"Locked and Cocked" is not ok with Mike!

[Adam Helmer]

Dutchman01,

We always budgeted 10% of needed qualification ammo for individual practice between qualification cycles. Only 4 or 5 agents out of 100 ever asked for a few boxes of ammo to get ready for the semi-annual qualification. Bottom Line: Darn few of our agents were really competent with their issue arms. It was even worse with the shotguns and subguns. I usually shot off the practice ammo between cycles in my Glock 19 and MP-5.

Adam

[jl1966]

Adam,
I think the solution is for your buddy to get another type of weapon, be it a revolver or semi auto of a different type. I have been carrying for some years, and investigated the 1911 platform, owned a few. It was not for me. I carry a Glock 19, no more or less safe than a 1911. Any gun is unsafe if the correct level of training is not attained, and if that level is not also maintained through practice. I attend a few training courses a year, both rifle and handgun, as well as shooting competitively at least once or twice each month. I see all kinds of errors, no matter what type of gun is used. Being military or law enforcement is no gaurantee of competency. A lot of military are given only a basic understanding of the manual of arms pertaining to the weapon they are issued. Cops often tend to shoot only when they need to qualify, which mystifies me, as I would think they would train more simply because of the nature of their job. According to Massad Ayoob the 1911 was designed for military use, in a combat situation. The scenario is: a soldier in a combat situation, an attack is eminent, the weapon is made ready, safety applied, hostile forces present themselves, the safety is removed and everyone not wearing the same uniform as the user is a target. Although the gun is pressed into service for many other uses in military service, this is its primary purpose. It was not designed with the idea of holding an attacker at gunpoint while calling for help, being carried day in day out in populated non hostile situations and so forth. This is not said to down those who carry the 1911, that is your choice, and it is a fine weapon, just not one to be considered by the inexperienced, or poorly trained.

[Rapier]

JL,
This is not intended or directed just to you, but to anyone on a board or this board. If a person wants to comment on history or design they must, I repeat, must, know that history or design.

In the case of the 1911, it was not designed or intended or built to do anything but replace a weak energy, double action, revolver, curently in military service. The cocked and locked carry was specificly created to replace the DA revolver's capability of pull trigger and fire with a loaded cylinder. Nothing else.

The "we can't do that" situation came later from military officers within units that thought the cocked and locked carry was not safe, due to their inexperance with the gun and the design of the gun, in the first place. They then, and many today, simply can not get it through their head that a 1911 has 3 safety features that must be acted upon before it can be fired from the condition 1, locked and cocked position. 1)The thumb safety must be put on the fire position. 2) The grip safety must be depressed. 3) The trigger must be pulled and held. Number 2 and 3 must both be done at the same time. You can not fire a 1911 by tapping the trigger with a pencil, even with the grip safety held down. Nor can you pull and hold the trigger without the grip safety depressed.

I think you have misunderstood what MA has said or intended. Otherwise MA would have forgotten that the military has several layers of police and that regular GIs are not and never have been issued handguns, only those with a handgun TO&E (Army term) are issued handguns. As an example, I was an armoror in the 101st Abn. I had 300 M-16s and 24 1911s. The 1911 were issued to officers, grenadiers, machinegunners, and very few NCOs.
Best,
Ed