CC DAO Pistol, no manual safety. Round chambered?

[nixdorf]

I've recently switched my carry gun from a SA/DA Smith and Wesson J-frame .38 revolver to a DAO Glock 23 4th generation. Regardless of carry firearm, I always use a holster that covers the trigger.

Logic tells me I shouldn't carry my G23 cocked with a round in the chamber. Every time I think about "what if" scenarios, I wonder if I should.

If you carry a DAO pistol without an external safety mechanism, do you carry it cocked* with a round in the chamber? Why or why not?


*Yes, I know it causes spring fatigue over time.

 

[DPris]

You can't carry a true DAO cocked to begin with, and the decision to carry with a loaded chamber boils down to whether you want that tool ready for instant use or you're afraid of a loaded chamber.
Your choice, perpetual question.

Denis

 

[loneviking]

Depends on the holster. With a well molded leather or kydex holster you should be ok. I wouldn't carry one in a smartcarry rig, or a cheap nylon holster.

 

[Nushif]

I carried a Glock with a round in the chamber and in a holster for a while ... then I swapped to a Kahr.
As long as it's in a decent holster there's no issues. Although if you're not comfortable carrying with a round in the chamber, maybe you should carry something you're comfortable with?
While I don't *understand* this "what if" thinking at times, I do think it's a good indicator of your confidence level in the gun. Seems to me you're not confident in the gun and would be much better off carrying what you're comfortable with. Nothing wrong with a snubbie.

 

[Steve C]

A Glock or any other DAO or DA pistol with a round chambered is as safe as your SA/DA revolver. With the Glock you don't have the option of SA mode like you did with your revolver but the preparedness is the same.

When I bought my Glock 19, the only Glock I own. the Glock was a fairly new handgun and the only semi auto of its type on the market. At first the idea of carrying it with round chambered gave me a little unease though I logically knew there was no reason not to do so as the handguns passive safeties made it "safe" from everything except the deliberate pull of the trigger. I remember sitting with the Glock in one hand and a revolver in the other trying to figure out what was nagging at me and I finally decided it was the lack of a hammer to cock and uncock the weapon and it was essentially very revolver like.

I have come to appreciate my Glock as the best tool in my collection for self defense. Simple to operate if called upon, just draw, aim and squeeze the trigger. Extremely reliable, durable, sufficiently accurate and with plenty of potent ammo in the magazine. While the Glock is a great tool it has little appeal to me as a firearm to enjoy as my taste runs to more aesthetic semi auto's and fine revolvers.

 

[Sam1911]

a DAO Glock 23 4th generation

Glocks aren't really "Double Action Only." The striker is partially cocked by the slide. The trigger finishes cocking the striker the last little bit and then releases it.

If it was really DAO, the trigger would draw the striker all the way back from the forward position before releasing it.

Regardless of carry firearm, I always use a holster that covers the trigger.

Pretty good idea!

Logic tells me I shouldn't carry my G23 cocked with a round in the chamber.

I would say "logic" tells you if you need a gun, you need it NOW. Not after you have time to rack the slide to chamber a round.

Every time I think about "what if" scenarios, I wonder if I should.

Guns in holsters just don't "go off."

If you carry a DAO pistol without an external safety mechanism, do you carry it cocked* with a round in the chamber? Why or why not?

I carry a few different handguns. None of them are really DAO. One is an xDM, which is striker fired like your Glock (though the striker is fully cocked, not partially cocked). One is a 629, which is a DA revolver. I carry with a round in the chamber always because I don't believe I'll always have the time to rack the slide, or two hands free to rack the slide (or the time to perform an emergency alternate racking technique if I don't have two hands free) in the dire instant that I might need to shoot my weapon.

*Yes, I know it causes spring fatigue over time.

CYCLING a spring causes spring fatigue over time. Leaving it compressed -vs- relaxed does not. You can leave a gun cocked for 50 years and it will fire perfectly when you pull the trigger.

 

[AK103K]

Glocks are fine carried loaded.

