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I cannot seem to convince my wife that carrying my 1911 in a shoulder rig (by necessity) is not dangerous.

On more than one occasion she has expressed her concern that the weapon is pointed toward the back seat of the car when we are traveling.

Of course, this is where my daughter (or others) generally are...when we go anywhere...so I understand the basis for the concern.

No amount of reasoning or education seems to have any effect, her "feelings" override fact and logic every time. (NOTE: This is not a shot at the ladies, this could apply to anyone).

I have been careful to point out that the ONLY way the weapon could discharge would be if the firing pin struck the primer of the cartridge (or the temperature inside the vehicle suddenly rose 800 degrees).

With my firearm, for this to happen (primer struck):

1. The thumb safety would have to be disengaged.

2. The grip safety would have to be fully depressed.

3. The trigger would have to be pulled (or otherwise manipulated).

4. The hammer would have to shear an 1/8" of cowhide strap and retain enough energy to strike the firing pin with force sufficient to ignite the primer.

I have explained and demonstrated that the weapon has: A thumb safety, A grip safety, A firing pin safety, A half cock position, A five pound trigger pull. All to no avail.

I am NOT cavalier about gun safety rules....but I wonder sometimes if we don't get a bit carried away with some of them. I.E. (never point the muzzle at anything you don't want to destroy) is excellent advice when the weapon is in hand. But, if you plan to carry...at some point your (on-safe) weapon is going to be covering you or someone else regardless of your mode of carry.

Thoughts??????

Has she taken the opportunity to go to the range and learn how the action functions? That may greatly allay her fears.

I've been dating my girlfriend for about a year. I'll state up front that she is a keeper for sure. Now, she is a liberal Democrat. She had never shot a gun and was completely ignorant about their operation and what they were for. After she had time to get to know me and my hobbies, I invited her to the range and she shot several of my firearms (semi-auto rifle, revolver, single action, double action only and double action pistols) and I showed her how the actions in all of them worked and how to use them safely. She now has a much better understanding of them, in what condition they are safe, and how to safely handle them. Now she actually really appreciates that I own them, use them safely, and can protect us if necessary. But it all started with her learning how they work and how to safely use them, first. Now she is considering buying a Ruger 10/22 that she can shoot as her primary rifle when we go to the range together. She only weighs like 105 pounds so she needs a gentle one. :-)

I occasionally, though rarely, use a horizontal shoulder holster and it's almost always when I'm driving for long distances. Prior to getting a C-TAC to use as a tuckable, I'd occasionally use it under my outer shirt and then I was around other people at an event.

Short of hanging a Kevlar vest over the back of the seat, I'm not sure what you can do to convince her that the thumb-break strap protecting the firing pin from the hammer is sufficient. I'm not at all fond of having an empty chamber, but that's one option. But when we're used to carrying cocked-and-locked, there's a very good chance you won't remember to charge the pistol before you get out of the car.

You just may not be able to past her fears on this one.

Chas.

Females?? Logic?? Since when do females run on logic?

Well, they don't. They run on emotion. If she doesn't mind the fact that you carry in the first place, then keep your SO happy - IMO it's not worth the hassle. There are lots of other ways to carry, including vertical shoulder.

You can let her have the battle -- you've won the war.....

PhilR.

Welcome to the married facts of life.

PhilR. wrote:Females?? Logic?? Since when do females run on logic?

Well, they don't. They run on emotion. If she doesn't mind the fact that you carry in the first place, then keep your SO happy - IMO it's not worth the hassle. There are lots of other ways to carry, including vertical shoulder.

You can let her have the battle -- you've won the war.....

PhilR.

Carry in not a problem with her, we have been married for 24 yrs. and firearms have been part of the deal from the moment we started dating.

She has her own pistol and is familiar with how they work.

I have a shoulder injury that prevents me from reaching beyond my centerline (without significant pain), that is the primary reason I use a shoulder holster. I am not going to switch to a "vertical" rig to placate her or promote misguided fears.

Horizontal shoulder carry is no different than "purse carry". A firearm on top of a nightstand is probably pointing at someone if you live an apartment. Same thing if you live on an upper floor and carry IWB/OWB or if you stoop over in public.

