One in the chamber or no?

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loaded chamber from day one ... forget having time to rack the slide; if you're confronted by evil, you need to be able to deal with it right then, not after you've fumbled with the slide and the BG has brained you with a bat ...
 
When you are concerned about a life or death situation seconds count big time. I carry with a round in chamber all the time. However I personally will not buy a pistol that is single action and carry one in the tube. I personally dont think it is advisable.
 
I completely understand why people carry with one in the chamber. I carry a Glock, and simply cannot bring myself to do it. I will never feel comfortable around a loaded gun, and that is a good thing.
 
I keep a 380 bersa in the glove box but empty chamber...to afraid I (or somebody else) may it up with it loaded.
My carry pistol is Smith Model 36 1 7/8 blued or in winter with a coat SP101 snub
Winchester 110 grain silvertips in both right now.
 
I carry a Glock 26
one in the tube....
Mag topped off............
In a hoster..........
But I have this cute little piece of plastic pushed behind the trigger & as you draw the weapon you push it & it flicks away to allow the trigger to be pulled.
It makes an old man feel safe as he is jamming the weapon into the hoster--it prevents
"Glock Foot"..................:D:D:D:D
 
First one to say no?

If I get robbed I am giving the money. I am not a gun fighter.
If I get physically attacked I am very fit. I wouldn't hold a chance of 'a reasonable person's' fear for life. Also, I am not drawing a gun on someone immediately for hitting me.

The reason I carry a gun is for other people and when I see it will be needed. If someone out smarts me, I am not drawing the gun.

Personal preference :) Your answer is as good as mine.
 
when I first started carrying the chamber was always empty only to be loaded when ever walking through a bad part of town. Now the only time it is ever unloaded is between magazine changes at the range.
 
Not trying to start something here, but If your not going to carry it ready to shoot, leave it in the car or at home.

A reasonable amount of training and practice will make you 'safe' to carry one in the barrel. It's likely more dangerous to have to fumble with the gun than to KNOW it's ready to shoot.
 
this is a great topic. i just got my first gun and dont really know the best way for me to keep it at home. i was thinking about buying a safe for it, but it seems like that's timely in certain situations. let's say i keep it in my droor next to me, do i keep it loaded and cocked? especially since there's no saftety mechanism besides trigger/grip safety (press). any suggestions?
 
"train train train train train" used to say its okay with one in the pipe.

Can't someone train to rack a slide once out of pocket?

Yes, I agree, more steps. No doubt. Since this is a completely subjective issue (anyone have a data set saying load vs unloaded gun protection?) "training" can also be used to justify one not loaded.

I keep it loaded and none in the pipe.

No reason to get antsy though :)
 
This is why revolvers are still legendary in shooting culture. No safeties, no slides, no racking, no magazine drops, no "stove piping," no "limp wristing," no feed ramps no nothing except hand on grip, finger on trigger and fire.

In time, I suspect most auto shooters will eventually come to prefer a revolver for mission critical applications, because simpler is better.
 
Two things:

I always carry one in the chamber
I wouldn't carry if I didn't feel comfortable with one in the chamber

Also, if you don't want to carry one in the chamber I see no issue but if you aren't comfortable with it that way, you shouldn't carry.
 
Not trying to start something here, but If your not going to carry it ready to shoot, leave it in the car or at home.

A reasonable amount of training and practice will make you 'safe' to carry one in the barrel. It's likely more dangerous to have to fumble with the gun than to KNOW it's ready to shoot.
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I have no shortage of shooting time. In fact, every time I shoot, I practice racking as part of the draw process. I can get 5 rounds on target faster than the guys I shoot with who start with one in the pipe, and every bit as accurate. It really does become second nature. I understand the whole what if one arm becomes disabled argument, but the chances of that are, I think, slim. Even if they are not too slim, the chances of getting your finger into that trigger guard by accident are very real too. Nobody plans on doing it, but it can happen.
 
Can't someone train to rack a slide once out of pocket?
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Sure, but chambering the first round is statistically one of the higher-occurrence scenarios for malfunction in a semi-auto pistol under non-stress circumstances. Add stress and a need for speed "right now", and the probability for error/malfunction spikes up to a level unacceptable for SD use.

Les
 
9teenEleven said:
....In fact, every time I shoot, I practice racking as part of the draw process. I can get 5 rounds on target faster than the guys I shoot with who start with one in the pipe, and every bit as accurate. It really does become second nature. I understand the whole what if one arm becomes disabled argument, but the chances of that are, I think, slim....
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Racking the slide on the draw stroke still takes two hands, and I'm not going to count on having both hands available in an emergency. There are all kinds of reasons why your other hand might be otherwise occupied, not just from being disabled.

In any case, carry how you wish, but there's a reason the major schools and trainers teach carrying with a round in the chamber.

9teenEleven said:
...Even if they are not too slim, the chances of getting your finger into that trigger guard by accident are very real too....
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If with practice you feel you can rack the slide quickly and reliably on the draw stroke, with practice you'll be able to reliably keep your finger off the trigger and out of the trigger guard when it doesn't belong there. USPSA and IDPA competitors learn trigger finger discipline very well, because they are shooting under the watchful eye of a range officer and will get sent home promptly upon any lapse of trigger finger discipline.
 
