• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

"Hey, your hammer's cocked back."

carsontech

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
529
Location
Anderson, SC
"Hey, your hammer's cocked back."

I got this comment once before when carrying one of my 1911s. The person I dealt with walked humbly away with knowledge, after a short conversation I had with them.

This time my wife received the comment:

We were at the Dairy Queen in Hartwell, GA with our two kids. She was holding our 7 month old and open carrying a "Stainless" Kimber 1911 in a Serpa. I was attending to my 2 year old son and open carrying my Glock 17C in a Serpa.

As we're looking at the menu board, deciding what ice cream to get my 2 year old, a man (late 40s early 50s, I'm guessing) is also checking out the menu board beside us, then looks down to see my wife's 1911.

Random guy: "Hey, your hammer's cocked back."

Wife: "It's OK, it's a 1911, it's designed to be carried that way."

Random guy: "With the hammer cocked back?"

Wife: "Yes, that's the only way the safety will engage.

At this point, the mans eyes get real big with concern and disbelief. He looks at my Glock, doesn't say a word, gets his food and leaves.

I guess he changed his mind about eating in. Maybe he just doesn't like kids???
 
Last edited:

MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
I've gotten the comment twice. Both times were at a gun shop. *sigh*
 

davidmcbeth

Banned
Joined
Jan 14, 2012
Messages
16,167
Location
earth's crust
I've gotten the comment twice. Both times were at a gun shop. *sigh*

Interestingly enough, I have made a few guns and I always test the safety with 100 pulls of the trigger. With one build it failed between 20-30 pulls ... a little slack in the mechanism I think. I did not change anything-just a good test folks should do once in a while.
 

WalkingWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
11,930
Location
North Carolina
Interestingly enough, I have made a few guns and I always test the safety with 100 pulls of the trigger. With one build it failed between 20-30 pulls ... a little slack in the mechanism I think. I did not change anything-just a good test folks should do once in a while.

It is not uncommon for the hammer to drop without a slide attached to the frame. The hammer still cannot get past the safety cut in the hammer unless the hammer has a very serious defect.
 

carsontech

Activist Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
529
Location
Anderson, SC
I get the comment that my hammer is not cocked. Ohhh well to each their own.

Don't you love it? Someone always has to "comment" on someone else's choice, that isn't hurting anybody. Sometimes it's out of ignorance, and sometimes because they are a know-it-all.

In your case, I'm guessing the commentator never read about how the 1911 came to be.
 
Last edited:

papa bear

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2010
Messages
2,222
Location
mayberry, nc
CARSON, i think your wife handled the situation very well in a very good manner. i think the guy was afraid of kids

I've gotten the comment twice. Both times were at a gun shop. *sigh*

there are some of the dumbest people at gun shops

I got the comment once from a police officer. He was aghast.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

<o>

EYE did you say , "yes sir you are right"
 
Last edited:

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
I said that it is a 1911, and that is the only effective and safe way to carry one.

Effective and safe.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk.

<o>
 

KBCraig

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
4,886
Location
Granite State of Mind
"Thanks, it's supposed to be."

"But is that safe???"

"It's the only way to engage the safety. To lower the hammer, I'd have to take it off 'safe', and pull the trigger. Does that sound like a good idea?"
 

WalkingWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
11,930
Location
North Carolina
"Thanks, it's supposed to be."

"But is that safe???"

"It's the only way to engage the safety. To lower the hammer, I'd have to take it off 'safe', and pull the trigger. Does that sound like a good idea?"

Soldiers managed for decades to do just that with the old colt revolvers. I still do it, but then I know how to do it without putting a hole in the wall. The younger generation it seems is just not as competent as the old timers. And remember the colt 1910 had NO thumb safety.
 
Last edited:

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Soldiers managed for decades to do just that with the old colt revolvers. I still do it, but then I know how to do it without putting a hole in the wall. The younger generation it seems is just not as competent as the old timers. And remember the colt 1910 had NO thumb safety.
A single action thumb is not unlike an M1 thumb :lol:
 

marshaul

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
11,188
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia
I got this comment from a gun club snob (probably has a CHP). I told him it was the safest way to carry a 1911, and he responded that he had a Gold Cup and nobody at his club carries a 1911 condition 1. I told him that everywhere else (including the entire Internet), folks do. He told me I should spend less time on the Internet and more time practicing. :lol:

[strike]That was when I drew my 1911 and shot the cherry off his cigar, reholstering before he realized what happened.[/strike]

But seriously. What are the odds that someone with a safe queen they've never carried gets more practice than I do? :lol:
 

Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Grapeshot

The cure for ignorance is knowledge - dispense it freely.
If only that were true. Yet look at the state of things.
Well, look at the flip side of that:

Though the cure for ignorance is knowledge - don't bother dispensing it. It won't work.

I'm not there - don't expect I will ever be there. :)
 
Top