Are some of you saying you just check your weapon's loaded status at random throughout the day? That seems excessive.
Without reading back over the thread, I'll say that I don't
think anyone advocated that, and if they did, I'll agree with you. It's excessive. It probably does not hurt anything, but it still seems excessive.
This is how I do checks:
When I pull the gun out of the safe, I check it's status. Press-check, drop the magazine enough to see the last witness hole. It then goes in a holster. I then go merrily about my day, leaving the thing alone. If it comes off of my person, either to be re-stored in the safe, handled by someone else, shot, cleaned, repaired, etc, it gets checked before it goes back in the holster. Simple, efficient, safe, and after 7+ years of doing it, completely and thoroughly engrained. If I
don't do it, it feels completely wierd.
I do NOT pause during the day and check my weapon, unless it has been placed in a gunlocker or something similar (see above).
The only other time I do a routine check is on my way out of the door from home, when going on-duty. Frankly, that is more to make sure that I have put everything on than it is to check the status of a weapon (Hat...badge...gun...pants, you know, the big things).
You'll note that this check- the most boring and administrative last-ditch check I do- is the one that caught my mistake the time I was dryfiring.
Humans goof up.
Mike