Condition 3

From GunCounter

Term coined by Colonel Jeff Cooper to describe a carry condition of a Single Action Automatic such as the 1911 and the Browning Hi-Power.

The chamber is empty and hammer is down with a charged magazine in the gun.

The pistol is brought into action by racking the slide to chamber a round and and cock the hammer as it is being drawn from the holster.

Used and trained for by the Israelis. Supposedly dates back to the early days of the country when citizens could draw weapons from the local armory or Police Station. Due to the mish mash of weapons collected by the Israelis through smuggling before independence or capture during wars with the Arabs, you might not be familiar with the manual of arms of the pistol you got. Condition 3 carry was used to simplify the training for use of a wide range of weapons.