Decocker pistol for USPSA, multigun, etc.

[bkoenig]

I'm picking up a new CZ SP-01 tomorrow and plan to start using it for action shooting.  In the past I have used an M&P,  which has no external safety.  The CZ also has no safety,  but has a decocker lever to lower the hammer.  It's intended to be carried hammer down in DA mode. 

I'm wondering about range procedures with this system.  When I make ready at the start of a stage I assume I will just drop the hammer with the decocker, but in multigun matches you often have to abandon the handgun mid stage and switch to another gun.  I know the rules say the safety must be engaged when abandoning the gun or it must have the slide locked back.  With my M&P I just drop it on the table or whatever.  With the CZ would I just decock or would I have to lock the slide back?

[OnTheFly]

I believe someone else shooting a decocker only (no safety position) was told at an ENGC Three Gun match that the pistol could just be laid down without locking the slide back.  But that is just my newb experience, so maybe some of the experienced guys will have some input.

Fly

[bkoenig]

It actually seems to me that using the decocker would be safer than taking the time to manually lock back the slide, just because there is less fiddling around required and fewer things to go wrong.

[JTH]

I'm picking up a new CZ SP-01 tomorrow and plan to start using it for action shooting.  In the past I have used an M&P,  which has no external safety.  The CZ also has no safety,  but has a decocker lever to lower the hammer.  It's intended to be carried hammer down in DA mode. 

I'm wondering about range procedures with this system.  When I make ready at the start of a stage I assume I will just drop the hammer with the decocker, but in multigun matches you often have to abandon the handgun mid stage and switch to another gun.  I know the rules say the safety must be engaged when abandoning the gun or it must have the slide locked back.  With my M&P I just drop it on the table or whatever.  With the CZ would I just decock or would I have to lock the slide back?

Nope.

The rules in Multigun (at least at ENGC) say that either the firearm is completely empty of ammunition, OR any external safety must be engaged.  (Slide does not have to be locked back.) 

For guns that may be in SA circumstances but have no external safety, I believe our decision for Multigun was that either it was completely empty of ammo, or the decocker was used.

Effectively, we didn't want anyone grounding a firearm in SA mode without a safety applied---so in the above case, the decocker should be used to place the gun in DA mode prior to grounding.

[bkoenig]

Good deal, thanks!  I guess I had "empty" and "slide locked back" run together in my mind, even though they're not necessarily the same thing.