carrying one in the pipe question(s)

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Milkmaster

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I am 50 years old. I have been around and used firearms all my life. My training has always told me to not put a round in the pipe until I am ready to shoot. That was all good for firing range practice, transporting my firearms, shooting clays with my shotguns, or anything else I have done up until now. For instance, I would leave the shotgun chamber empty and open on a bird hunt until we got ready to walk in on a cubby rise. Then I would cycle a round into the firing position. NO friends or myself got shot accidentally with this practice.

I want to take my class for CCW. I know a pistol is no good if it ain't loaded and in ready condition. I have no problems about shooting a thug intending to do me or my family harm.

I feel I am not going to ask this in the right way and get flamed or pi$$ a few people off. I don't want to start a thread and hear arguing about being able to defend yourself.

Ok here it goes...

Did any of you had second thoughts about carrying a pistol in ready
to fire condition in your pocket with no safety? Did it seem to go against everything you had been trained to do? I am wanting to know how you reconciled your thoughts to not worrying about it everytime you sit or do some physical exercise that may toss it around a bit. I have one double action hammerless revolver that has a substantial trigger pull. I can see how that would be pretty tough to fire accidentally in my pocket. Unfortunately that revolver is just too big for my CCW purposes. I really want one of the .380 pocket pistols. They seem small enough to be comfortable and concealed. I see they also are double action in design. I also read where the LCP was recalled for firing if dropped. Geez!

Help me out here and try to explain your thoughts and/or feelings about this when you first starting carrying regularly. Did it bother you? Does it still bother you? How did you get past it to carry comfortably and confidently. Did you receive any training that made you feel ok with it?

Ok now I am ready with me teeth clenched. Replies please...
 
I carry a full size 1911 in an iwb holster with one round chambered and the safety on. When I was a State Trooper we carried DA/SA S&W that had no safeties at all... just the decocker. To me an unloaded firearm is a paper weight. I am not a fan of DA in any form and thus the 1911 with the safety on in a good carry holster.
 
I carry a 1911.
I carry with a round in the chamber, the hammer back, and the safety on.
No matter the pistol I carry, it will have a round chambered.
It is not going to fire unless the trigger is pulled.
The LCP is fixed.


Jim
 
I think the biggest issue is having a good holster or carry system that:

covers the trigger guard and prevents the trigger from being actuated

OR

if applicable prevents the hammer from actuating

I feel a little odd having one of my snubbies in just a pocket as there is always the chance however small of the trigger catching on something. A good holster eliminates this concern.

-Jenrick
 
A pistol in your pocket with no safety?
Hmmmmmm!

I won't carry a pistol in my pocket unless it is in a good pocket holster that fits it.

That makes it virtually impossible for the trigger to be pulled until I remove it from the holster and pull it.

I would sooner put a live rattlesnake in my pocket then a loaded baby Glock with no holster!

S&W revolvers? = No problem.
But a good pocket holster keeps them cleaner, and more importantly, in the same ready position all the time.

Also much easier on pocket linings.

rc
 
buy the best holster you can leather is better. front pocket prefered.
 
I carry a Sigma .40 with one in the chamber. Besides the long trigger pull, the only other safety is the one between my ears.

Modern firearms, despite what that idiot who popped the toilet in the rest room told the cops, do not go off accidentally. As long as you keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot, and pay attention so that your shirt tail doesn't catch up in the trigger when you holster it, there shouldn't be any problems with keeping one in the pipe ready to fire.
 
I would not carry a gun with no safety in my pocket, DA or not. That's what holsters are for. IMHO. When I carry in my holster, my PT145, which is SA, is carried with safety on. When I carry my PT92 or P345 - both DA/SA - I carry them decocked (DA) - safety off.
 
Yes. Get a pocket holster to cover the trigger guard, and hold it in your pocket in the place you left it- and where you know it will be still should you ever need it.
I wouldn't pocket carry a loose(no pocket holster) pistol.
 
Go for the .380 pocket auto idea that has attracted you. They have long heavy triggers that will ease your worries. Get a pocket holster for that very gun and you'll not think twice about it.
 
My S&W Model 49 5-shot .38 special in a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster is the best package I've found for me personally. I carry it ALL the time, and worry not. IMO, with the shrouded hammer and covered trigger, there's no way it can be accidently fired. Those holsters (and others) are available for most small autos too.

Otherwise, I'll also carry an RIA Compact 1911 in a Beltster or Versa Max II, cocked and locked with one in the tube. But no, carrying either one ready to go doesn't bother me.

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A few years back when I first started carrying I was nervous about doing it with one in the chamber. I started with a 1911, carried chamber empty with the hammer down. When I started to realize how horrible this might be in a fight, I carried for a couple weeks with the chamber empty, hammer back, safety engaged just to see how safe it was. On about the fourth day I removed the pistol from the holster to find that the safety had disengaged in the course of my daily activity.

That made me nervous. In retrospect, it probably had more to do with the holster than anything else - it was a cheapo nylon IWB that was unstable and didn't protect the rear of the weapon that well.

