If there were kids, probably, but since they are none, both my Glock with the light / laser combo and 1911 have one in the pipe and the 1911 is cocked and locked.
I know this is one of those endless debates, but I'd like to hear what some of the guys here prefer, and why?
Also, how about your nightstand gun? Will that change if there are kids in the house?
Appreciate all input.
Cocked and locked. That's the only way a professional rolls.
When my kids got mobile, I quit using the Smith and Wesson 686 4" that resided loaded on my nightstand, normally with a speedloader or two, and which is THE best nightstand gun ever. I went to an auto with nothing in the chamber, but a loaded mag. When they got big enough to rack the slide, I went to keeping it completely unloaded and inaccessible to them, taking the chance that it was much less accessible to me. I relied on training them rather than keeping it completely inaccessible in the Safe. I also relied on severely limiting having their friends over and when they did, the gun was kept inaccessible. Now one is nineteen and the other is fifteen and both are trained and trustworthy and have their own firearms. I won't recommend my way to anybody else. It is all dependent on you and your kids. I'm just relating what I did.
C1 or C3 are the only two that makes sense. Never manually manipulate the hammer. My carry 1911 is C1 and stays that way in a lock box at night. The less you have to mess with loading and unloading the less chance you have of: a) an ND due to carelessness b) inadvertently carrying an ‘unloaded gun
C3 makes sense if you are taking about something like leaving a gun in a safe for quick but not immediate access. Don’t rely on it to deter a motivated child. IMO, there is no real place for C2 with a 1911.
Condition 1..loaded ready to go regardless of the type of action.
Just picked up a new Colt Competition in .38 Super Friday. Had not read a Colt Manual for a long time so I read the manual that came with the gun... Colt says the gun should only be carried in two conditions...1) Hammer down on an EMPTY chamber or 2) hammer cocked with the SLIDE LOCK SAFETY ENGAGED (manual safety)
SA, cocked and locked. Striker, fully loaded, means one in the pipe. DA/SA, fully loaded. SA revolver, all chambers full. DA/SA revolver, all chambers full.
Nightstand guns are 7.62 REPR/20 round PMags, and AR-15 with 120 round drum, a handgun is there, but would hand it to Wife as she rolls under the bed with cell call to POPO.
Were any house midgets to show up, all interior doors can also be locked from the inside/outside.
The way I see it, having my 1911 in condition 3 saved two guys sacking my son's room 9/23/13 from getting shot. Hearing that slide being racked hopefully scared them straight as they made a mad dash out the front door. My first and only home invasion that made quite a memory.
My granddaughter just asked to borrow a handgun from me. She has a 7 year old son. She knows I have a couple to spare. I said she could have one on the condition that she purchase a handgun safe . They are cheap, start around a hundred bucks. Hasbeen
...but I'd like to hear what some of the guys here prefer, and why?
Condition 1 for EDC. For me that's a G19. Why? Because a striker-fired gun w/o a safety eliminates another variable--another opportunity for me to do something wrong. (Not that I'd be anything less than AWESOME in a gunfight, but...you know...just in case... ) Although, not trying to sound prideful, I did carry (and practice with) a 1911 for several years, and drawing and hitting the safety comes pretty natural to me, but again, why give yourself one more chance to blunder...
Originally Posted by RickBin
Also, how about your nightstand gun? Will that change if there are kids in the house
My kids are not really "kids" anymore. Look at my profile pic--that was a fairly current pic when I posted it, and the younger of those two will be 20 in July! (I've been here way too long!) But...for kids in the house, just get a lock box with push-button combination. Set the combination to something you can easily and quickly do in the dark. Many of those boxes require the last button to be the # sign. So 369# is great combo. Or 789#. Those are easy to find buttons in the dark.
Inside my nightstand box is a 1911 w/ night sights and laser grips (about the only time I would say laser grips are an excellent choice for self-defense). Also in my lock box is the key to a gun safe next to the bed that holds longer guns. (Not locked up, but also on the nightstand is my cell phone, eyeglasses, and a flashlight).
