[vendetta]

Hi guys quick question,

I’ve got a .45 1911 replica (rock island) that I store in a lock box, loaded, chambered, with the hammer back, and the safety on.

I was just curious if you think it’s a bad idea to store the gun like that in that it could wear out the hammer or the mechanism holding it in place?

[JonM]

Originally Posted by vendetta

Hi guys quick question,

I’ve got a .45 1911 replica (rock island) that I store in a lock box, loaded, chambered, with the hammer back, and the safety on.

I was just curious if you think it’s a bad idea to store the gun like that in that it could wear out the hammer or the mechanism holding it in place?

it wont hurt the springs a bit. staying compressed isnt what damages springs. springs wear out from the actual compression release cycle not for sitting in one position.

[spittinfire]

You aren't going to hurt anything. The weapon was designed to be kept that way and will be ready for you when/if you need it. The only time mine is in any other condition is when I'm at the range or cleaning it.

[vendetta]

wow, thanks for the quick reply guys.

[FreedomFighter69]

Won't hurt at all. I keep mines loaded, bullet in the chamber with the hammer down. I have a kid in the house and I just feel better with it like that. He's knows about my guns and was educated as well but it's just a personal prefrence . I even carry it that way as well. I trained extensively on how to draw, cock, point, and shoot in one fluid motion and am proficient doing it quickly. Much like carrying a single action only you don't have to cock the hammer for every shot.

[DrumJunkie]

Originally Posted by FreedomFighter69

Won't hurt at all. I keep mines loaded, bullet in the chamber with the hammer down. I have a kid in the house and I just feel better with it like that. He's knows about my guns and was educated as well but it's just a personal prefrence . I even carry it that way as well. I trained extensively on how to draw, cock, point, and shoot in one fluid motion and am proficient doing it quickly. Much like carrying a single action only you don't have to cock the hammer for every shot.

I leave mine at half cock a lot when it's just sitting here. I've been training for years to bring it up and cock while in that movement. You don't wear out springs in a pistil leaving it cocked though. They where made to be Cocked and locked. THe thing that wewars aprings is the compress then decompress over and over. And eve then it seems recoil springs are the only ones really effected. A great way to keep up with the wear on a recoil spring is ot have an extra that is new and the same lb. When you side by side if you see the old spring being 2-3 coils shorter it's time to replace that bad cat. THe other springs I really don't see any real wear unless it's got cheap springs and the weapon was treated like the ugly girl you snuck off to meet. Sure you would use her up and not treat her right. But as long as your friends didn't know it was OK

A 1911 is made to be cocked and locked. If storing this makes you nervous then just drip the hammer (carefully!) and leaving the chamber in bang mode.

[NGIB]

Originally Posted by FreedomFighter69

Won't hurt at all. I keep mines loaded, bullet in the chamber with the hammer down. I have a kid in the house and I just feel better with it like that. He's knows about my guns and was educated as well but it's just a personal prefrence . I even carry it that way as well. I trained extensively on how to draw, cock, point, and shoot in one fluid motion and am proficient doing it quickly. Much like carrying a single action only you don't have to cock the hammer for every shot.

Dropping the hammer on top of a chambered round is just begging for an ND. Sorry but this is just plain unsafe in my book. If it works for you and you're happy, fine, but I would not recommend this to anyone - ever...

[DrumJunkie]

Originally Posted by NGIB

Dropping the hammer on top of a chambered round is just begging for an ND. Sorry but this is just plain unsafe in my book. If it works for you and you're happy, fine, but I would not recommend this to anyone - ever...

That's why I like the half cock thing. But I change my hammers to a typw that wont drop the rest of the way pulling the trigger.

[canebrake]

Originally Posted by DrumJunkie

I leave mine at half cock a lot when it's just sitting here. I've been training for years to bring it up and cock while in that movement. You don't wear out springs in a pistil leaving it cocked though. They where made to be Cocked and locked. THe thing that wewars aprings is the compress then decompress over and over. And eve then it seems recoil springs are the only ones really effected. A great way to keep up with the wear on a recoil spring is ot have an extra that is new and the same lb. When you side by side if you see the old spring being 2-3 coils shorter it's time to replace that bad cat. THe other springs I really don't see any real wear unless it's got cheap springs and the weapon was treated like the ugly girl you snuck off to meet. Sure you would use her up and not treat her right. But as long as your friends didn't know it was OK

A 1911 is made to be cocked and locked. If storing this makes you nervous then just drip the hammer (carefully!) and leaving the chamber in bang mode.

Have you ever heard the saying, "Don't go off half cocked?"

It has nothing to do with the gun going off, it has to do with someone grabbing a gun half cocked and depending on it to function in a manner your muscle memory has been trained.

From The Sight - Using the "half-cock" as a safety

The half-cock notch on the M1911 is really intended as a "fail-safe" and is not recommended as a safety. However, it has been used as a mode of carry. From Dale Ireland comes this interesting piece of service history from WWII:

When the hammer is pulled back just a few millimeters it "half cocks" and pulling the trigger will not fire the gun [on genuine mil-spec G.I. pistols]. I imagine this is an unsafe and not a recommended safety position. The reason I bring it up however is that it was a commonly used position especially by left-handers in WWII. My father carried his 1911 (not A1) to Enewitok, Leyte, first wave at Luzon, the battle inside Intramuros, and until he was finally shot near Ipo dam. He tells me that he regularly used the half cocked safety position especially at night and patrolling because bringing the weapon to the full cocked position from the half cocked created much less noise and he was left handed so he couldn't use the thumb safety effectively. He said using the half cocked position was all about noise reduction for lefties while maintaining a small amount of safety that could quickly be released.

Again, the half-cock is intended as a fail-safe in the event that the sear hooks were to fail, and it is not recommended as a mode of carry. It should also be noted that on guns with "Series 80" type hammers, the hammer will fall from half-cock when the trigger is pulled. This would include guns from Springfield Armory and modern production Colts. But, if you happen to be a south paw and find yourself in the jungle with a G.I. M1911A1 and surrounded by enemy troops, the half-cock might be an option.

Here's a caneism:

"If, for any reason, you are afraid of your gun, you have NO business owning, much less handling one!

I don't dumb down my gun for safety reasons, I depend on it being deadly dangerous when I safely draw it from it's holster and blow some dirtbag's heart out!

Fear of your weapon is a liability, Respect, on the other hand, is an asset." - cane

[danf_fl]

IMO either cocked and locked or hammer down on an empty chamber. If you leave it cocked and locked, you will always be doing a functin check when you take the firearm to the range for practice anyways. You do practice with your self defense weapon, right?