I love the Hi-power and the best way to carry one is cocked and locked. I fail to see the point of carrying a single action auto with the hammer down. If you don't feel safe carrying one cocked and locked, a double action auto may be a better choice.

+1 with Hberttmank.

If U want the hammer down, then U should leave the chamber empty. Then pull the slide back when ya wanna load it and then the hammer is cocked.

But for the record, I agree w/ the above comments. A SA is supposed to be cocked. That's the way it works. U have the manual safety. And, keep anything away from the trigger (the point of the holster) and U are fine....

condition one or buy a browning hp SFS

What's a SFS? I carried a HP back in the late 60's...I'm lefty and carried hammer down on a round safety off(only one safety on the gun then) or half'cock...don't remember....1) Did the older ones have a half'cock? and 2)Was there a trigger-activated block on the old ones to make hammer down safe? I know there're two safeties now and I could carry a new one like my Combat Commander...cocked and locked....thanks...

Is the SFS an aftermarket safety of some sort? Seems I read somewhere it would allow you to push the hammer forward (?) to activate some sort of safety. Not really sure how it works (assuming of course that I know what the hell I'm talkin' about! ).

I have an FN Hi-Power with the SFS. With the hammer cocked in the single action mode, you can push the hammer forward with your thumb, and the pistol automatically sets the safety lever to "on". When you take the safety off, the hammer returns to the cocked (rearward) position. Some people hate this feature; I like it.

+1 hbert
+Baldy

I agree with the cocked and locked guys. Frankly, that's the advantage of a single action pistol- the same trigger pull for each and every shot.

In my opinion, it's bad business to be thumbing a hammer back on a live round. Should the hammer slip before you reach the half cock notch during the thumbing of the hammer, the round could detonate. Not to mention that an operator should never thumb the hammer down on a live round, for the same reason. A slip past half cock = Negligent Discharge. J. Browning's single action semi automatic pistols were not intended to be operated in that way.

If you're not really confident carrying a single action pistol in condition one, I would recommend spending some more time at the range and/or maybe have a competent single action pistol instructor show you the ins and outs of a single action pistol carried in condition one.

For me, there's no better feeling/shooting pistol than a single action pistol. It's worth putting the time/effort into learning how to carry them in condition one.

Greg

http://webpages.charter.net/the.batman/index.htm