1911 Guy's/Girl's ?

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fxstchewy

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How long did it take you to be comfortable with using your 1911 for carry or home defense? i have had one for over a year now and the more i take it to the range the more i like it, so much so that i have thought about using it more for some carry and more for home defense and woods walking, but the cocked and locked is a little different compared to a revolver or glock style sidearm.
I guess seeing the hammer cocked kinda spooks me a little even though it has a couple of safety's on it, so, how long before you became comfortable with the 1911? Thanks.
 
I'd been around many firearms throughout my life that were carried, stored, or otherwise handled with a round chambered and a safety mechanism engaged. I've never seen one fire under those conditions. When it came time to carry a gun, I never thought twice about it.
 
Probably a week.

A couple of things helped out.

1. Wearing the gun in a holster around the house, cocked & locked, but with no ammo in the gun, for a day or two, to confirm it wasn't going to fire on its' own.

2. Learning to ride the thumb safety. If your thumb rides the thumb safety, it is always on the safety, from when you grab it in the holster, to presentation, to shooting, to reholstering. Those raised in the striker fired gun age, always comment on the possibility of forgetting to switch off the thumb safety. I'm more likely to forget to pull the trigger than forget the thumb safety. The importance of finding the thumb safety, not switching it off, just getting my thumb to it, during my initial grasp of the gun (full firing grip) while it is holstered has led me to truly dislike tall sweat shields on holsters.
 
Maybe I'm weird, but a cocked and locked 1911 has never bothered me. No more or less than dealing with any other loaded handgun.

It might look scary to some, but if you stop to think about it, what will drop that hammer? Only the trigger being pulled. A trigger that is protected by a holster, a thumb safety, and a grip safety. That's more than what keeps a Glock trigger from being pulled.
 
Never have seen a 1911 (or P-35) become possessed and start firing itself.
Grew up with SA auto's and have always been quite comfortable with them.
 
I guess my issue is the safety, i am concerned that i might forget to knock it of because most of what i have carried is just pull the triggger, i have carried my j frames loaded no issue, i have carried my Glock 26 chambered... no issues, i guess the safety may be what i have to come to grips with.
 
I'd been around many firearms throughout my life that were carried, stored, or otherwise handled with a round chambered and a safety mechanism engaged. I've never seen one fire under those conditions. When it came time to carry a gun, I never thought twice about it.
Same here. I have been shooting a 1911 since I was 7 years old.
 
ZERO, in terms of time it took for being comfortable with "cocked and locked."

I do not carry a 1911, but the reason for that has nothing to do with "cocked and locked."

I knew how the mechanism works, and the method itself is safe as any other pistol can be. Many 1911 pistols are not "drop safe," but that is a different matter.
 
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My 1911 came into my LGS, I went to the range and put 400 rounds through it to test reliability, then threw it on my hip. It's been goin there every day since. Not sure why the cocked hammer makes people nervous, but I had none of it.
 
I feel way more comfortable with a cocked and locked 1911 than a safe action pistol. I can take a 1911 out of my holster and its pretty secure and safe to handle
That short safetyless trigger gives me the heebeegeebees.

So maybe a couple of hours? It never gave me pause like my Glocks did. If I could only have one....a 1911 cocked and locked. A TDA is a close second.
 
I started carrying mine the first day I owned it. Not sure why anyone would be uncomfortable with a gun that has a safety on it. My M&P has no safeties at all and that was my first carry gun. Took me about 2 times out carrying with no round in the chamber to realize that the trigger never pulled itself.
 
I transitioned from the Springfield XD striker fired pistol to the 1911. The XD was my transitional period from not carrying at all to carrying daily. The prospect of carrying a firearm with all passive safeties freaked me out a little at first, but I grew accustomed to it. I never carried it without a round in the chamber though. When I purchased my 1911 I had no qualms about loading and chambering the firearm, flicking the thumb safety on and carrying it. If you think about it, carrying a 1911 is just like carrying an XD minus a trigger safety and plus a thumb safety, which I actually felt safer with. It did take some time to develop enough muscle memory to instinctively flick off the manual safety on drawing instead of going straight to firing as I had grown accustomed to.
 
About two weeks. In a proper holster and proper trigger finger and thumb safety control, it is perfectly safe.

Honestly, if you want to become comfortable with it, carry a DA revolver for awhile. When your trigger finger is the only safety, you learn to pay attention to what you are doing, and a cocked and locked 1911 almost feels overly safe.
 
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fxstchewy said:
...but the cocked and locked is a little different compared to a revolver or glock style sidearm.
I guess seeing the hammer cocked kinda spooks me a little even though it has a couple of safety's on it, so, how long before you became comfortable with the 1911? Thanks.
I grew up studying revolvers and 1911s...don't come from a "gun family"... so I was immediately comfortable holstering and carrying a Cocked-n-Locked 1911. My first didn't even have a safety strap between the hammer and the firing pin.

It was a much larger safety concern when I changed from carrying a DA/SA pistol to a Glock, because I was no longer able to place my thumb on the hammer while holstering to make sure nothing had been caught in the trigger guard...anything contacting a Glock's trigger in the guard can release that safety...and was pushing the trigger back
 
I grew up on the 1911, so I never had to adapt to it...

On the other, a GLOCK or the like makes me a little uneasy when I carry it.

on my hip, my 1911 is Condition One- cocked and locked. At night, in the nightstand, or in any sort of off body carry, it's Condition Three ( full magazine, empty chamber, hammer down.

Right at the moment, on the desk, it's Condition One- and I know that it's got a round in the chamber, because the hammer is back.

( I still press check every time I pick it up, but I really don't recall ever having been surprised either way)

When I holster, my palm rolls away from the grip safety, and my thumb blocks the hammer- for the last little click to seat it, my thumb is on the hammer, and my forefinger on the tail of the grip safety, pinching them towards each other- even if the thumb safety is off (Fire Position) and something was in the holster bearing on the trigger, it' will not fire.

While holstered, I can re-seat it if it works loose in the same fashion, and I can block the hammer with my forefinger while I check the thumb safety is in the safe position.

in my Draw Stroke, when I grasp the pistol, my hand is away from the grip safety, actually bearing on the tail, keeping it in the Safe Position until it clears leather and my grip tightens. The thumb safety comes off as the sights come into alignment.

so while I accept that the GLOCK type pistol is safe as long as I don't touch the trigger ( the occasional case of 'GLOCK leg' notwithstanding), I feel far more comfortable knowing that I have the thumb and grip safeties between me and the loud noise.
 
My very first duty pistol and CCW was a 1911 in 38super and then in the Army with a 45 version so it is like peas and carrots for me.
 
I bought my first 1911 around '89, a SA Mil-Spec. Once I shot it a couple of time it became a trusted shooter and I used it for home defense. I could not carry at the time because I lived in Sacramento but when I moved and started carrying it's been a 1911 always in the holster. C&L never bothered me.
 
Took me no time at all. Carrying cocked and locked is very safe, so long as you use a quality holster.
 
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