Smaug
Member
I can see this from both points of view. I asked the same question a while back, after watching Dirty Harry. When he was in a gun fight and had the time, he cocked it first, and rarely missed.
To my way of thinking, the intellectual reasons for cocking the gun can go out the window in an exciting situation. Not for calm, cool, experienced folks like M2 Carbine, and Dirty Harry (who also cocked his revolver when he was expecting trouble) but I could sure see my wife getting nervous and touching a round off accidentally!
Here's an example that is indirectly related. I was riding my scooter one night. I was an experienced motorcyclist who knew and had practiced proper braking techniques. But that one night when I was out riding and a deer suddenly appeared in front of me, adreneline gave me superhuman strength and hard-wired reflexes that were faster than my brain. I locked up the front tire and went tumbling down the road at 45 mph. I was soooo mad at myself for doing that. (I came out OK thanks to my full face helmet, by the way, just minor road rash and a wrecked scooter)
Can't you see the same sort of reflexive, adreneline-pumped situation if you go to investigate a sound in the night?
Also, it is worth pointing out that a typical trigger on a non-target 1911 is quite a bit heavier than a DA revolver in SA. Both of my S&W revolvers have a VERY light DA trigger. I breaks in ounces, not pounds of pressure. One is gunsmithed, one is stock. My 1911 (Para GI Expert) had probably a 5.5 lb. pull. Not something that would trip from a mere touch.
I can see doing it either way. But if you're going to cock it, you'd better make damned sure to keep your finger out of the trigger loop until you're REALLY ready to fire. If you don't need to shoot, make sure you're not so shakey that you can't decock it safely, or put it down for later.
With an auto, if it is cocked, loaded, and with the safety off, and has no decocking feature, one can always drop the mag and rack the slide to make it safe prior to decocking. On a DA revolver it isn't an option to open the cylinder until the gun is decocked.
So I think an experienced and cool-headed person could handle it. It is just questionable if it is worth all the risk, when any self defense shoot will probably be at less than 7 yards.
To my way of thinking, the intellectual reasons for cocking the gun can go out the window in an exciting situation. Not for calm, cool, experienced folks like M2 Carbine, and Dirty Harry (who also cocked his revolver when he was expecting trouble) but I could sure see my wife getting nervous and touching a round off accidentally!
Here's an example that is indirectly related. I was riding my scooter one night. I was an experienced motorcyclist who knew and had practiced proper braking techniques. But that one night when I was out riding and a deer suddenly appeared in front of me, adreneline gave me superhuman strength and hard-wired reflexes that were faster than my brain. I locked up the front tire and went tumbling down the road at 45 mph. I was soooo mad at myself for doing that. (I came out OK thanks to my full face helmet, by the way, just minor road rash and a wrecked scooter)
Can't you see the same sort of reflexive, adreneline-pumped situation if you go to investigate a sound in the night?
Also, it is worth pointing out that a typical trigger on a non-target 1911 is quite a bit heavier than a DA revolver in SA. Both of my S&W revolvers have a VERY light DA trigger. I breaks in ounces, not pounds of pressure. One is gunsmithed, one is stock. My 1911 (Para GI Expert) had probably a 5.5 lb. pull. Not something that would trip from a mere touch.
I can see doing it either way. But if you're going to cock it, you'd better make damned sure to keep your finger out of the trigger loop until you're REALLY ready to fire. If you don't need to shoot, make sure you're not so shakey that you can't decock it safely, or put it down for later.
With an auto, if it is cocked, loaded, and with the safety off, and has no decocking feature, one can always drop the mag and rack the slide to make it safe prior to decocking. On a DA revolver it isn't an option to open the cylinder until the gun is decocked.
So I think an experienced and cool-headed person could handle it. It is just questionable if it is worth all the risk, when any self defense shoot will probably be at less than 7 yards.