Do you carry unloaded?

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Bowlcut

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Who here carries their pistol unloaded? Well not unloaded, but without one in the chamber. Dad still to this day doesnt chamber a round in his Bersa .380. He doesnt have a reason for why he doesn't. And at the same time his aguement of he dont need it either sorta makes sense. He's an ageing martial artist and now hard worker. He believes in non agression, his opinion is if he needs the gun, he will be able to chamber a round, cause if it comes to a speed draw he'd likely lose no matter what. I still say carry with one in the chamber and finger off trigger...but he doesn't. Heck he didnt have a real holster he could use until this fathers day. Need to go suprise visit him to see if he uses it or not. He carries that .380 in his back pocket or his chest pocket of his bib overalls.

So do any of you also carry unchambered? Why so?
 
Very silly idea, if it's legal to carry a gun loaded. All you have is an expensive, inefficient club, until such time as you get it loaded... That said, there have been times when I carried an unloaded gun (as in, chamber empty, magazine out of the gun). This was in jurisdictions where it was illegal to carry a loaded gun - and the legislation/regulation concerned specifically spelt out "LOADED gun". This obviously means that an unloaded gun is not illegal - and local LEO's confirmed this on inquiry. So, to make the best of a bad situation, I carried unloaded, with a couple of mags at hand. In a trouble situation, I reckon it would take an extra second or so to draw the pistol, slap in the magazine and rack the slide. Better than nothing...
 
I would carry with an empty camber only if I carried a revolver or a single action auto. But my carry gun is a Makarov, and it is safe to carry with a round in the chamber, hammer down...
 
I did for a while

I did foir a few months cuz I was trying that Israil(?) style draw load and fire.....got half way good at it but then I fell back in to old habits cocked and locked.

that would be the only reason to carry un-chamberd in my opinion. My 2 cents



rusher
 
David4516, what revolver is it that you carry that compels you to go hammer down on an empty chamber? Colt SAA?
 
Not in a million years.


Loaded for bear full time.

Not having one in the chamber is irresponsible if your carrying.


If you don't want to be ready to shoot, don't carry.
 
If you either carry a gun or have one for home defense always have a round in the chamber or rounds loaded in the cylinder. (If you have kids get a lock box mounted or locked to something immovable.) Unlike the movies racking the slide to show a criminal you mean business is not only silly but dumb. Not to mention you probably won't have the time.

If you are relatively new to guns practice handling an unloaded gun until you feel muzzle discipline and finger off the trigger is automatic. If one never feels comfortable with a loaded gun for protection perhaps a gun might not a good choice.
 
TO assume that you will "have the time" ,when you need the gun, to load it is extremely naive. Most shoot outs occur in very short time. Are you going to ask the BG " wait a minute I have to load my gun " ?
 
I have and still do with certain revolvers. Alot of people automatically link carrying with a BG senario, but I also hunt and plink with handguns. With a non-transfer bar single action revolver you best have the hammer down over a empty chamber. Also when the military carried 1911s they were carried with the chamber empty and hammer down.
If the situation gets to the point you have to fast draw on someone, you are probably way behind the eight ball. If at all possible seek cover first then draw. Only in hollywood does it make sense to stand and fast draw if you could seek cover first.
 
Always fully loaded! Agree with all the points made so far for fully loaded

and would like to add one more. If you are not used to having the chamber

loaded you could forget to clear it when fully unloading for cleaning. This

sets the stage for major problems. I know of one case where a hunter did

this and accidently killed his wife a room away.

He never picked up a gun again.
 
unloaded?

Do you drive your car with the tank on empty? Why bother to carry!!Kimber pro cdp cocked and locked, only way.
 
I always carry with one in the chamber.

That said, if someone is uncomfortable carrying with one chambered, I'd rather see them carry with one un-chambered than not carry at all. They just need to do what everyone needs to do - train/practice with their carry mode so that they know what to do.

