How do you NOT shoot yourself w/ CCW?

[Rexster]

Forget blanks, as they will not cycle the slide with the same recoil spring used with live ammo. (Movie prop guns are modified to work reliably with blanks.) As for warning shots, those are usually a very bad idea.

As for the anxiety related to firing an unintended shot, get used to the idea of placing your index finger somewhere OTHER THAN THE TRIGGER until you are ready to shoot. The trigger is NOT a carry handle! That being said, Glocks are a bit more hazardous than many other pistols, as they are partially cocked, and the initial take-up portion of the stock factory pull weight is awfully light, in my opinion. An NY-1 trigger module will increase the pull weight, and "clean up" the mushiness a bit.

Lastly, if you are spooked by autoloaders, keep in mind there is nothing at all wrong with a good double-action revolver. The simplicity of operation is not just good for beginners, but good for experts, too. Once the double-action stroke is understood, the simplicity of the sixgun works in the beginner's favor, yet refining the DA stroke to be able to shoot tiny groups, with amazing speed, can be a true art.

 

[Trope]

Lots of good advice here. A glock in a quality holster is very safe. Make sure that when holstering (or handling in any way), that's the only thing you are doing, and be mindful--every single time. Follow the four rules--all the time. You'll build good habits along the way, but that can never be a substitute for paying attention.

Take it slowly as you build confidence. You'll be there soon enough. I started out unchambered as FieroCDSP described, and it didn't take long before I felt fine with one in the chamber (holstered).

 

[Schutzen]

"Racking the slide is just too impractical"

Sikes and Fairban disagreed with this statement. Granted their experience is 50+ years past, I suspect they were involved in quite a number of gun fights.

 

[newbie4help]

Thanks for all the help. I feel a little better after reading about the holsters guarding the trigger etc. Also, the cornered cat stuff was very helpful - I'll definitely practice that with an unloaded gun a lot until I'm comfy. The key seems to be get the motions down so you never cross your body while drawing/holstering and keep your finger off the trigger is doubly important.

Maybe I'll get the NY trigger for my Glock - you can also replace the factory trigger with one that has a manual safety. Everytime I've shot another pistol I've thought how smooth and easy the Glock pull is - which is both good and bad!

 

[basicblur]

Maybe I'll get the NY trigger for my Glock

Yeah…but then you’d have to get a trigger job!
(Well, it seems too many think SD weapons have to have a hair trigger)

...how smooth and easy the Glock pull is - which is both good and bad!

Ah yes grasshopper…now we’re thinking-light trigger in SD weapon can possibly mean bad things. Just be prepared to take the abuse you’ll get for having a heavy trigger pull!

Iff’n you’re a newbie, might I suggest you get your hands on and read a lot of Ayoob’s writings. It never hurts to become a student of the game, and his articles will give you plenty to think about as well as usually being difficult to put down!

Cruise on over to Amazon.com and search for Massad Ayoob.
So far I’ve got:
Ayoob Files: The Book
The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery
In The Gravest Extreme (getting a bit dated)

The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry (not yet releaed) looks interesting-probably a future purchase.

Next time you’re at a newsstand, check out his “Self Defense & The Law” articles in Combat Handguns magazine.

One needs to spend time on the legal aspects etc as well as the mechanics!

 

[Dan the Man]

I sent you a PM (private message).

Regards
--Dan

 

[Zip7]

There are also Double Action/Single Action guns from every manufacturer EXCEPT Glock

+1

I am far more familiar with revolvers, but most DA/SA auto guns I've owned / handled are VERY safe, and I'm VERY comfortable with them. I have a Walther PPKS that is like this, and a Beretta 92. I'm comfortable handling both with a round chambered.

I'll admit to having never handled or fired a Glock. Probably great guns, but they've just never appealed to me.

 

[rainbowbob]

Carry a revolver, then you don't have to worry about this sort of thing.

Seriously. All of those worries become non-existant. A revolver will do everything you need it to with much less muss and fuss. Safer. simpler, cheaper. What's not to like?

 

[bobbarker]

A lot of folks don't like revolvers. Especially if you're not a good shot. Semi Auto's have more rounds, as a general rule. But it's not really that big a deal. With a good holster, it's a moot point. But, to each their own.

