DA/SA with Manual Safety

[twofifty]

I've tried all the different ways, and any 2-finger pinch I'd rank as far more dangerous than the thumb IMHO. Laying you thumb all the way across the spur is just more secure than the pinch - at least for me.

Take a heavy object and hold it up in the air pinching it with two fingers. For comparison, hang it with small hook off your straightened thumb. See which one you drop first.

Some hammers have wide enough spurs (e.g. ring hammers for instance) that they are very easy to pinch securely. Others not so much as you've pointed out.


How Wally uses his thumb:

quote: "lay it on the hammer face between it and the slide, push down a bit to take the slack out of your flesh and pull the trigger the hammer barely moves but its off the sear (you should hear and/or feel the "click"). Then take your finger out of the trigger guard (to engage the firing pin block) and ease the thumb up out of the gap between the hammer and slide until the hammer is in the de-cock notch."

is a method that I will try out.

 

[1SOW]

From my understanding the manual safety models do not have a firing pin block, so to me that makes it plausible that the hammer could be caught, pulled back a bit and then slip free and fly forward to potentially hit the firing pin as there is no 'block' to prevent this. Similarly, if it is dropped straight on the hammer, what stops it firing? (I assume there is nothing in the manual safety mechanism to prevent this since Walt Sherril mentioned that it can't be applied when the pistol is not cocked - though what about at half cock?)

1. Not true. Only the Shadow and other competition pistols are without the FP Block.
2. It would take a really well-aligned whack on a hard rigid surface to to make it fire, but it's
possible.
The same could be said about a double action revolver with the hammer down.
3. From half-cock there's not enough force hitting the inertial firing pin.
Remember, the firing pin is NOT in contact with the primer. It's like an arrow that's shot
against the pressure of the FP spring and has to 'fly' to hit the primer.
Hope this makes sense.

 

[No Style]

Again, thanks very much all, I have a much clearer understanding of it!

I now understand the distinction between the comp guns and the service guns. I had assumed all manual safety models lacked the FPB, but I now realise this is not the case, and that the selective removal of some of the safety features on the CZ-75 models is simply due to the context in which the competition guns are used and that those features are not universally lacking in the design. Thanks in particular to Walt and 1SOW for their input on the specifics of the CZ-75 system

Sorry to open a small sized can of worms on the 'how to manually decock a pistol' front. I'm sure people have their own ways of doing it and that it is the sort of thing that one might feel fairly strongly about (especially if you have been doing it in some particular fashion for decades without any issue) and then someone has a differing view. Thanks all for sharing your thoughts/methods, it's been very helpful for me!

 

[GLOOB]

"The only use I see for it would be if you manually de-cocked it (i.e. lowered the hammer under your own control with the trigger depressed onto a loaded chamber)."

Right. That's how it's done.

Is there a question here?


Willie

Oh my god, no. Please read Wally's post. Never lower the hammer while the trigger is depressed.

I always use two hands. I use the strong hand thumb to block the hammer. I use the offhand to grip the slide, so that I do not rely on a partial, thumbless grip to control the gun while pulling and letting off the trigger.

To elaborate a little more on my own method of decocking:
1. grip gun in regular shooting grip, finger off trigger
2. point in safe direction
3. grip gun firmly by the slide in offhand
4. completely block the hammer by putting strong hand thumb over top of the hammer face and wedged between hammer face and slide.
5. make sure strong hand thumb is indeed in control of the hammer in addition to just blocking it by pulling back on the hammer until you can feel it start to float. Once satisfied you are sufficiently tensioned and braced for when the sear will be released, back off pressure a little so that in step 7, the hammer will come off the sear without any fiddling.
6. Doublecheck you are pointed in a safe direction
7. pull trigger momentarily and IMMEDIATELY let go the trigger and remove finger from triggerguard.
8. Now, carefully lower hammer. If the hammer does not lower because it is still on the sear, go back to step 5.

This applies to any gun with a firing pin block or a half cock notch. Gun won't ND if the trigger isn't pressed. So don't press the trigger any more than you need to. That split second you pull the trigger is the only dangerous part, if you do it like this. The other half dozen steps are there to make sure you are prepared for this moment. If you don't have at least a half dozen mental safety checks in your decocking process, you are negligent. Decocking a gun is not something that ever need be done in a hurry, under duress, or while having distractions. Therefore, it is not something that should ever become second nature or automatic.

