How do you NOT shoot yourself w/ CCW?

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newbie4help

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I just finished by CHL class/proficiency tests. I'm still a bit nervous about actually carrying concealed (of course i have to wait at least 90 days before I see that license). How are there not more accidents with people shooting themselves? I have a Glock and always remember to keep my finger off the trigger, but what prevents the trigger from catching on something and going off into your leg or something? It makes me quite nervous.

When I leave it in the nightstand, I don't chamber a round. I know it costs seconds but I don't want my phone to ring and me to "answer the gun" on accident or something. It's unsafe to leave a gun out where anyone can grab it immediately anyway - I figure racking the slide adds about as much time as getting it from a case.

As for concealed carry, how do you stay safe? I have this idea of putting a blank as the top round. In a defense scenario, the time it takes to get off two shots is miniscule. Has anyone ever done this? Racking the slide is just too impractical. Also, if you were in a scenario where you had time, you could always rack the slide and de-chamber the blank and chamber a live round. I feel it gives you the option of vastly increased speed, while still being infinitely safer than having a chambered round. Finally, if someone was starting to break in, it'd be nice to fire a warning shot without ruining yoru brand-new HDTV :D
 
By using your brain, following the four rules and having acute situational awareness.

Using a blank as your first round is a completely stupid idea and may very well cause you a malfunction as, often, they do not have enough "oomph" to fully cycle the slide thereby leaving you with a FTE.
 
Try this: www.corneredcat.com/Holster/belt.aspx

It's a pictorial explaining where the danger points are and how to avoid them, & there are links at the bottom of the page to other similar articles for shoulder holsters and fanny pack holsters.

pax
 
Thanks - I was actually about to check out your website :D

Any thoughts on my original idea? Is that just a stupid idea period?
 
You should use a good holster which will cover the trigger and prevent you from shooting yourself in the leg...
 
Blanks won't reliably cycle the action.

But the real deal is this- when the time comes that you have to fight for your life RIGHT NOW, thinking and reasoning are going to go right out the door. As such, you need to have a singular, simple, well-practiced course of action to carry out. If racking the slide to chamber a round is part of that course of action, that's fine, but you'd better practice it until it's second nature and completely automatic. I'd personally argue that carrying with an empty chamber is adding unnecessary complexity, but to each his own.

What you absolutely cannot do is count on thinking clearly under stress. You can't count on thinking to yourself, "OK, he's fifteen feet away and charging, do I have enough time to rack the slide and eject this blank in the chamber?"

This is why we have specific drills for malfunctions and the like. When you expect a bang and get a click, you're not going to have time to pull the slide back, analyze the problem, figure out what's going on. You're not going to be thinking clearly, and while you're trying to clear the brain fart, someone is trying to kill you.

No analysis. Got a click instead of a bang? Tap, rack, bang, get back in the fight.

Thinking is what you do before the fight, so that when the fight comes, you won't have to think. You'll have other things to worry about, like not soiling yourself.
 
lol @ ruining the HDTV!

Do you keep your phone in the night stand? That's the only way you could answer the Glock by mistake. I think you're just having anxiety over the privilege of being a licensed concealed gun carrier now (or in 90 days).

In considering the blank as the top round, would you want the perp to shoot you before you got the second bullet out? He/she won't have a blank as their top round.
 
MisANTHrope is exactly correct.

The only thing I'd add to that is that you do not know if you might only be able to use one hand to draw and fire your gun (maybe the other hand is shoving a loved one to safety, or fending off the attacker, or got injured before you drew). If that's the case, you'll be in a world of hurt if you were carrying with the chamber empty. Racking the slide to chamber a round takes time even when you're well practiced, and takes even more time to do one handed.

pax
 
It makes me quite nervous.

You simply need more training to raise your comfort level with both the gun and yourself.

You should not carry until that nervousness is dealt with.

Police officers carry every day. Do you think they load blanks or carry unloaded guns?

It's training for them that allows that confidence to build, and we are no different.

Most of these state mandated classes are simply to satisfy the legal component, they are not training.

Carrying a concealed firearm is a pretty big responsibility. Investing a few hundred bucks in a class is well worth it. Fun too :)
 
Racking the slide is just too impractical.

Why?
How many times in your life have you had to draw and fire so far? If the answer is none, how impractical is it to have to rack the slide if you need the weapon?
Yeah, I know lots of folks are going to tell you carrying without one in the pipe is crazy, but everything’s a compromise:
Extra time needed to rack the slide
VS
Always having a round ready to go off

Now you could possibly be disabled to the point of needing to rack with one hand (has it happened to you yet?), but you still have to balance the odds of that against always (that’s 100% of the time!) having the possibility of an AD/ND.
Maybe it’s because there are so many Glocks out there, but there does seem to be an unusual number of AD/ND with ‘em. Is it because of the number in service or the gun’s design (no external safeties)? I’m also of the belief that there are more ADs than some folks think-some like to classify everything as a ND, as if a man-made object can never fail.

You might also consider something else in the future that’s a little more “safe”?
I’ve always been a fan of the USPC in Variant 1 for civilian CC as I think it’s about the safest system I’ve seen for carrying one in the chamber (de-cocked, safety on).
 
Another thing about the Glock you have to be very careful about (as you should with ANY firearm) is to make sure that darned chamber is EMPTY when field stripping it. The design requires that the trigger be pulled before you can remove the slide. Lots of people have just dropped the magazine and pulled the trigger and fired that chambered round. Law enforcement is notorious for doing this and that's why some people consider Glock as an "unsafe" design. :rolleyes:
 
Any way of carrying that takes 2 hands to get the gun in action is bad news. I feel the opposite of basicblur because we had a guy here get hurt very badly because he needed both hands to get his gun out of a fanny pack and he got cut up much more than if he could've just drawn and shot the guy. Having to rack a round into the chamber is the same thing - someone can already close from 21 feet before you can draw plus you're going to have another handicap because of how you carry.

