The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post

Cee-Zed · November 4, 2002, 10:25 AM

The world of competition is by and large divorced from what is practical and/or common in combat handgun applications. Most people that carry a concealed handgun are carrying either a DA/SA semi-auto, a DA J-frame revolver (or equivalent), or a Glock. The vast majority of open carry is done with a full-size DA/SA or Glock. In fact, the only place where SA handguns are common IS the world of competition. In IDPA, they are a separate classification, partially because carrying such a pistol is no longer the norm.

I prefer a SA pistol (or one that can be treated as such, like the CZ 75/75B series). However, using the world of organized competiton as a justification for their superiority shows a critical misunderstanding about the nature of these events. People are playing to win the game. The game isn't real life, nor is their much relationship to it most of the time. For example, how many people leave cover with a gun that is almost dry?

The entire purpose of a DA/SA system (as opposed to DAO or a Glock) is to:
1) Have SA if you want it. There's nothing stopping someone from cocking the external hammer on a DA/SA. Some have C&L ability as well. Is cocking a hammer on a DA/SA less efficient than C&L carry? Probably. There's nothing preventing someone from doing it, though.
2) Have a pistol that is instantly ready, yet safe to carry. Every published expert (even Cooper) will admit that the avowed intent of a DA/SA is to have a pistol that does not require a manual safety to be carried in a safe condition. Cooper doesn't like them, but all of his rhetoric won't change the basic facts. The "imaginary problem" rhetoric ignores a basic fact. The whole world wasn't carrying the 1911/1911A1 before Walther introduced the PP. One way or another, the SA pistol with a Browning-type safety has ALWAYS been the exception, not the rule. In the US, these pistols were more common, but the US is not the only nation to ever use pistols.

Don't believe me. Read a real reference book by someone with no axe to grind. They are rare, but they do exist. I recommend "Military Small Arms of 20th Century" by Ian V. Hogg and John S. Weeks.

November 4, 2002, 10:25 AM	#44
Cee-Zed Junior member Join Date: March 2, 2002 Posts: 481	The world of competition is by and large divorced from what is practical and/or common in combat handgun applications. Most people that carry a concealed handgun are carrying either a DA/SA semi-auto, a DA J-frame revolver (or equivalent), or a Glock. The vast majority of open carry is done with a full-size DA/SA or Glock. In fact, the only place where SA handguns are common IS the world of competition. In IDPA, they are a separate classification, partially because carrying such a pistol is no longer the norm. I prefer a SA pistol (or one that can be treated as such, like the CZ 75/75B series). However, using the world of organized competiton as a justification for their superiority shows a critical misunderstanding about the nature of these events. People are playing to win the game. The game isn't real life, nor is their much relationship to it most of the time. For example, how many people leave cover with a gun that is almost dry? The entire purpose of a DA/SA system (as opposed to DAO or a Glock) is to: 1) Have SA if you want it. There's nothing stopping someone from cocking the external hammer on a DA/SA. Some have C&L ability as well. Is cocking a hammer on a DA/SA less efficient than C&L carry? Probably. There's nothing preventing someone from doing it, though. 2) Have a pistol that is instantly ready, yet safe to carry. Every published expert (even Cooper) will admit that the avowed intent of a DA/SA is to have a pistol that does not require a manual safety to be carried in a safe condition. Cooper doesn't like them, but all of his rhetoric won't change the basic facts. The "imaginary problem" rhetoric ignores a basic fact. The whole world wasn't carrying the 1911/1911A1 before Walther introduced the PP. One way or another, the SA pistol with a Browning-type safety has ALWAYS been the exception, not the rule. In the US, these pistols were more common, but the US is not the only nation to ever use pistols. Don't believe me. Read a real reference book by someone with no axe to grind. They are rare, but they do exist. I recommend "Military Small Arms of 20th Century" by Ian V. Hogg and John S. Weeks.