How to carry semi auto

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paperboy98

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I have a fairly new CCL and when I carry, I carry a revolver. I would like to carry semi auto but I'm not sure in what configuration. Do you carry with the magazine in, but nothing in the chamber? Do you carry with a round chambered, but on safety? What is a safe way to carry SA, but be prepared to defend yourself? Thanks for all replies.
Paperboy98
 
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Good question. I am working toward carrying my M&P compact 40cal ready to go. That means a round chambered. The safety is the holster and me. When I say working toward, I mean I am carrying with a snap cap in the chamber. This is only until I am confident that I will not accidentally hit the trigger in the process of carrying loaded. I even went through this confidence building process when I first carried in my car.
 
Carry

If you're carrying you're doing so to protect yourself and those you love. You need to have a round in the chamber. Condition 3 (loaded mag. empty chamber) requires two hands to get gun running. You may not have both hands available when the big moment occurs. If you choose to carry an auto, please don't do so until you are TOTALLY familiar with it and how it works. That means a lot of rounds downrange, safely. You'll be glad you did, plus it's fun.
That said, there's nothing wrong with carrying a revolver either if you're familiar with it. Stay safe.
 
When I carry my Glock, I have a mag in and a round in the chamber.


snakeman
 
I carry with a full mag and one in the pipe ready to rock and roll when ever the moment strikes.
 
the best safety there is is between your ears, I carry IWB SW99 in .40 12+1. as long as you keep your booger picker off the bang switch your OK, the holster should do all the rest
 
I don't mean to denigrate, but if you are at the point of not knowing how to carry an auto, it's best to stick with a revolver until you ar thoroughly comfortable with autos...you need to try a few out...and after you have thoroughly familiarized yourself with them and are comfortable with their platform, you will be able to make the decision how to carry your own.

That said, I would shy away from single action autos for CCW as they require a much higher skill level since you are not only manipulating a safety, but you also have to deal with a very light trigger pull..which can be a liability in a stressful situation...Personally, I switch from a revolver to an auto all the time, but my auto is an LEM P2000 which in function is similar to a revolver on the first shot....and if you don't use the reset, it's similar for subsequent shots as well. A typical double action/single action is also a good choice but again, you need to practice with it until it's second nature to operate it...
 
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I carry several different semi-auto handguns as the mood strikes me and I carry every one of them with a loaded chamber. I carry the High Power and the M1911 with the safety on. Obviously the Glocks don't have safeties. Any properly designed holster that covers the trigger guard is safe to carry with a loaded semi-auto for which it was designed.

When somebody is trying to beat, choke or stab you to death is not the time to try to chamber a round, and the odds are that if you wait that long, you're not going to be able to. It's reckless to assume that you're going to have both hands free when your life is in danger.
 
I choose to carry semi autos. Always topped off mag with one in the pipe. With the 1911 safety on (Easy to sweep the thumb safety off) My FEG PA-63 and the S&W 6906 are holstered with the safety off.

As a newbie to carrying, try wearing your weapon at home with snap caps with one in the tube. Practice with dry firing skills. When you feel condfident, load with live ammo and work at the range.

After a while, the confidence level will be achieved. Always be ready with one ready to go. IMHo
 
An NRA BAsic Pistol course or equivalent would be an excellent investment in the basic function and techniques of handguns.
Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.
 
I carry all my semi's fully loaded mag and one in the pipe if and when I choose to carry my wheel gun it is also fully loaded. Really should sell that one though never shoot or carry it. Whatever you choose to carry always remember safety first.
 
When I first started carrying, it was on safety, no round chambered. Then it when to round chambered, but still on safety. Now it's round chambered, safety off. I practiced drawing and firing from the various ways to carry it and decided if I REALLY needed it, chambered and safety off was what served me best.
 
Round in the chamber for sure. All my guns have safeties so I can turn them off as I draw. Sometimes they get turned off by my fat body moving around, but I don't worry about it. I just check it every so often to make sure it is on.
 
I carry with one in the chamber and safety off in a slide holster.
 
Carrying an auto involves several decisions:

1. It has to be comfortable to carry, or you will wind up not carrying it, and that is useless. Thus, thin profile is highly preferred - single stack is what I use for CCW. Double stack magazines are thick for everyday carry and they are harder to conceal easily in all types of clothing.

2. As for safety, this also has a number of issues: traditional double action (meaning first shot is double action, then all subsequent shots are single action) is extremely safe, since the chance of 'hit trigger go bang' is lessened since your first shot has a harder pull, thus you really need to want to shoot. As a new shooter of autos, this is what I highly recommend. Since you are used to revolvers, this is easy for you. You could also go with a double action only (DAO) but you'd want something with a "lighter" pull, like the Para Ordnance Carry 9 or Carry 45, depending on the caliber you prefer.