I went through this when I was raising my kids. My wife got worried one day about them getting into the gun. It was one of my 1911's which I kept in condition 2. That was done to help keep dust and lint out of the hammer/firing pin assembly. What I did was to unload the gun and then have then try to dry fire it. BTW, they were taught how to handle a gun safely from a much earlier age. At ages 6 and 8, neither could dry fry the gun on condition 2. At Condition 3, not even my wife could chamber a round. Another point is where I kept the gun. It was not kept on a nightstand were a prowler can see or find it. At night, it is in a soft case with the end open so I can get at it w/o having to get my feet on the ground. If you keep a gun handy at night it must be easily accessible and easy for the shooter to use. Waking up from a sound sleep and getting into action, one is often not at one's best....Duh ! BTDT. Nowadays, I sleep with a 220 Sig complete with night sights. I don't turn on lights or go looking for potential prowlers. I don't fool with chambering rounds in the dark either. Don't give away the fact that I'm on to him/them. Giving away any tactical advantage I have is not my way. E
Since I upgraded to a S&W EZ 9 for my CCW it has become my night stand gun too (was a DA revolver). My EZ 9 has the manual safety so it's cocked and locked.
No discussion on 1911 condition carry is complete without mention of condition 0
cocked, loaded, and thumb safety off, as the gun has a grip safety another safety back up isn't needed.
Anybody here remember the Caravelle Arms Strap? Replaced spring housing, and grip safety. On squeezing the grip, including the trigger, the mechanism would bring the hammer back and fire the gun.
Possibly the first full beaver tail on a 1911, and copied by Safari Arms.
No discussion on 1911 condition carry is complete without mention of condition 0
cocked, loaded, and thumb safety off, as the gun has a grip safety another safety back up isn't needed.
Anybody here remember the Caravelle Arms Strap? Replaced spring housing, and grip safety. On squeezing the grip, including the trigger, the mechanism would bring the hammer back and fire the gun.
Possibly the first full beaver tail on a 1911, and copied by Safari Arms.
Condition 1 cocked & locked is the proper way to carry a 1911
Exactly!
When I first started carrying a 1911, I followed Jeff Cooper's logic. I played with carrying in different conditions and "discovered" that cocked & locked was the only way to carry a 1911. Nothing has changed over the last 40 years to make me carry a 1911 differently. For me, a 1911 is either C&L or it is unloaded and in the safe.
I have always carried a 1912 cocked and locked. My current carry and nightstand gun is a Wilson Combat EDC-X9 and it has no grip safety just the thumb safety. It is carried cocked and locked. As for carrying a semi auto without a round in the chamber which means you have to rack the slide in an emergency. While drawing your gun in any situation is an aggressive move, racking the slide would seem to me to be even more aggressive. It may not matter but it is something to consider.
Appreciate all the input guys. Please keep it coming.
I am perfectly comfortable carrying cocked and locked.
It's when it's time to take the gun off that I am less than comfortable LEAVING it in Condition 1, mainly due to third parties.
But then the ramifications of that set in: if you train Condition 1, the last thing you want to do is get woken up in a "right now" situation and need to remember to rack the slide or cock the hammer. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of training.
I do have a lockbox as Waders suggests. It might be time to install it somewhere handy.
Also, I sleep on the left side of the bed, normally on my back. Puts me closest to the door and best positioned to protect, but makes me have to reach for pistol with left hand. Add in stress and fog from a stressful wake-up, and I am thinking I need to find a way to get that pistol in my right hand easier and better the odds.
For years, my nightstand gun was a P7M13 loaded with a full mag and one in the chamber. They don’t get much safer than a squeeze cocker and if the bad guy gets ahold of it, he’ll be at a disadvantage. My wife’s night stand has a loaded SW620 revolver in it.
Anymore, I favor a Glock with a Kydex trigger cover, loaded with a full mag and one in the chamber.
There are no kids living in the house. If/when there are kids in the house, they’re somebody else’s and guns are under lock and key.
If my nightstand pistol was a 1911 it would be cocked and locked. That is the way it's designed, and I'm fine with that. But......that's not my nightstand pistol. As I get older I find I don't wake up as sharp as I like and I move a little slower than i used to, my grip isn't as strong and I wear glasses. My choice is my Beretta 92FS inox with night sights and 15 rounds of ammunition. Loaded, hammer down, just pick it up and pull the trigger. It's never failed to fire and cycle, doesn't care if it's held tighter not. Waking up foggy and stiff there is nothing to remember except front sight. I really like my 1911 but in this situation, for me, something else is better. As far as children in the house, You might need a lock box for a place to put it in the daytime, but at night it should be available when needed immediately . This is just my opinion and maybe another way to look at the problem.
Any handgun carried for use or stored or carried for defence should be ready to shoot by at most manipulating the safety off.
1911, cocked and locked is how it was designed to be used. None of this drawing from holster and racking the slide crap. If you need it, you need it now!
Haven't used striker fired pistols much, grew up on the 1911. God spoke through John Moses Browning and the PERFECT combat handgun was designed .
Very much a DA revolver guy. Carry loaded.
