1911 safty question

[dogslayer]

Is it safe to carry a 1911 with a round in the chamber and the hammer down ? If I were to fall or hit the hammer on somthing would it go off ? Thanks .

[HighDesertWolf]

with the hammer all the way down resting on the firing pin yes it could go off if the hammer is accidently struck. If you are gonna carry your 1911 with a round in the pipe I recommend setting the hammer at half cock or keep it cocked and locked (fully cocked with safety on).

[Sooner1982]

I also reccomend carrying at half-cock. Then not only do you have that security, but the grip safety will also be engaged at half-cock, so not only would your fall have to cause the hammer to fail, but also the grip safety as well.

[eldeguello]

ORIGINAL: dogslayer

Is it safe to carry a 1911 with a round in the chamber and the hammer down ? If I were to fall or hit the hammer on somthing would it go off ? Thanks .

It is relatively safe to carry a 1911 with the hammer down on a round ("Condition 2"). Since the 1911has a rebounding firing pin, a blow on the hammer will not fire it UNLESS THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE GUN, LIKE A TOO-LONG FIRING PIN!!

The pin is inside the slide, not resting onthe primer of the round when the hammer is down. The hammerhas to be cocked, and the pin requires the fullblow from a cocked hammer to drive it forward with sufficient force to fire the round.

HOWEVER, when carrying a 1911this way ("Condition 2")it is POSSIBLE for a 1911 to fire when it is loaded with around and the hammer is down, IF it is dropped squarely on the muzzle end from a height sufficient to propel the striker into the primer with enoughforce to set it off. I have heard of this happening, but don't know how far the pistol fell before the muzzle hit the ground.

The safetst way to carry the 1911 when a round is in the chamber is with the hammer COCKED and the safety on - ("Condition 1"). This isespecially safe if you are carrying it ina holster that has a leather snap-strapbetween the slide and the hammer...... This is tripleysafe, since the hammer cannot drop as long as the safety is on and the grip safety is not fully depressed. And if the hammer SHOULD drop, the leather strap keeps it from hitting the firing pin.

The half-cock notch on the 1911 hammer is NOT a safety, and is there only because the Army demanded it. John Browning did not put half-cock notches on his original semiauto pistol hammer designs, and the M1911 is NOT INTENDED to be carried with the hammer at half-cock. Why?? Because cocking it from half-cock often permits the hammerto slip when your hand is grippingthe pistolawkwardly as you are thumbing back the hammer. Under pressure, this is even more likely to happen!! Not good.....
The SAFEST way to carry a 1911 is with a loaded magazine in the gun with an empty chamber. ("Condition 3") It only takes a blink of an eye to snatch the slide back and let it snapclosed........

[eldeguello]

[USMC PMI]

eldeguello - That was an excellent post. I have been taught the same information but you explained it better than anyone I have talked to!

[Briman]

The 1/2 cock is a big no-no with the 1911, its not a safety at all, its not even a true 1/2 cock for that matter. It seems intuitive that it would be one if you learned handguns by shooting single action revolvers, and that carrying it with the hammer back is dangerous, but the 1911 is just the opposite of a single action revolver. If you carry it on the so-called 1/2 cock, you will defeat the hammer locking safety as well.There are 2 safe ways to carry it- round in the chamber, hammer cocked and locked, the other is with the hammer down on an empty chamber.

[Bulzeye]

Somenewer 1911's also have passive firing pin safeties, that disengage only upon pushing on the grip safety or trigger.

Great discussion of half cock, and carry options.
This little bit of sharing may save somebody's life if the right person reads it.

[ranger140892]

Absolutely do not use the half cock. What a goober the guy is that suggests that. It's not a safety. Half cock will ruin your sear to hammer engagementif used like that.
Modern 1911's have a spring and plunger firing pin block in the slide. They're safe to carry with a round in the chamber, hammer down or cocked and locked.
Even old 1911's are safe as long as the firing pinrebound spring is present and in good working order, and you're not using really soft primers. The inertia firing pin will contact the primer when the round is chambered. It will even leave a dent on the primer. Remember, it was designed as a military weapon and intended for a specific cartridge setup, with a specific primer,just like the M16. The M16 always leaves a dent on the primer of a chambered round. Neither firearm is unsafe because of it, UNLESS, you're using really soft primers.

[98Redline]

The only 1911 variants with the firing pin saftey are the Model 80 versions and later. An original Model 70 1911 has no firing pin block.