Being from New Jersey I am new to carrying outside the home.

When I carry my P365 with the magazine full and the chamber empty, I am comfortable securing the gun for the night in the same condition.

If a P365 is carried with a round in the chamber, what’s the drill in the evening and the morning? A) Keep a round in the chamber always or B) Empty the chamber at night and load a round in the chamber in the morning?

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

A loaded chamber is a happy chamber. Why anyone would carry a firearm for protection on an empty chamber is beyond me. Good way to get killed. You store your firearm however you feel comfortable. But if you forget to chamber a round the next day, well......

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

My 365 stays ready. Always. That means a round in the chamber. It ain't gonna go off by itself. I trust my gunhandling on the street, why wouldn't I trust it at home. But, as has already been said, it's your gun. So, you store it however you want.

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The best I can with what I got

Mine stays full - chamber loaded, magazine filled night and day. It only gets emptied when I clean it or when I shoot it at the range.

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Or something like that . . .

Are you the only one home/ is the gun always under your control?

A is the correct answer.

My pocket carry piece has a full mag and a round chambered. When I put it in the safe at bed time I take out my SD/nightstand piece which is also loaded and chambered.

No empty chamber for me.

PS: I still have all my appendages.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Top it off and keep it topped off. Assuming of course, that there are no little hands and fingers that can get to it. Otherwise, keep it topped off in a quick access safe they cannot access.

Another reason to load it (including the chamber) and keep it loaded is bullet setback. This can occur when cartridges are consistently chambered, unchambered, then rechambered.

It can increase pressures, and result in feeding problems. Also, the more you load and unload a firearm, the more you increase the chance of an accidental discharge. That's why most all police departments and police ranges have "clearing barrels".

I keep my main carry handguns loaded at all times. If you have children or untrustworthy adults in the home, I would do as others have suggested, and use a quick access safe to store my loaded weapon.

Larry

Repeatedly unchambering and chambering the same round can lead to disaster.

Each time you chamber a round the bullet gets pushed a little more into the casing. This increases the case pressure.

Do it enough and you will have a round waiting to explode.

When you need it there's NO TIME to rack the slide.........Doing it in the dark will tell the bad guy(s) exactly where you are.

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S&W Accumulator

When I get home I drop the magazine and eject the cartridge from the chamber THEN I wipe the gun with a soft cotton cloth that has had a couple drops of light machine oil worked into the cloth.

No cleaning the chamber or anything else. Just wipe the gun down with the cloth and reload.

I do not own a P365, but I own lots of different Semi-auto pistols

I always keep my chamber stuffed.

The Israelis that I worked with always carried Condition 3.

Now I have not interacted with any of the guys from there for decades so I do not know if they still maintain that philosophy

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"Acta non verba"

Not too many people (that I'm aware of), train like an Israeli Commando.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

The last thing I want to be thinking about is whether my CCW is loaded if I have to pull it.

Why add more steps?

Randy

Once upon a time, a club member fired a repeatedly cycled round out of his duty P226. Good thing it was entirely made of steel. Badly enough, the grip shells were not. They disintegrated and his hand hurt plenty. The case was bursting open on the base. This sent a jet of very angry gases across his index finger, which went numb for weeks and it hurt a lot. So, bullet setback really is a thing.

However, keeping a gun with loaded chamber in the home is something which could make me loose my gun permits. We are not allowed to do so in Germany. Magazine next to the gun in the certified safe is O.K. here around. No carry anyway.... We had some occasional burglaries going on here around, i hope i am spared of these horrors.

The Israelis are not the only ones carrying with an empty chamber, in the model 1911 era condition 3 was standard in the US armed services. Read a field manual from that era.

Preface by saying I really don’t carry anymore but when I did I found it easier and safer for me to keep my carry gun loaded in the holster whether in the safe or on me. I chose one to be my carry gun for a while and left it that way. Loading, unloading, holstering, upholstering all increase the chance for an accidental discharge. I would take it to the range once a week, shoot it, clean it, refill and repeat.

Always chambered, unless put away for days or weeks or months, for all the reasons above.

Loading a revolver indoors is bad enough, but loading (or unloading) an autoloader unnecessarily indoors without a sand barrel is asking for trouble. I don't do it.

