Carrying with one in chamber and bedside manners

[SemperFiUSMC]

No way I would ever carry without a round chambered. The only time you'll get a fail to feed is when you are loading it because you need it right then. Murphy's law. BG not going to give you time to clear and chamber another round. I'd rather have a FTF after I've pluged the BG once.

I wouldn't carry a pistol with a safety external to the trigger and / or grip engaged. Ever. I have 8 or 9 pistols I carry depending on a lot of factors. One thing is constant across all weapons. They are all loaded, and all I have to do is remove from holster and pull trigger.

As far as kids go, teach them from first steps guns are not toys and not to be touched. If you try to hide them keep them out of reach rather than teaching at some point you'll screw up. That's when tragedy strikes.

 

[IndianaGTI]

After having a child, I got an electronic safe next to my bed. My 6" 686 with crimson trace grips barely fits. It is almost as fast as pulling it off the nightstand. It is much faster than reaching into a drawer. I keep it on my nightstand. Just roll over and punch in the code. The original side folder Mini-14 in my bedroom with 40g TAP ammo is unchambered.

 

[IndianaGTI]

Oh, and ditto. I would never carry without one in the chamber. With SA's I keep the safety on. With DA's, I don't. The Glock 33 is the only one that concerns me when I drop it in my pocket.

 

[Ziggy01]

I always carry with one in the chamber. I personally want one less thing to remember in a high stress situation were seconds count. I have carried this way for years and have never had a misfire issue.

 

[Lobo]

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[PatriotPride]

I'm not a hired gun and I don't live in condition red.
No need to carry one in the chamber. If I'm carrying at all my preparedness is way above being unarmed. I won't have to go home and get my gun. All I have to do is prime it.

I'm usually unarmed so a one shot derringer would be a comfort any time. It's funny that those who must be armed with the latest technology allow themselves to be disarmed so often. School zones, government buildings stores with signs posted are all disarming. Those high capacity automatics spend more time in the car or in the safe than some want to admit.

There are more instances of accidental discharge loading and unloading automatics than from unloaded guns that aren't unloaded. If you carry with one in the chamber and don't want it loaded around the children then you're going to have to jack the one out of the chamber. Before you get too casual about that it is a good idea to have a bucket of sand to perform all this activity over to catch any accidental discharges.

There's a whole lot of in this post.

If you're not comfortable carrying your firearm as intended, or are more comfortable carrying a revolver, more power to you. No need to make excuses, and spout nonsense.

And FYI---your low-capacity revolver spends just as much time in the car as my high-capacity automatic. That is, if you're a law-abiding citizen.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

no point in carrying if ones not in the chamber, in my opinion. you will be dead before you chamber a round.

whats a safety? lol. heres my safety tip: dont pull the trigger and the gun wont go off.

kids: do your kids know how to knock? lock your bedroom door when your in there. problem solved.

sorry if i sound rude, but thats just the way it is, i dont know how to put it any other way. welcome to INGO by the way!!

I agree that carrying without one in the chamber is pointless. By the time you draw and chamber a round you could be dead. When the adrenaline dumps you want to be ready to fight. A good holster in my opinion is just as important as the gun or ammo you carry. It will keep the firearm from accidentaly discharging. Yet will allow for a quick and smooth draw. The most important thing is keeping your nose picker off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Finger outside the trigger guard unless you plan on pulling the trigger.

 

[MasterAtArms]

Never had a problem carrying with one in the pipe. I wouldn't carry any other way and Ive carried safety-less glocks and other polymer pistols IWB that way

 

[maxmayhem]

I carry my gun ready to go (most of the time) but when not on my person it is a different story. I keep the magazine in my Glock 19, trigger pulled. I would rather die than leave the gun ready to go and one of my small children pick it up. My son who is 4 as of last month can pull the trigger with ease. He has seen how to rack the slide. He tries every time I hand him the gun (safety checked) of course. I did this to impress upon on my wife the need to safely store her weapon. He cannot even move the slide (yet). If I was single or married with no kids I would have my guns to go at a moment's notice but the danger from being forgetful seems more imminent to me than the danger from an attacker. That is just me.

 

[maxmayhem]

I also have a level 2 blackhawk holster when carry a bullet chambered weapon. I am not a big fan of safeties on a gun. That is why I carry a glock I guess.

