Random poll

Who has a DA/SA pistol and carries DA with the safety/decocker on or....
Who has a DA/SA pistol and carries DA with the safety/decocker off??
Knowing DA/SA should always be carried DA.

DA is a safe carry method, but who engages the safety also and why? ie. Beretta 92 or HK......

I carry Sigs, or a CZ, all with hammer down and one in the pipe.

+1

I have a DA/SA which I carry with the chamber empty and the safety on (that's what I call a real triple safety!). I know the arguments against that position and completely acknowledge their validity. My reasons for carrying in this way are that I am a relative newcomer to the handgun community and to carrying, so I felt I wanted to maximize the safety aspect until I was absolutely comfortable both with myself and my new weapon. In addition, my biggest reason for carrying is to have a weapon out in the western mountains where I spend alot of time (and had the terrible experience in September 2005 of being taken hostage for 15 hours by a couple of meth-heads--that woke me up to realities I had never seen before!) and would have sufficient time to prepare for any kind of encounter. When I am absolutely comfortable, I will carry in a different way.

I'd have to take issue with that, as it depends on how the pistol was designed to perform. At various times I've carried several different CZ pistols, both of the decocker and manual safety kinds. All are DA/SA. The CZ decocker doesn't lower the hammer all the way, but only to the half cock notch to allow a shorter first trigger pull. It was designed to operate this way and I feel it is perfectly safe to do so.

The manual safety models I started out manually decocking all the way down on a loaded chamber because I was leery of carrying cocked and locked, but now after a couple years IDPA experience I am comfortable carrying that way. In fact, my current every day carry is a Para Warthog which pretty much has to be carried C&L.

The CZ's manual safety cannot in fact be engaged with the hammer down. These CZs were IMO designed to allow users the choice between carrying hammer down safety off, or C&L, and are safe in either configuration. My Baby Eagle is the only pistol I have which even has the option of using the safety when the hammer is down.

Sounds like quite an experience, I'd like to hear more if you'd like to share!

I did carry a DA/SA with safety/decocker off with one in the chamber in DA mode. I did not like the hammer poking me in the side so I sold it for a DAO. That is what I carry now.

Wuz you carryin' gangsta style, yo?

I let my friend decide on his own not to carry with the safety on. His Bersa would be easy to disengage the safety. But after some carrying and practice draws, he decided no safety.

I carry my CZ in the decocked position. Hammer not fully down, like a half-cock.

+2

Mostly-

+3

DA/SA is just too darn complicated for me, even when I'm not in an emergency. In fact I think this whole self-loading pistol fad will blow over.

+4

Remember that during a lethal force encounter, adrenaline (read: "abject terror") can give you a sometimes-terminal case of the dazed, clumsy stupids.

I've got no beef with those who choose to carry under more complicated arrangements, but for me, I'll go with a simple point-and-shoot interface. No racking, cocking or safety-switching for me.

Think you're trained better than that? God bless -- but ask goalie, a highly-trained U.S. Marine, what happened the first time he got into a firefight with his rifle on "safe."

I carry my hardware in point and click mode.
While some hard experiences have led me pretty confident in my ability to work my equipment when the SHTF, I'm also learned enough to not try and complicate matters either. Knowing how I've reacted to past circumstances may not accurately predict future reactions.