Ritual
Happily, all of my AD/ND events have been at the range with safe backstop.
Most embarrassing moment, showing wife the XD-40:
Drop mag from pistol, "See, dear, one of the safety features of this model is that it won't fire without the magazine . . ." Point pistol downrange without mag, pull trigger. BANG! Oh, crap! No mag disconnect in the XD.
However.
When I turn in for the night and lay out my gear (flashlight, pistol, etc.) I completely unload the pistol. Always. Drop mag, lock slide back, check chamber. And then I reload it. Deliberately.
For a few seconds, it's unloaded, and I verify that. And then I make sure it is positively loaded again. Always. Even with the revolver. Always.
It's a ritual.
Its purpose is to assure myself that the pistol is fully loaded and loaded with the correct ammo.
There is one more thing I need to do, and I might recommend it for anyone who keeps a pistol: I need to get a sand bucket.
I don't mind running the vacuum cleaner if I completely screw up and ND/AD over a sand bucket.
Not having to repair the house or pay hospital bills? Priceless.
For everything else, there's MasterCard.