Bill:
Robert Boatman has said it better than I could do in his article, "COCKED AND LOCKED," in
Concealed Carry Magazine:
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Condition One.
Cocked and locked. Chamber loaded, hammer cocked, thumb safety on. This requires you to snick the safety down before firing and snick it back up when you're finished, a test of manual dexterity that can be learned by any creature equipped with opposing thumbs and probably by a few equipped with paws or hooves instead.
A 1911 in Condition One is comparable to a Glock, which is always in a semi-cocked condition when a round is in the chamber anyway, and the initial pull of the "small trigger" performs the same function as the thumb safety of a 1911. It's also comparable to any variety of double-action auto with the safety off, as the trigger pull cocks the hammer and fires the gun in one single motion, though the long and cumbersome double-action trigger pull is designed neither for control nor accuracy.
The greatest benefit of cocked-and-locked carry in a 1911, besides instant readiness, is the excellent trigger control it makes possible since the only job the trigger must perform is to simply drop the hammer. No other type of semiautomatic can provide the precise and consistent trigger pull of a 1911, a trigger pull as fine as can be achieved with the best revolvers, readily available to the shooter with the thumbing down of the safety lever.
Condition One is obviously the fastest way to get your 1911 into action, the least prone to mistakes, the most direct path to precise trigger control, and by far the safest way to carry and operate the gun. It is, therefore, the only way.
That John Browning intended the 1911 to be carried in Condition One is evidenced by the fact that a major feature of the gun is the thumb safety. There is no earthly use for the thumb safety - the part doesn't even function unless the hammer is cocked. It should also be noted that the up/safe, down/fire operation of the single-action 1911 thumb safety is natural, intuitive and proper.[/size]
The entire article can be found reprinted here by permission of
Concealed Carry Magazine:
http://www.smartcarry.com/cocklock.htm
