There seems to be some lingering concern over the issue of carrying a standard design 1911 pistol in Condition One...so I thought I'd write up the results of a demonstration that I did for a friend a few years back. He was so nervous about my habit of carrying the pistol in that mode, he all but told me that he wouldn't go anywhere with me unless I put the gun in C-2 or C-3...nor would he come to visit me unless I made the gun "safe" enough to put his mind at ease.
I scrounged up an old hammer and sear for the demo.
First I cut the hammer hooks off the hammer...thumbed it back and let go. The half-cock notch caught it.
Next, I used a Dremel and a cutting wheel to lop off a full 1/8th inch from the sear crown...thumbed the hammer back, and let go. The half-cock notch caught it.
Both of these demonstrations were repeated several times.
He asked: "What if the half-cock notch breaks?"
So...I removed the half-cock notch...loaded a primed case into the chamber...thumbed the hammer back and snicked the thumb safety into the safe position...knowing that when I released the hammer, it would cam the safety down and let the hammer fall.
It required over 30 repeated strikes on the same primer to fire it. That's thirty. Two things were retarding the hammer. One was the imposition of the thumb safety lug, combined with the resistance offered by the plunger assembly. The other was the sear dragging on the hammer itself as it rotated. Both worked together to slow the hammer and soften its fall. This, with a half-cock notch and hammer hooks ground completely off, rather than left ragged like they would have been had they simply broken.
"But...but...what if you drop the gun?" (Unconvinced...He persisted)
*sigh*
I loaded another primed case and chambered it. Not wishing to damage a good pistol, I used a junk Auto-Ordnance slide and barrel that I'd tossed into the corner after salvaging the useable frame. (Hey! I gave a hundred bucks for it.) I installed the slide onto its original frame...and held the gun at waist level...and dropped it muzzle first onto a thin throw-rug on a concrete floor. It didn't fire.
I held it at shoulder level and dropped it again. No dice.
I held it at arms-length above my head. Same deal.
I climbed a 6-foot step-ladder and dropped it from a height of about 10 feet. This time, the primer had a very slight mark on it...but it didn't fire.
I still have the hammer, sear, barrel, and slide should anybody wish to come and see for themselves. Standing offer. Say when, and we'll leave the light on for ya.
Any questions?
Bookmarks