CAUTION:
Some DA/SA guns have a halfcock notch, but they are not designed to be carried on half-cock. Bersa Thunder is an example I know of. If you used the decocker, the hammer is lowered all the way down. If you decock the gun manually, the hammer will be left on the half cock notch. Do not attempt to manually decock this type of gun.

As for flipping on the safety for "maneuvering," I think it's faster and safer to remove your trigger from the trigger guard. At any rate, you ought to do that before manipulating any controls on the gun. And at that point, putting the gun on safe while your finger is off the trigger and you have and plan to keep the gun in a shooting grip is kind of redundant on a modern, drop-safe handgun. The four universal gun safety rules don't mention manual safeties for a reason. The more stupid stuff you add, the less you are focusing on what is important. I realize this is just an opinion and there are LE who are trained to constantly flip safeties on/off. That might make sense for someone on a SWAT team that is trained to overtake criminals through surprise and force of numbers as part of an overpowering team of body-armored personnel. As a regular joe citizen, if I need to have a loaded gun in my hands, it's because I'm in imminent fear for my life, and I don't need any additional things to worry about. I'm not going to train to add more. The safety only goes back on before I reholster, put down the gun, or hand it to my shooting buddy.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

5. make sure strong hand thumb is indeed in control of the hammer in addition to just blocking it by pulling back on the hammer until you can feel it start to float. Once satisfied you are sufficiently tensioned and braced for when the sear will be released, back off pressure a little so that in step 7, the hammer will come off the sear without any fiddling.
6. Doublecheck you are pointed in a safe direction
7. pull trigger momentarily and IMMEDIATELY let go the trigger and remove trigger from triggerguard.
8. Now, carefully lower hammer. If the hammer does not lower because it is still on the sear, go back to step 5.

The steps you describe, including those cited above, will certainly do the job.

The hard part is step 7. That "momentarily and IMMEDIATELY" doesn't always work that easily for some shooters and some guns. Some folks will spend a LOT of time trying to work out the exact timing needed, get frustrated, and do something wrong. If you're shooting a 1911 or a gun with a grip safety, it can be even more awkward, as you've got to be sure you've engaged the grip safety, too.

If you've done the equivalent of Step 4, putting the offhand thumb (or some other finger) between the hammer and the firing pin, even if you drop the hammer by accident or keep the trigger pulled too long, the hammer can't hit the firing pin with sufficient force to ignite the primer. That (step 4 or its equivalent), and keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction, may be the most critical of the steps of all of them.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Oh my god, no. Please read Wally's post. Never lower the hammer while the trigger is depressed.


I suppose I shouldn't give credit for people being able to figure out every arcane subroutine for this on their own. What in the world did people do with their cocked 1860 Colts in the civil war *ever* do to decock them without detailed written step by step instructions on how to lower a hammer?


As an example, the 1911 BTW was originally intended to be carried at half cock. Hold hammer, pull trigger, lower hammer slightly, release trigger, and rest hammer on half cock. Same as on a (1860 Colt, 1873 Colt, Browning High Power, Smith & Wesson Model 10, and *every* external hammer fitted handgun *ever* built, ad nauseum).


This is a skill that every handgun shooter needs to be able to do in their sleep. It's primary handgun handling 101. It beggers the imagination that anyone needs to be instructed here on how to do it. I suppose one of the things we have lost in the striker-fired "plastic handguns for dummies" world is the ability to handle a hammer safely "all on our own"... Hey! They even make a mechanism to avoid needing to teach people basic gun handling these days... why teach when we can make a machine to do our work for us. Decockers anyone?



Willie

.

 

[GLOOB]

This is a skill that every handgun shooter needs to be able to do in their sleep.

No, it is not. This is something that no one should ever do without conscious and deliberate thought. It is not handgun handling 101. It is not taught in any course I have ever seen. Why? Because it is complicated and it's a liability.

Some people are bright enough to figure it out, immediately. Some only think they have it all figured out. I have tweaked and refined my own decocking method over the years. Rather than becoming more automatic, I have made it MORE deliberate and broken it down into a GREATER number of CONSCIOUS substeps. If the way people decock handguns in the movies doesn't make you cringe, maybe you haven't figured it all out.

