i hope my terminology is correct.

i'm discussing carrying 1911 style hammer cocked, holstered, safety on.

usually a round in the chamber.

usually i carry 1911 unchambered round, not cocked/hammer down -- which requires working the slide to ready the gun. or i carry a glock like gun -- ready.

i'm practicing around the house carrying cocked, safety on, unchambered round.

my question -- seems like opportunity for dirt or clothing or some other obstruction to possibly enter the area between hammer and slide -- to potentially make shooting fail.

how do you in practice deal with this possiblilty -- how often is it a problem ?

thanks

My opinion is that if you keep your 1911 clean it will not be a problem. I carry a 3" 1911 everyday and so far have not seen any lint or obstruction in the areas you've mentioned. I have bought a couple of 1911s used with heavy lint in the barrel area and in the trigger assembly area.

Just keep your 1911 clean, inspect it regularly, unloaded of course. SAFETY FIRST!!!

My first handgun was a Ruger P94 in .40 caliber. I got my permit about a week before actually getting the gun. Being new to carrying handgun's I started reading several forum’s about them.
I also carried without one in the chamber for a while till I felt properly educated and comfortable about it then started carry with one in chamber and still do.

Recently I got my Colt Defender. Same thing all over again. Not a lot of them around where I live so the "look" of one being actually cocked while carrying was new to me and while not really un-nerving was still something to get used too.
After a while - reading the 1911 forums, shooting at range & general study I felt ok with the cocked and locked mode of carry and that's the way it is every day for me now.

Cocked and locked carry is a non-issue, as far as being rendered inoperable with normal carry and caution. Inspection of and cleaning on a reasonable regular basis and should be no problem. Personally, inspect twice a day, morning, when reholstering and night, when unholstering for night access at bedside. S&W 1911 Sc, Bladetech kydex IWB. The very limited amount of lint/dry skin that can appear is readily removed. Regular wipe down and light application of oil is required, for prevention of rust.

Harlie has the idea, my Colt is stainless and with Bianchi IWH there's a strap that goes between hammer and slide; never had any kind of build up and it's checked three times a day - morning, bathroom call and nightstand. At least twice per week I rotate out the cartridge in the champer and feed another one in.

Things will become second nature in time and then you will really be able to appreciate the design. John Browning was the first to design the slide and that design is still in use.

Adios,
Bob

__________________
NRA Life Member since '67

"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake."
Napoleon

I've carried Cocked'n'Locked daily for years in an open-topped holster or butt forward "Mexican" style...as the clothing/temperature/mood suited me. Ling does get in, but doesn't render the gun inoperable. My carry guns used to be rotated every 3 months, and the carried pistol detail-stripped and cleaned.
Here of late, I've been carrying a GI Springfield...upgraded with USGI or aftermarket real steel parts...almost exclusively for over a year.

Remember that the gun was designed to function under adverse condtions of neglect and rough handling. Of course, if the tolerances have been tightened up beyond a reasonable point, that may not apply...and no...the slide doesn't
have to rattle on the frame in order to be reliable.

__________________
Help save a collie http://www.collierescue.net/available/index.html

Bob, I know you are aware of this, but I'll point it out for the thread's originator...

When unloading the chambered round and reloading (chambering) a new round - during inspections, oilings or whatever - it is a good idea to take a look at the round(s) near the top of the magazine (the ones that get continually chambered) to be sure that the bullet has not been pressed farther back into the case then originally loaded. Such a round may not feed or may (I have been told) be of higher pressure (though I think a modern firearm will not be effected by the latter)...

Best,

In theory this can happen. Practically speaking I've never even HEARD of such a thing and I've been shooting 1911s since the 60s. The slot between slide and hammer is VERY open. The reality is that keeping something in that slot would be virtually impossible - there's nothing to keep it from dropping out. As an aside I've never had shirt tails or jackets tangle with it, and carried fulltime for over a year in Washington state.

In practice there just isn't a problem. The thing that concerns me about cocked and locked is knocking off the safety and putting one down my buttocks; careless methods of carry HAVE allowed this to happen along with pinned grip safeties. With cocked and locked one needs to be a bit more observant of the 1911 safety than one would be with something like a SIG 220 or a revolver (there inadverdent cocking of the hammer is the "threat" to one's security).

Frank

Warmrain, I've had that happen in the past with a bullet pushed back. When I'm working up a new loads on a new bullet I will manually cycle a full magazine (2 different .45s) and then do a full caliper check. I only reload jacketed bullets with crimps in the .741/.742 range so I am still head spacing on the rim. 230 JHPs seem to be the most stable with 185s sometime needing more patience with COAL and magazine combos.

I am having excellent results with 230gr Golden Sabers with accuracy and expansion. I've also had great accuracy with 200gr Gold Dots in the past, but haven't subjected them to my target "torture" test. Came across a bag of GS 185s and will string test a few loadings in the morning.

Thank you very much for the heads up; it's well appreciated.

Even tho the slide safety is protected by leather, I'm in the habit of checking the safety in the up position and slide fully closed.

Adios,
Bob

__________________
NRA Life Member since '67

"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake."
Napoleon

Though in practice, this too, is not a problem if the holater covers the trigger and you keep you finger off the trigger until the gun is on target...