How many carry a round in the chamber?

If I were to carry my gun in public, I would carry with a round in the chamber so that it is ready to fire when drawn (no safety). But I've had the CC permit for nearly a year and have not yet seen a reason to carry. I live in a pretty safe town and do not venture into high-crime areas at high crime times. If I were a retired or off-duty cop, that would be different because then I would know I was contributing to public safety.

I am reading Ayoob's Gun Digest Book on carrying. I am now even more convinced I don't need to carry. So why am I shopping for a CC gun? It will give me a challenge on the range.
 
Like most others I too carry with a round chambered.

I will say though, that my first pistol was a Glock 22 and I was so paranoid about a round chambered. Having no manual safety was what kept me from putting one in the pipe. After that, I had a Sig then a Chief's Special then a Taurus and they all had a manual safety so I carried all with one in the chamber.

Now, my new carry piece as of this weekend is a M&P9 with no thumb safety and I have no worries carrying chambered. Keep the trigger guard clear and there is nothing to worry about.
 
I wonder which of these there are more instances of?

1. Self-inflicted injury or death while having a round chambered.
2. Injury or death from not having a round chambered.
 
get some good training and instruction on YOUR weapon...and then practice with it until it is second nature...not just shooting, but manipulation of the safety etc.
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BCDWYO hit the nail squarely on the head. It is pointless to carry a weapon unless it is effective; if you are going to carry a handgun (i.e. semi auto pistol), then it is pointless if it is not loaded. An un-chambered semi is barely better than being unloaded. However, if you do carry a handgun, and with the round chambered, then you must be 100% trained and practiced on it, especially in unloading/clearing, which is were most negligent discharges occur. If you are not comfortable with carrying your pistol with a round chambered, you may wish to consider some serious training before even carrying it in any condition.
 
Practice, practice, practice on a hot range, with an instructor, until you feel completely confident in your ability to handle the situation.

Geoff
Who carries condition 1 + (DAO pistols with a round chambered and ready) or with a field holster Condition 1 (M1911 with full load and safety on.)
 
I am reading Ayoob's Gun Digest Book on carrying. I am now even more convinced I don't need to carry.
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There's a mistake. No, wait, that's two mistakes!

Pretty sure all those McDonald's shootings were in nice neighborhoods. And suburban high schools don't score well either.

-- Chuck
 
Thats a no brainer, thats what the gun is made to do to shoot not to use as a club,you gotta be ready to roll.
 
cracker57 said:
It would seem from this post that most people who carry do so to save their or a loved ones life. They do so by carrying a weapon all the time with One in the tube. However there are those who have ESP and by being awear of whats going on around them they will know when and where a threat is going to take place. Then they will sneak into a bathroom or someplace no one will see them and they will rack the slide and be ready to rock and roll in just the matter of a minute or two. Some have stated they can rack the slide one handed because they have done it a time or two at the range. It appears that most who do not chamber a round think they are going to have the jump on the bad guy when in real life you will be behind the 8 ball when the shtf and you as the good guy will not know the bad guy until he has the jump on you. Then it is catch up time and seconds will count. Good post but it seems that for all the reasons to have your gun locked and loaded some think there is a reason not to. I will carry one chambered, keep it holstered, and when and if I ever have to draw it I will use the saftey between my ears and keep my finger off the trigger until it is time to destroy something or someone. I wonder how many LEOs carry without a round chambered?
Best of luck to those who walk around with an empty chamber. To9 glad to hear you are now carrying a round in the chamber, keep a clear head, remember the saftey rules, Practice, practice, then practice some more. Stay safe, stay alert, stay armed!
Cracker57
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I would never load the chamber in public not in the bathroom or anywhere else. I will load the chamber if it goes to orange. esp why does it annoy that I, on occasion do not carry a loaded chamber.

Leos carry because they are always in a threat environment. I am friends with several cops and most do not even carry off duty. so does that mean I should also not carry unless I am in a uniform. well?

Do not push your opinions on another, new shooters need to take classes and read ayoobs books and decide for themselves whats best.

I think every weapon should have thumb safety. does it annoy me if you do not. nope not all. your life ,your foot..

Its great to hear from couch experts.. what are the total number of gunfights all of you have been in. you watch to much tv..

When i was a Az state correction officer we never had a round in the chamber not in the shotgun or the 223 or the pistol.. any one want to guess why...
 