Anyway, after that I switched to a Glock, and again carried chamber empty. After a couple weeks, when I gained confidence in my carry setup to not touch of a round without my wanting it to, I went to carrying with one in the chamber. I've never looked back. Throughout, I did of course keep my booger hook off the bang lever when handling the weapon. Still do today.

A good quality holster that securely covers the trigger guard makes all the difference in the world. I sometimes pocket carry a S&W revolver, but as others have said, make sure you have a good holster for the gun. With CCW gaining popularity in the last few years, a wide range of quality accessories coming to market has served us well.
 
I'm glad for all the replies because I was wondering the same thing since my CHL will be coming in sometime in the next decade...
 
The agency I worked for changed over to S&W autos in 1984 and Glocks in 1998. I was a firearms instructor and there was a couple of thousand personnel carrying these in the region. Everyone was taught to carry a round in the chamber (safety off on the S&Ws). I would have been aware of any unintentional discharge in the region. I retired in 2005 so that's over 20 years and we probably averaged one UID a year. ALL UIDs were the result of a finger on the trigger when it wasn't supposed to be there. That at least 40,000 man years of gun carrying.

Know how you gun works and you won't worry about it so much.

ps Keep your finger off the trigger when it shouldn't be there and use a proper holster.
 
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I carry with one chamberedl. Who knows when I might need my weapon AFTER my "free hand" has already been injured or disabled! My preferred carry is 1911, "condition one," locked and loaded." When I first carried (years ago, right after departure of the dinnocaurs) I carried a SA, condition one. I wasn't bothered by what or how I carried. I just took a little time merely getting accustomed that I was actually carrying a sidearm.
 
The REAL safety on any firearm is the one between your ears.

If a gun isn't "ready to go", then is more paperweight than a SD tool. In an SD situation, you very likely are not going to have time to rack the slide. And at 50 (just like me!) you aren't going to get -quicker- at much of anything. ;-)

I have two "carry" weapons. NAA Black Widow in 22Mag and a Glock 26. The NAA, being a revolver, always has "one in the pipe". So does the Glock when I carry it. It's not that it has -no- safety .. it has no -external- safety. The only way it can go off is if you pull the trigger, straight back.

Now, oddly enough, when I have the Glock at home, in the bedside drawer, I -don't- keep one in the pipe, just like I keep the Rem 870. Why? Because if I go for one of those in the middle of the night, I -want- to be aware enough (ie, awake enough) to have to rack/pump before I shoot.

Good idea? Questionable ... but it gives me peace of mind that I'm a lot less likely to shoot something/someone I really don't want to shoot because I'm 1/2 asleep.
 
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This is another reason I like the Bersa Thunder .380

With this model you can chamber a round then pull back on the hammer until you hear the first click.

In this postion the hammer will not strike the firing pin until you pull the trigger.

Even if it hangs up on your shirt while holstering it will not discharge the round.

You can test it at the range to verify this action and feel comfortable carrying it with the safety off and one in the pipe.
 
This is another reason I like the Bersa Thunder .380

With this model you can chamber a round then pull back on the hammer until you hear the first click.

In this postion the hammer will not strike the firing pin until you pull the trigger.

Even if it hangs up on your shirt while holstering it will not discharge the round.

You can test it at the range to verify this action and feel comfortable carrying it with the safety off and one in the pipe.

When I, or my wife, carry the Bersa, I keep one in the pipe as well, but we just engage the safety. The safely decocks the weapon and engages at the same time. It's no trouble to disengage the safety with your thumb as you draw, and then fire the first round double action.
 
I use to carry a semi auto pistol without a round chambered, that is until someone pulled a gun on me.

I had just cashe my pay check and was walking home from the bus stop in downtown st. louis when someone came around the corner and spotted me (it was pretty late at night) they stopped me and demanded whatever I had and pulled a gun. I didn't want to give up my wallet but at the same time had I pulled my gun they would have gotten the round off before I even got a round chambered. since then I only carry with a round chambered.

I still consider it good practice to keep the chamber empty when going to the range hunting etc... as a safety precausion, but never agian when carrying. Frankly I'd rather risk shooting myself in the leg then get shot in the chest by a bad guy.
 
Sato Ord,

This is true and it's how I will carry (I get my permit tomorrow). I was just pointing out the feature that the Bersa has for those who don't believe in safeties.
 
With this model you can chamber a round then pull back on the hammer until you hear the first click.



What you are doing is leaving the hammer on the half cock notch which is designed to catch the hammer if it should fall off full cock, not act as a safety.

When I, or my wife, carry the Bersa, I keep one in the pipe as well, but we just engage the safety. The safely decocks the weapon and engages at the same time. It's no trouble to disengage the safety with your thumb as you draw, and then fire the first round double action.


This would seem the proper way to carry that Bersa.
 
The purpose of carrying a handgun for self-defense is that you have a reasonable tool with which to defend yourself. When you need a gun you need it now. You are out of time.

Therefore, it is reasonable to carry the gun ready to fire to save the time it would take to load the gun. Of course, this assumes that the gun will not fire unless the trigger is pulled.

The only safety you can rely upon is your brain/your training/you.
 
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