Improper manual decocking is a big source of ND's. An ND can maim or kill people. It can result in charges for illegally discharging a firearm in city limits. Or reckless endangerment. It can get you evicted. It can cause your roof to leak when it rains. And it will make your ears ring for hours. When it comes to ND's, you do not want to learn the hard way.

We had an ND poll a number of years back. Aside from the the #1 cause, which was "I thought it was unloaded," manual decocking of a firearm was right up there as one of the second leading causes of ND's. And of those who manned up and described their incident, these ND's appear to mostly happen to people with many years of gun handling experience and whom have decocked said gun so many times they could do it in their sleep. Either they've been doing it wrong the entire time, or it became so automatic that their muscle memory started to take shortcuts.

That "momentarily and IMMEDIATELY" doesn't always work that easily for some shooters and some guns.

It works for almost all my guns and even my 1911, no problem. The only one that is slightly different is my 686. It's an older model with the pointy hammer, so I can't comfortably apply tension to the face of the hammer. On this gun, I use the hammer spur and block the hammer with the off thumb, and I will lower the hammer the first bit while the trigger is pulled. Despite a wide and comfortable spur, I still make it a habit to always keep the hammer blocked while trigger is pulled. I don't know when I'm going to make a mistake. But I can do my best to make sure that a mistake won't result in an ND.

The more you learn to treat the trigger with respect, the better off you will be. It doesn't matter if your thumb is on the spur. It doesn't matter if the safety is on. It doesn't matter if the gun is unloaded. Any time you pull the trigger, you should be prepared for a bang. If you don't want a bang, you might want to setup and prepare, and then let go of the trigger as soon as possible.

 

[ny32182]

As mentioned, the FP-block-less models are really intended for competition... the triggers can be made just a little bit better without the FB block gumming up the works. The rules for Production stipulate that all factory safeties have to work, so if your gun comes with a FP block, you can't remove it in Production division. If your gun doesn't come with one, obviously you don't have to have one.

I wouldn't carry one of the models without a FP block, as I'd like to have that present as a drop safety in a carry gun.

That said, I've been shooting a DA/SA gun with a FP block and no decocker in competition all year, and haven't popped one off while decocking yet. In practice I'm not always super careful about it either, so I'm sure it will happen eventually... just always have it pointed in a safe direction. That is the key to not getting hurt.

Obviously in any other setting, such as at home loading a carry gun, you want to be very, very careful about it.

Just practice in dryfire to find a method that is secure for you. I just keep my normal firing grip, pinch the skeletonized hammer between my thumb and forefinger, pull the trigger, and ease it down. If it was a solid hammer I might take a different approach.

 

[tipoc]

No, it is not. This is something that no one should ever do without conscious and deliberate thought. It is not handgun handling 101. It is not taught in any course I have ever seen. Why? Because it is complicated and it's a liability.

It would be a mistake to drag this out too much but...

I've seen this question come up fairly often in basic gun handling and safety courses, that is gun handling 101 type sessions. That's because people ask it, and should ask it if it's not directly addressed in the course. If not addressed in the course it should be.

Decocking a single action revolver is common place. The same is true of a double action revolver. So how to do it safely needs to be discussed with folks new to guns. A reminder to do it safely is useful to those who've been around guns as well.

As some pistols have decockers while some don't that also needs to be explained and discussed. In general of course and for any of the students particular guns.

The question also comes up on forums.

The procedure is simple just needs to be done safely. Over complicating it or striking a tone of imminent danger can be counter productive. There is no liability to discussing this or answering the questions about safety that folks ask as was done in this thread.

tipoc

 

[Willie Sutton]

No, it is not. This is something that no one should ever do without conscious and deliberate thought. It is not handgun handling 101. It is not taught in any course I have ever seen. Why? Because it is complicated and it's a liability.


For 150 years it was 100% part and parcel of using any firearm. Including lever action rifles. Is this not taught at part of EVERY quality firearms handing course? If not,

I guess we've dumbed-down firearms ownership to the point where what is "Firearms Handing 101" has been replaced by the decock lever on autos and nobody ever decocks a revolver... really? Because <if I understand it correctly???> "It's because it's been found that nobody... ever.... decocks.... a.... revolver.... ever.... and if you managed to cock it... single action.... and then don't shoot it.... you don't know what to do....." RUN AWAY!! <sigh>... ???



