Round in the chamber ?

[jane.]

I personally feel carrying a SD Weapon w/o a loaded bullet in chamber is akin to carrying a nasty looking hammer, or device, an Officer or bad guy can easily and permanently correct your life ending mistake in an instant. I am leading up to another discussion but no I'll intent meant, if you are not comfortable carrying a weapon that can cause SPI, death, or, maiming, not to mention the inevitable lawsuits, you should not carry because confidence is everything. It is not something you slowly work up to, on the street. At the range carry upside down if you enjoy, but if you have a weapon in commonality of people and are hesitant in any way, my humble opinion is leave it home. Now, to the second part, Shotguns at home, no children, no one there but two LEOs with 50 combined years . Guns are not in safe, they are bedside with 5 in the tube, none in chamber. Just curious how more experienced personnel feel about this. Is shock value of racking worth more than silent lights out, or should a round be chambered in shotgun at home also. Remember, very easy to do with one hand. Would just like some opinions please

 

[mediumdaddy]

x2 on one in the tube for concealed carry. i personally dont keep one in the tube in the 870 by my bed, because of the shock factor of hearing that slide rack. but thats just me. no real reason, since it gets locked up the second i get out of bed in the morning. dont want my 4 year old to get ahold of it.

 

[P&R Fan]

Well, I certainly always have a round in the chamber when I am carrying one of my Glocks. Makes no sense not to.
I also have a HD shotgun, an early '50s M12 Winchester Riot Gun. It is unloaded. I have shells (OO Buck) next to it. I don't leave it loaded because I don't want the mag spring to fail. On something that old it is a concern. I have a Glock loaded in the headboard without a round in the chamber, but 15 in the mag. Glock mags never seem to fail, so I don't worry about it. If I feel I need the shotgun, I'm pretty good at loading rounds in the mag quickly. This, for me is a workable solution. All my kids are older, and even when they were sprouts they were VERY well trained.
Lastly in the bedroom I have a 1945 M1 Carbine with two partially loaded (13 rounds each) mags next to it. All I have to do is slap one in, chamber a round and I'm ready for Al-Qaeda. Or his bigger, meaner brother Bob-Qaeda.
Jim

 

[jlrhiner]

While there are a few on here, with as much or more, fifty combined years in law enforcement ought to count for something.

My bedroom 12ga is secured inside my closet above the door with 4 rounds in the tube and others on the stock. More for my preference than child security. My bedside gun is a custom Colt Commander with an 8rd mag and no round in the chamber. This is because my grandchildren are too young to work the slide. (yes, I periodically check)

Whatever I carry is loaded and ready to go. If it's the 696, all five are loaded and a spare speed strip in my pocket. If it's my Kimber, round in the chamber cocked and locked. If it's the GLOCK, round in the chamber and 11 in the mag. All these are in the safe in the evening.

I'm not sure what you wanted to know, but that how I do it.

 

[Badkarma 1]

It's true that not carrying with one in the chamber is rather silly given the multitude of safety devices on modern handguns, both passive and active. BUT some folks are either used to the idea of "Condition 3" carry due to prior military service, or just not used to the idea of carrying a piece in public. Personally I don't preach one way is better than the other, yet you have to consider that in a confrontation your off hand may be busy fending off your assailant, flipping a light switch, etc. so yeah you should carry it fully loaded with at least one reload, ready to fire.
On the shotgun, it's up too you. I keep mine "cruiser ready" that is a full magazine and empty chamber. Some say the sound of a shotgun being racked is akin to a coffin closing, which is a good thing. But it does telegraph your position to the bad guys too, who may or may not be believers in that sound. Dale

 

[jane.]

Thank you

Very thoughtful responses so far. Chamfering a round is a intimidating sound to a bad guy. It also does give a notice of location. After 28 yrs as a cop, my personal opinion is 5 in the tube and load when need be. There are very very few persons I feel that can rip that 12 gauge away from me in dark, before I move that stock 4 inches, and if need should arise Glock 20 duty weapon is hanging between mattresses.
Again, I emphasize,no kids, wife in FBI, both well trained, but every situation is different. In 50 total years combined, situation never arose.
Be safe and smart and keep what you earned

 

[PDL]

Not making any comment about folks choices for their self protection. For me, I'm not into theatrics etc. The firearm is ready to be deployed and used. That means rounds in the chamber of all that are set to be used for SD/HD.
There is no question that the sound of a shotgun being racked is intimidating. It's just that that's not what mine are for.

Edit to add: Sorry Jane, forgot to say welcome to the forum.

 

[USAF385]

I prefer to keep the first round chambered for two reasons:

1) It's silent
2) It gives me an extra round

Also... I have no kids to worry about.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

My Mossy 500 hangs on hooks attached to the side of my bed, 1 in the chamber, 5 in the tube, with the Safety On. People high on drugs won't give a darn about the noise of racking the slide, and those that do will now know where you. Silence is Golden.. I prefer the stealth mode and shoot without warning. There is nothing in Arizona law that says I must first warn an intruder that I am armed and ready to shoot....muzzle blast will do just fine.

 

[sophie]

I don't keep a shotgun handy, but probably will change my mind someday but my bedside guns are fully loaded. I don't have young children at home anymore. When the grandkids come around they are aware that I have them and have been taught gun safety but I still put them away.

James

 

[cmort666]

Here in Ohio last year, we had a couple of druggies attack a guy pumping gas. They hit him from front and rear simultaneously. He was very upfront in stating that had he had to chamber a round during the attack, they probably would have prevailed and ended up with his gun. It would have all been downhill from there.

When I carry, I ALWAYS carry with a loaded round. The firearms I keep ready at home ALWAYS have a loaded round.

