I've always been told and have always practiced that to clear a 1911 pistol, you drop the magazine, lock the slide back, capture the round (if there was one) in the chamber, visually inspect the chamber for a round, ride slide forward and then PULL THE TRIGGER (in a safe direction) to drop the hammer.
I use this method when I check in my piece at a few local gunshops or to hand it over to people I know at the range, and I always get looked at like I'm crazy. Of course, I hand the pistol over with the slide locked back, but it's always handed back that way for me to clear. It seems like the general consensus is that I should grasp the hammer and lower it slowly as I pull the trigger... like this somehow makes it more "safer" when I've already done the requisite checks... and as if 'lowering the hammer slowly' somehow makes it safer? I'm confident when I perform this check and I can't see how riding the hammer can do anything but damage my expensive pistol.
Am I in the right here, or should I just make them feel "safer" by thumbing the hammer down while clearing? Am I the only one that is annoyed by this practice? I see it ALL THE TIME by people I think know their business behind the counters. Maybe it just 'looks' safer.
By 'thumbing' I mean grasping the hammer with your thumb and forefinger and slowly lowering it as you pull the trigger.
I use this method when I check in my piece at a few local gunshops or to hand it over to people I know at the range, and I always get looked at like I'm crazy. Of course, I hand the pistol over with the slide locked back, but it's always handed back that way for me to clear. It seems like the general consensus is that I should grasp the hammer and lower it slowly as I pull the trigger... like this somehow makes it more "safer" when I've already done the requisite checks... and as if 'lowering the hammer slowly' somehow makes it safer? I'm confident when I perform this check and I can't see how riding the hammer can do anything but damage my expensive pistol.
Am I in the right here, or should I just make them feel "safer" by thumbing the hammer down while clearing? Am I the only one that is annoyed by this practice? I see it ALL THE TIME by people I think know their business behind the counters. Maybe it just 'looks' safer.
By 'thumbing' I mean grasping the hammer with your thumb and forefinger and slowly lowering it as you pull the trigger.