I carry my SR9 with the safety off.

My own opinion is that if the gun you're carrying is reasonably modern and in good mechanical condition it won't fire unless the trigger is pulled and if you're carrying in an apropriate holster and obeying rule 2, the trigger isn't going to be pulled when it shouldn't be - so engaging a manual safety is a redundancy at best.

This gets beat to death on 1911 boards, but that's single action only. With a DA/SA gun like your USP probably is I'd say it's safe to carry hammer down. But cocked and unlocked? No way. I carry at 4 o'clock and very rarely 1 o'clock, so I'd like to have that extra level of insurance while a .45 is pointed in the direction of my butt and/or junk. My two concerns are 1)mechanical failure, or the truly rare "accidental discharge" and 2) a negligent discharge while drawing or reholstering.

I've shot matches with my 1911's, and never once have I forgot to disengage the thumb safety. I hit it with my thumb as I draw. I'm pretty sure it doesn't slow me down any.

I carry manual safeties on most of my guns, I understand all the reasons not to need them or want them. They give me a warm fuzzy feeling I grew up using them, they work and it just gives me an extra level of safety(while it's still no reason to ignore or forget any of the normal rules of handling a firearm), which I agree that you can take safety to an extreme especially on a firearm, I don't feel that the 1911 style safety is a detriment to me or my shooting so I prefer it. I also am very used to disengaging to the safety while shooting.

That said, if the gun has a fairly shout double action trigger like most revolvers and allot of the modern auto's then I don't see any problem carrying them hot without any safety, essentially that long trigger is the safety. Single actions, well I generally wouldn't recommend it just because it's so much easier to discharge the weapon, even if it's a holster bumping the trigger etc. We noted the Glock and bad holster that caused that discharge in that other thread, lets turn the tables and say that was a hot 1911, with the safety off. I love 1911's but a hot 1911 with the safety off, much touches that trigger and it's going to fire, I think that guy would have had a hole in his pants earlier had that been the case.

So my two cents is modern DA/DAO stuff, carry with or without safety depending on what you prefer, single action stuff that has a traditional safety I'm of the opinion that it should be trained on and used properly.

Take care!

Luke

I love the feel of a 1911..........They just act like an extension of my hand.  When Dan Wesson released a bob-tailed commander in 10MM, I had the money put together three different times but never bought:  


Like most folks who have responded, I carry safety off on the rare occasion I carry one of my semi's.  And my generally carried revolvers don't have them.  I usually carry a DAO 357 revolver for SD work, or sometimes an SA/DA. But they always get shot in DA mode during practice sessions.  This means given the ballistics of the 10MM, and the size of the gun it'd be maddeningly tempting to carry.  But I wouldn't, because I won't retrain everything I've done to teach my muscles to use a heavy smooth trigger, and not worry about a safety.  Sure, it limits my options, but it's my choice, and I'm a huge fan of the K.I.S.S. principle.

This means given the ballistics of the 10MM, and the size of the gun it'd be maddeningly tempting to carry.  But I wouldn't, because I won't retrain everything I've done to teach my muscles to use a heavy smooth trigger, and not worry about a safety.  Sure, it limits my options, but it's my choice, and I'm a huge fan of the K.I.S.S. principle.

I'm the same way. I have a 1911 and a holster, and it's tempting to just put it on. But I build my practice around DA/SA, because at work I don't have an option, and I want all my life-or-death guns to be the same. That's also why I knowingly take a competitive disadvantage in IPSC shooting DA/SA in Limited division- it's good practice for the real world.

Its decocked, I see no reason to carry it cocked. Sure its going to have a harder trigger pull that first round, but thats the name of the game. I appreciate all the replys to my question, makes me feel better!

I could see if you had something like a SR9 with a similar trigger safety setup but with a manual safety maybe engaging it just to holster but then flipping it off once its secure.

Funny, that's exactly what I do.

Single action pistols I carry cocked and locked (1911, Hi Power, XD45 with a thumb safety), and I don't have safeties on my other pistols. Revolvers get shot DA only, unless I need to make a precise, relatively long range shot.

If it is DA/SA If the initial trigger pull is DA, I carry safety off. If it is anything else, I carry safety on, if there is a safety.

Mike

Edit: Clarification, since there are DAO weapons out there.

This.

The P7 doesn't fit well within the Condition X nomenclature system. There's really only two ways to carry it, and only one of 'em makes any sense.

Great weapon.

Mike

I carry a revolver, hammer back, no holster, in my back pocket, with my keys.


-T.

Sounds like a real pain in the ass.

Now, I have a female friend who has "stalk me" written on her forehead. It's actually Cookie's fiance. She can't handle many DA pulls, but the only protective gun she can afford right now is one of my free P6's. (they're not free for the rest of you, unless you're a cute blonde and have known me for 8 years) I trained her on it's use and it was clear she couldn't make the DA pull reliably. I trained her to carry empty chamber, hammer down, and first thing she does when she draws is rack it to get a round in the chamber and make it single action. Not ideal, but you gotta work with what you got. Surprisingly enough, she's been practicing, so I'm confident she'll get out of any bad situation that comes up.

I carry a revolver, hammer back, no holster, in my back pocket, with my keys.


-T.

We talked about trolling, T. tsk tsk.