 

[flynlr]

I have a very simple rule . I handle my carry weapon many times during the day moving it from me to car to house to belt to smartcarry to safe in car to nightstand etc. what works for me is .. keep finger away from trigger. Mine is always in cond 1

 

[SSN Vet]

thoughts on being safe....

(disclaimer....I'm no expert)

1. Invest in a quality holster and gun belt....this really does make a huge difference.

2. Resist the impulse to "check" your rig. Just wear it and leave it alone. Constant touching, checking, patting, etc... not only blows your "cover" but will also provide opportunity for an accident.

3. Re-holstering the weapon is likely (imho) where most accidents happen.

4. If you have children in the house, get a Gunvault http://www.gunvault.com/
This will solve your accessibility requirements and keep things under lock and key as well.

5. The only way to overcome the nervousness, is to just do it and get used to it.

6. Work out your routines..... i.e. when you put it on, when you take it off, when it stays in the car, what you do at work, etc... and then stick with them. Specifically, when you are condition 1, 2, etc... After about six months, I realized the need to employ KISS thinking and have my carry piece in the same condition all the time (round in the chamber, mag. topped off, safety on, in holster) whether in the gunvault, on my hip, in my glove box. What does this have to do with safety? Back to point #3, less handling (to chamber a round, clear chamber, etc...) makes for less opportunities to screw something up.

7. Approach dry firing practice very carefully and deliberately. Not a casual thing to do while talking on the phone or watching T.V.

8. Most important of all....learn Cooper's four rules and make them an in-grained part of your life.

If you have these kind of concerns, perhaps the Glock platform isn't the best for you. There's nothing "wrong" with having a thumb safety. It's easy to incorporate swiping the safety off as just another part of your draw/presentation.

Good luck and be safe....

 

[LongRider]

One of the reasons I prefer my XD over a Glocks is because it has the grip safety as well as the trigger safety. It requires that you have a firing grip AND pull the trigger simultaneously or the gun will not fire. That said despite what I just read I have not heard of any rash of AD's with Glocks or any modern handgun due to mechanical failure. It may be true but I have not heard of any. Not once. So a link to a story is needed by me to verify and believe it happens. I doubt one exists. Barring that contrary to what one poster stated there is no such thing as an AD. There are NO accidental discharges. There are Negligent Discharges due to operator error, because the owner did not follow the four rules. As far as the OP question FieroCDSP has it right. newbie4help I suggest you do what FieroCDSP suggested. empty your Glock cock it. Carry an empty or full mag makes no difference. Now carry the gun around the house in whatever holster you plan to carry in. Each night check the gun. Is it still cocked? If so the trigger did not get pulled. It did not Go Off (it never will just Go Off) Continue to do that until you feel comfortable that you are not an idiot that pulls triggers at random moments and that the gun is safe to carry. It may take a week or two or more until you feel comfortable that is fine. Let time runs its course and you will come to KNOW you are safe. Until than DO NOT leave the house packing a gun without one in the chamber. That can and will get you killed because you will be under the delusion that you are armed when you are not. You will have a 2 pound brick strapped to your hip nothing more, nothing less and just as useful. If you are in life threatening danger you will have nano seconds to respond correctly. That is why guns like Glocks and XD's have intuitive safeties so you can grab and fire at the threat. Not turn off a bunch of safety gadgets. It is why as far back as the forties the first tactical trainers and founders of many of todays self defense tactics Fairbane and Applegate advocated removing the safety from the 1911s carried in that day. If you think in those SHTF moments that you are armed and draw a weapon that you can not immediately fire because there is not one in the chamber you will die, Period dead gone end of story. If you are unarmed ie not carrying at least you have a chance to respond based on you are not armed which as desperate as that is. It is better than thinking and acting as if you are armed when you are not.
The loudest sound in the world will be when you pull the trigger and the gun goes "click'

 

[jackdanson]

If you are that concerned with snags get a manual safety. I have a px4, it is easier to flip off a safety than to rack a round, but still takes practice to get into muscle memory. Check out a sig/beretta.

 

[blackcash88]

There are also Double Action/Single Action guns from every manufacturer EXCEPT Glock

Not true. Kahr and Kel-Tec... No DA/SA pistols produced by either company.

 

[CJ]

All of what was above, PLUS...don't dink with it. I've seen many people who constantly like to fiddle with firearms...pick them up, put them down, rack the slide, drop the mag, insert the mag, getting distracted in the middle of it, etc. etc.

