Beginner questions

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DentThat

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I'm a beginner automatic handgun owner (Glock 19) and I have a few questions

1)
When I do acquire my CCW license and I have the handgun on myself, do people usually chamber the first round or leave the gun unchambered?

2)
Will the spring of a high-cap magazine (15 rounds) wear out if it's always fully loaded? I'm talking about being loaded and untouched for months on end. I feel that since the spring is so compressed that it will wear out...

3)
What is the best way to grip a gun, not for target practice, but for self defense?

What I'm especially interested in, is the support hand. Sometimes I see
them underneath, sometimes to the side

HGcombatg_100206A.jpg


Thanks :D
 
I'm not a pro but here goes...

1. That's a personal call. Some would argue that if your gun isn't ready to fire RIGHT NOW, the extra second to chamber a round might cost you your life. Also, if you're struggling you may not be able to free your weak hand to chamber a round. It is possible to chamber without your weak hand free but it's more difficult. For a long time when I started carrying I didn't carry with a round chambered. It was what my gut told me to do. Listen to yours.

2. Nope. Modern springs are very high quality. Compressing it and letting it compressed won't hurt it - it's the repeated compression/decompression that puts wear on springs.

3. I grip with my weak hand along the side. This has always been more comfortable to me and I was told by a former shooting instructor that in the event of a catastrophic failure, hot gasses and magazine parts will likely be channeled down the magazine well. If that happens and your hand is at teh end of the mag well...
Yeesh
 
nevermind - bad day with the repeats.
 
Last edited:
1. I got jumped W/ an unchambered gun one I drew the bad guy ran had he attacked I wouldn't have had time to chamber a round before he got to me.
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

2. No leaving a magazine fully loaded for months on end has no apparent detrimental effect.

There is ample anecdotal evidence of magazines being fully loaded for years an functioning perfectly
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

3.Your grip looks fine

Welcome to THR
 
1. I got jumped W/ an unchambered gun one I drew the bad guy ran had he attacked I wouldn't have had time to chamber a round before he got to me.
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

2. No leaving a magazine fully loaded for months on end has no apparent detrimental effect.

There is ample anecdotal evidence of magazines being fully loaded for years an functioning perfectly
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

3.Your grip looks fine

Welcome to THR
 
1. I got jumped W/ an unchambered gun one I drew the bad guy ran had he attacked I wouldn't have had time to chamber a round before he got to me.
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

2. No leaving a magazine fully loaded for months on end has no apparent detrimental effect.

There is ample anecdotal evidence of magazines being fully loaded for years an functioning perfectly
SEARCH would have turned up a dozen threads on this topic. I reccomend you look through them for a very comprehensive consensus.

3.Your grip looks fine

Welcome to THR
 
There is a site that is run by a woman that is one of the moderators here. It is intended for women but there is a lot of information there about concealed carry-grip-stance etc. I learned from reading the information there you might want to check it out www.corneredcat.com
 
Good questions:

1) The gun should be loaded to capacity. That means load the mag fully, rack the slide, drop the mag, add a round to fill the mag back up, replace the mag in the gun. That's referred to as (in your case) 15+1. That's how many the gun holds. Why not have the gun as ready as it can be? Why have to perform another step? If you need it, you need it NOW. If you need further support for this statement, please do use the search. Its been discussed a million times. The correct answer is always "Condition 1" or round chambered.

2) No. Load the mags. Lots (and LOTS) of cycles between full and empty will eventually weaken the springs (which you can then replace) but loading them and leaving them loaded will not damage them.

3) This is the best resource anywhere (short of personal one-on-one training) for pistol grip and technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48
A lesson from a MASTER and free, too.

Good luck!

-Sam
 
So far, I agree with others answers to #1 and #2. I wanted to drop a note on #3: I would recommend getting Andy Stanford's "Surgical Speed Shooting".

http://www.amazon.com/Surgical-Spee...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231043763&sr=8-1

The title is a bit misleading. It should be called "The Modern Isosceles". The book is a disertation on the modern isosceles stance, and all the associated elements, including grip. He discusses at length why the grip is an extention of the stance, and where your thumbs belong to maximize wrist/elbow position, etc. He goes way beyond grip though and discusses the modern isosceles in the first half of the book as a complete system. He goes on in the second half to discuss how the modern isosceles can be extended to a defensive draw, close quarters situations, etc.
In my opinion, the book is the most complete and detailed discussion of the modern isosceles stance available. If you're new to shooting this book covers all the fundamentals in scientific detail. I highly recommend it.
 
1)
When I do acquire my CCW license and I have the handgun on myself, do people usually chamber the first round or leave the gun unchambered?
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't you? Doesn't make much sense to me. If you have a CCW license you're carrying a gun for self defense and if you're attacked do you really think there will be enough time to chamber a round. Next time you see a LEO ask him/her if they have a round in the chamber.

2)
Will the spring of a high-cap magazine (15 rounds) wear out if it's always fully loaded? I'm talking about being loaded and untouched for months on end. I feel that since the spring is so compressed that it will wear out...
Click to expand...

I don't have a Glock, but I also practice with mine a lot. I would hope, with a CHL you would be out practicing on a regular basis.

3)
What is the best way to grip a gun, not for target practice, but for self defense?
Click to expand...

In a self defense incident it's not very likely you would have time to think about grip or anything else, except for defending yourself. Practicing with different positions, (off-hand shooting, point shooting, etc), would probably be your best bet.

