy huntin'. There were only about 8 of'em built, and all but two...IIRC...had the thumb safety retrofitted.
Meanwhile...Will a picture do?
Whoops! Almost forgot...
1910 Colt Photograph courtesy of Charles Clawson.
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