Any time it's handled, it increases the chance of an accident, whether dropping it, or the far-too-often incidents of pulling the trigger thinking it's unloaded (did I rack the slide before or after I dropped the magazine?).

A good instance of dinking is the foolish requirements that the FAA required for pilots carrying weapons...a combination of forcing pilots to handle their weapons multiple times during a flight, along with a poor holster design, and a ND was inevitable (and did happen).

Between that, and paranoia (when cleaning or dry firing in a room with no ammunition, I'm paranoid and constantly check the chamber a number of times) it should be much easier to stay safe!

 

[Creature]

When I leave it in the nightstand, I don't chamber a round. I know it costs seconds but I don't want my phone to ring and me to "answer the gun" on accident or something.

Thats a joke, right? Is there a trigger on your phone somewhere?

 

[bogie]

Oh, jeebus...

Some of you folks are thinking too much.

1) Make sure the thing's in good mechanical condition. Like, don't disable safeties, saw off trigger guards, etc.

2) Keep your booger flicker off the boom switch.

That's 99.99% of it right there.

Guns don't just "go off." It takes stupidity.

Then again, as of late...

 

[conw]

In The Gravest Extreme (getting a bit dated)

I didn't think so. Obviously his occasional references to Super-Vel ammo and FBI loads, etc, are dated...but the tactical/post-tactical info is priceless...

 

[btg3]

Your Glock is plenty safe enough for you to become comfortable with. No need to start exploring various types of safeties. This is not the direction to take with your immediate concern.

Work with your Glock as advised above and responsibly excercise RKBA.

 

[jimbob86]

Everytime I've shot another pistol I've thought how smooth and easy the Glock pull is - which is both good and bad!

For a smooth, easy trigger pull, you can't beat a 1911...... but that may be to much of a good thing, for you. To each his own....

There are a lot of good suggestions here. Some of the best ones:

-Pax's Cornered Cat. EXCELLENT resource.

-The Four Rules. Live and breathe them.

-A quality holster (that covers the trigger) and belt. Carrying a gun without these is uncomfortable, and if it is uncomfortable, you won't have it when you need it.

-Practice. Practice. Practice. Dry fire drills are FREE. IDPA is great idea, as it will give you access to pointers from more experienced shooters, and add a little pressure to your drills. If you practice enough, you can do just avout anything, quickly, including draw and rack a glock with one hand.

Stay Safe.

 

[The Unknown User]

I felt the same way with my Glock. I still don't chamber a round.

Part of it is your holster. I had a cheap holster that didn't let me get a good grip on my sidearm. Drawing it left my trigger finger in less-than-ideal places.

I bought a Sidearmor IWB holster. It basically conforms to the sidearm, and so I don't have to worry.

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

It's pretty easy really.
1. Get a good holster
2. Don't play with it.

As for carrying with an empty chamber(with a semi-auto), IMO that's a disaster waiting to happen. So it doesn't take you long to rack the slide? Just hitting the target under stress will be a challenge, not to mention racking the slide. You also need both hands free, and there's no gaurantee it won't jam. At least if you start with a loaded chamber you get 1 shot before it can jam. Guns are designed to be carried loaded, carry them loaded. It may just one day save you lots of grief.

 

[mkonops]

I was also nervous when I started carrying, and a friend suggested I carry unloaded or without a round in the chamber until I felt comfortable. I had a springfield xd at the time and carried it "cocked" but unloaded for a week - practicing drawing at home and getting used to the feel of it concealed at work. After the week was over, and having had the gun on me for 16 hours a day with absolutely no problems I began to carry loaded and chambered. Several years have passed since and no problems. Now the only time I worry is when I am unarmed. Be safe and good luck.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

but what prevents the trigger from catching on something and going off into your leg or something?

You are asking the correct question, and the answer is the "trigger guard" covering portion of the holster. As long as this part of the holster is covering the trigger guard, it can NOT fire - period. Now you must exercise great care in putting the gun into and taking it out of the holster, because that's when an ND *could* happen, if your finger or other item is caught in the trigger guard upon an attempt to re-holster.

 

[rainbowbob]

I just finished reading the link at "cornered cat" (see post #2). It should be read (twice!) by anybody who doesn't already feel confident and knowledgeable about handling a semi-auto.