Saw a news story about a guy who walked into a store, pulled a gun & robbed the place. Think I read he even shot somebody.
Anyway, on the way out, he shoved the gun into his belt. It went off, & now he's singing in the boy's choir. There is a God in Heaven!
But the question arises, to carry with one in the chamber or not? I personally don't, for this very reason.

All depends on your comfort level, confidence level, degree of training & practice and owning a quality holster that covers the trigger and trigger guard. To me a pistol with an unchambered round is almost useless. Bad things happen very fast and then rapidly get worse. You might not have time to chamber a round or even have an arm free to do so.

The problem in your story was not the chambered round but the idiot who shoved the pistol in his belt with a probable finger on the trigger. Bill

The Sarge hit it on the nail! Always carry in a quality holster that covers the trigger. I have a Shield and I carry with a round chambered and use the safety to holster and then slide the safety off.

The chances of being able to chamber a round under stress are not good at all.

I agree with above post and always carry with round chambered....as the saying goes...."the original point and click".....not load,point and click...I think it depends on the pistol and your comfort level as stated earlier

The problem in your story was not the chambered round but the idiot who shoved the pistol in his belt with a probable finger on the trigger

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carpe diem
one day at a time

You are then carrying a great brick to use on your attacker. Very few people are well enough trained to reliably chamber a round in less than one second from the draw.
Since most muggings happen in just few seconds, you will be required to draw, reliably chamber a round requiring the use of both hands, judge what is beyond your target, aim accurately, decide to fire or not fire, all in under three or four seconds.
You are putting a lot of faith in your ability to do all of the above. I personally, am not that good.

Defensive situations are, at best, volatile, fast paced and pressure packed. Going through a prescribed defensive drill is just not going to happen. In situations like that threat assessment and reaction happens in fractions of seconds, not seconds.

Like someone said above, I'm not that good and do not trust myself to react exactly correctly in a pressure packed and volatile situation like that so I try to make it as fool proof as possible. My carry weapon is a Walther PPK. It has a exposed hammer and a positive safety. I prefer the exposed hammer so I can tell at a glance if it is cocked or not. I do keep a round in the chamber so all I have to do is draw my weapon and click off the safety. First round is double action and each subsequent round is single action. The extra time it would take to chamber a round might possibly prove to be fatal if a bad guy comes in already cocked and loaded.

Bob

I carried a PPK for a while and the safety was OFF. I use a good holster and fell quite confident and secure.

O you could add my Indian .380 (SS copy of a PPK), S&W 6906,Bodyguard .380 and XDs.45 to the above.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

If you're not yet comfortable carrying with a round chambered, then don't, but you'll probably need to increase your situational awareness comfort radius.

Pistols don't fire themselves. If you're good about keeping your finger OFF the trigger until you're on target, you will eventually get comfortable enough to carry +1.

Not everyone is comfortable with an auto with one in the chamber. Have you considered a J Frame?

I carry my Shield chambered & with the safety on. I make sweeping the safety off with my thumb as part of my draw & presentation when I practice.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

My Glocks always have a round chambered when I carry them. They are there to keep me, my loved ones, and occasionally my clients alive.

Now, if I ever get asked to guest star on 24 with Jack Bauer, I'll carry condition 3, without a round in the chamber.
Don't want Jack Bauer mad at me.
Jim

If you don't want to carry with one in the pipe you might consider a revolver. With an auto the only thing that is for sure is the first round and without one in the pipe you loose that.

My opinion is this. If you aren't going to have one in the chamber while carrying your gun, carry a bat or rock. It will be just as affective. No gun will just "go off". The only time I get twitchy carrying with a round in the chamber is when I carry appendix. But even then I tend to forget about it.

May have stuck his finger (or something inside his waistband caught) inside the trigger guard. Or he put a cocked revolver there? It's at least instructive on what 'not' to do in life, on several different levels.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Insert pic of guy beating a dead horse here.

