Cocked and Locked

[Skiprr]

Cocked & locked. Kimber may consider it a liability.
LT considers a 1911 in any other condition a LIABILITY.

Pretty much sums up that issue.

[Mithras61]

I see no problem with carrying cocked and locked if the gun has a safety. I prefer DA/SA because I don't operate the safety as quickly as I like, so I'm practice. Once I get proficient with the safety, I won't mind carrying cocked and locked. The only danger I see is if the safety gets knocked off by accident while the gun is holstered. A holster should protect from doing that.

LittleGun, every modern autoloader has a safety. Even Glocks & XDs have 'em (maybe just not what you're used to thinking of as a safety). The thing is, when you need your gun, you REALLY need it to be loaded and ready to go, not a second or two from it. The fastest chambering I've seen is the Israeli method, and it still adds a fraction of a second to the presentation.

Consider: It takes someone with a knife about 2 seconds to close from 21 feet. It also takes about 2 seconds to draw & fire (un-aimed) from concealment. If you add a few tenths of a second to that, you will be dead. Juries tend to disbelieve a threat from greater than 21 feet with a knife (don't ask me why, its really sorta dumb as far as I can tell), so that's pretty much the limit.

Try this exercise: In a safe environment (with an airsoft replica or your UNLOADED pistol!), stand back to back with a buddy. Have your hands relaxed at your sides like you normally stand. Have another buddy with a stop watch. The buddy that's standing back to back with you yells "Go!" at which point you draw & present, and he takes off running. The stopwatch starts at the same time. When you have presented, the buddy with the stopwatch stops it, and yells out "Stop!" The buddy that took off running stops where he is. Turn around & see how far he is from you. Also look at the stopwatch and see how long it took you to present. The second thing can be reduced with practice. The first will give you an idea of how far you have to identify threats before they are "inside" your reaction time. For grins, try the same exercise, but "chamber" a round before presenting and mote the differences.


As to the OP, carrying cocked & locked won't cause exessive wear on the springs. What wears springs is the cycling of them. A static compressed condition won't do it any more than a static extended condition will. It's the moving between compressed and extended that causes the wear. As another poster noted, WWII-era 1911s have been found cockerd & locked for over 50 years and they functioned flawlessly. My father has a WWII Luger that he had put in Condition 1 back when I was a tot (~45 years ago) and never fired. Last summer he took it out when I asked if he still had it. We fired the rounds that were still in it and it also worked flawlessly. If it was wearing to have it cocked & locked, the springs would have long ago failed and the gun would have maybe fired once before malfunctioning.

Keep 'em cocked & locked, and they'll be ready when you need 'em (just please keep 'em out of little hands, too).

[The Annoyed Man]

I carry both of my 1911s cocked and locked, and now that I've got an ambidextrous safety for it, I also carry my USP Compact cocked and locked (I'm left handed).

[CompVest]

Consider: It takes someone with a knife about 2 seconds to close from 21 feet. It also takes about 2 seconds to draw & fire (un-aimed) from concealment. If you add a few tenths of a second to that, you will be dead. Juries tend to disbelieve a threat from greater than 21 feet with a knife (don't ask me why, its really sorta dumb as far as I can tell), so that's pretty much the limit.

One, I don't intend to stand there waiting while someone is coming at me with a knife. Two, I can draw and aim and hit center mass in under two seconds from concealment consistently. I have made it muscle memory to aim every time I draw.

It is all in the practice!

[Mithras61]

Consider: It takes someone with a knife about 2 seconds to close from 21 feet. It also takes about 2 seconds to draw & fire (un-aimed) from concealment. If you add a few tenths of a second to that, you will be dead. Juries tend to disbelieve a threat from greater than 21 feet with a knife (don't ask me why, its really sorta dumb as far as I can tell), so that's pretty much the limit.

One, I don't intend to stand there waiting while someone is coming at me with a knife. Two, I can draw and aim and hit center mass in under two seconds from concealment consistently. I have made it muscle memory to aim every time I draw.

It is all in the practice!

That's what I was talking about further on down when I said you could improve your time on the "draw & present" but that you couldn't do much about the 21' rule that juries believe in. I've seen videos of trained professionals (read police) practicing against this scenario, and even the fastest draw I've seen would get you seriously injured or dead unless you can make a CNS shot every time (and even then you may still get stuck or slashed).

This exercise (that I was speaking about above) is a variant of the Tueller drill. IIRC, Tueller determined that an attacker with a knife could cover 21' in just under 2 seconds (1.5, actually - after I looked it up). The idea as presented was to find their own limits. I bet you'd be surprised how far your buddy could get (even as admittedly fantastic as you are), and you're still talking about a 1-shot stop...

(and no, I don't think I'd care to test your reflexes against mine, thanks! )

[Smokewagon]

If you don't carry with one in the chamber cocked and locked, good luck if your fighting for your life with your off hand while drawing your pistola.

[joe817]

If you don't carry with one in the chamber cocked and locked, good luck if your fighting for your life with your off hand while drawing your pistola.

totally.

[C-dub]

Good to go 24/7.

For grins, try the same exercise, but "chamber" a round before presenting and mote the differences.

.

What?

[LittleGun]

I agree with carrying one in the chamber. That's the way I carry.

[Gyrogearhead]

Or as my dear old long departed pappy used to say:"An unloaded weapon is just a fancy doorstop." That's why I favor the Glock & XD's. With no external safety there is one thing less to remember to do when it really hits the fan.

[USA1]

this reminds me of a disturbing incident .....
.....not to long ago i was showing a neighbor one of my new firearms as they are pro gun folks as well.
she said "have i ever showed you my gun?" she proceeded to retrieve it from deep down in the closet wrapped up in a towel.

it was a revolver ,i took the weapon and immediately noticed it was'nt loaded.
i said "how is this going to protect you if someone kicks the door in?"
she said "i keep the bullets nearby "

the worst part was the gun was stored away without even being cleaned after the last time it had been fired
since they have no children living with them, i recommended keeping it loaded and on the top shelf of the closet
and practice getting to it quickly



............and clean it !!......

[bryang]

Cocked & locked. Kimber may consider it a liability.
LT considers a 1911 in any other condition a LIABILITY.

Pretty much sums up that issue.

Exactly!

-geo

[longhorn_92]

Cocked & locked. Kimber may consider it a liability.
LT considers a 1911 in any other condition a LIABILITY.

Pretty much sums up that issue.

Exactly!

-geo

[Mithras61]

Good to go 24/7.

For grins, try the same exercise, but "chamber" a round before presenting and mote the differences.

.

What?

Rack the slide during the draw & present to see what the time difference is. Remember we're working with an unloaded gun in a safe location...

[.45mac.40]

Same, same.... Ditto, ditto !
I also carry the XD or Kahr, for the same reasons .... Point and Squeese, No knobs, buttons, slides, hammers, to mess with,
in a stressful situation.
Same idea, as with Sky Diving//Parachuting equipment ... WHEN in DOUBT, GET it OUT !!!!
Mac .45 >>>>> : + :