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Formerly Model520Fan

I've seen this sort of question too many times.

First, carrying a semi-auto pistol with a full mag and and empty chamber sounds like a safe thing to do, but it is actually very dangerous. If you ever had to pull your pistol for defense, you think you have the wits and smooth skills to rack the slide in a split second, but under such a stressful situation you are more likely to fumble with the slide. Even if you do manage to rack the slide under stress, where is your trigger finger? Is it on the side of the receiver, resting on the trigger, or did you instinctively pull the trigger all the way back during the racking and now you are pressing with all your might as your assailant lunges at you with a knife and the pistol won't fire because the trigger is already fully depressed? Or did you rack the slide, your finger hit the trigger as the slide slammed forward and the muzzle was accidentally pointing at little Janey, the 9 year old girl who was standing well behind and to the side of your assailant?

Second, repeatedly loading and unloading a round can push the bullet deeper into the casing, this can lead to dangerously high chamber pressure when the round is fired.

Third, a defensive pistol with an empty chamber at home is just as bad as carrying a pistol with an empty chamber. If you have children at home or perhaps there is a state or local law that requires firearms to be inaccessible to anyone but you, I suggest keeping the pistol in a locked box. Make sure the box is easy for you to open in a stressful situation, but not easy for a child to open.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

All six of my nightstand guns chambers are loaded. If I need more than that then the 12 comes into play.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

...get killed trying to chamber a round when a thief was leaving his store.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Funny, but I have never seen, read, or heard of a round "exploding" due to this.

I knew a store owner who kept a semi-auto pistol in his shop. He kept the chamber empty. When he was being robbed, he tried to surreptitiously chamber a round. By operating the slide so slowly, he created a jam. He had a jammed pistol in his hand when he was shot and killed by the robber.

How are you required to store revolvers?

I saw an analysis of defensive gun uses somewhere… in a significant majority of uses the firearm’s location was “in another room”. To my mind, this indicates that the time spent to rack a slide was probably not an issue.

If a perp already has you covered, you are not going to outdraw him, so also not an issue in that circumstance.

It’s all a percentage game. Why are we worrying about handgun chambers when the zombie hordes will require an AR? Well, because zombie hordes are a low-probability event so we don’t carry our AR.

You need your gun to work when you need it. You need your gun to NOT work when you’re just carrying it. Only you can calc your own percentages of how best to accomplish that.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

I’ve been in a gunfight, albeit in 1974 & armed with my issued revolver, but my takeaway was there was no time to do anything but return fire.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

If you keep unloading at night it could effect the round that keeps getting re chambered. I’d leave it loaded. Just secure it safely if children are around.

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Two Handguns every day

I read a article years ago about a shop owner that was so rattled when robed that he forgot to flip off the safety on his semi auto and got shot. I don’t want to think about having to chamber a round.

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Two Handguns every day

My guns that I depend on for carry or home defense stay chamber loaded for years. Always ready, always loaded, no need to fumble with anything.

If you don't have your personal protection firearm fully loaded with a round in the chamber you don't have a personal protection firearm you have a paper weight.

When you're sitting at the bench in broad daylight shooting paper, zero stress. It's easy to work the slide and chamber a round.

But when you're in a highly stressful situation, typically at night, you're half asleep still, typically with no time, it's an entirely different animal.

Lock it up in an easy access safe if you have too. But keep it ready to rock and roll.

Now tell me how many guys you read about who got killed while trying to chamber a round against the "bad guy"....

AMEN.............Here too.

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S&W Accumulator

My P365 is on my hip with a round chambered. Only time it's not on me is when I'm in the shower or sleeping. It's on a nightstand at night. I have a Winchester 1200 leaning against my headboard, and a 7" AR15 leaning against a dresser. Neither of those have a round in the chamber.

Everyone has a theory on this but if you're like me and have a half dozen loaded guns around your house 24/7/365 it seems pointless to unload the gun you carried all day. Further, "put up for the night" implies locked away. I just leave my EDC on my dresser, in the same condition as when I carried it. There's nobody here to touch it and it doesn't do anything on its own, notwithstanding what the fake news headlines imply!

Funny. I expected debates here but I see we generally agree with the concept that "a loaded chamber is a happy chamber".

