Do you carry "+1" in your semi-auto?

[Triggernosis]

I was talking to a pistol instructor friend of mine where he advised me to not carry "+1" in my semi-autos. I've never had any trouble carrying +1 in my Sig P232 in hundreds of rounds through it.
Just wondering what the consensus was on whether to carry +1 or not.


An example:
For example, if your magazine is a 10-round magazine when crammed absolutely full, you've got 1 in the chamber and 10 in the magazine, for a total of 11 rounds.
He was saying to load the magazine full, insert it, chamber a round, and leave it be. So, in my above example the gun would be stoked with 10 rounds - 1 in the chamber and 9 remaining in the magazine.

 

[Hamster65]

Always....

 

[Florida Guy]

My carry KelTec PF9 mag holds only 7 rounds, so an extra round in the chamber helps.
Once you get used to the fact there is a round in the chamber,
you are more at ease with it.

 

[Shark Bait]

You mean with a round in chamber? Yes! I would have serious doubts about the qualifications of any "pistol instructor" who says not to. If you are proficient with your firearm it is perfectly safe to have a round chambered. If you're not confident that you are proficient , then don't carry at all. When you see cops in movies chambering a round before they engage a bad guy, that is Hollywood bunk. They are always loaded to capacity with a round chambered.

 

[bigwheelzip]

carry "+1"

carried and stored +1.

 

[Voyager28]

Absolutely!! A semi auto is useless until there is a round in the chamber and in a critical situation racking one in takes way too long, not to mention the noise it makes.

Bob

 

[Arik]

Yes.

I think he means topping off the mag

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[Fox4506]

Arik is correct, at least from what I have always heard. +1 refers to topping off the mag with another round after a round is chambered, which gives you your full magazine capacity...+1 (the one in the chamber).

And yes, I agree with +1 carry.

Fox

 

[VThillman]

Depends on the mag, mostly. Good example is the two mags that came with my Shield. When the sixth round is inserted in the 6 round mag, there is room for about another half a round. In the 7 round mag the seventh round meets didtinctly added resistance during the last part of insertion. I interpret that increased resistance as extra stress on the spring. I don't want the spring under that stress for long periods, so I don't replace that seventh round after chambering it.

Yeah I know what you're thinking - I'm a wuss so I think the spring is a wuss too. Hah.

 

[Arik]

Depends on the mag, mostly. Good example is the two mags that came with my Shield. When the sixth round is inserted in the 6 round mag, there is room for about another half a round. In the 7 round mag the seventh round meets didtinctly added resistance during the last part of insertion. I interpret that increased resistance as extra stress on the spring. I don't want the spring under that stress for long periods, so I don't replace that seventh round after chambering it.

Yeah I know what you're thinking - I'm a wuss so I think the spring is a wuss too. Hah.

Don't over think it. Springs wear out from use not from compression. A lot of mags in 45acp tend to be hard when inserting the last round. All my Glock 21 mags are like that yet they never failed

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[BB57]

I'm in agreement with VTHillman's above comment.

It really depends on whether the magazine and pistol combination are designed for a +1 load out.

Some designs don't have enough room to allow the top round in a full magazine to be compressed further, as is required when the slide is in battery.

That said, I carry +1 all the time, as I won't carry a pistol that can't be loaded to +1 capacity.

It's more than just a capacity issue. If it won't accommodate a +1 load in an administrative reload, it won't tolerate one in a tactical reload either where you may be dropping an empty or nearly empty magazine and reloading with a round constantly in the chamber. An inability to easily insert and positively seat a full magazine into the pistol with the slide already in battery is a serious tactical disadvantage.

 

[eb07]

I was talking to a pistol instructor friend of mine where he advised me to not carry "+1" in my semi-autos. I've never had any trouble carrying +1 in my Sig P232 in hundreds of rounds through it.
Just wondering what the consensus was on whether to carry +1 or not.

What was his flawed logic for this advice?

 

[Triggernosis]

You mean with a round in chamber? Yes! I would have serious doubts about the qualifications of any "pistol instructor" who says not to. If you are proficient with your firearm it is perfectly safe to have a round chambered. If you're not confident that you are proficient , then don't carry at all. When you see cops in movies chambering a round before they engage a bad guy, that is Hollywood bunk. They are always loaded to capacity with a round chambered.

Not just a round in the chamber, but one in the chamber AND a full magazine. For example, if your magazine is a 10-round magazine when crammed absolutely full, you've got 1 in the chamber and 10 in the magazine, for a total of 11 rounds.
He was saying to load the magazine full, insert it, chamber a round, and leave it be. So, in my above example the gun would be stoked with 10 rounds - 1 in the chamber and 9 remaining in the magazine.


I will edit my original post to reflect what I'm talking about.

 

[Triggernosis]

Yes.

I think he means topping off the mag

Yes, that's exactly what I was talking about.

 

[Triggernosis]

What was his flawed logic for this advice?

He was saying that the first round in a full magazine sometimes puts too much pressure on the slide above it and may result in the slide not being able to freely move upon firing and eject the fired casing and pick up the new round.
I've never had any trouble in that regards with my P232 or my 92FS. Must be those danged Flocks he's so fond of....

 

[Shark Bait]

Ok. I would still suggest topping off your magazine.

 

[Triggernosis]

It really depends on whether the magazine and pistol combination are designed for a +1 load out.

Some designs don't have enough room to allow the top round in a full magazine to be compressed further, as is required when the slide is in battery.

And how does one determine whether a particular gun is designed for +1 load out?

 

[richardw]

I think the instructor is projecting a problem which I have never seen or heard of actually existing. The chambered round and the first round of a magazine are not in close contact. If a topped off magazine were to impair the slide then it would be a design defect in the gun because if it did that it would be not not recooomended to place a full magazine in the gun even if you did not chamber a round. His words make no sense .

 

[Shark Bait]

Any quality firearm will be designed for full capacity carry. If you have one that won't, contact customer service.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Any quality firearm will be designed for full capacity carry. If you have one that won't, contact customer service.

I'd expect that also.

Just beware of how often you chamber a round in case of setback, and keep a full mag and a round chambered.