The process is identical on anything with an external hammer (shotgun, rifle, pistol, or revolver).

People *need* to know how to do this in order to be ANYWHERE around firearms.


That's called "Firearms Handling 101".



Willie

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[Walt Sherrill]

We had an ND poll a number of years back. Aside from the the #1 cause, which was "I thought it was unloaded," manual decocking of a firearm was right up there as one of the second leading causes of ND's. And of those who manned up and described their incident, these ND's appear to mostly happen to people with many years of gun handling experience and whom have decocked said gun so many times they could do it in their sleep. Either they've been doing it wrong the entire time, or it became so automatic that their muscle memory started to take shortcuts.

That is what folks call "anecdotal evidence." It is informative, but not the same thing as proof. Just polling folks on this type of forum is NOT a random sample. And if muscle memory is taking shortcuts, it's not memory. It's very embarrassing!

You may be right about the disproportionate number of NDs happening while decocking, and you may be right about it being EXPERIENCED SHOOTERS who are the most frequent offenders, but I would remind you that your analysis is based on confessions, and most new shooters will NOT own up to that sort of mistake.

I think most shooters nowadays, 1) either shoot until empty, 2) shoot striker-fired guns, 3) use a decocker, or 4) in the case of SA handguns, just flip the safety and leave the gun cocked and locked. I would argue that manual decocking just doesn't happen all that often...and for it to be such a frequent error and high on the list, you'd have to have a ND in a high percentage of all manual decocking events. That just doesn't seem likely.

None of this is meant to discount the safety steps you've described; they're still good.

 

[benzy2]

I don't get the worries. People don't stress about a 1911. Consider this simply a double strike 1911 option rather than a deco king option. The same concerns for how to deop a hammer on a 1911 follow with a CZ that doesn't have a decocker. If you want to run a decocker model, her one with the omega trigger and install the decocker guts. I'd rather the shorter reset of SAO but really the gun works fine as is. Its more a SA with DA capability than a DA with SA capability.

 

[Tcruse]

Baby eagle (CZ like) has a safety/de-cocker on slide.
My preference would be de-cocker only.

 

[GLOOB]

and for it to be such a frequent error and high on the list, you'd have to have a ND in a high percentage of all manual decocking events. That just doesn't seem likely.

I don't see it this way, at all. ND's are rare, else firearms would still be going through major redesigns and recalls. There are a lot of people out there that are manually decococking firearms on a regular basis. It only has to be a tiny percentage of all manual decocking events to make it high on the list. This is similar to the "I thought it was unloaded," problem. It's not that you are highly likely to think a gun is unloaded when it isn't. It's just that dropping a hammer on an "empty" chamber is done with a relatively high frequency. Versus something like foreign object in the trigger guard.... which happens very infrequently but may have a much higher percentage of causing an ND when it happens. FWIW, all other causes of ND finished way behind first place.

Most people that have an ND in any certain way only do it once in their lifetime. Then there are cops. Haha, just picking on them because they have to handle firearms for their job, and not all of them are adept at this particular facet of the job. That's just the truth.

Does the US Army teach soldiers how to decock a 1911 onto a live round? Do soldiers learn gun handling 101, at least?

Sure, while you are at the range, you might decide you can decock a gun, casually, one-handed, without looking. But do you want that to become second nature? Would it freak you out if you caught yourself doing it in your house in the city? In an apartment with neighbors on all sides? Personally, I have caught myself doing just this at the range. One-handed, on autopilot. By the time the gun was decocked, I realized I couldn't be totally certain of what, exactly, I just did, and in what order. The gun didn't go off, but it disturbed me enough to rethink the entire process. If I ever have a decocking ND, I want to know exactly what happened. Not just that I've done it a thousand times, and this time it didn't work. "My thumb slipped," doesn't cut it. If you are decocking, safely, the hammer can slip and the gun will still not go off. There's a distinct order to the steps, and if you subconsciously start one step before completely and consciously finishing the other, you can have a problem.

Decocking a gun manually is like defusing a bomb. It doesn't matter how simple the device. The only thing automatic about it should be that you automatically use a conscious and deliberate process of checklists before you clip the wire. And unlike clipping a wire, decocking a gun requires the use of multiple digits performing separate actions which are simultaneous and potentially overlapping.

That (step 4 or its equivalent), and keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction, may be the most critical of the steps of all of them.

