Cocked and locked carry for 1911s - I have seen all sorts

by Paul , Tuesday, August 28, 2018, 07:27 (2280 days ago) @ stonewalrus

If you want to carry a 1911, you'd do yourself a favor to get one of Simply Rugged's holsters sans strap and carry it cocked and locked. Those holsters hold it tight until you purposefully draw it out. Your hand automatically grips the pistol, releasing the grip safety, your thumb automatically sweeps the safety down and then your finger moves to the trigger - all smooth and safe if properly rehearsed (trained).

If for psychological reasons you feel a need for a strap, there are holsters that allow you to place a strap in front of the cocked and locked hammer. One more layer of safety on this very safe platform. When I say "for psychological reasons" it's not a jab. When you've been around guns as long as we have there are things that we insist on to prevent some potential problem.

Carrying a 1911 with the hammer down on a loaded chamber is NOT a good idea. Carrying it for self protection with the hammer down on an unloaded chamber isn't either. The design allows you to safely carry it with a loaded chamber and the hammer cocked as long as you also engage the thumb safety. BUT to carry a 1911 you really need to spend a lot of time training with it. That's why I no longer have a 1911 up north, no time/$$$ to train during our brief sojourns up there. The sixgun gets the nod as it's the platform I train on.

In extreme situations we default to our training. Carrying a 1911 safely means you need to spend plenty of time retraining for this platform.