How do you CCW folks practice?

[Contenderizer]

Adam:

You stated:

The half-cock notch on the Colt 1911 hammer is not a safety. In that mode you cannot engage the thumb safety

Odd, thought me, at half-cock I am sure my safety moves upwards, and, when the hammer is fully cocked, the safety then drops to the fire position. WRONG! After more careful examination I discovered that while the safety does move up, it does not go into the full safe position. Thanks for that info; I told you I was a revolver guy! I would like to point out that at half-cock - and with the grip safety depressed - the hammer will not fall when the trigger is pulled. This gives me some level of comfort.

I have know folks to carry the 1911 chamber loaded and hammer down on the live round. It works because the 1911 has an inertial firing pin and is shorter than the distance from hammer face to primer. To employ the gun, they cock the hammer and shoot.

This seems really strange to me. If the firearm is safe to carry hammer down, why is the half-cock feature there? With the hammer down or at half-cock the thumb safety is useless. If there is a round in the chamber, me thinks I would rather carry at half-cock ... given the options.

Which brings me back to my original question. Is there a preferred method of draw with the firearm at half-cock (i.e. cock with the strong hand thumb; cock with the weak hand while raising the gun, similar to Cowboy Action, etc.)?