This subject has been discussed so many times on so many forums, it's scary.
Here's my opinion on it and strictly my opinion. If you aren't carrying with one in the chamber, you may as well not carry at all. Keep in mind, in a defensive scenario, YOU are the target. The bad guy has already sized you up, he's figured out how he wants to approach you, and is on the way to do the deed before you even know there is a situation. At the moment he is upon you, drawing, loading, and engaging your target is not an option. That single split second spent attempting (again, attempting) to load a round, is an additional split second your attacker has to shoot you, stick a knife in you, or just get in that first blow that takes you out of the fight. Remember," HE" already has a plan, you are at a disadvantage because you have to react to a plan you know nothing about.
If you're that uncomfortable carrying with one in the chamber, carry a revolver with an empty chamber under the hammer. At least when you have to pull the trigger, there's a round in there to go boom, albeit you're starting one round short from jump. Just some things to consider.

Good Luck and good shooting.

PS... Another lesson to be learned here, DON"T rob a store.

PSS... Also makes you rethink appendix carry ;(

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SFC, US Army, Retired

Consider that when the stuff hits the fan you may not have both hands available to rack the slide.

I carry with one in the chamber, safety off. First shot will be double action, I bought a Beretta for just that reason.

I appendix carry my Shield with one in the pipe and the thumb safety on. I also have a good kydex holster that covers trigger (and safety). I'm not worried about it.

My answer is the same one I've used on every gun forum - Round in the chamber because that's the only way I know to carry a full mag +1.

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Former USN, Retired US Army

I was trained on revolvers back in the 70's. I am comfortable with a D/A revolver in any holster. For that reason I carry my 6906 with a round in the chamber, safety off. First shot is just like I remember, the rest are S/A. Works for me. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I keep one in the chamber. As soon as I holster my shield the safety comes off, so if it is drawn it is ready to fire. If I remove it from the holster for any other reason, end of the day or going somewhere I cant carry, I flip the safety first. I found this easier to remember to do than shut it off when I draw the gun. It is not hard to do, but I found the first few draws during practice showed it wasn't as reliable as leaving it unlocked.

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Casey

I was trained on revolvers back in the 70's. I am comfortable with a D/A revolver in any holster. For that reason I carry my 6906 with a round in the chamber, safety off. First shot is just like I remember, the rest are S/A. Works for me. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

As has been stated if you're not comfortable w/one in the chamber carry a revolver. Modern handguns do not go off when dropped or by themselves, someone has to pull the trigger.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

I don't carry, but I do have an opinion. If I did, there would most certainly be one in the chamber.

I do keep one "cocked and locked" in my car.

I carry with 6 in the chamber

WDK

I agree with others it is a matter of comfort level.

When I secured my conceal permit June 2011 I was not new to handguns but I had never carried a loaded handgun.

I remember the day I carried my first ccw to work. I was nervoius as h--- packing hot.

To buildup my confidence I pocket carried my Kahr CM9 without one in the chamber but the stricker was cocked.

It took we a week pocket packing cocked but empty to realize modern weapons will only fire if the trigger is pulled. Dropping the weapon or bumping the weapon up agaist a hard object will not cause the handgun to discharge.

Fast forward nearly 3 years and my Shield is always chambered and holstered in a high quality holster (Desanti Nemesis) that covers the trigger and is stiff enough to prevent a person from engaging the trigger holsteted.

Don't cut corners on a holster because it can act as a safety if it is properly fitted to the handgun and made of stifff material.

Enjoy and never leave home without it.

Russ

P.S. I watched a very disturbing video of a store owner draw his concealed weapon while being heldup and tried to rack but because he was so nervoius from the surveillance video he was not able to rack and he died.

I think about that video often and wonder if I should pack without the safety engaged but that is a different topic that had been discussed several times on this forum..

Let us suppose that you had a revolver that held six rounds would you only have five in the chamber? With that in mind the same is true of a semi auto time is the factor in self defense and the ability to chamber a round is most important, if it is not already chambered you are at a bad disadvantage, good luck in a bad situation

I always have one ready to go for MY SAFETY not the bad guy who I hope will be on the losing end and not me trying to chamber a round as he calmly kills ME!

