one in the chamber????

[fishingjld]

so i am waiting on the carry permit to come in the mail and got to thinking that i probably should find out whether or not i can carry my feg hi power 9mm pjk-9hp in the "cocked and locked" position. i know it doesn't have a grip safety and all of that but i am confused on to as how this would work out. say i took my gun out and tried to fire it with one in the chamber already and with the safety on. under normal operation procedures would it not just fire the one in the chamber and then not eject and not put a new round in?? i am not scared of cocked and locked but i am worried that it would be unsafe if it will fire the chambered round with the safety on. thanks for any info you guys and gals could share.

 

[hankdatank1362]

If the gun is on safe, it will not fire at all. I'm not being a smartass or anything, but you should really have someone sit down and show you how your gun (and almost every other self-loading pistol, thanks to JMB) operates. Everyone has to learn some time.

 

[Geronimo45]

No gun should fire with the safety on. No gun in the history of the human race that I am aware of was ever designed to fire with the safety on.

HK makes some sort of super-gun (and charges super-prices) where you can lock the slide down and fire a shot, IIRC... makes sense with a suppressor, useless otherwise.

A Hi-Power should NOT fire with the safety on. Ever. Don't think the hammer will even go down if you've got the safety applied. Some DA/SA guns will let the hammer down (but not on the firing pin) when you pull the trigger when the safety's on.

The gun should not be capable of firing with the safety on. Otherwise the safety is a piece of crap. The only purpose of a safety is to keep the gun from going off when it ought not. If it does not perform this task, it is a piece of crap.


Welcome to THR.

Ask any questions you like. Somebody'll know the answer.

 

[chemist308]

I'm curious about this one myself. Odds are if you have to draw your weapon it's a pretty bad situation to begin with. Would you have time to champer a round? Or is the risk simply too high with a semiauto--what if you take a fall down some stair smacking the gun through your clothing several times? Both the odds of you taking the tumble, and the odds of you having to use your weapon are statistically low but might be close to each other not having researched it at all.

There's always the fact that the presence of your weapon might be enough to difuse the situation, but what if it only escalates it--if someone calls your bluff he's probably got one chambered.

I'd like to hear other thoughts on this. Also, what do LEOs do when on duty?

 

[Geronimo45]

Don't know of any police department in the USA that advocates/allows carry on an empty chamber... the general thought is: if I need a gun, I need it right now. A copper may need to block a fist, a knife, or something of the kind with one hand, while drawing his gun with the other. Same with CC'ers. In case you've got to operate the gun one-handed for some reason, it should be capable of being de-safetied (if it's got a safety) and fired without using the other hand.

"what if you take a fall down some stair smacking the gun through your clothing several times?"
Don't understand what you're saying there.

 

[HuntAndFish]

say i took my gun out and tried to fire it with one in the chamber already and with the safety on.

Always safety check it without any ammo. Make absolutely sure it is empty, put the mag in, cock the firearm, put the safety on, point it in a safe direction, then pull the trigger. If the hammer drops, the gun needs repair.

 

[blitzen]

If your handgun is in good working order it will not go "BANG" if the safety is engaged. I would suggest some training by a competent instructor so that you are supremely confident with your ablility to manipulate it correctly. (It can cause a little anxiety at first.)

 

[Kindrox]

For self defence carry, I equate an empty chamber with committing suicide. If you find yourself in a situation where you have time to play with your gun, then you probably have time to leave the situation. In most legitimate SD situations I can think about, people suddenly found themselves needing a gun RIGHT NOW.

So you know you are going to carry loaded, the only question is do you carry hammer down or cocked and locked. Personally I carry hammer down but others are comfortable cocked and locked. To me it depends on your gun and what you are comfortable with.

What ever you do, always do it the same way, and be very very comfortable with how you carry. If you need your gun for SD, there is no room for fooling around wondering what condition your gun is in. There was a thread on the board a week back or so about a guy held up just outside his appartment by three armed perps who demand he let them in the appartment. He turns to the door pretending to reach in his pocket for his keys, but grabs his gun, swings around to face the perps, aims, pulls the trigger, and CLICK!

The gun did not have a round in the chamber and from the story it would seem he did not know the gun was empty. He lived to tell (and IIR killed at least one of them after wracking the slide) the tale but was shot himself and seriously wounded.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I'm gonna stretch out here, with hope of not offending the original poster, but honestly you need another firearm.

A Hi Power is not a good starting place for someone with little firearm experience. A fine weapon indeed, but there are better alternatives for a beginner.

Placing all your trust and potentially your life in the hands of a weapon you are not 100% comfortable with is a mistake.

Get a revolver, carry that. Shoot the Hi Power until you know it like the back of your hand THEN consider carrying it.

 

[stevelyn]

Also, what do LEOs do when on duty.

On duty or off, mine has a hot chamber ready to go. The only time I have an empty chamber is for cleaning and maintenance or dry fire practice/drills.

No academy, agency or firearms school I know of outside the military, teaches or advocates unchambered carry. We teach using the hot range concept. Guns are pointed in on target, at guard, or in the holster. Reloading and topping off mags is done at the shooters discretion.

 

[GEM]

1. As said above, get checked out on the gun and how to use it. Untrained folks are more prone to accidents.

2. If you search on TFL, Glocktalk or here - you will find every argument ever made pro or gun about unchambered carry. There is nothing new to be said.

 

[Landor]

I think most people new to CCW has this worry. When this topic comes up I refer them to this story.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loc...rances_on_his_gear_are_music_to_DJs_ears.html

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

no gun SHOULD fire with the safety on. that being said, mechanical safeties can fail. even with the safety on, only point at something you want to shoot....

 

[fishingjld]

hey its me again. first off thank you to everyone that has posted and i also want to say i will talk all the help i can get when i have a question. here's is my scenario on handguns... i have been shooting for about 10 years (not long by any stretch of the imagination) but my questions was because i have had a smith and wesson .40 sigma i know how it worked, i had a springfield gi 1911 and knew how it worked, the current gun i have now the hi power clone is obviously different from my 1911 because of the grip safety. so the reason why i am asking these questions is the grip safety prevents the gun from being fired without it being depressed. so will the hammer fall on a chambered round if you pull the trigger. i guess i could go in my back yard and try it but i just though this might get some more in depth answers as to how or why it does what it does. gun functions perfect so we can rule out a problem. i know the slide will not come back and all to eject and feed a new round i just want to know if it will fire that one chambered "cocked and locked" round. thanks again. and to the person that said they didn't want to offend me, no worries i just appreciate the input.

 

[glockman19]

After readint the thread another good reason to carry a S&W J-frame. I carry a 642 and it's always ready to shoot just pul the trigger and BANG.

My Glocks the same..."Keep yout finger off of the trigger", you'll have NOTHING to worry about.