My point is....I am not worried in the least about anyones mode of carry with any modern (and properly functioning) firearm. They are really quite safe until someone puts their hand on one (then it depends on the person).

Its not something we argue about and she generally forgets about it (I think) somewhere along the way. Still, she has the idea that it is somehow unsafe.

I guess its just something she'll never get past.

Take her to the range or out in the woods and while you are wearing your shoulder holster have her try and fire the weapon while on you without removing it from the holster. Let her try any two of the safety combos but not all at the same time, but not all of the safety off at one time she will see there is no way to make it fire unless all safety's are off and gun unstrapped from the safe position.

Dougmyers5 wrote:Take her to the range or out in the woods and while you are wearing your shoulder holster have her try and fire the weapon while on you without removing it from the holster. Let her try any two of the safety combos but not all at the same time, but not all of the safety off at one time she will see there is no way to make it fire unless all safety's are off and gun unstrapped from the safe position.

What!

You think I'm crazy......?

My life insurance is paid up, what do you think the odds are I'd ever come back from "the woods".

Not to mention how fast you draw in your current setup It's quite impressive.

I might add that we have 100 years of experience with the Secret Service and state police guarding elected officials, often in dense crowds, and they have never had a weapon "go off" in a holster. Much of that time the weapons were double-action revolvers.

Having said that, I was taught at an early age that weapons should be pointed only at a target, and it took me quite a while to get used to having one pointed at my leg.

- Jim

flintknapper wrote:

PhilR. wrote:Females?? Logic?? Since when do females run on logic?

Well, they don't. They run on emotion. If she doesn't mind the fact that you carry in the first place, then keep your SO happy - IMO it's not worth the hassle. There are lots of other ways to carry, including vertical shoulder.

You can let her have the battle -- you've won the war.....

PhilR.

Carry in not a problem with her, we have been married for 24 yrs. and firearms have been part of the deal from the moment we started dating.

She has her own pistol and is familiar with how they work.

I have a shoulder injury that prevents me from reaching beyond my centerline (without significant pain), that is the primary reason I use a shoulder holster. I am not going to switch to a "vertical" rig to placate her or promote misguided fears.

Horizontal shoulder carry is no different than "purse carry". A firearm on top of a nightstand is probably pointing at someone if you live an apartment. Same thing if you live on an upper floor and carry IWB/OWB or if you stoop over in public.

My point is....I am not worried in the least about anyones mode of carry with any modern (and properly functioning) firearm. They are really quite safe until someone puts their hand on one (then it depends on the person).

Its not something we argue about and she generally forgets about it (I think) somewhere along the way. Still, she has the idea that it is somehow unsafe.

I guess its just something she'll never get past.

I actually understand her irrational fear. I don't like 1911s and some of my dislike for them is, the idea of carrying them cocked is unnerving to me. I do know its safe, but logic doesn't always. sync with our comfort zone. Would she be more comfortable with you carrying another style gun? Could you be comfortable? Good luck with your choices.

Get a Para LDA. Problem solved.

flintknapper wrote:
My point is....I am not worried in the least about anyones mode of carry with any modern (and properly functioning) firearm. They are really quite safe until someone puts their hand on one (then it depends on the person).

Hey - you're preaching to the choir, and I'm not worried about safety of modern firearms (yours included) either, so your point was discernable in your original post.

Be that as it may, your logic and knowledge, while voluminous and admirable, still don't matter, and I still maintain that it's not worth the hassle. And too, if you're so handicapped that you absolutely refuse to change your carry method in order not to give in to her "misguided fears", then why put up this post in the first place? Either the subject is a cause of strife and you should do something to relieve that strife, or it's a non-issue, in which case we are just wasting time....

PhilR.

With the vast experience of all of the comments so far, I would have to say that from an emotional and psychological position...

I would explore "together" what may be an acceptable compramise, and use you knowledge, and your wifes input in discovering a system that will work for you, and have her become comfortable with that system...

There may be a million ways to do it, but you only have to find one...

I am not Dr. Phil, nor do I claim to know it all, besides he's probably anti-gun anyway, so the best thing is to both discover this together...

Welcome to the "drawer full of holster rigs" club...