I have no more expectation that a violent attacker is going to LET me chamber a round with which to shoot him, than I have of him calling ahead to make an appointment to rob or murder me.

 

[Bombsaway]

Round in the chamber always. Same for my 12ga in the corner. I'm not giving my location away on the chance that the BG's going to soil his britches at the sound of me racking one into the chamber.

 

[oldman45]

I am headed toward 46 yrs in law enforcement of one kind or another. I have and will keep loaded guns around the house. I will always have a round under the hammer.

I raised three kids and two wives with guns in the house and they were not in safes.

Most of us older people people here were raised with guns in the house and we knew where they were and how to get hold of them as well as how to shoot them. We did not get killed and we did not kill anyone. If we were caught playing with them, our parents would likely have come close to killing us.

I carried guns to school so I could hunt after school, often times with one of my teachers.

It was not until the liberal tree hugging anti gunners came around that guns suddenly became a problem.

Why the concern with loaded guns being around? Are you seeing concern about kids choking to death on hard candy? More die that way than by guns. More kids drown in family swimming pools than by guns. So when do we put swimming pools in safes? Accidental death and injury due to firearms is way low on the list of causes. Home fires, auto accidents, falls and other things injure and kill more children than guns.

We see the same amount of injury and deaths from accidental gunfire today with 300 million firearms in public hands than we did 50 years ago with half that many guns.

It would drop more if people would teach their kids gun safety and let them shoot the guns beginning at early ages. Hiding them and keeping them out of sight only makes kids curious about the gun. Buying one and tossing it in a night stand drawer is not safe either. Showing what a gun can do and working with the child to educate about guns works. Now we need to make sure the adult knows about guns since many do not but will buy them anyway and toss them in the nightstand drawer.

A round in the chamber is needed if the gun is needed. Bad guys do not allow you time to rack a slide, load a revolver or such. I carry the same as many others here and that is locked and loaded. We are not shooing ourselves or others.

 

[edw794]

to answer your last question first, i responded to a call about a man with a gun where an officer attempted to use his shotgun as intimidation. the officer racked a round into the chamber, thus racking a round out of it, as the shotgun already had a round in the chamber. all this because the suspect, who did not exhibit a firearm to us, was slow in placing his hands up. needless to say, but i'll say it, the suspect was totally unimpressed by the shotgun. i don't think a shotgun or any firearm should ever be used as a threat.

i carry with a round in the chamber. you may not have time to chamber a round as when things go down, they happen very quickly.

 

[Engine 21]

I've adopted a philosophy I got from a guy I worked with - a former jarhead - but this jarhead was a sniper and his take on this was " I don't make noise - the target never hears a sound."

 

[russp1]

My carry gun is a 442 so sure, there is always one in the chamber. At home I keep a Sigma 9mm with one in the chamber. Since it is a DAO, I'm not worried about an accidental discharge. Don't know if I'd be as comfortable with something like a 1911 having something in the chamber and relying on the safety.

 

[kraigwy]

My kids are all grown, but my grandkids are here constantly. I'm not so much worried about them, but they bring their friends to Grandpa's to ride horses 'n such.

The only gun I keep loaded is my 642 which is always in my pocket, at night my pants are hung on the bed post meaning kids would have to climb over me to get to it and I'm a light sleeper.

My house isn't big, everything is well with in reach of my little pocket revolver.

The way my house is laid out, I can't use a shotgun or rifle without putting my grandkids in danger so I'll stick to my 642.

 

[elm_creek_smith]

Well, during the 16 years I carried an M1911A1, I carried it cocked-and-locked underneath that full-flap in the field. When we went to the M9POS there was a round chambered, too.

Now I carry revolvers, so all the chambers have rounds in them!

ECS

 

[oldman45]

My carry gun is a 442 so sure, there is always one in the chamber. At home I keep a Sigma 9mm with one in the chamber. Since it is a DAO, I'm not worried about an accidental discharge. Don't know if I'd be as comfortable with something like a 1911 having something in the chamber and relying on the safety.

You must not have owned a 1911. There is a lot more than just the side safety. Once the side safety is off, you have to depress the grip safety and pull the trigger in order to get the gun to fire. Therefore a 1911 has three safeties. How many other guns depends on three safeties? Pull the trigger without the grip safety being depressed and the side safety off and it will not fire. Depress the grip safety with the side safety off and it will not fire unless the trigger is pulled. All three mechanical devices have to be unlocked at the same time for the gun to fire.

I would be more concerned about a Glock where all that is needed is pulling the trigger or a revolver having only a trigger needing to be pulled. Most guns made in the last several years are drop safe so a round under the hammer is not going to discharge if the gun is dropped.

 

[russp1]

You must not have owned a 1911. There is a lot more than just the side safety. Once the side safety is off, you have to depress the grip safety and pull the trigger in order to get the gun to fire. Therefore a 1911 has three safeties. How many other guns depends on three safeties? Pull the trigger without the grip safety being depressed and the side safety off and it will not fire. Depress the grip safety with the side safety off and it will not fire unless the trigger is pulled. All three mechanical devices have to be unlocked at the same time for the gun to fire.

I would be more concerned about a Glock where all that is needed is pulling the trigger or a revolver having only a trigger needing to be pulled. Most guns made in the last several years are drop safe so a round under the hammer is not going to discharge if the gun is dropped.

I've actually been waiting on a S&W 1911E for a couple months now (not sure what the hold up at Smith is) so once I have one a while, I may have a different opinion but I would think being in a stress situation and having to remember to take off the safety would a negative. With the Sigma and 442 it's just point and shoot while the heavy trigger pulls prevent unintended discharges.