Phaedrus/69
Member
How many folks here still carry Condition-One/Cocked-and-Locked? I'm going through a bout of soul searching on the issue which I'll admit happens from time to time. Back in the late 80's or very early 90's I bought my first handgun (that I was able to purchase legally on my own). It was a Browning Hi-Power. I had a fair of bit of work done it- mag disconnect removed, a very good trigger job done, feed ramp polished, night sights added, etc.- and I still have the gun today. I got my CCW permit as soon as I was old enough and for the most of the first 20 years I carried it was that BHP, cocked-and-locked. Occasionally I'd vary it; sometimes I carried a Colt Commander in .38 Super or an HK USPf9. But whatever I carried it was always cocked-and-locked except those rare situations when I carried a wheelgun. Nothing really made me consider changing that practice for a long time.
Until the last few years, that is. I guess my Beretta Nano was the first gun I carried a lot with no manual safety. Sure, I bought a Glock 22 shortly after they hit the gun stores in my state but I loathed everything about it and never did get comfortable with the idea of carrying it. The Nano has been a great gun for me. It's very very compact and thin, and quite easy to conceal. It's subjectively a very soft shooter and quite accurate. And mine at least has been 100% reliable. Since the trigger is somewhat heavy and longish for a striker gun I got pretty comfortable carrying it IWB in a high quality holster.
Then I got my HK VP9, and a P30L with the V1 LEM trigger after that. The VP9 has a pretty light trigger by CCW standards but in a good holster I'm pretty comfortable carrying it. And the LEM is even better from a carry standpoint. Technically it's DAO but it feels like a two-stage trigger in actual operation. There's a long but very light take-up stage and then the pull gets a bit heavier (but still short of DA weight). Then you hit the "wall" and it breaks like a SA. The nice thing about the LEM vs a striker is that it still has a hammer. I can keep my thumb on the hammer as I holster to ensure it can't be fired (as well as feel the hammer try to rise if something catches the trigger).
The VP9 is the only non-SA or non-DA/SA gun I've every had that I could shoot was well as a real SA. It's a spectacular shooter.
All the while I've trained to swipe the safety off upon drawing the sidearm. I do it automatically even when there's no safety as is the case with the Nano, VP9 or P30L.
Still, there is room for error. The first kind would be drawing the gun and forgetting to disengage that safety. That would be A Very Bad Thing in a violent encounter. The other potential mistake would be to wind up using the gun for defense and forgetting to engage the safety before holstering the gun, resulting in having a hot gun in the holster.
I've always felt that training was the answer to all issues, but I'm starting to debate whether it's the best answer to this one. I've never liked carrying a DA/SA auto loaded with the hammer down...I guess Col. Cooper and I agree that "crunchentickers" are far from ideal. And despite wishing I could I just can't learn to like or even tolerate Glocks. The blocky ergos and spongy trigger drive me to distraction.
But with a new crop of very good striker fired autos and a bunch of stellar HKs with LEM triggers, I'm beginning to wonder if it's time to consign cocked-and-locked carry to an honored place in history and "move on to the new?"
What say you all?
Until the last few years, that is. I guess my Beretta Nano was the first gun I carried a lot with no manual safety. Sure, I bought a Glock 22 shortly after they hit the gun stores in my state but I loathed everything about it and never did get comfortable with the idea of carrying it. The Nano has been a great gun for me. It's very very compact and thin, and quite easy to conceal. It's subjectively a very soft shooter and quite accurate. And mine at least has been 100% reliable. Since the trigger is somewhat heavy and longish for a striker gun I got pretty comfortable carrying it IWB in a high quality holster.
Then I got my HK VP9, and a P30L with the V1 LEM trigger after that. The VP9 has a pretty light trigger by CCW standards but in a good holster I'm pretty comfortable carrying it. And the LEM is even better from a carry standpoint. Technically it's DAO but it feels like a two-stage trigger in actual operation. There's a long but very light take-up stage and then the pull gets a bit heavier (but still short of DA weight). Then you hit the "wall" and it breaks like a SA. The nice thing about the LEM vs a striker is that it still has a hammer. I can keep my thumb on the hammer as I holster to ensure it can't be fired (as well as feel the hammer try to rise if something catches the trigger).
The VP9 is the only non-SA or non-DA/SA gun I've every had that I could shoot was well as a real SA. It's a spectacular shooter.
All the while I've trained to swipe the safety off upon drawing the sidearm. I do it automatically even when there's no safety as is the case with the Nano, VP9 or P30L.
Still, there is room for error. The first kind would be drawing the gun and forgetting to disengage that safety. That would be A Very Bad Thing in a violent encounter. The other potential mistake would be to wind up using the gun for defense and forgetting to engage the safety before holstering the gun, resulting in having a hot gun in the holster.
I've always felt that training was the answer to all issues, but I'm starting to debate whether it's the best answer to this one. I've never liked carrying a DA/SA auto loaded with the hammer down...I guess Col. Cooper and I agree that "crunchentickers" are far from ideal. And despite wishing I could I just can't learn to like or even tolerate Glocks. The blocky ergos and spongy trigger drive me to distraction.
But with a new crop of very good striker fired autos and a bunch of stellar HKs with LEM triggers, I'm beginning to wonder if it's time to consign cocked-and-locked carry to an honored place in history and "move on to the new?"
What say you all?