A holster is a good idea with anything, as it helps secure the gun and keep it in place, but the Glocks arent as scary as youre always told without one, as long as youre reasonable in what you do.

I carry a 17, and many times a 26 as well, and I wanted to prove to myself that it was or wasnt "unsafe". So far, after over a year now of carrying a second cocked but "unloaded" Glock of one type or another around, pretty much every minute Im home, and doing everything I do around the house, including "active" things, and Ive yet to ever find the trigger dropped. Thats just stuffing the gun in my waistband, pockets, even picking it up off the bench by the trigger, etc. I have a second 17 stuffed in my waistband as I type. So far, the only way Ive been able to get the guns to go off, has been with deliberate pulls on the triggers.

If youre not sure, holster or not, wear it around the house unloaded awhile, and see how things go. I think you'll find either way, its not a problem.

 

[mfcmb]

In a good holster with a round chambered. Definitely. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until it's time to pull the trigger and you'll never have a problem.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Round chambered, always, no matter the type of gun. With regard to Glocks in particular, although the trigger does have a short stroke, it is by no means any kind of "hair trigger" that can go off by just bumping it or something. It is as safe as you are.

 

[rellascout]

I always carry with a round chambered. I agree with Tuner if you need to use the gun life and limb are in immediate danger and the faster you can draw present and fire the gun the better.

 

[kludge]

Take your time and look your gun into your holster EVERY TIME.

Problems have happened when reholstering a Glock if something got into the trigger guard.

Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to shoot.

Same rule as any firearm.

 

[Guns and more]

I've recently switched my carry gun from a SA/DA Smith and Wesson J-frame .38 revolver to a DAO Glock 23 4th generation. Regardless of carry firearm, I always use a holster that covers the trigger.

Isn't the S&W a D/A only? It doesn't have a safety.
Switching to a D/A pistol is not much of a change. The long, firm trigger pull is your safety.
In a holster covering the trigger, it can't fire by being jostled around in normal use.

 

[Lucky Derby]

I would not carry a gun I did not feel safe carrying with a loaded chamber. That said, a Glock in normal operating condition is safe to carry with one in the chamber. Keep your finger off the trigger and use a GOOD holster that covers the trigger.

 

[AJChenMPH]

From a safety standpoint, I think it's perfectly fine to carry a round in the chamber (and I do so, whether it's my Kahr PM9 or my Glock 26). I'm a scientist by training/profession, so I'm pretty much data-driven -- and all the data I've seen so far suggest that accidental/negligent discharges occur during handling of the weapon.

However, only YOU can decide what YOU are going to do, as long as you clearly understand the pros/cons of your decision. If absolutely have to have the peace of mind of an empty chamber, then by all means carry that way -- as long as you accept the inherent risks that come with that decision (the extra time is takes to do an Israeli draw, not being able to shoot or taking extra time to rack on your belt if one hand is disabled, etc.). On the other hand, it's not completely out of the question that (if you have children) a rambunctious toddler could somehow draw your Glock from your waistband and pull the trigger.

No one can possibly understand what unique situations occur in your life. Gather all the data you can, make the best decision for yourself -- again, as long as you understand and accept the risks of your decision.

 

[PcolaDawg]

Just my .02c worth, but your safety instincts are correct. Keep that instinct and you should be fine. And ALWAYS have a holster that completely covers the trigger - no matter what type of gun you are carrying.

With that having been said, I am a firm believer that if you're going to carry a particular gun, carry it the way it is meant to be carried. That means a 1911 should be carried cocked and locked and other guns should have a bullet in the chamber. That's the way they are meant to be carried, so that's the way they should be carried.

HOWever, ultimately you are the one that has to be comfortable with it. My wife carries a little Kel Tec P32 and she refuses to carry it with a bullet in the chamber. I do not like it, but that is how she is comfortable carrying it. If she HAD to keep a bullet in the chamber she would simply refuse to carry it at all. So I would rather she have a gun she has to rack first than to have no gun at all.

 

[Smaug]

Round chambered: Yes. Cocked: No.

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