What I'm especially interested in, is the support hand. Sometimes I see
them underneath, sometimes to the side
 
1)
When I do acquire my CCW license and I have the handgun on myself, do people usually chamber the first round or leave the gun unchambered?

2)
Will the spring of a high-cap magazine (15 rounds) wear out if it's always fully loaded? I'm talking about being loaded and untouched for months on end. I feel that since the spring is so compressed that it will wear out...

3)
What is the best way to grip a gun, not for target practice, but for self defense?

What I'm especially interested in, is the support hand. Sometimes I see
them underneath, sometimes to the side
Click to expand...
1. Usually chambered because there is no telling what your other hand will be doing in a violent encounter (like pushing away the attacker).
2. I'm no physicist, but according to physicists, modern springs are worn out from cycling. being compressed and relaxed over and over again. So theoretically the gun that has had the hammer cocked for 20 years should have a stronger hammer spring than the gun that has been shot for 20 years.
3. Whatever is more comfortable and natural to you. Try it both ways and see which you shoot better with. The saucer and teacup (support hand underneath) was taught back when cops used sixguns but if it works better for you then by all means use it.
 
dullone said:
Is there an echo in here????????
Click to expand...

Listen here whipper-snapper...
You hang around here long enough and you'll find out about the repeats too.
:)
 
Great, thanks for the replies. And the echo's ;)

So chambered + 1 seems to be the way to go.

I'm just afraid of accidental discharge of if someone pulls the gun out from my holster, he'll be ready to use it off the bat.

Do people usually carry a spare fully loaded mag on them?
 
I'm just afraid of accidental discharge
Click to expand...

As long as you leave the pistol alone after you holster it, the chances of an accidental discharge are virtually nil. Of course, having a proper holster with adequate coverage of crucial areas (trigger guard) is very important as well. With a Glock, you'd be more likely to have an AD while re-holstering, as there is no external safety to prevent a discharge if your finger were to get caught inside the trigger guard while re-holstering.

That being said - a few hours practice drawing and re-holstering your pistol at home with a cleared and unloaded pistol will go a long way towards building good habits. But in general, the steps should look something like this:

1. Load Pistol.
2. Holster Pistol.
3. Leave Pistol the hell alone.

Any other contact outside of normal loading/holstering/un-holstering to put it away at the end of the day is one more chance for an accident to happen. Best to just "set it and forget it" as the saying goes.


if someone pulls the gun out from my holster
Click to expand...

Once again, a good quality holster with some type of retention system (strap, pressure lock, etc) will do wonders here. There are hundreds of styles and types of holsters for Glocks, which offer very good retention systems. Anyone trying to just yank a pistol out of one would have quite a bit of trouble. And if you're carrying concealed in a good holster, it'd be tough to impossible for anyone to even notice you had a gun on you in the first place, let alone get close enough to you to grab it.

Another thing - proper situational awareness and training will do a lot to keep you safe from a potential gun-grab. Ideally, you'd not let anyone you didn't know get that close to you in the first place. Of course, once you take the CCW classes and (hopefully) get some training, you'll learn ways to look out for shady individuals.

Good luck!
 
yeah, the lack of a REAL safety on a Glock is a bit annoying. Why do you suppose Glock didn't go for a standard safety switch?

I will invest in a quality holster and practice re-holstering
 
1) In my opinion there is only one way to carry, and that is with a round chambered ready to go when needed. this isn't Israel.

2) No, also every 2 years or so replace the mag springs and you will be good to go, do they need to be replaced that soon? Depends on alot of things, but Preventive Maintenance is a good thing.

3) The picture above shows a "rhumbs foward grip" it is imho the correct and the best for defensive shooting, you get 360 degree coverage on the handgun, and lots of meat of the hands in contact with the gun. If you lock that support hand wrist like you are supposed too, it puts your bones in alignment, making it easier to manage recoil, and muzzle rise. It is uncomfortable at firts, and takes a while to get into it right, but once you do, it is all over. I can't even get into any other grip if i tried.
 
I'm just afraid of accidental discharge of if someone pulls the gun out from my holster, he'll be ready to use it off the bat.

Do people usually carry a spare fully loaded mag on them?
Click to expand...

If you are worried about an AD, then may be you shouldn't be carrying in the first place. Retention isn't a gear issue, it is a training and operator issue, the more levels of security that you have on that holster the slower you are goona be. ever done the Tueller drill? even at the covert ready it is hard to get the hits on target quick enough.
If you are ccw, no one should know your armed to take it form you anyway. If they have you have allowed it to happen.

spare mag? yes i do, there are many reasons why.
 
yeah, the lack of a REAL safety on a Glock is a bit annoying. Why do you suppose Glock didn't go for a standard safety switch?
Click to expand...
because there is no need for one. do you need a manual safety to feel safe. your finger shouldn't be on the trigger unless you are ready to shoot., use your trigger finger and you brain and you will have all the safeties that you need.
 
#1) LOCKED, COCKED, AND READY TO ROCK! if you need to draw, you need to be ready for action. ccw'ing is all about the first c = CONCEALED= nobody knowing. if you have to chamber a round after you draw, you will most likely be dead.
#2) no, the spring wiil not wear out by being compressed. it is the cycleing of the spring that causes wear.
#3) what ever works for you. take several targets to the range, shoot, and see what works for you. there are to many differences to be able to give you an 100% accurate recomendation over the internet. or better yet, find a pistol instructor, and get professional advice / training.
 
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