I agree these steps are critical. But my intuition tells me that some of these ND's are made possible because people are inadvertently starting to lower the hammer at the same time as releasing the trigger. An untimely slip at the exact wrong moment, and there's the problem. I believe I am prone to this blur, myself. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's human nature. In some way it feels natural to combine these motions. So before I pull the trigger when decocking, I've already psyched myself up to immediately release it. That's going to be the one and ONLY thing I do next, if I can help it. And I'm not doing anything else until my trigger finger is along the frame. You are correct, that some firearms may not be conducive to this method, nor is this method good for all people. This is what appears to be safest for me for most all my guns. And believe me, I've given this a lot of thought and practice.

http://s688.photobucket.com/user/gloob27x/media/DSCF4993.jpg.html?sort=3&o=74

If I have a decocking ND with this gun and it has a bad outcome, I will be filing for backruptcy.

 

[JTQ]

benzy2 wrote,
I don't get the worries. People don't stress about a 1911.

If you are referring to lowering the hammer on a live round, or Condition 2 carry with the 1911, I think they do.

Spend some time on a 1911 forum and find the thread that says "I've decided to carry in Condition 2", or "what's so bad about Condition 2?". See the typical reaction from the knowledgeable forum members.

While I'm all for guys carrying their guns in any condition they like, I don't think you'll find a knowledgeable trainer anywhere that recommends Condition 2 carry for the 1911. I'm not saying folks can't do it, just that of all the 1911 conditions of readiness, Condition 2 is the least favorite, by a lot.

 

[benzy2]

My point was more that it could be carried cocked and locked as any SAO would allow, so treat it the same. Most people don't decock a loaded SAO, so don't worry about it on a CZ and either unload the gun or carry it cocked with the safety on. That's why the safety is there, to carry it cocked. The DA side is more a secondary mode rather than say a Sig that is intended to be carried hammer down. Again, I would simply consider it a SA with restrike capability rather than a true DA/SA intended to start from a decocked gun.

Now this is in reference to their non-decocker models only. The ones equipped with a decocker should be treated like any other DA/SA designed to start from the hammer down position. I have both a safety model CZ and a decocker model CZ and neither has been a complex machine or one I spent much time debating how to carry/unload/decock.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

If I have a decocking ND with this gun and it has a bad outcome, I will be filing for backruptcy.

ANY ND or firearms accident that results in damage to persons or property can have both criminal and civil consequences -- so bankruptcy is certainly a possibility.

I would argue, however, that a ND while decocking that harms the shooter or others is a bit like using a personal weapon in self-defense -- an event far more anticipated than experienced. Your earlier poll to the contrary, I just don't think that ND's while decocking are that common. That doesn't mean mean we shouldn't develop good manual decocking skills. As others have said, it's a basic gun handling skill.

 

[GLOOB]

Here's the poll to which I was referring, FWIW. How many people read and responded, who knows? But there were over 60 people admitting to having had an ND while manually decocking a firearm.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=114287&highlight=poll+nd+ad

I just went thru the responses. About a half dozen people described their decocking accidents. They all say the same thing. Thumb slipped. Except one guy who lowered the hammer slowly, no slipping, yet the gun still went off (which trigger control could have stopped). Not one of them mentioned anything about blocking the hammer or releasing the trigger. There was even one guy who described the hammer slipping when it was 1/8" away from being fully lowered. I'd say decocking a gun is not information that everyone will intuitively grasp, nor do many people put in the effort to understand how their guns work. Judging from how actors do it in the movies, the figure would be less than 1%.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Here's the poll to which I was referring, FWIW.

Thanks for the survey data.

My earlier point was that I didn't think decocker-related NDs are all that common, and nothing in this poll can be used to address that point. The decocker-NDs made up 12.8% of the reported ND's, but the "I didn't know the gun was loaded" ND was three times more common. We also know nothing about HOW FREQUENTLY any of these NDs occur!

The first three NDs listed seem to be variations of the same thing, as is the eighth item on the list -- all types of mechanical malfunctions. If you group those four together, that represents 27% of the total, and pushes the decocker NDs down to fourth place on the list.

