My Colt Officer is the gun you saw & shot.What gun did I see? Did I miss something in the thread? If so I can't find it.
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My Colt Officer is the gun you saw & shot.What gun did I see? Did I miss something in the thread? If so I can't find it.
Where you get in trouble is, as you state, in the placement of the thumb but in order to allow the hammer to rest fully against the slide you will have to give up the thumbs placement and in time one will pass the line of safety for convenience and the resultant discharge. As the Colt ad states there is one safe way to carry and a round under the hammer is not best practice.I suspect you friend had his thumb on the hammer spur, which is risky business. It is nearly impossible to 'lose control' if you hook your thumb over the top of the hammer, with the end of your thumb between the hammer and slide.
Here's another shot from the '84 G&A I picked up as part of the birth year gun thread. I thought this was an interesting note from Colt and it seemed appropriate to post here...
FWIW, I carry a 1911 cocked and locked.
View attachment 245085
Every gun manual I have ever read says to not carry the gun loaded. It's a liability thing more than Anything else.
People love to repeat BS as the Gospel.How is it possible that someone would have enough awareness of "the old way" and have no awareness of the way revolvers have been made for over half a century?
Because there are still a lot of the old designs floating around? Have a non-converted 3-screw Ruger in your collection? I believe some Colt SAA clones didn't have the hammer block. And who knows about some the cheap stuff out there.How is it possible that someone would have enough awareness of "the old way" and have no awareness of the way revolvers have been made for over half a century?
Because there are still a lot of the old designs floating around? Have a non-converted 3-screw Ruger in your collection? I believe some Colt SAA clones didn't have the hammer block. And who knows about some the cheap stuff out there.
Just sayin'
Just a mechanical question.
What purpose would be served by engaging a safety when the pistol can't fire anyway?
Lowering the hammer one-handed as described in JMB's patent works fine.
That's what I do here also. Devel was the first I knew of to do it.View attachment 245939 View attachment 245938 Here’s how you can rack the slide with thumb safety engaged. Not the best pictures, but all I could Google in 5 minutes. Novak NeXT
Here’s how you can rack the slide with thumb safety engaged. Not the best pictures, but all I could Google in 5 minutes. Novak NeXT
So trade away a bit of functionality, for a bit of security
It’s good to have options.
No, thank you. Never got into the habit of trusting mechanical safeties anyway.
BTW.... nothing about this thread has to do with carrying or using the gun. Just a mechanical question.
{of course, a thread can go anywhere it wants, once it's in the wild}
Modifying a safety is just plain stupid. In the hands of the uninformed the rate of errant discharges will multiply defeating the intending exercise. Leave it alone and learned to handle it safely in it’s original state. Sooner or later a modified 1911 will be pasted on the an heir or some other unsuspecting soul causing harm.
It is a distraction from the normal functionality of the 1911, distractions are not an asset to safe handling of a firearm.That depends on the modification. I see no danger in having the slide capable of being moved with the safety on since it does not affect the fire control parts.
The way it's done here does Not allow the safety to be on and the hammer Down. I can't imagine why that would help anything. The loading and unloading with the safety on is a quite practical "change". The folks that can't grasp how this works would not adapt well to the many Colts and Sigs and many others that are SA in design but allow loading with the safety On. If a person becomes so ingrained in a particular thing they seem to become blind to the idea that something else Will on occasion work. This doesn't mean work better for all, however if you like the many small "Kinda 1911s", Colt .380s, Sig .380s and 9mms and many other smaller carriable guns then having the Ability to load and unload with the safety on, won't be a distraction to you. If these kind of things cause such a great distraction to you, Perhaps you shouldn't carry any firearm. I am adaptable to any firearms platform once instructed to proper usage. Some folks are not. There are also Some folks that are locked in on One way of doing anything to the point they "can't" understand why anybody would want having an option. I am certain I have been shooting 1911s as long as anybody on this forum. Dare say I, pretty damn well also. Being able to load and unload with the safety On doesn't distract me one bit.I see some mention and pics of altered thumb safeties to allow the slide to retract with the safety engaged. I have a question...since the engaged safety locks the sear, if the hammer was down, wouldn't pulling the slide back cause the hammer hooks to rub and hop over the sear engagement surface with some force, and perhaps over time ruin the engagement surfaces (and a nice crisp trigger break)?
Thanks for the clarification on the hammer down part. I understand better what the purpose is for the modification.The way it's done here does Not allow the safety to be on and the hammer Down. I can't imagine why that would help anything. The loading and unloading with the safety on is a quite practical "change". The folks that can't grasp how this works would not adapt well to the many Colts and Sigs and many others that are SA in design but allow loading with the safety On. If a person becomes so ingrained in a particular thing they seem to become blind to the idea that something else Will on occasion work. This doesn't mean work better for all, however if you like the many small "Kinda 1911s", Colt .380s, Sig .380s and 9mms and many other smaller carriable guns then having the Ability to load and unload with the safety on, won't be a distraction to you. If these kind of things cause such a great distraction to you, Perhaps you shouldn't carry any firearm. I am adaptable to any firearms platform once instructed to proper usage. Some folks are not. There are also Some folks that are locked in on One way of doing anything to the point they "can't" understand why anybody would want having an option. I am certain I have been shooting 1911s as long as anybody on this forum. Dare say I, pretty damn well also. Being able to load and unload with the safety On doesn't distract me one bit.
I am as always Open to New ideas. I have a great many 1911s But I am always open to anybody showing me how I can improve. I am here Every day.
‘Not carry any firearm’....BS, not carry a modified firearm, damned straight.Thanks for the clarification on the hammer down part. I understand better what the purpose is for the modification.
However, with many handguns obvuously there is no manual safety, and other than the 4 safety rules, no mechanical preventative to a ND.
In direct reply to your statement, if one can't trust themselves to not handle the firearm safely and rely on a safety to simply charge the weapon, maybe that person should "not carry any firearm."
If only JMB was still here in 2020 to explain himself.