Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Loaded Chamber on a 1911 Pistol?

I'm not advocating Ranger Miller's adventurous mode of carry. If he used a holster, I don't know what that was.

But I have known some serious, battle proven gunmen; from WWII and Korea vets right on through the Sand Wars, plus a whole lot of mayhem in the streets. I can think of four who killed multiple antagonists with an issued or personally owned 1911. A couple of them carried that pistol condition two. Given their results, I'd be disinclined to tell them they were doing it wrong.

Sadly, they're all gone now; but it was old age that got them, not 'leg wounds' from poor pistol handling.

Perhaps we can have a law passed on condition 2 and have cops write tickets for those carrying as such. Akin to seatbelt laws.

If it saves one life....

Being a seasoned lawman/gunfighter does not insulate one from the consequences of unsafe gun handling practices. Take, for instance, the story of the retired police officer from a major metropolitan department who claimed something like nine kills in the line of duty. As he was visiting with a man in the man's office, he suggested the man should keep a gun there for protection in that neighborhood. Saying, "Let me show you a real man's gun," he reached into his briefcase. That's when the 10mm 1911 in his briefcase discharged, sending the bullet through the retired officer's leg and into the man he was visiting.

Interesting. I've owned/carried 1911s for 44 years, including better than 15 years of duty carry and have known a lot of 1911/Colt Delta packers in that time. I investigated a good number of actual and falsely reported 'accidental' shootings involving a host of firearms- but not one of them a 1911.

Typically, someone had recently purchased a new gun and were fondling and or dryfiring it when the discharge occurred. They usually eventually admitted they had reloaded the gun, forgot they had reloaded it and thought they were dryfiring an empty gun. My last (pre-retirement) LE position was at a 'base town' and unfortunately, the vast majority of ND's involved service members living off base in apartment complexes. This reinforced my belief in God and guardian angels because frequently, adjoining occupied apartments were perforated and the only injury was from bullet-shattered glass.

Firearms involved were primarily striker fired pistols and I noted the incidence of these 'thought it was unloaded' ND's increased after their introduction. But people can and do ND with single and double action revolvers, all manner of sporting shotguns and even the old Mosin-Nagant. The Mosin bellers loud enough to wake up neighbors and fortunately, that one went up through a porch roof.

I'm not calling you a liar Chippy but my opinion is that your experience vastly over-represents Condition Two NDs with the 1911, which resulted in injuries to a specific area of the body.

Being a seasoned lawman/gunfighter does not insulate one from the consequences of unsafe gun handling practices. Take, for instance, the story of the retired police officer from a major metropolitan department who claimed something like nine kills in the line of duty. As he was visiting with a man in the man's office, he suggested the man should keep a gun there for protection in that neighborhood. Saying, "Let me show you a real man's gun," he reached into his briefcase. That's when the 10mm 1911 in his briefcase discharged, sending the bullet through the retired officer's leg and into the man he was visiting.

No. Too stooopid. 1911 users are all in nursing homes.
Besides you are way off on the danger of Condition two: the danger is simply thumb slip while manipulating the hammer.

Since I can't see the pin with the 1911 action closed and the hammer down, is the pin resting on the primer? What will happen if the gun drops and hits the hammer?

Being a seasoned lawman/gunfighter does not insulate one from the consequences of unsafe gun handling practices. Take, for instance, the story of the retired police officer from a major metropolitan department who claimed something like nine kills in the line of duty. As he was visiting with a man in the man's office, he suggested the man should keep a gun there for protection in that neighborhood. Saying, "Let me show you a real man's gun," he reached into his briefcase. That's when the 10mm 1911 in his briefcase discharged, sending the bullet through the retired officer's leg and into the man he was visiting.

Then there is this gem.

This was a rather bossy U.S. Army Major who we were tasked with protecting. Long story short she thought she was pretty hot stuff and fully equal of any of the people who were on her protection detail. We ended up in a remote province at a place where the locals were only being friendly to our faces and there was no doubt they were insurgents once they were out of our sight.

This hot shot Major, who insisted that she was just as capable somehow managed to get roughly 80-100 miles from the main U.S. base without a magazine in her sidearm (her only weapon) and no spare mags. Basically she was totally incompetent.

Funny thing is, none of us had any spare mags for her, as we don't carry Berettas.




Another Big Army Classic!

First I was discreetly trying to get these soldiers attention. We had been loaned out to provide protection/overwatch (I won't go into detail why the conventional Army and others need to be protected...)

Anyways, I was trying to tell the blonde SGT shown in the center of the pic that they cannot just leave their weapons unattended in their vehicles, since were were in a small town in a province in a Iraq and they were just asking for the iraqi police to steal their weapons or have them used against them. It was not a matter of IF, it was only a matter of WHEN some Iraqi grabbed one.

I was trying to be discreet, so as not to embarrass her. She thought I was motioning for her, because I wanted to hit on her..

The other thing I wanted to tell her was that as an NCO she was not exactly setting a great example since her 82nd Airborne patch was on UPSIDE DOWN....



I think I will pass on getting my weapons training from the conventional Military...

....But, in looking at comments, both here and elsewhere, concerning 1911 conditions of readiness, it becomes evident that many are not aware of the hazards associated with Condition Two carry. So, they cannot take them into account. That is something which can be fixed.

You guys are being trolled.....................rather successfully.

And then my Detonics is /was recommended to carry in condition TWO. One in the pipe and hammer down, hence the rear sight moved forward so thumb can engage the hammer quickly. .