New to this forum and would appreciate some input. I just ordered an M&P Pro 9 for my carry gun. I have carried a 1911 for many years and am very comfortable carrying in condition 1.Do most carry an M&P with one in the chamber? I will be spending extra time at the range getting used to this gun, but still don't know how I feel about no safety. Many years ago I carried my 1911 in condition 2 but came to the conclusion that cocked and locked made more sense.

An empty gun is not of much use. Carry it with one in the chamber and don't worry about it. They were designed to be carried that way with a holster that covers the trigger.

Welcome to the forum, 2jerrylee.

Condition of carry discussions often get contentious; many can't separate the "personal" from personal defense, mistake individual preferences for universal best practices, and prefer to justify their own decisions rather than discuss alternatives.

Differing forms of carry -- from Condition 3 in a tied down flap holster to Condition 0 in the hand on high alert -- can be enough in some scenarios and too little in others. What matters is making your own decision based on comfort, experience, and an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of available options -- then training to complement your choice.

I think you'll find most M&P carriers opt for Condition 1 (striker-style, of course, which more a 1 and 0 hybrid).

Your best first bet is to choose your carry rig and spend a week carrying the M&P around the house UNQUESTIONABLY unloaded with the striker set. Get comfortable with the understanding that sitting down, getting up, changing clothes, carrying things, rolling around, etc., the striker won't drop.

Then decide from there. Condition 1 is fine; Condition 3 is fine; opting for an M&P with a thumb safety is fine; choosing a different carry piece is fine.

Thanks, look forward to experimenting.

Many feel the same as you at first. You'll get used to it. Do what you feel is necessary until then. But the end result should be condition one. After all, safety is the primary concern. And safety begins and ends between the ears.

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Good advice. Ironically, I just said the same thing to my friend about carrying a 1911 Condition 1 ... And, yes, I carry my M&Ps Condition 1.

Thanks for the advice. Gun is supposed to be in tomorrow and off to the range we go. Condition 1 seems the way to go. Thanks, again.

I have a Glock 19 and a Glock 22, neither of which have manual safeties. I ALWAYS carry with a round in the chamber.

Any firearm which I felt uncomfortable carrying with a loaded chamber I wouldn't carry at all.

Totally agree.

Yes LOADED! There is nothing to get used to. Doesn't go off if there's nothing to pull the trigger. You can load it and use it as a hammer or a car jack or a door stop it won't go off till you pull the trigger. In fact the gun isn't completely cocked till you pull the trigger

Condition 1? 2? 3?

Sorry to ask what may be basics to most...

Considering that a great deal of civilian defense scenarios occur suddenly and at very close distances, carrying with an empty chamber could very well leave you vulnerable unprepared for many situations you would likely encounter.

I will dissent in the opinion that you will eventually get used to carrying a pistol with a relatively short, light trigger pull and pre-cocked striker like the M&P with a round chambered, because not everyone does and you very well may not. Plus, I'm still not convinced there is anything irrational about it.

I retrofit all my Glocks with NY trigger springs to more closely resemble the double-action revolver trigger I'm most accustomed to and comfortable with. I don't feel I need a manual with the NY trigger spring installed, but might if I stayed with the stock trigger. An M&P can be ordered with an optional 10 lb trigger pull as well as with a manual safety. I think a heavier trigger probably makes more sense than a manual safety since a lot can go wrong once the safety is off http://smith-wessonforum.com/138849596-post18.html. Unintended discharges are a relatively routine occurrence during Force on Force training which simulates real world conditions.

At the range, carried securely in a proper holster, there probably isn't much to worry about with a standard, stock Glock or M&O trigger, but real world self-defense is so often chaotic, unpredictable with Murphy's law often injecting itself and a manual safety or heavier trigger can mitigate mistakes and misjudgments and keep them from turning into catastrophes.

"If carrying a gun like a Glock, which does not have a manual safety per se, and do not have access to a holster which covers the trigger guard(as is strongly recommended by the Glock factory), and have to shove the gun into my waistband, I'll make make sure the chamber is empty."

I think carrying with a round chambered is ideal and a heavier trigger and/or manual safety makes sense if it helps you get there, but I don't agree with the sentiment that a weapon carried in condition 3 is worthless. The Thinking Gunfighter: THE MYTHS OF THE ISRAELI METHOD OF CARRY, or why carrying chamber empty isn’t so bad.

Your finger is the only safety you need !! With proper finger control your pistol will never fire a round unless you and your finger intended to .

A old joke I have heard ..
Cock your empty weapon and then load a mag with out chambering a round. Put it in a holster and leave it for a week . If your weapon hasn't fired on that empty chamber and is still cocked at the end of that week its safe to carry with one in the chamber !

Did not read based on poster's history of long winded half baked opinions.

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That's beneath gentlemanly discourse. If you can't or won't discuss, counter or refute the points made, don't take the shortcut and attack the man that posts them.