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again I carry a round in the chamber most of the time unless i am carrying a SA with no thumb safety. however I cannot help but to debate this with know it alls... and the term shtf needs to go away . its turned into a phrase used by yahoos everywhere..
 
vstromrider said:
...
I think every weapon should have thumb safety. ...
When I was an Az state correction officer we never had a round in the chamber...
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Interesting. I just bought a Model 64 that was a recent (2011) Ohio Department of Corrections trade. You know, the guns Corrections Officers carry. It has rounds in each of six chambers. And it has no thumb safety.

As a matter of fact, I'd be hard-pressed to find any revolver with a thumb safety. Hmmm ....:rolleyes:

By the way, to say that "new shooters need to read Ayoob's books" is pushing your opinion on others, n'est pas?
 
DA revolvers and pistols have no need of a safety. put that revolver into single action (cock it) then holster it. whats the matter ,its a 4-6 pound trigger and it wont go off unless you pull the trigger...
 
Guns do not go off by themselves. If anyone here has a logical argument to dispute this fact i would love to read it. If you always treat a gun as if it were loaded even when it is not loaded. (As we all should) There is no reason not to keep the weapon hot. If you are storing it properly in a holster on your person, concealed or on your belt the weapon will not go off. Keep your booger picker off the kill switch unless you intend to do exactly that and all is safe.
 
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vstromrider said:
guns do not go off by themselves. you have to handle the weapon to holster it and unholster. and you are a fallible human being..
Glock handguns -- another accidental discharge - Sleepless in Midland
and you should also keep your finger out of your nose disease spreads that way and its just gross, use a kleenex ,dont want your finger having a AD
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You are 100% right. Those darned weapons are always going off when people pull them in and out of holsters. Especially when they are not touching the trigger. :D

With that highly logical argument you have swayed my choice to never EVER carry any weapon hot again. in fact i am from now on never EVER going to have ammo anywhere near my weapons since i now believe it is just too unsafe. I will now use my weapons as paper weights. (See... I can be sarcastic too)

Seriously though if you read the link you just posted and read my challenge to a logical argument you would notice the same thing that i noticed.
#1: The gun did not go off by its self. The person was handling it in an unsafe manner.
#2 The person who shot their self admits to not clearing the chamber before pulling the trigger. This is why at the end of the email the person says CHECK CHECK CHECK it. And yes, I bet they check it next time.

What was the persons hand doing in front of the muzzle when they set off the gun anyway? i don't care what anyone says. Keep your finger/hand off the trigger unless you are ok with destroying whatever is in front of it. So, They must not treat fire arms as if they were loaded even when they think they are not.

As for my finger in my nose. Well they don't call it a booger picker for nothing. Might as well use it.
 
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I have no desire to talk you out of carrying a loaded gun. read all of the replies. I am debating those that say I should not carry , not ever, a weapon with the chamber unloaded. again I am fine with you carrying a fully loaded pistol. what you didnt hear me. I said load that pistol up and carry it, all the time. wont do you any good if its in the car..
 
vstromrider
As this yahoo sits here on the couch watching TV about the SHTF I have one in the chamber. Sorry I could not help myself. All kidding aside I hope in none of my post did I come across as saying you HAVE TO HAVE A ROUND CHAMBERED. If someone doesn't feel safe with one in the tube then I for one do not want that person walking around with one in the tube ( if they dont feel safe then how can I feel safe around them). I do however feel if you are going to carry you should get the training so you ARE safe with one in the pipe. I know people get over confident when they handle guns all the time and then they get in trouble by ignoring the basic saftey rules. Like the glock owner in the link you posted. Lets see he broke the rule of treating every gun as if it is loaded ( this time, wow it was loaded.) Do not point at anything you do not wish to destroy (this time it was his hand) Do not pull the trigger if you dont want to hear it go bang (this time it did go bang.) Do you really think if you break some or all or one of the saftey rules a thumb saftey is going to stop guys like in your link from doing something stupid? I bet if he wanted to pull the trigger on his EMPTY gun he would have taken the saftey off. I dont see where I personaly attacted you for not always being locked and loaded but if you feel that way I am sorry. I am like you if you want to carry without one in the tube by all means carry that way and thank you for letting me carry locked and loaded. This is a very interesting thread and like all thread take it for what you want. You are 100% right I have never been in a gun fight, I am not A LEO, I do try to prepare myself to be safe and feel safe and that means one is in the chamber. thats how I roll if you like rolling another way then by all means roll the way you feel comfortable and safe.
Cracker57
 
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I'll bet ya most street thugs carry with a round in the chamber. They expect to use the pistol. Maybe against you or me.