I have some Ruger SA revolvers. I would carry six in them as they are safe with the hammer over a cartridge unlike the Colt SAA.
I would examine one of those small safes like Hornady makes for night time bedside use. Keep guests and kids safe. There are various wall mounts that keep shotguns and rifles safe. They would be loaded, but chamber empty. As my young daughter said at the range when they were trying various shotguns, "There's something very comforting about the sound of a pump shotgun being racked." She emphasized that by racking the pump. She would have been 12-14 at the time. Only downside is that you could give your position away. On the bright side, because of TV cop shows most people know what the sound means and they might be intimidated/scared just by the sound and leave the house. That's a win IMO.
Back in the day even with a kid in the house, we typically had an S&W DA/SA semi's with the decocker down. But more importantly we focused on the guns in the safe. I consider guns to be the forbidden fruit and I didn't want to make them more mysterious than necessary. My son had his own gun, which was a 22 rifle. Our agreement was that he NEVER touched any of our guns without supervision. BUT, all he had to do was come to me and tell me he'd like to look at a gun, and regardless of what I was doing I'd stop and take him to the safe (not always convenient by any means) and he would watch me how I handled the gun and safely and carefully checked to make sure it was not loaded. THEN, I would hand it to him and he was to copy everything I did. The goal was he would learn gun safety at the same time he was satisfying his curiosity, and the goal is to be your childs hero, the one they want to emulate. We never specifically took him to the night stand where loaded guns were we always made a point to go to the gun safe so he associated the safe with where the guns were.
It's a tough thing with kids and not all kids are the same emotionally, or physically, or even the age this should start. Good luck and good for you wanting to have a gun for emergencies but also want to protect your kids.
My carry guns have one in the tube. The Sig P220 is striker fired and the hammer decocked. The 1911s one down, hammer cocked, and safety on. Be Well, Rustyzipper.
Any handgun carried for use or stored or carried for defence should be ready to shoot by at most manipulating the safety off.
1911, cocked and locked is how it was designed to be used. None of this drawing from holster and racking the slide crap. If you need it, you need it now!
Haven't used striker fired pistols much, grew up on the 1911. God spoke through John Moses Browning and the PERFECT combat handgun was designed .
Very much a DA revolver guy. Carry loaded.
I have some Ruger SA revolvers. I would carry six in them as they are safe with the hammer over a cartridge unlike the Colt SAA.
I would examine one of those small safes like Hornady makes for night time bedside use. Keep guests and kids safe. There are various wall mounts that keep shotguns and rifles safe. They would be loaded, but chamber empty. As my young daughter said at the range when they were trying various shotguns, "There's something very comforting about the sound of a pump shotgun being racked." She emphasized that by racking the pump. She would have been 12-14 at the time. Only downside is that you could give your position away. On the bright side, because of TV cop shows most people know what the sound means and they might be intimidated/scared just by the sound and leave the house. That's a win IMO.
there are three screw ruger's out there that have not been retro'd for the hammer block, so it's still five not six shots.
SA, cocked and locked. Striker, fully loaded, means one in the pipe. DA/SA, fully loaded. SA revolver, all chambers full. DA/SA revolver, all chambers full.
Nightstand guns are 7.62 REPR/20 round PMags, and AR-15 with 120 round drum, a handgun is there, but would hand it to Wife as she rolls under the bed with cell call to POPO.
Were any house midgets to show up, all interior doors can also be locked from the inside/outside.
On body 1911 carry = Condtion 1 always. Despite prior comments, holstered on body carry, a 1911 in Condition 0 (chambered, hammer back, thumb safety off) is safe with grip safety active. This isn't dumb and cited by LTC Cooper as a carry method.
Nightstand I only use striker fired pistols with chambered round. If a Glock with kydex snap off trigger guard cover. If other chambered in an IWB kydex holster.
Agree that when you need a pistol for SD you need it in the hand loaded and ready to fire, if needed.
Other than that, all pistols in locked Liberty lock boxes loaded. No kids.
Glocks and Sig's and revolvers are carried fully loaded. "Night stand gun is as well. Along with the 870P in the closet on the upper shelf.
If I get woken up by a "bump in the night" I don't want to have to fiddle fugg around and try and remember to rack the slide under the fog of sleepiness and concern about said bump. I want to stay quiet and assess the situation to better decide my next move from my bedside
Well the first thing I'd say is, don't carry a 1911.
But if you insist, it should be carried as intended. Mag inserted, round chambered, safety on. The whole purpose of wearing a sidearm is expediency. When you start reducing that expediency you're reducing the effectiveness of the sidearm.
