Satasaurus said:
Since I am a civilian and I avoid those people like the plague, I don't plan on needing a cocked and locked gun 24/7. In my car, I can just speed away or use the car as a much better weapon. At home I have a shotgun, so pistols are irrelevant. When I go to the grocery store I doubt I'll be getting jumped at the dairy products. I think you see my point. If I was a cop, I would carry cocked and locked because they get paid to deal with people that I want to be no where near, but as a civilian I highly doubt that it's worth the possible safety risk. To each their own. That's how I feel and no amount of posts on a forum is going to change my mind. Safety or not I'm not having a pistol pointing at my fellas with a bullet in the chamber. I still challenge anyone to find someone on here that's had their life saved by carrying cocked and locked. Maybe then I'll feel differently. I appreciate everyone's concern for my safety though.
I don't see your point. You can avoid "those people" like the plague, but they won't always avoid you.
Cops are not often ambushed or attacked by surprise (although it does happen); cops are generally CALLED to a problem situation and they generally know that things are going sour or have already soured. Most civilians, on the other hand are generally caught by surprise when lethal force is appropriate -- whether in a mall parking lot, while walking down the street, or during a home invasion. The attack may not come in the frozen food section of the store, but it may happen near the cash register or pharmacy, or as you walk from the store to the car, arms full of groceries, or while pushing a cart.
Most cops can't carry cocked and locked -- their weapons don't allow it. I don't know of any cops who
don't carry with a round chambered. Many cops are less familiar with their firearms than the civilians who participate here. A lot of LEOs consider their firearm as one of many tools available to them -- along with mace, various non-lethal weapons, and stun guns. Some also have good skills in subduing opponents. Their handguns are
not the FIRST tool used when things start to veer toward madness. When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail; they have many tools in addition to their "hammer." But, when they finally reach the point where using lethal force seems necessary, they sure don't wont to worry about getting a round chambered...
You seem to feel that you will always have time to act -- to avoid a potentially risky situations, to run away, to drive away, to get out of Dodge. Let us hope that
is the case for you. But, that is often not the case. (If it were true, I don't know why you'd even bother to carry a weapon?)
Situational awareness is a key, but even then things unexpected can happen. I had this happen to me, recently, when I walked out of a drug store headed for my car in our very quiet neighborhood, less than a quarter mile from my home: a very belligerent drunk was holding forth and threatening others in the parking lot. I couldn't see him or hear him until I was out the door. The only things I was "carrying" at the time was a package of medications from the pharmacy and a cell phone. Luckily, the cell phone was enough. Had he been brandishing a knife, however, I doubt the cell phone -- used to call the police -- would have offered much comfort.
While I might agree that cocked-and-locked isn't the only way to carry a weapon, not having the weapon ready to fire the instant a threat is upon you seems silly, if not reckless. It's very hard to rack a slide and chamber a round while using your other hand to keep a person from pummeling you, trying to stab you with a knife, or while you're trying to push a companion out of the danger zone. There are a lot of ways to carry a weapon so that your "fellas" aren't threatened -- and not having the barrel in proximity to your groin is a good first step. But, the best thing you can do is to just keep your finger out of the trigger guard until you're ready to fire the weapon. Most guns have a firing pin block that won't let the weapon fire (if dropped, slammed, etc.) unless the trigger is pulled fully to the rear, and a good holster will keep your finger out of the trigger guard until the gun is clear of the holster.
Carrying a weapon with a round NOT in the chamber, as you seem to advocate, seems silly and may leave you defenseless. (The Israelis taught that style of carry for a number of years, but most of the folks doing that were also well-trained in hand-to-hand combat, and were hardly defenseless if their weapon wasn't ready.) I wonder whether you will always have the time, the presence of mind, or the dexterity to ready your weapon properly when the stuff hits the fan.
I think things are much more "grey" than the clear, distinct black and white image you seem to have of things in your world view. One thing does seem clear: you're arguably more concerned about your "fellas" than your life or the lives of those who might be with you or around you.
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