From looking at the data, we also don't really know how many shooters participated, and we also don't know if their experience is typical of the larger universe of shooters. We don't know if they shoot more or less frequently than the rest of us, and to further complicate the picture from a data perspective, we don't know how many of those providing the data were shooting striker-fired or decocker models (shooting either of those would erroneously skew/distort the results) when assessing "decocker" problems.

We also know nothing about the untold thousands of shooters who may never have had a ND and the hundreds or thousands who could have participated in the survey, but had nothing to add. A box that said "never had a ND" would have been an interesting addition, along with one that addressed the frequency of shooting, etc. Knowing how many actually responded would have been good, too. It could be that a relatively small number of shooters accounted for a disproportionate number of the NDs, some with MULTIPLE ND's and others with just one (or one type). Just knowing how FREQUENTLY NDs occur would be interesting, but this poll doesn't address that point.

Until we know more about the universe of things, and the nature of the data set itself, we don't know how to attach value to what is shown in the poll results.

As I said: the results are anecdotal and interesting, but that's about it. We do know, from the data provided, that of known NDs reported, decocker-related incidents are not the most common issue.

There was even one guy who described the hammer slipping when it was 1/8" away from being fully lowered.

I find THAT particular comment hard to understand or believe. That gun must have had a very, very light firing pin spring (which would normally be quite strong and overcome the force of the hammer unless STRONGLY hit) -- and if the trigger had been released, a non-existent or malfunctioning firing pin block. In either case that might make it a mechanical problem, not a decocker-related issue.

.

 

[Onmilo]

Manual safety on a DA/SA pistol is utilized during fire and movement. Nobady in their right mind runs with a full cocked pistol and no safety engaged.
It also allows the gun to be safely carried in condition one, chamber loaded, hammer at full cock, safety engaged.

This feature makes perfect sense to me as I find decocking levers and the constant transition from first shot double action, successive shots single action to be more than a bit annoying.

A speed draw double action first shot is fine but I want all successive shots to be single action consistent.

As such, my preference runs to 1911s, Glocks, anf H&K variant 1/2 USP pistols as combat weapons.

 

[Drail]

The simple reason they are made is so that police dept. administrators will think they are safe guns and therefore suitable for LEOs.

 

[twofifty]

Manual safety on a DA/SA pistol is utilized during fire and movement. Nobady in their right mind runs with a full cocked pistol and no safety engaged.
It also allows the gun to be safely carried in condition one, chamber loaded, hammer at full cock, safety engaged.

This feature makes perfect sense to me as I find decocking levers and the constant transition from first shot double action, successive shots single action to be more than a bit annoying.

A speed draw double action first shot is fine but I want all successive shots to be single action consistent.

As such, my preference runs to 1911s, Glocks, anf H&K variant 1/2 USP pistols as combat weapons.

Onmilo, I beg to disagree. Go to an IPSC or USPSA match and you will see competitors safely negotiating a course of fire at speed with cocked guns. The safety comes from the finger indexed on the side of the frame and the gun being kept pointed in a safe direction.

----------------

Quoting a part of GLOOB's post #39 that struck me as particularly pertinent to the discussion that speaks to muscle memory and always being conscious of exactly what one is doing:

"Personally, I have caught myself doing just this at the range. One-handed, on autopilot. By the time the gun was decocked, I realized I couldn't be totally certain of what, exactly, I just did, and in what order. The gun didn't go off, but it disturbed me enough to rethink the entire process. If I ever have a decocking ND, I want to know exactly what happened. Not just that I've done it a thousand times, and this time it didn't work. "My thumb slipped," doesn't cut it. If you are decocking, safely, the hammer can slip and the gun will still not go off. There's a distinct order to the steps, and if you subconsciously start one step before completely and consciously finishing the other, you can have a problem.

Decocking a gun manually is like defusing a bomb. It doesn't matter how simple the device. The only thing automatic about it should be that you automatically use a conscious and deliberate process of checklists before you clip the wire."

 

[1SOW]

twofifty, that's spooky! I typed the same response to Onmilo a while ago and had to leave before posting. I came back and there it was.

I was also going to add that this isn't just common here in the states. It's common world-wide in IPSC. Furthermore, to be truthful anyone shooting and then moving while still being threatened is not going to be flipping the safety on while moving. THAT sir would be crazy.

After reading it again, he MAY mean that He runs his S.D. pistol with it cocked and locked. And I'd have to agree carrying it cocked and unlocked is not a clever move.