I carry with the chamber loaded and my M&P9 has no frame safety by design. My M1911s have one, but they're a different design and the lever is positioned where it can be easily depressed and held down.

-- Chuck
 
vstromrider said:
I have no desire to talk you out of carrying a loaded gun. read all of the replies. I am debating those that say I should not carry , not ever, a weapon with the chamber unloaded. again I am fine with you carrying a fully loaded pistol. what you didnt hear me. I said load that pistol up and carry it, all the time. wont do you any good if its in the car..
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Fair enough.

Peace.:cool:
 
If you're carrying to protect your life, there's always one in the pipe. The safety on the gun is between your ears.;)
 
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DPG said:
I wonder which of these there are more instances of?

1. Self-inflicted injury or death while having a round chambered.
2. Injury or death from not having a round chambered.
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You need to add and third option:

3. Unintentional injuries or deaths while chambering or unchambering a round.

I'll bet #3 has more victims.
 
No Way, I hate politics more.....I'm tired of most of the folks that carry full battery say ...YOU NEED MORE TRAINING....hogwash.....I have more training than most folks and it's my choice to carry the way I want and also take the 2 seconds to rack the slide if needed. There...now I'm done too!

spricks
 
spricks said:
No Way, I hate politics more.....I'm tired of most of the folks that carry full battery say ...YOU NEED MORE TRAINING....hogwash.....I have more training than most folks and it's my choice to carry the way I want and also take the 2 seconds to rack the slide if needed. There...now I'm done too!

spricks
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I agree with you sir 100%!!! This is The United States Of America. Carry how you want, Chambered or not. But there is left wing liberals out there more interested in making new gun laws telling us how to carry. And i will bet it is more likely that those liberals will be telling people to not carry with a weapon hot than you will see people insisting that people carry weapons hot as you say that the people in this thread are. So i ask you. Please support us who prefer to carry our weapons how we like and i will agree to disagree on carry preferences and call it a day.

Edit: I am not LEO or Military trained however I have been shot at. I have been in a gun fight. And it doesn't matter if you have one in the pipe or not. If you get shot first you are likely not going to come out alive. I am lucky that i did. And from that experience alone i will carry all my weapons hot or condition one where ever it is legal for me to do so.
 
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I carry with one in the chamber AND THAT'S IT. no magazine. Im that good. I can kill 3 assailants with one 9mm bullet.
 
I've never understood the "don't carry one in the chamber" crowd. Probably never will.
I agree, Carry your weapon any way you like. It's your life. Or your family's , or both. Either way, it's not going to affect me much, if at all.
Give this some thought though the next time you step out of the house.
I've been in more "gun" fights than I care to remember, and that's not many. The bad guy (s) always have the element of suprise. They pick the time & place of the attack. You, well your just going about your daily business, right? You'll have to take a leap of faith with me here. Your "spidey" sense doesn't work most of the time. You think it does, but you'd be wrong. Your mind is distracted with, kids, converstion, what chores you have to get done that day, etc.
Gunfights happen, fast. within a blink of the eye. They are brutal, savage & deadly serious! There is no glamour, or glory.It is kill or be killed, period! Your fine motor skills go out the window. Your mind & body will fall back on it's training. No matter what or how much of it you've had. 99.9 & 9/10's of the time, you will panic & point your weapon & keep pulling the trigger until it runs dry. That's just the way it is. You can't even imagine the stress your subjected to until you live through it.
Anyway, sorry for the lecture. My point is carry a round in the chamber. When you need it, YOU NEED IT NOW! Not two seconds later after you've drawn & racked the slide.(if you even get the chance) I'm going to bet that in that situation, your going to forget. Your going to draw & start yanking the trigger, not even knowing that the weapon isn't even going off & your going to die. (if the bad guy also didn't forget).
Maybe you'll get lucky & the bad guy or guys will wait until your ready before they attack.
Remember, it's not just your life gents, it's your wifes life. Your childrens life. Your friends life & the aftermath is worse on them if you lose, than if you win.
( I was really only going to make a short point but once I got started I couldn't stop). I apologize but I hope I've given some of you something to consider.
 
When i was a Az state correction officer we never had a round in the chamber not in the shotgun or the 223 or the pistol.. any one want to guess why...
Click to expand...

Here's my guess; they were all sitting on on couches when they should have been training how to carry and use their weapons. They probably didn't carry weapons when off duty for the same reason.

If you can't safely carry a loaded weapon within it's intended design to fire and function, than you have no business being in a profession that requires it's use.
 
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