With the exception of jurisdictions that require unloaded guns in homes most well trained defensive shooters will keep chambers loaded.

As for these:

The entire IDF trains using pistols in Condition 3 because back in the day, think 1948, they were supplied with an enormous variety of pistols and the decision was made to train everyone the same way. Ipso facto - Condition 3.

But an Israeli Soldier can draw his or her pistol, rack the slide, and be on target and firing faster than you can say Jack Robinson! (Side note - that phrase actually originated in the 18th century!) They train that way and they probably repeat that maneuver thousands of times. I've seen it done (long story oft- repeated in other threads) and it's impressive. If you can shoot like that feel free to carry your pistol in Condition 3.

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Come and take it!!

Has anyone ever actually experienced this?

My EDCis a 9mm Shield, and I am a huge fan of dry fire practicing.

I keep empty mags w/ a snap cap both at home and in the office, and I unload and reload several times a day, always going back and forth between the round in the chamber and the top one in the mag.

I would estimate those two rounds have been chambered at least 100 times each, so after reading this and the previous post I compared them to untouched rounds from the same box and the COAL was identical for all.

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Richard

I do not pull the trigger on my EDC unless I am at the range and heaven forbid in self defense or defense of others. Never! If I feel the need to dry fire, I have more than enough firearms (both short guns and long guns) at home to do so. Why at work? Could get you in trouble or scare the bejesus out of a coworker. I shoot handguns at least once a week at the range about 50 weeks a year, I shoot rifles two days a week about the same amount as handguns.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

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Well known, well documented. Maybe not "exploding", but going off with far more pressure than intended.

My guns in longer term storage are empty. My guns being cleaned are empty. There is no ammo near them. Any firearm I have available for use is loaded all the way, including chamber, and left that way. Messing with it is a recipe for bad things, including fumbling around to the extent of an ND, not having a loaded gun when needed, or the setback problem. I can't think of a good excuse for such silly administrative handling as a general rule.

Caveat: No kids, and none in the house. The answer then is wear it when awake, and store it in a sound manner for your kids and setting.

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NHI, 10-8.

What he said..................!!!!

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Come and take it!!

You wouldn’t unload your revolver at night, why unload your semi. My Mustang is always loaded with a round in the chamber with the safety on. What I like is the ability to do a press check on the Mustang while the safety is on.

I don't want to be racking for the rest of my life.
My carry gun always has a round chambered.
You do what ever makes you feel comfortable and safe.

Much appreciate the responses

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

Other than the once a week cleaning to remove dust bunnies, my P365 remains in its pocket holster with a round in the chamber and the magazine inserted. When it comes off of my person at night it resides on the bed side table, still in the Kydex Alabama pocket holster.

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Only a cold warrior

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

I should have mentioned that I’m alone in my office; no co-workers to scare, no trouble to get into.

As for dry firing my EDC, that’s the one I want proficiency with, not some range toy or safe queen.

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Richard

I usually unload autos. Revolvers stay loaded. My PX4 does as well

We had to carry our 1911’s in Condition 3 with two five round mags when I served (Army MPC), carried in a flap holster no less. It was possible to draw and rack the slide pretty quickly, but nowhere near as fast as Condition 1 would have been. (Carrying 10 rounds was pretty stupid too.). It takes two hands to rack the slide, assuming you still have the use of both your hands. I don’t mess with my EDC weapons, nothing more dangerous than an “unloaded” firearm.

Oh, yes, slipped my mind with my first reply. If you get into a physical altercation, your hands may be quite busy. It may be possible to free one hand to draw the pistol, but if the chamber is empty, it can only function as a small rock, not as a functioning firearm.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

When I first joined the Corps we were not allowed to load a magazine into a M1911A1 stateside for EDC. When I became a Guard Chief at a Marine the Commandant finally decided we could load loaded magazines into the weapon , but no rounds in the chamber. A couple of years later I was assigned to the Marine Corps Security Battalion (Pacific). The we were trained to carry Condition 1 and did so. We used that funky old M1916 holster. We were trained to draw and fire from that holster in less than 1.5 seconds. We were also trained in several different ways to rack a Condition 3 weapon with one hand. Now it just falls back to training.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.