There are many situations where an unchambered pistol is going to be pretty darn useless, but I can think of many where you'd have the time to chamber a round and use it to save your life...chambering a round can be slow, but it's a heck of a lot faster then running home to get your gun!
 
"a moment's hesitation in a gun fight could cost you your life!"

That is the main reason I carry all of my self-loaders with
one up the pipe; and all wheelguns with the maximum
number of rounds that it will hold. HOG JIVE on leaving
the chamber under the hammer empty on a revolver;
as today's revolvers incorporate the necessary safety
features.

"When The Going Gets Rough; The Rough Get Going"
dispatched by means of a .45 caliber SIG-Sauer P220A

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
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My fiance went down south to visit her parents and while she was there her dad made her carry her Kel Tec without a round in the chamber because he said it might go off. :rolleyes:
 
I normally carry a H&K USP or Colt 1911A1 cocked and locked, though I'm trying to warm up to my Glock G36 for carry purposes.

As for your father, he should be free to carry however he wants, without any interference from you. In my opinion, anyone who is competent to make the decision to carry a deadly weapon should be considered competent to determine how they will carry it, until proven otherwise.

I detect a bit of arrogance in some of the posts.

Regards,
Happyguy:D
 
Oh i dont bug him about it, just asked him. after shooting the gun and seeing how the saftey worked on it, he could carry with hammer down very safely. only bad thing is no holster, so likely that safety could get moved while in his pocket. since he doesnt wear pants and a belt but bib overalls, finding a carry method for him IN a holster is pertty hard. Ive come up with an idea i gota get working on and hopefuly can sell them too. But for him carrying in pocket with no holster....no chammbered round bout his best bet i think.


as for speed in a gun fight....maybe we are wrong...but both of us think that if you are in a gun fight....you already screwed up and having a chambered round isnt going to make a difference. i know some of you hardcore people here think thats crazy...but we come from a long line of nonfighters....but everyone in my family has carried for as long as ive known
 
Sure, I carry unloaded. I also wear a big sign that reads "Large wad of cash, credit cards, and free gun, just ask me them." Seriously, I have never carried a gun without it being fully loaded including one in the chamber when carrying a semi-auto.
 
Anyone who carries should understand how their gun functions. Once they see how there is no way the gun will go off by itself, they should come to trust it.

I have a revolver that I bought many years ago. For years I kept the chamber empty. (I ASSUMED that if the hammer was hit that it would strike the primer!) FINALLY, one day I decided to examine the gun closely and discovered (to my surprise) that the hammer was flat and that unless the trigger was pulled all the way back the transfer bar was not between the hammer and firing pin meaning the gun would not fire.

I say: Study your weapon. If it is SAFE to carry with one in the pipe, do it. If not, replace the weapon. (If it is a carry weapon).

FWIW
Logistar
 
There is this very same thread (for the most part) on GT

I say for the most part because everyone here seems to be acting a bit more adult...which is why I bailed from the former.

Having to rack the slide is just one more chance for something to go wrong.

I personally like to limit the number of things that can go wrong.

Everyone has to make their own decisions...and you should always try to make the right ones...if you do not feel comfortable with a round chambered, you should;

1. Train until you are
2. Change your weapon/carry method to one that makes you comfortable

Carrying with an empty chamber makes other training more mandatory...like unarmed self defense, etc.....since at contact distances just drawing your weapon can be problematic.

Be ready to use your firearm as an impact weapon....until you acheive some separation that is all it will be good for

As always.............YMMV
 
I have said this before and I am sticking to it..... the new shooters in particular seem to not want a round in the chamber and IMO they are the ones who need to keep it simple, and having to rack a slide under stress is NOT keeping it simple.
Like others here said if you are carrying a gun that is not safe in a ready to shoot mode, get one that is. If you won't feel safe with a glock or kahr type firing system ready to shoot, don't buy one.
For those who just have to carry without a round in the chamber, for whatever reason, good luck. IMO you will need a little more of it than we who carry ready for bear will.....tom
 
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