But most importantly, in a personal defense emergency, you do NOT want to have to rack the slide - you won't have time, your adrenaline will be pumping hard, etc, so you must carry one in the chamber.

If you use a 1911 model, that would meaning carrying cocked and locked, which is NOT a good idea for less than a very experienced auto shooter, so stay away from this to start with autos.

My top recommendations:

Find a great condition S&W 3913 - it's highly accurate, light and small enough to carry every day easily, and one of the best single stack guns ever made.

Find a Para Ordnance Carry 9 - sort of like a 1911 model, but with additional grip safety and what they call an LDA "Light Double Action" trigger - every shot is double action, but light enough not to be a hassle, and strong enough not to have an accidental discharge.

FIRST you need to decide what caliber, make the decision to carry it every day, and decide on your level of safety comfort. Do NOT rush into a decision, rent a few different types at your local range and try them for comfort, fit, size, weight, shooting accuracy, etc. Try each type DAO, SAO, traditional double action, LDA. Then and only then are you ready to make a purchase decision.
 
Personnaly I carry either my S&W 642 or a Kahr PM-9 in pocket holsters. I would never carry a loaded 1911 style handgun which requires the removal of a safety. In a defensive situation I believe the best semi auto handguns are those which can be carried safely with a round in the chamber and do not require manipulation of an external safety - S&W M&P, Glock, Kahr, S&W99, Walther P99 to name a few.
 
I would still carry my 1911 even if it didnt have the thumb safety.
I dont put my finger in the trigger guard until I am ready to use it.
My shooting grip has my thumb on top of the thumb safety.
Its a near impossibility for the safety to be a liability if you train with it.
AND... with most semi-autos in use today not having safeties... if someone manages to wrestle it away from you THEY have to turn it off.
Just cant figure seeing the thumb safety to be any kind of liability at all.


Jim
 
The problem with safeties (IMHO) is not with the gun, it's with the user. If you have a safety ON, and in the heat of necessity you forget to flip it OFF, not good. Train, train, train, and be comfortable with what you carry and how you carry it. I have a 3913 as my every day carry. I have one in the chamber and a full mag (plus an extra mag) all the time.

When I carry, it's de-cocked, and the safety is OFF, and the gun is in a good quality IWB holster... since a) my finger is NEVER on the trigger until I want it to go bang. EVER. And the first double action pull on the 3913 means it isn't going bang unless I want it to.

When it's in my night table drawer at home at night, SAFETY is ON. One is still in the chamber. I believe I will have enough time to flip the safety off if I hear windows breaking and my dog starts barking.

Since I've had an H&K P30 for a long time, I am used to, and comfortable with the DA/SA combo, so the ultimate answer really is about being well trained, totally confident in your use of the gun, and keep your damned trigger finger off the damned trigger unless there needs to be a BANG in the next few seconds. Just my humble opinion.

I know a lot of people who carry full size 1911's cocked and locked and they are comfortable with that. That scares me, so I don't carry that kind of gun. OK, I found something that works for me, and my confidence level is 100 percent. That's my solution. Everyone has to find their own solution, as long as they get to 100 percent confidence with it, they should be OK.

Marty919
 
Lots of good advice, from a variety of perspectives in this thread, as basic as it started out. Those of us who have carried for years, regardless of our chosen carry piece, can sometimes forget what it's like to be a newbie. I've carried a Condition 1 1911 of one kind or another for many, many years now. I'll occasionally switch off to a Browning HP, also carried cocked and locked, or to a Glock or Kahr, in their versions of "Condition 1." Even if the safety gets accidentally nudged off during carry, Rule #3 keeps everything safe: "Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target." My holsters all keep the triggerguard and trigger covered. As far as any concern about NOT thumbing off the safety, I ride the safety with my thumb when I shoot, so no worries there, either.

My advice is to keep carrying the revolver, go ahead and get your semiauto, and practice, practice, practice with it until your semiauto's manual of arms is as ingrained as your revolver's hopefully already is. Practice includes simply handling the gun until all its controls feel and function naturally. Don't start carrying a gun with which you are not comfortable enough, and therefore safe enough, to carry in the appropriate condition of readiness, which does NOT mean with an empty chamber. You are presently a helluva lot better protected with a revolver you know than you would be with a semiauto you don't.
 
I agree with Sip! The average non Law Enforcement CCW should probably carry a revolver. It's safe, requires only the trigger to be pulled to fire it, has no safety to fumble, and in the rare instance you get a "dud", simply pull the trigger again.

