I looked up the manual for my Colt 1991A1 (which is a 1911 with the Series-80 firing pin block) and it's interesting that Colt describes the following -
NOTE: This pistol may be carried in any one of the following three modes
according to your needs:
Mode 1: - MAGAZINE EMPTY, CHAMBER EMPTY.
- Pistol cannot be discharged.
- Use Mode 1 for storage, transporting, cleaning, repair,
demonstrating and dry practice.
Mode 2: - MAGAZINE LOADED, CHAMBER EMPTY, HAMMER DOWN.
- Pistol cannot be fired until slide is cycled and trigger is squeezed.
- Use Mode 2 when CARRYING THE PISTOL READY FOR USE.
Mode 3: - MAGAZINE LOADED, CHAMBER LOADED, HAMMER
COCKED, SAFETY ON.
- Pistol can be fired when slide lock safety is off and trigger
is squeezed.
- Use Mode 3 when you MUST BE PREPARED to use the pistol
IMMEDIATELY without warning.
I believe that Colt's "Modes" translate to Cooper's "Conditions" as follows -
Mode 1 = Condition 4 (aka "Embassy Carry")
Mode 2 = Condition 3 (aka "Israeli Carry")
Mode 3 = Condition 1 (aka "Cocked and Locked")
In another part of the manual, Colt emphasizes the danger of trying to put the pistol in Condition 2 (which is conspicuously absent from their suggested modes of carry), because even in a pistol with a firing pin block, you defeat that particular safety when you pull the trigger.
While this topic has been covered thoroughly many times, some points might be worth mentioning again ...
The tendency toward extended thumb safety levers makes the safety easier to sweep off during deployment, which is a good thing. However, you need a proper holster to protect the safety from inadvertent operation. If the 1911 you have does not have an ambidextrous safety, you might consider the relative merits of having another lever on the side unprotected by the holster before installing one.
"Commander" style hammers and extended grip safeties prevent hammer bite, but make it extremely difficult to cock a 1911 carried in Condition 2 one-handed. What used to work in the old days worked on the original 1911, not the "improved" ones sold today.
As long as you don't try to "improve" the sear or hammer, the hammer isn't going to drop by itself. The thumb safety blocks the sear, which blocks the hammer. And even if the hammer hooks shear off, there is another wide shelf that will catch the hammer before it hits the firing pin.
There are considerable risks associated with "administrative handling" as you change from Condition 1 to Condition 4 for cleaning or inspection. Many police ranges have bullet traps for this. Every once in a while some officer gets the adminstrative procedure backwards and racks the slide before dropping the magazine...then he points the muzzle into the bullet trap and proves the weapon is clear before entering the range. Bang. In addition to this lapse in attention, you can experience setback if the same round is repeatedly chambered, and this can cause a dangerous increase in pressure.
As someone pointed out already, it's a good idea to practice with an unloaded gun, or perhaps with dummy rounds. Dummy rounds aren't that expensive. Or, perhaps you know someone who reloads .45 ACP. They could make you 7 or 14 dummy rounds in a couple of minutes.
Dummy rounds should be conspicuous (!) You don't want a live round to look at all like what you are using for dummies! Some drill a hole through the case sideways. Others file a notch in the rim. I paint my bullets black and use fired primers, so I can see a difference if I look at either end.
If I had to get "comfortable" with carrying a 1911 again I think I would try the method of carrying it around with a loaded magazine, hammer cocked, safety on. (This isn't to be found in the listed "Conditions" by the way.) If you do this for a month or so and notice that the safety never moves itself to "off" and the hammer never falls, it should help build the confidence needed to carry it the same way with a round chambered.
I believe I read of someone who did this and found his safety was being bumped off. So he got a different holster.
Good luck.