Either get a good holster and practice with it until you are comfortable carrying with one in the chamber or go to a different type of gun with more safeties like a XD or 1911.
 
And do NOT rely on external safeties. These can and do fail. Plus, with thumb activated safeties, you might potentially forget to take it off and waste precious time.

My most carried guns are Glocks and Kahrs and sometimes a P3AT. None of these guns require anything to be manipulated before they will fire. Just pull the trigger.
 
I'm still a bit nervous about actually carrying concealed...
You too? It's been a few years for me, but I remember that feeling initially. Suggestions:
1. Get a decent holster and carry your Glock as much as possible. Empty chamber is okay at first, so don't worry about that right now.
2. Practice. Sure at the range, but also at home you can practice a lot without firing. Give IDPA a try -- it's fun and you'll learn quicker.

As you gain experience, you'll gain confidence in your ability to carry safely with your Glock or other handgun of your choice.
 
I would agree with everything said above with the addition of ........when you carry, put your pistol in the holster and LEAVE it ALONE !!!
Most of the ND, AD seem to be caused by handling the pistol.
All your feelings will go away with practice and familiarity of carrying.
If you continue to be uncomfortable with one in the chamber, you could consider switching to a revolver. Even though it's the same with having one in the chamber, for some reason it doesn't seem as scary with a revolver.
 
Carry a revolver, then you don't have to worry about this sort of thing. But really, training is all you need to feel comfortable. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
 
Although I was never "afraid" of carrying with a round chambered, it was the feeling that everyone would know I was carrying a gun. As previously mentioned, carrying around the house at first helps a lot. I also started small and worked my way up. The first gun I ever carried concealed was a P3AT in my pocket. First IWB was a no-so-big Glock 19. I have since upgraded both and pocket carry a Kahr PM9 and a 4" 1911 IWB. I do still carry the G19 IWB in the hotter parts of the year. The P3AT is never carried anymore and relegated to "novelty status" as being the smallest .380 semi-auto to date...until the Kahr P380 comes out.
 
One thing to help get comfortable is to wear the gun around the house. Start off without one in the chamber, but with a live full mag, and wear it all day on the weekends or such when you're at home.
After a few weeks without that loud "click" that would represent an ND, you'll start to think "You know what, this is silly. The gun's useless unless it's chambered." Chamber one, holster it, and wear it around the house.

The first time out in public is always a rush, and is called the "Wal-mart walk" around here, as Wally-world is the only thing open at midnight that usually allows carry. After you get that license, load up and make a midnight run for a pie or icecream, to celebrate your first time out.

During your practice time at home, make sure you don't develop any bad habits involving the gun when it's empty. These can translate into bad habits when the gun is loaded. This is, needless to say, bad.
 
I agree with pretty much everyone above.

Get training. Whether that means an actual class, or just walking around your house with a holstered pistol and learning to get used to having it on you. It is up to you to be safe and feel safe with your gun.

There are not more accidents, because the majority of people who carry have become familiar with their carry rigs, and know that in order for the gun to go off/an accident to happen, more has to happen than them just lugging it around on their hip all day. Guns do not just go off, especially when securely held in a quality holster designed for that style and model of gun.

Being nervous is human - if you weren't at least a little bit wary about carrying a gun with you 24/7, you'd probably be a fool, or a liar, or both. Firearms should always demand our fullest respect and attention when being used. But, you must be able to temper that caution with common sense.

The advice given by MisANThrope and others is good advice - if, god forbid, you ever find yourself in a self-defense shooting situation, all of your fine motor skills and higher thinking will go straight out the window. As such, simple=good when it comes to drawing and operating your gun. While it may seem like no big deal to you to rack the slide one extra time to clear the blank or to chamber a round while you're dryfiring at home or practicing at the range, when you're racing to get hits on a bad guy in the dark or when you're hurt during a fight, it's a whole 'nother story.

And so forth, and so on.

Practice, practice, practice. Make sure you know what you are doing when you draw and present your weapon, and make sure you can do it without even thinking.
 
There are other choices!

The Glock pistols are deservedly renowned, but they DO have a higher percentage of accidental discharges than many other guns. This is due to the soft, short trigger pull due to its "partial-pre-cocked" workings. The bad discharges are mostly from holstering the gun while a finger is still in the triggerguard. This can be eliminated by training--keep finger OUT unless deliberately firing. There are literally millions of Glocks out there that have never been accidentally fired!

But the Glock is not the only choice! There are many other reliable brands of Double Action Only guns that require a longer, heavier trigger pull (like a revolver) that would be almost impossible to fire accidentally---many police departments require this mode.

There are also Double Action/Single Action guns from every manufacturer EXCEPT Glock, that fire the first shot with a long, heavier trigger pull like a revolver, and then subsequent shots with a short, soft pull. And finally there are many reliable brands of pistols that have SAFETIES that must be deactivated before firing, either passive grip safeties or active frame or slide safeties (or both!) that need a deliberate action. In all of these cases an accidental discharge has been made nearly impossible, and this is why it is so rarely heard of.

Try other guns that make you feel safer than a Glock, and maybe trade it in. You deserve to feel totally secure with what you carry...........................elsullo
 
Like others have said, training and familiarity. Also look into getting a handgun that you feel comfortable with. Don't get me wrong, Glock makes a good, reliable and safe handgun, but maybe it's not the best choice for you right now, given your concerns. Ditto what TexasRifleman said about state courses. They satify a legal requirement, not your training needs.
 
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