[skeet]

Meant to add earlier that you can not apply the safety on a 1911 if it is NOT cocked. The safety will not go on. When you said fully loaded..did that also mean a round in the chamber but not cocked. If so that can be a bit unsafe as the gun could fire if dropped especially if on the hammer. Another thing many people who really don't understand..guns like Glocks and the other striker fired pistols like the S&W M&P semi autos are always cocked unless the trigger is pulled on an empty chamber...and there is no safety such as the ones on a 1911. There is a trigger interlock safety...but a nervous trigger finger makes that a very unlikely safety in times of strife.
A little true story. I live near grizz country..hunt in it for elk etc. A friend called and wanted to get a handgun for protection while hiking in that same grizz country. He asked if a 9mm would be a good gun for grizzly protection..talked him into either a 41 mag or a 45 Colt single action Ruger. After shooting both he chose the Ruger 45 Colt. Not a bad choice. Then honest to pete..he said it was a pretty large handgun and he didn't know where to put it in his backpack. Yeah the bear is gonna wait for him to take off the pack root around in it and retrieve his gun. That is somewhat akin to carrying a 45 auto with it unloaded and uncocked. A criminal is gonna wait for you to rack the slide and get the gun ready to fight. carry a 45 the way it was meant to be carried. Sometimes you just don't have any time.
BTW We also got his wife to learn how to shoot that gun and she was better at it than he was. Sometimes women are very good shots. She ended up with her own Ruger 45 Colt