Dave,
After all these years you know that if I were gonna pick an argument over anything shotgun related, you would be the last person on the continent I'd be apt to square off with. So please don't think of this as argumentative, because it isn't intended to be at all. Nor is it an attempt to further muddy already roiled waters. That there is a difference in definitions re. the terms is not surprising.
I was taught my serious shotgunning by non-LEO instructors- some were military, some were civilian. The magazine loaded/chamber empty/hammer down/safety on status was what I was taught, and it was defined by some as 'cruiser safe' or 'cruiser ready.' Note that I have never been employed in law enforcement professionally, I did work reserve status for three years with the small- town department where I lived in the late 1970s but that was it. I have never had training on shotguns at the hands of a certified law enforcement trainer.
Again, I am not attempting to launch a dust-up here over what is right or proper or best, it is obviously not for me to say because I am certainly in no position to be considered an arbiter of what constitutes tactically proper shotgun manipulation. I can certainly understand the concern over three shifts a day dropping hammers on shotguns every time they get ready to put them in the racks. Given that perspective I would most likely not train/teach/instruct the 'hammer down' mode either. The inevitability of ADs/NDs/whatever is not to be argued with when daily manipulation of shotguns by a number of people working at varying degrees of alertness is taking place.
But some are in fact teaching the hammer down mode. Please note the following:
http://www.aslet.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=559
"Cruiser Safe" and "Select-A-Slug" [snipped]
A Closer Look at Two Tactical Concepts
By Captain Marshall McDonald
[Inserted here from author's biography elsewhere on site- lpl]
ASLET is pleased to have Captain Marshall McDonald as one of our online columnists. In addition to being a longtime member and state representative for ASLET, Captain McDonald has 17 years of service with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and has been a certified trainer since 1987. He holds numerous state and national certifications in firearms, defensive tactics and law enforcement driver’s training, and has been assigned as a fulltime firearms instructor and Rangemaster for 8 years. He has served on the agency’s Tactical Unit for 15 years, and has completed assignments with the sniper unit and the entry team. For the past 10 years he has been assigned as the Operations Commander and Training Supervisor for the Tactical Unit. [End bio insert-lpl]
The “Cruiser Safe†mode and “Select-a-Slug†procedures are both vital concepts that support the efficient tactical deployment of the shotgun while maximizing safety and convenience.
Many patrol vehicle roofs, windshields and trunk lids have been unexpectedly mangled by officers who were not sure of the condition of the shotgun they were handling. The property damage pales in comparison to the risk presented to fellow officers and the public when the negligent discharge of a firearm occurs.
The term “Cruiser Safe†was coined to define the degree of readiness that a shotgun can be placed into, so that everyone will be aware of its condition. When in “Cruiser Safe†condition, the safety is in the “ON†position and the shotgun is magazine loaded with buckshot. The chamber is empty and the weapon is in a “hammer down†condition. (The hammer must be in the down position to unlock the action bars so that the action can be cycled when a round is needed)
When preparing to make the shotgun “Cruiser Safeâ€, you must first make sure that the safety is in the “ON†position. Then open the action so that you can physically and visually check the chamber and magazine tube to insure that no ammunition is present. Once you are certain that the weapon is not loaded, you may proceed with the following steps.
Slowly close the action, while keeping visual contact with the open action, insuring that no ammunition is loaded into the chamber.
Once the action is closed on an empty chamber, point the muzzle in a safe direction. (A safe direction is defined as that in which personal or property damage will not occur should there be a negligent discharge)
Move the safety to the “OFF†position, squeeze the trigger and move the safety back into the “ON†position. This step will cause the hammer to fall, releasing the action so that a round can be cycled into the chamber when needed.
Failure to successfully complete step 3 will cause the action to be locked, and will require that the action release be activated before the action can be cycled.
Fully load the magazine with buckshot.
The shotgun is now loaded “Cruiser Safe.â€
To deploy the shotgun for action, you simply cycle the action, which will load a round from the magazine, and move the safety to the “OFF†position when ready to fire.
Now, let’s assume that you have deployed the shotgun from your vehicle and have cycled the action. You determine that you do not need to employ deadly force and are no longer posed with a threat. You need to return the weapon to “Cruiser Safe,†so that it can be stored in the patrol car rack again.
Can we accomplish this without completely unloading and starting over? The answer is yes, and the procedure is not only quite simple, but closely resembles the Unloading procedures covered last month.
The following procedure must be followed to the letter to avoid a negligent discharge.
Point the muzzle in a safe direction and insure the safety is in the “ON†position.
Grasp the shotgun by the grip portion and hold the shotgun parallel to the ground.
Use your support hand to begin slowly opening the action. Your support hand thumb can be placed over the top of the barrel to assist in controlling the speed in which the action is opened.
Open the action until the nose of the shell that is being extracted from the chamber, just clears the front of the ejection port and begins to be turned outward. The action should be almost all of the way open with about ¾†of the bolt showing, near the rear of the ejection port.
Do not open the action any further. Use your support hand to remove the shell.
Carefully close the action making sure that no ammunition is being loaded into the chamber.
Once the action is closed on an empty chamber, point the weapon in a safe direction and move the safety to the “OFF†position. Squeeze the trigger and move the safety back into the “ON†position.
This step will cause the hammer to fall, releasing the action so that a round can be cycled into the chamber when needed. Failure to successfully complete step 6 will cause the action to be locked, and will require that the action release be activated before the action can be cycled.
Insert the shell that was removed from the chamber back into the magazine.
The shotgun is now returned to “Cruiser Safe.â€
We have found that requiring all shotguns to be loaded “Cruiser Safe†when stored in vehicle racks has cut down on confusion and allow everyone who accesses the weapon to have a reasonable idea of the condition of the weapon, however this does not relieve you of the responsibility of checking the condition of any weapon you handle.
["Select-a-Slug" portion of column removed- lpl]