You're never going to find a police department, sheriff's office, or federal agency that advocates carrying any way other than cocked n' locked/hot chamber.
Nightstands should be no different. Kids or otherwise. If access/safety is a concern the gun should be inaccessible to the childrens. But there's no reason to change its condition.
One of the best things a person can do with an EDC firearm is keep it in a holster that is easy on, easy off. Keeping all safeties engaged and the trigger unreachable. More AD's happen from people going in and out of the holster and fugking around with a naked gun than probably any other cause. This is one of the reasons the ALS system really shines for duty rigs and paddle holsters. The gun and holster always stay together.
I'm not a real handgunner but willing to learn. But it seems to me after 30 years in bear country packing a Smith model 57 in .41 Mag (all I can handle recoil-wise) that a D.A. wheelgun is always in condition 1. Horseback unscheduled rodeos only allow one hand at the most during these exciting events. Buttons, levers, knobs, gripping devices tend to elevate the drama. Dealing with "stuff" during an adrenaline flood seldom works well for 90% of us. It sure as hell doesn't work for me in pre-dawn light and a fear crazed horse. Six gun for amateurs like me.
Definitely in the minority here,for which Bog Brother gives me no end of grief. (He has carried Condition 1 for 40 years or more. He also put a hole through the floorboards of one of his cars wile going from C1 to C2. Oops.)
Condition of carry depends on two things for me - the gun I am carrying and where I am carrying it.
Most of the time is is condition 3 (empty chamber) with safety off. This makes all my primary carry semis the same, whether they have an exposed hammer or not and whether they are safety up or down to fire. Draw, rack and fire for all of them.
Condition 2 all the time (loaded chamber, hammer down) with my Walther PPK/s and Beretta 950 as both are rather hard to rack, No safety on the Beretta but the safety on the Walther is engaged as it is DA. Neither of these is a primary carry weapon.
We live out in the country and rarely go into Denver. When I go to downtown and will be out of the car (rather than passing through on the Interstate) I tend to load a round and go Condition 2.
Primary home defense weapons are revolvers because my wife can't rack most semis. Full cylinders, all. No kids in the house unless the grandkids are here. Either way, they are too young and short to get to the house guns.
Today will be no exception. Have my Ruger Security 9 on my side, 14 in the mag, empty chamber, safety off, extra mag. We plan to go to a daughter's house in the country, pick up a used refrigerator and deliver it to another daughter to put in their garage. In the process we will skirt Denver on the tollway. After delivery will return home, again skirting Denver on the tollway, with one stop at a gas station. Chances of needing to go to Condition 2 or 1 are about the same as getting struck by lightning during the trip.
Well the first thing I'd say is, don't carry a 1911.
But if you insist, it should be carried as intended. Mag inserted, round chambered, safety on. The whole purpose of wearing a sidearm is expediency. When you start reducing that expediency you're reducing the effectiveness of the sidearm.
You're never going to find a police department, sheriff's office, or federal agency that advocates carrying any way other than cocked n' locked/hot chamber.
Nightstands should be no different. Kids or otherwise. If access/safety is a concern the gun should be inaccessible to the childrens. But there's no reason to change its condition.
One of the best things a person can do with an EDC firearm is keep it in a holster that is easy on, easy off. Keeping all safeties engaged and the trigger unreachable. More AD's happen from people going in and out of the holster and fugking around with a naked gun than probably any other cause. This is one of the reasons the ALS system really shines for duty rigs and paddle holsters. The gun and holster always stay together.
I quit reading your post after the first sentence.
I'll come back and read the rest at cocktail time. Ha!
My wife carries.....Condition #1! Reason: When you need it, you may not be afforded the time (very likely) or the ability to “rack the slide”. If you ever “need” it.....you’ll probably wish that you had it, Condition #1 and in hand! I carry a “plastic pistol”!
We don’t have kids in our home. When we have “rug rats” join us, the handguns are moved to a safe location. This was a “non-issue” with “my” kids....they were taught, almost from birth, what a firearm was, what it could do, and how to use it! I have “zero” faith in other people’s kids!
My wife has a “nightstand” handgun (Condition #1), I have a “beneath the pillow” handgun! memtb
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/Na88M3N.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/pNnUqAS.jpg)
) Although, not trying to sound prideful, I did carry (and practice with) a 1911 for several years, and drawing and hitting the safety comes pretty natural to me, but again, why give yourself one more chance to blunder...
Reason: When you need it, you may not be afforded the time (very likely) or the ability to “rack the slide”. If you ever “need” it.....you’ll probably wish that you had it, Condition #1 and in hand! 