Carrying with a round in the chamber.

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cool45auto

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I just got back from my grandmother's birthday party. A lot of family members were there. We all like guns and hunting. Anyway I mentioned I wanted a Glock 31. One of my cousins has a G22 so I asked him how he felt about the gun's safety. He said he never carried one in the chamber so it wasn't a big deal. He said the only people who carry one in the chamber are 1)Law Enforcement or 2)up to no good! I told him I carried one in the chamber of my Beretta all the time. He said it wasn't necessary, that you would have plenty of time to pull the gun and rack the slide before something happened.

Since there were a lot of family members there I hadn't seen in a while I didn't get into it with him. What do you guys think?
 
Cool 9mm I would be curious to get your cousins opinion on why "people up to know good" and "cops" carry with one in the pipe. I think his comments might be interesting to say the least on this subject.

Needless to say if I have a sidearm on my person there is always one in the pipe unless I am at the range and have finished shooting and I am walking down to the target.
 
In some places they consider racking a slide to be 'brandishing". Couldn't have that now could we? :eek:
 
I carry my Glock with a round chambered.

On the range, it is easy to rack the slide when you hear the start signal.

In real life, the start signal might very well be something slamming into your left arm, rendering it useless and you unable to quickly rack the slide. Or you might already be holding a small child with that arm; throwing the baby to the pavement so that you can rack your slide may be considered good tactics but poor parenting.

pax

It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. – Thomas Sowell
 
cool9mm:
I always carry one in the chamber.
1. Racking the slide takes time.
2. Racking the slide makes much noise.
3. You shouldn't have to think about it.

Most guns have a safety of some sort. DAO has a long hard trigger. 1911 has several safeties. And I won't even tell you what I did to my Glock-17 (Comonollie).

There are only a few guns that you shouldn't have one in the chamber or behind the firing pin. My Ruger Single Six .22 caliber ,3-screw model, was one of them. But I had the safety upgrade done so it is safe now. I forget which others had a safety flaw, but most can be upgraded or fixed, usually for free.

Just my 2 cents...
 
I carry DAO selfstuffers with a round in the chamber.

A friend of mine carries SA/DA selfstuffers with empty chamber.

There's no accounting for preferences, but I'm lazy and forgetful.... :D
 
Bet he got the glock because it went with his shoes or matches his car!!! :neener:

Only dead people carry without one in the chamber :banghead:
 
If your cousin thinks you are going to have plenty of time to chamber a round in a crisis, then he must also know that there is no reason to carry a gun as you will have plenty of time to get out of the situation, right?

The only folks that carry chambered are cops and bad guys up to no good? If bad guys up to no good carry that way, it seems like it would be really prudent to carry with one in the chamber simply to help even the odds between you and the bad guys.
 
(Said in game show host fashion...)

And the number 1 answer is:

Possibility of FTF when racking the slide!

Neither my Taurus nor my Beretta have EVER had a problem feeding a round in the chamber while firing away. BOTH have had a few jams when I racked the slide manually.

Was it the gun's fault? I doubt it. I think it was MY fault. - and I wasn't even being stressed out!

I trust the gun more than I do myself. Suppose I "ride the slide". What if it is raining and the slide slips out of my hand before getting all the way back? Nope, that is a completely unnecessary risk to take. True, the time it takes may also be a problem. I am more worried about successfully chambering a round in an emergency. Why take the risk?

My .02

Logistar
 
That's my concern, Logistar.

With one in the pipe, I'm pretty sure that I've got at least a single shot, and I practice so that should be all I ever need.

If the gun works, I'll have more shots, but I don't like "if".... :D
 
I bought my Glock in 1999. I think in that 4 years, it might have been empty chambered for no more than 6 months. I think there is nothing more useless than a gun not loaded. ESPECIALLY if you are going to depend on it for self-defense. Sounds like he needs more training and to build some confidence.
 
Always

Round in the chamber, carry mags topped off, spare mags topped off. I carry a Keltec P-11, and/or 1911, the later is always cocked and locked.

Tueller drill: a man can get to you in 1.5 seconds from 21 ft !!

I've seen people not be able to get unholstered before target was upon them.
 
Aw, he would be surprised if he were to visit me!

With today's QUALITY self-loader's a round in the
ole' chamber is a given; at least for me. I consider my
SIG-Sauer handgun's to be among the world's safest
firearms; bar none!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
I allways carry with the chamber empty. It seams to me i need to do one or the other all the time to be safe.

So i carry empty.

I'm still beter off than 99% of the people.

Not only that but i bought a 15 round hi-cap for my BDM and usually only have 8-10 rounds in it.

:eek:
 
Ala Dan

You have real life experience, training, and SA.
And your kinda partial to a Sig 220 --I've heard ;)

I have no doubt the BG would be surprised --even with your model 60.

The difference IMO is simple. One trains, practices shooting, scenrios, SA etc, and better to understand firearm use. Thier firearm becames a natural extension.

What the guy say about loaded cocked and locked, when he pointed to his head " this IS my safety...his finger off trigger.

Some of the CCW students, armored car, security guards..etc finally had to learn the nuances of their tools an to properly use them. Squashed some mis-conceptions, A particular platform is safe, and it ain't gonna reach up and bite you. Safety is a big deal and it finally sinks in, use the tool as designed, safely and your fine. Now it s up to them to practice and use what learned, and get more training.
 
No offense but your cousin is nuts. If he's that afraid of carrying with a loaded chamber maybe he should be carrying a cell phone instead.;)
 
My primary carry weapon was designed to be carried with a round in the chamber. So I do.
This does not make me a police officer or a criminal.
If he feels that his gun is unsafe to do so, and/or is confident in his ability to ready his weapon in sufficient time, that's his call.
 
I usually don't chamber on in my p-32. I just can't. It makes me nervous. Call me a sissy if ya like :)

In my NAA revolver I NEVER carry one under the hammer so I only have 4 rounds in it usually which is plenty for a single action I think.

The only guns I carry chambered is a P7M8 and a GP-100. But they are both big enough that I rarely (ok never) carry them concealed.

I'd never tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do. My advice is to do what you are most comfortable with, within reason.
 
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