For Glock owners who are worried about carrying in condition 1, here's a tip: Holster your gun before you attach it to your belt/pants. Then, at the end of the day, remove the entire holster, gun and all, from your pants and stow it under your bed/lock it up.

Using this system, you should never unholster/reholster your gun unless you're in an emergency situation or at the range practicing (and being VERY cautious, mind you). If you want to do work on your gun, unholster it, work on it, then remove the holster from your belt/pants and reholster the gun outside of your pants.

It might be a hassle, but it makes the most dangerous part of owning a Glock much safer. Reholstering is when you're most likely to experience an ND. Using this system, you can even keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (ie away from your thigh) while holstering the gun.
 
I will never feel comfortable around a loaded gun, and that is a good thing.
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If I get robbed I am giving the money. I am not a gun fighter.
If I get physically attacked I am very fit. I wouldn't hold a chance of 'a reasonable person's' fear for life. Also, I am not drawing a gun on someone immediately for hitting me.

The reason I carry a gun is for other people and when I see it will be needed. If someone out smarts me, I am not drawing the gun.
Click to expand...
WOW just WOW!
 
Racking the slide on the draw stroke still takes two hands, and I'm not going to count on having both hands available in an emergency.
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That's why they should invent a gun that uses no hands. It would be attached to your head and when you look in a direction a laser beam shows where the gun aims. Seriously, the only one hand argument is getting old.

I have to wonder why when it comes to this subject in here, it is allowed to be low road all of a sudden with no moderators stepping in. Those who carry chambered call those who don't not ready to carry and incompetent, not safe, not socially responsible, pointless to carry unchambered, and noobie in this post alone thus far. The line of attack the argument and not the arguer is being stepped on in here.
If you carry chambered and in a holster, when you get a chance, time your time from reaching for the gun, unconcealment of the holstered gun from behind whatever clothing conceals it, unholstering gun, drawing it on target and squeezing the trigger. Then try putting in in your pocket unchambered while gripping the handle and time that the reaction time from that point which includes racking the slide. Not everybody wants to hold their gun in their front pocket and not everyone wants to carry chambered. We won't have to go down the path of saying how slow a concealed/holstered draw is because you've already made your mind up that to carry that way and even if it shaves a few tenths of a second off your reaction times, you probably aren't changing now. Even if those few tenths off your reaction time mean your and your loved one's lives.

Now that last sentence kid of hits home doesn't it? Remember the "only one hand" argument?

Everybody who is on here and carries concealed with an empty chamber is always chastised for their decisions. What makes everybody think they have the right to demean those who carry unchambered? There is no such thing as a AD/ND with an unchambered gun. I like the fact that I have never killed anybody with my gun or shot a hole through a wall accidentally. I intend to keep it that way and if it means carrying unchambered(unless I enter a situation/place that is too unsafe, which I stay away from as it is)then I am OK with that. If my gun is involved in a AD/ND by malfunction, some object grabbing the trigger, my finger or another's, Mr. Ayoob isn't going to call me up and take blame for my carrying methods if it goes bad. Nobody has to live with my decision to carry chambered and have the gun gun off and cause a death/injury. It's easy to armchair quarterback and say chambered is the only way. Instead of jumping on the keyboard and ridiculing others on the way of their decision on carry, try understanding there is a person on the other side of the screen who cares about their own life and others just like you. If that person has made the decision to carry a tool that will kill and deems it necessary to carry unchambered, then respect that they made the decision to at least protect themselves and others around them if the need arises by carrying that gun.
 
it is allowed to be low road all of a sudden with no moderators stepping in. Those who carry chambered call those who don't not ready to carry and incompetent, not safe, not socially responsible, pointless to carry unchambered, and noobie in this post alone thus far.
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The truth is not low road. This is a tech forum. If people ask a question they will be told the proper way to do things.
Everybody who is on here and carries concealed with an empty chamber is always chastised for their decisions. What makes everybody think they have the right to demean those who carry unchambered?
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You are not being chastised for carrying incorrectly; you are being strongly encouraged to carry properly as choosing to continue with your current method could cost you and others their lives.
 
this isn't a matter of right or wrong. It doesn't say on on CCW that you must carry with one in the pipe or yer doin it wrong.

this is a matter of opinion. People also get chastised for their choice of side arm. Some get chastised for only carrying one piece.

OP wants your opinion. Its your choice to qualify, quantify and explain your opinion.

While I keep one in the pipe I have pretty extensive training with my firearm and the utmost confidence in its function and capability. Someone new to this world might not have that confidence. Regardless the weapon is likely designed to be portable with one in the chamber.

Still a matter of opinion and confidence/trust. I would assume that for most you, like me, opinions and trust are developed over time with appropriate experience in the matter. I certainly wouldn't take anyone here's "word for it" I don't know any of you and on the internet we are all anonymous and experts.
 
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