A question for all CCW holders

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xplicitfire

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I am waiting for my CCW license to come in the mail to FINALLY carry(PLEASE HURRY DPS). Anyways, I was wondering what is the best way to carry, loaded without one in the chamber or loaded with one in the chamber? I have a Taurus PT 140 so I wanted to get some others advice.
 
Ok, I wont bash you about buying a real gun. I am very critical when it comes to Taurus. 3 failures in a row, I quit using them.
Let me say dont waste the space put one in the tube with safety on.
 
I carry with one in the chamber. I recommend you carry within your training/comfort level, and practice safe habits. Remember though, that if you need your pistol to protect yourself, you'll likely need it five seconds ago, and you may only have one hand to access it.
 
for you to have time to chamber a round during a defensive situation, i would say you would almost have to pull prematurely. which would inevitably escalate the situation. just imagine someone pulling out a gun and racking the slide. that's intimidating as hell and would definitely trigger you to shoot him. so i say keep one in the chamber and draw only when you're ready to shoot someone. carrying in a "ready to go" manner isn't dangerous if you have finger discipline.
 
First, in response to doc's post, make sure the gun is ultra reliable. There are a lot of people who will bash this brand or that because of a bad experience with one particular gun or simply internet chatter hearing that some brand "sucks". Put at least a hundred rounds of whatever ammo you plan to carry through the gun and make sure it has no failures. If it does, you've gotta figure out if it's an ammo problem or a problem with the gun.
You want it to go bang every time you pull the trigger. During a gunfight is no time to practice failure drills.
Second, always carry with one in the chamber. You may not have both hands free to rack the slide and it would suck to end up a victim just because you had to fend Mr. Badguy off with your non-dominant hand while you are holding a gun that's not ready to fire (expensive paperweight) in your dominant hand.
If you are nervous about carrying with one in the pipe try carrying it cocked on an empty chamber for a week. Chances are you'll never find it with the hammer down/trigger pulled/whatever at the end of the day and ease your fears. Just make sure you have a decent holster that covers the trigger.
 
I carry a Taurus PT140 as well, and it is a GREAT carry weapon. When I first started carrying, I was nervous as well about having one in the chamber. I don't advise it now, but it's up to you. At least you are taking the step towards carrying. Once you get comfortable with it, switch to having one in the chamber as soon as you can. Seconds count.
 
+1 for round in the chamber. With just a little practice I can switch off a safety without adding time to my draw. I'm pretty sure though that racking a slide while drawing would definitely slow me down no matter how much I practiced.
 
I never recommend carrying a defensive handgun on one's person with an empty chamber, save for old-style single-action revolvers (another topic). If it is not loaded and ready to go when you need it, it is little more than a bludgeon or throwing object. ;) If your handgun has a manual safety you can leave it engaged for carry if you wish. Practice disengaging it on the draw (with the handgun well clear of your body) and re-engaging it upon lowering the gun from the target or holstering. The operation must become second nature - forgetting to disengage it when you need to fire could be disastrous.
 
Another one for one in the chamber. Remember though if you carry 10+1 (or whatever your gun holds) make sure your test firing goes exactly like that, you want to standardize your carry load and try to match it exactly everytime. So always carry this way or in this position and practice.

A future note: if you ever plan to save in money in the future: save all of your brass, every single piece. If you find that you have "too much" you can always sell it or you can reload it later :) That is what I do.

-Kitchen
 
Mike, that's not true, (no offense xplicitifre) he is ignorant of something and is seeking our advice, we should welcome him to High Road and hope that he never has to worry about using his weapon in self defense. Everyone has had these questions in his/her mind at least once.

Another thing I recommend btw: a really good holster. Buy your uncle mikes if necessary but eventually you need to put down the required money for a really nice holster, it will make a world of difference.
 
Condition one and only!!!

That said, when I was new to carrying I also had reservations about keeping one up the pipe, for all the reasons already mentioned I eventually switched to cocked and locked. If you are at all uneasy with the situation, consider a double action revolver. The long, heavy double action trigger will give you some extra piece (oops, I mean peace) of mind, but not compromise the use of your handgun if ever needed.

Also, for any handgun the choice of holster is key! Find one that works for you and you will have no problems.
 
Thanks guys, I have the inside of the belt holster made for the glock 27. I have been wearing it walking around the house, since thats the only thing I can do right now and it feels pretty good. I might want to look for a holster made just for the pt and see how it feels
 
I carry a PT-140 on a daily basis - with one in the chamber. One of the reasons I chose this weapon is that I feel more comfortable with the DAO action when I have one in the chamber and carrying close to my body. It has been 100 percent reliable for me - after 800 rounds or so of both factory and reloaded ammo, I've yet to experience a malfunction of any kind.

I believe that if a personal defense firearm must be completely ready to shoot if necessary. If you don't carry with one in the pipe, what will happen if you can only use one of your hands to bring your weapon to bear? Kind of hard to chamber a round that way...
 
Depends on you and how you feel. I carry either a GLOCK 23 or 27 with one in the chamber and full mag. I always carry in a holster and it will be a strong side slide or IWB, usually cross draw.
The reason for one in the chamber is I will be busy and do not need another operation (chambering a round) to confuse things if I ever have to draw my handgun.
 
As one of my instructors said "Generally the first warning you have that you really need a gun is when you really need a gun." One in the chamber.
 
My Experiance

When I first started carrying, I believed that the safe way to carry a semi-auto was W/ an empty chamber.

One morning after a run I was walking through the parking lot of my apartment when someone ran up behind me yelling. I drew and in the stress of the moment I completely forgot that I was carrying an unchambered pistol. Luckily it was a false alarm, but I never forgot that lesson. One up ready to go always.
 
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