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59,M&P9,40,40C,357,(2)45,G26

Always carry a round in the chamber. There are ALOT of reasons why from the psychology of a gunfight and the rules of threat escalation to name a few.
Been to Gunsite 2 times as well as other training and no other school that I know of including GS trains without a round in the chamber. I can guarentee that you are in more danger not having a round in the chamber if you need to use your sidearm. Education and training will solve any fear of you shooting your junk. It was once recommended by a well known instructor that if you are not comfortable and trust a particular gun with carrying it loaded, then get find another sidearm that you are.

If you're going to Mexican carry an auto like the dumb criminals that tend to be the ones who practice this particular style of carry, you might make headlines one day yourself. It's the one carry style that gives some merit to not having one in the pipe, if you choose to carry that way.

If you consider the hundreds of thousands of responsible adults who do carry all the time, with one in the pipe, 99% do it without incident. Go and watch DGU video's watch how fast they happen.

Consider the ones you don't even see the draw before the shot is fired, It's over as fast as it is started. Ask yourself if you can really afford to handicap yourself with a gun that is not ready for the fight that is so quickly upon you.

Personally, I like to have a really good holster that is comfortable, stable, covers the trigger and conceals well. Once you train yourself with your gun and have a proper draw and holstering technique, you will come to like the fact that you have one in the pipe ready to go.

Like others have said, start with a J frame or an auto with a safety while you gain concealed or open carry proficiency.

I think you should carry 1 (one) round in your top shirt pocket and an empty mag in the pistol, that way it's a lot harder to shoot yourself in the leg.

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Minimize the variables

Why would you carry a round in the chamber of a weapon that you need for immediate self defense?
It will look much more dramatic trying to "rack one in" after your fine motor skills are gone and your hands are sweating, wet or bloody, and your dodging for cover or rolling around on the ground.

Man arrested in the shooting of a Tampa security guard - YouTube

Saw that a little while ago. There's actually two interesting parts. First, he wasn't able to get a round chambered while being shot. Second, he actually feels guilty about it saying that if he would have had a round chambered, he might have been able to prevent a later killing.

This thread could use some quality advice so....

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Freedom isn't free.

I saw that in an episode of Strike Back. Looks very tacticool.

I didn't when I first started carrying, to give myself time to figure out the right position, comfort level, etc.

Now, I have total confidence in my position, IWB holster (which covers trigger guard and manual safety). I carry with one in the chamber and with the manual safety on.

There is no wrong answer here. It's what works best for YOU, and what is comfortable for YOU. Just be sure that you practice dry/snap cap-loaded drawing and arming your weapon, so that your muscle memory is there for if/when you find yourself in a hairy situation.

Carrying an unloaded gun defeats the point of carrying a gun.

Get a decent holster and some training. Then some more training.

You really need some training.

I agree with the carry one in the chamber group. Another reason I think of is animal attacks, mostly dog. If someones pitbull gets loose and is charging or has already latched on to you, better have one in the chamber because racking the slide at that point isn't going to happen. The main reason to carry concealed is for people who would do you harm, but dog attacks are all to frequent in the news if you need another reason to carry one in the chamber.

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686/M&P9 Pro/M&P15X/M&P15-22

"Hit the nail on the head."

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Semper Fi!

Yeah, but my 9c doesn't have a safety.

My semi-auto carry is a 1911 in .45ACP, 1 in the chamber, cocked & locked. If I'm not comfortable with a loaded chamber in a particular handgun, then I won't carry it.

Yes it does. It's between your ears.


Quality holster. Training. Discipline, more training.

I've heard several versions of this story over the years, all of them having different endings...but that's sort of beside the point here.

