Lowering hammer on SA chambered 1911-A1 .45

[Freedomv]

Are you sure will this work?? Or Can it be done? I don't mean to be picky as I don't know.

" Failing that, if the safety broke or something and I only had one hand available, I'd do the sort of de-cock drill used on revolvers all the time: throw the pad of your thumb completely in front of the hammer, pull the trigger and quickly release it, and then slowly slide the thumb up and out."

I don't think I could depress the grip saftey on my Remington-Rand .45 with my thumb anywhere near the hammer and at the same time pull the trigger. I could be wrong, I have really big hands and fat fingers. I'll have to do some experimenting as I learn somethiing new all the time.

For the record I have never attempted to decock a 1911 on a loaded chamber.

Vern

 

[Jim March]

Oh dear. Whoops. I forgot about the grip safety! Yeah, that WOULD put a major crimp in the "thumb in front of the hammer" plan, unless you had NBA-sized hands that could wrap halfway round a basketball.

Sigh.

So that's a two-handed drill no matter what.

Leaving either the "sweep the safety back on" or "funky one-hand rack" as the only one-handed yet safe drills available to reholster a cocked 1911.

Sweeping the safety on and going back to cocked'n'locked looks best by far. And THAT is why so many people are calling C'n'L the safest gameplan...if that's what you're used to, you can revert back to it under stress such as a post-firing reholster situation.

Iiiiinteresting.

 

[banddr2]

My answer to the original question.

I don't do it, but this is how i would: gun pointed in a safe direction, left thumb over the firing pin and up against the hammer, release the safety, pull the trigger so that thehammer falls against your thumb, release the trigger and grip safety with the right hand, grab the hammer with the right hand thumb and index finger and slide the left thumb out of the way and lower the hammer the rest of the way. I know it will be resting on the halfcock notch, but it cannot ignite the primer from that height and if it is a series 80 that's not an issue. I really wouldn't ever lower the hammer on a series 70, if anything slips someone is going to get hurt.

I used to have a cz75 without a deckocker, but it has the firing pin block, so the above method is what I used.

 

[banddr2]

I just looked at your picture, looks like a 70 series mil spec, there is no 100% safe way to lower the hammer on that. Just like others have said earlier.

 

[Old Fuff]

Would ya' settle for 98.97%...?

 

[EllisWyatt]

Lots of people talking past each other here.

First: Let your wife pick the weapon she is comfortable with. You're not sure how to operate it safely, so you ask around on some internet forum instead of taking a safety course or doing some research yourself? Sheesh, man, who's going to teach her?


Second: Obviously, lowering the hammer on a loaded chamber can be done, has been done, and is still done. Indeed it was taught as the right way for quite a long time, back in the days when people expected to be held responsible for their own actions.

That said, would I do it? Absolutely not. There are simply too many things to go wrong. If I ever have to operate a pistol under stress, all fine motor skills will have gone out the window. Hell, I had blood drawn at the hospital last night, and it made me feel so ill that I couldn't even wipe the sweat off my own forehead. Knowing that about myself, I don't train myself to do anything at the range that I wouldn't trust myself to do under intense emotional and physiological stress.

But if you think you can safely lower the hammer on a live round when your body is full of adrenaline and there are people shouting "gun! gun! gun!" around you, go ahead and teach yourself that habit on the square range.

Just don't expect my tax dollars to pay for your hospital bill when you slip and the slide breaks your thumb off, or for your lawyer when you're on trial for "shooting at" a bad guy who had already surrendered. Pick your own doomsday scenario. Just remember that you are intentionally violating Rule 3 when you do this. Enjoy.

 

[banddr2]

Would ya' settle for 98.97%...?

Yeah, if you lower the hammer 99 times and skip the 100th you will be alright.

 

[Old Fuff]

Still safe... given the kind of .45's they make today that 100th round will have failed to chamber...

 

[earplug]

I shot the ceiling

Earlier in the day I had cut my thumb. Later that night I decocked my 1911 using the cut thumb. I did a early release of the hammer due to my cut thumb. I did have the pistol pointed away from others. The .45 ACP 230 grain FMJ did make a hole in my roof.
I would not do it again. Drop the magazine, rack the slide and eject the round. Cocked and locked or empty chamber.
As I got lazy and old I deal with a DA revolver.

 

[Old Fuff]

Yup, I agree... anyone who would try to lower the hammer with a cut thumb should stick to cocked & locked or an empty chamber.

Probably the latter...