 

[Coydog]

As an Indiana gun owner, I want to encourage responsible adults to own guns to carry or not as they see fit. I don’t aim to be contentious and have no plans to launch a two-stage hissy fit complete with bells and whistles and capitalization. I will say that some of the responses so far have illustrated why Kabar thinks there is a market for bayonets for pistols.

If you are living in Indiana at the present and your life depends on your weapon, maybe you should reconsider your lifestyle. The gunfighter mind set is counterproductive in winning new converts to gun ownership. No one in his or her right mind wants to be a gunfighter.

To me, it is a civic duty to have a weapon in the kit. If you want to carry cocked and locked or leave it in the safe or carry it in one pocket and the ammo in the other or field stripped in a shoe box is all the same to me. Those who don’t own firearms and who have never carried them know their lives don’t depend on doing so. Nothing changes if they decide to join us and own firearms. They are not obliged to subscribe to the regimen or prejudice of anyone else.

Insisting that the only way that makes sense to carry an automatic pistol is with a round chambered is like saying the only way to carry a folding knife is locked open. During my two tours in Vietnam no one habitually carried their rifles cocked and locked. Few carried their 1911s that way either unless it was mission specific. We didn’t live on red alert 24/7 and neither does anyone for very long. Drop the cool Tom Foolery and lighten up.

 

[dom1104]

Hey Guys, I would suggest cutting the guy a break

Its a stage some gun owners go thru, they are afraid of their guns, and think they will shoot theselves, so they become proponents of not carrying one in the chamber.

They also think 1911s are dangerous, and like DA/SA pistols.

Eventually, he will come around and realize, but it wont be thru us telling him.

He is more afraid of himself, then the attacker. Thats a good thing, it means we live in a largely safe society.

Me? I live my life "As a gun fighter" and so far havent shot myself... in fact I carry with a 1911 Appendix style, pointed right at two arteries and my wedding tackle... so it doesnt get much more "Dangerous" than that

Yet, here I sit, unharmed.

 

[mrjarrell]

If I actually had guns and carried them, I'd certainly carry my .45 with one in the chamber, "gun fighter" style. With my safety on. Anything else would cost me time in an emergency and my life, (as well as that of my family members) would be at risk. Racking a round may look cool in the movies, but in the real world it's just something that complicates matters in an emergency.

 

[Sylvain]

I think you NEED to have a round is the chamber.If you are in a situation where you cant use your second hand to rack the slide and load a round in the chamber then you are in a very bad situation and your gun can just be used as a hammer.

1)In a defensive situation you may need to use your weak hand to push someone (kids, wife ...) away from the threat while you draw your gun and shoot at the same time.
2) You may be injured before you can draw your gun.If you use your weak hand to protect yourself from a knife attack and get badly cut you wont be able to use that hand to rack the slide.Unless you can rack it with your teeth your gun is going to be useless.

If you know how to keep your finger off the trigger when you handle your gun it shouldnt a problem to have one in the chamber.
And most modern firearms have a "drop safety" design so they wont fire even if you drop your gun on the ground with one round in the chamber.

If you have a good finger trigger disciplime its 100% safe.
If you are not here yet carry chamber empty until you feel 100% ready to carry with a round in the chamber.

 

[USMC_0311]

I carry with one chambered. No external safety, just draw, aim, squeeze.
True story long time ago, now its only one experience but it is mine. On liberty in Jacksonville, FL partying the only way Marines know how. Before going into bar I disarm, unload and locked my 1911 in the glove box. Towards the end of the night a couple of guys start harassing me and a buddy. Now I did the cool thing (I was the designated driver) we just left. On the way home stop for breakfast, find out a few minutes later we had been followed. Still trying to avoid trouble I called the police, while on the phone my buddy went out to the car to get a pack of smokes (his story). I watched from the restaurant 2 guys beating on him. When I ran out there they were not beating him but stabbing him. They come at me and there I was no weapon. I was lucky; I got to my car before they got to me. Not enough time to load it though. I was convincing enough they dropped the knife and dropped to the ground. What really convinced them was the hammer going home, click. I just said that was the safety you won't hear the next click.
Hind site I was lucky. Never again will I be caught like that. I wish more people could learn things the easy way and not have to go through it to be a believer. No we do not live in a war zone but it could turn into one well before you rack a slide, dig the bullet out of your pocket or whatever.

 

[dweezil]

If money is tight and you want to keep a handgun out of little hands - Harbor Freight has a cheap safe with a keypad for quick access.

9" x 6" x 6" Digital Safe