What I think is interesting is that out of all the people who responded with comments about this, only two, maybe three (I'm not going back through and count) people even mention revolvers. Everyone just seems to automatically (no pun intended) assume that the original poster is talking about a semi-auto, simply because he uses the word "pistol"...while in fact, he doesn't say what sort of handgun was used. That was the first question popped into my mind.

But whichever type gun was used, I'm with the Of-Course-You-Carry-One-In-The-Chamber crowd if you're carrying a semi-auto. Why wouldn't you? By the time you've used two hands to chamber a round in a semi-auto, you could be dead, unless you're carrying one of those new-fangled double-action semi-autos.

But as someone else mentions...this horse is dead. Let's stop beating it.

I can't respond for all the others, but since the OP was posting this in the M&P Sub-Forum, I pretty much figured they were referring to using one of the various M&P models. Plus... Do Wheel Guys usually discuss "Carrying With One In The Chamber" (The thread's title)?

If not... Perhaps this should have been moved to the Concealed Carry (or appropriate revolver) Sub-Forum.

You know, I didn't even notice which sub-forum this was in...I think I just picked it up from the home page. I guess I should pay more attention, huh?

Well, yeah, we do, except it's usually something like "Do you carry with the hammer down on a loaded chamber", or "Do you keep an empty chamber under the hammer on a DA revolver" or other words to the effect of wondering if you carry with the hammer down on a loaded chamber. We probably don't discuss it as much as semi-auto people do, though.

The gun didn't go off all by itself....I would be willing to bet money he had his finger on the trigger and pulled it as he was shoving it in his pants....Mugger's ,robber's and thieve's are not the brightest and most well trained people around! They tend to do stupid stuff...like shoot themselves or thier accomplices.
Gary

Funny, thanks for a laugh Rastoff.

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Still carrying my S&W 642

While shoving the hand gun into your belt looks great on TV and in the movies, it's generally unsafe. As The Sarge and others have noted, the problem isn't with keeping a round in the chamber, it's with the storage method used.

I had a few patients who did the same thing when I was working. One of them shot him self in through the scrotum, one through the thigh, and one through his penis.

One other thing that they had in common was that they were not legally allowed to carry firearms.

It's an occupational hazard for that sort of thing, but a legal gun owner with a good holster and good technique should not have to worry about it.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

This is why Glocks (with one in the chamber) or S&W DA revolver (one in every chamber) are my preference. Pull, point, shoot.

Less to worry about in a bad situation where all thought should be toward placing that first shot effectively and promptly...

"Safeties" on my firearms (other than 1911 - it is its own world that works and why question it?) are not something I care for.

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Made my dog proud

Definitely an age old discussion and to each his own. I carry one in chamber and thumb safety on. At least for me the thumb safety off is a one handed part of my draw. When I was CCing other striker guns w/o safety I was a little less comfortable. There's a reason a lot have glocked the rocks or other body parts. IMO (and not to start a fight) M&P is a little safer but is still a risk for everyday concealed carry with no safety. Cop style carry where it pretty much stays on a belt in an exposed holster is a different and safer story IMO. Although I would not want to have to deal with level 3 holsters in a bind. Like anything else I guess practice makes perfect. I am in agreement with many ranges/competitions banning Serpa holsters though.

I carry cocked and locked. I am not sure of something here...in a Glock or M&P type pistol there is no safety, you just pull the trigger and if a round is in the chamber it fires....on a DA revolver, there is no safety and if fully loaded you pull the trigger and it fires, only with a little more force needed to pull the trigger. But as pointed out here several times, with adrenaline, motor skills, stress etc. You probably won't notice any difference.
I also carry one in the chamber for the same reason I keep gas in my car's gas tank, and keep the natural gas turned on in my house and the electrical breakers on also.
If you are really going to be that worried about accidents, with no natural gas in the house there is little chance of a explosion, no electricity in the house there is no chance of electrical fire, with no gas in the car there is little chance for a bad car fire.
I agree, this has been beat to death. If you don't feel totally comfortable and safe while using a firearm in any way, then it is time that you think of another method of self defense.

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Have Canon, Will Travel