When I see newbees carrying a cocked & locked single action pistol (like a 1911 - .45) I get a bit nervous. During a stressful time that you have to defend yourself or a loved one, that last thing you need is to shoot yourself! I have always disaggreed with the majority of the gun writers that tout this method of carry to us "civiullians". This method of carrying a single action auto is best left to the guys that are LEO's.

If you insist on carrying an autoloader, my suggestion would be a double action model like the S & W M&P, Glock, Sig, etc. That said, my personal prefrence (and I do as I speak) carry a simple, plain, non-sexy good old fashion revolver,

chief38
 
chief38 said:
When I see newbees carrying a cocked & locked single action pistol (like a 1911 - .45) I get a bit nervous. During a stressful time that you have to defend yourself or a loved one, that last thing you need is to shoot yourself! I have always disaggreed with the majority of the gun writers that tout this method of carry to us "civiullians". This method of carrying a single action auto is best left to the guys that are LEO's.
Click to expand...
I generally spend 2 days a week at the range, 3 days a week doing in home dry fire practice.
A lot of carriers that I know put in weekly "gun time".
Quite a few officers that I know view their sidearm as a tool and only bring it out of the holster when it gets close to qual time.

A single action semi-auto is for people who practice with their weapon, not that carriers of DA pistols dont or shouldnt practice.
If you are a person who gets a gun and keeps it in the glovebox, nightstand, etc and never touches it... then a revolver or a DA would more than likely be the better choice.
Actually... I suggest a dog to people who I know wont put in the time to be proficient.

Practice is the key.
No matter what you carry or what your profession is.
When you draw, you shouldnt have to think about things like safeties.
I, and many other 1911 shooters, "ride the safety".
When we have our firing grip on the pistol there is no way that the safety can be engaged.

We carry in condition 1, cocked and locked, as we draw and come up on target... the safety automatically comes off.
You keep your finger off the trigger until on target, no matter what you carry.

For those of us that carry and shoot like I do, there is no extra step, no remembering to wipe the safety... and shooting the 1911 is really not much different than firing a revolver or a DA pistol... other than that sweet 1911 trigger.


Jim
 
Evil One & Cmort666,
I kind of agree with both of your statements. I for one have to admit even though I am at the range at least once every week, I do not usually practice pulling a cocked & locked auto and taking a quick shot (99% of the time I carry a revolver). Even if I did, there is NO STRESS level present which makes all the difference. E.O. if you do practice this a few times a week, I commend you! Most of us don't. CMORT - the statement you made about LEO's not being proficient.....I totally agree. I did not state it, but when I made my statement I had in mind a higher level of trained units such as SWAT, ESU, etc.

chief 38
 
In "my" opinion, almost nobody practices enough with their carry weapon.
My range is within a few miles from my stepsons school, so its a no brainer for me to swing by on mondays and fridays.
Its an outdoor range, so I get to practice in all temps and weather conditions.
I dont want to think about how many people I have talked to or overheard that carry a gun, but have NEVER shot it.
Even more have bought a weapon, took it to the range... and fired 5-50 rounds thru it... and never touched the trigger again.
Most I hear go to the range 2-3 times a year, go thru 1 box of ammo... slow fire at 1 distance, do no drawing from the holster, much less from cover.
One of the drills I do is to fire at a reactive target on the ground... I have a mountain as a backstop so no worries about where the rounds are going.
I do this rapid fire at a small target at variable ranges.
To be honest, I am not a great handgun shot. I cant shoot for crap at paper. However I can pop an object the size of a softball reliably at various distances out to 40 yards.
This is what I refer to as combat or self defense accurate.
I do this with my 1911 and my .44 snubby.
I honestly feel that I shoot better with the snubby.
I also dont feel that I practice enough, or at least not as much as I want to.


Jim
 
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I agree Evil One.
I live out in the boondocks,so I can shoot as much as I like and in all weather conditions I also do everything along with practice both handed and shoot equally well both handed. I can drill the center out of a paper target at 15 yards,but not everything is going to be at 15 yards... I prefer popping old old tennis balls around.
 
cmort666 said:
I think you have an unrealistic view of the general level of firearms training and proficiency in law enforcement.
Click to expand...

As a LE firearms instructor I would agree with this statement. It has been my experiance that most departments that have written firearms policies do not allow their officers to carry a single action automatic such as 1911's or a Browning High Power. I don't think single action auto's are bad weapons, I just don't think most law enforcement officers train enough to be proficient enough to carry one cocked and locked.
 
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