You'd think an artificially-intelligent killer android to keep its weapon at the ready at all times and not have a problem with accidental discharge.
Exactly. Mechanically speaking, a 1911 isn't going to go off by itself even in condition 0. Humans don't typically carry 1911s in condition 0 because we want a hedge against human error (i.e., the muscles not doing exactly what the brain tells them to do; high-stress situations make human error even more likely). Human error, sometimes accompanied by negligence, is the cause of nearly all accidental discharges.
However, people do typically carry a 1911 in condition 1 (chamber loaded, hammer cocked, thumb safety on; also known as "cocked & locked"), which is still a far higher state of readiness than condition 3. For this type of gun, it's long been considered the best compromise between safety and readiness. To fire the gun you only have to swipe the safety off with your thumb before pulling the trigger, which can easily and ~instantly be done while drawing, so it doesn't necessarily add any extra time.
Carrying his pistol in either condition 1 or condition 0 would have allowed him to complete his mission at the nightclub, though condition 0 makes more sense for a Terminator, who isn't susceptible to human error or stress, which can cause humans to pull the trigger accidentally.
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MikeCable (1662)
7 years ago
I feel this is more of a technical detail which just doesn't matter to a general film-going audience. I see the same kind of technical error in almost every film featuring a helicopter scene where they dub in the sound of a two-bladed Huey over another type of helicopter. Frustrates me to no end but I came to live with it long ago.
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MaximRecoil (4054)
7 years ago
Even someone who knows nothing about the technical details of guns would be able to notice that he only had to pull the trigger to shoot the wrong Sarah Connor, yet, using the same pistol (which is very recognizable to anyone, due to its big laser sight), he had to pull the slide back first before attempting to shoot the right Sarah Connor. They may not know what would lead to such a discrepancy in real life, but they would still be able to spot the discrepancy.
The problem with it is that it undermines the character. The Terminator is presented as an elite, unstoppable killing machine, but this scene makes him look foolish, inept, unprepared; it is completely out of character.
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[deleted]
6 years ago
You know what else? He'd have had to unchamber a round after the earlier shooting to get it back to that state!
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