Poll: Do you typically carry a round in the chamber?

[American123]

Needing to draw a firearm for self defense denotes that a seriously bad situation is already taking place. Otherwise the need to draw a firearm would not exist. People don't have a magic feeling giving them a 2 minute warning that something bad is about to happen so they can then casually draw the pistol and rack the slide in preperation to meet a foe. Because it assumes a lot that you would be able to rack the slide in time in addition to not already being injured to the point that you couldn't rack the slide effectively with two hands choosing to carry chambered is the most logical choice. Not carrying chambered and the situation may be over (not in your favor) before you have been able to respond with the firearm.

 

[cigars]

Well then there's Tex. Good times, Tex, good times.

 

[Argonaut]

But once he gets it loaded it's pretty cool to shoot.its not every day you get a chance to hold or shoot a 150 year old gunView attachment 486534 View attachment 486535

Where did you meet Charlie Wooster?

 

[L84Cabo]

Poll FAIL! There is no option for "bacon!" What kind of American are you!?

In all seriousness, if you've never seen this video, you should watch it. This man will never again make the mistake of carrying his gun unloaded...because he's dead.

And yea, a lot of times you might have time to charge your weapon. But that's no guarantee. Are you willing to bet your life and the lives of your family on this?

 

[OldBroad44]

I've had four experiences where I needed to use a gun to defend myself or others. (In all of them the assailant backed off or ran when presented with gun; no shots fired.) In two of the incidents there would have been enough time to actually load a gun from scratch and jack a slide if I had needed to. One incident, I would have had time enough to jack a slide, if needed, but not to load a gun or get one from a remote room in the house. And one of the incidents there was not even time enough to jack a slide.

For two of the incidents I had revolvers, the other two a semiauto with a round in the chamber and safety on. If carrying a semiauto, I'm strictly for carrying with one in the chamber, and using for self defense only guns safe when so carried. Racking a slide not only takes significant time, but also requires that you have both hands free or be able to rack the slide by pressing back sight against belt or something else. And that might not be possible if someone has grabbed you. And even if you have both hands free, you just may not have even the tiny fraction of a second it takes to rack a slide. And once I didn't.

 

[po18guy]

In the gravest extreme, last thing you want to do, IMO, is signal the perp that you are jacking a round in the chamber. You just gave up your position and intent. Could be pricey.

 

[nammac]

If your going to carry a sidearm without a round in the chamber, then just leave it home and carry a hammer

 

[titsonritz]

Well then there's Tex. Good times, Tex, good times.

I just can't equate some dumbass blasting himself in the leg while playing Tactical Tommy to any competent individual carrying a pistol with a round in the chamber.

 

[OldBroad44]

Not to take one side or the other, methinks one can argue that for every time someone dies or is injured by not having one in the chamber, dozens face similar fates with a negligent discharge.

That may be. But negligent discharges require negligence. So the general odds don't apply to those who handle their guns safely. What worried me much more about using a semiauto for self defense than having a round chambered was forgetting to take the safety off when I wanted to shoot. And as I spent more time with revolvers, my remembering the safeties on semiautos got less reliable. At this point I have just revolvers. Were I ever to add a semiautomatic to my self defense repertoire again, I would make it one that had the safety on the trigger or was DA/SA, not a gun that had a safety I would have to deliberately manipulate.

 

[IOM]

 

[aflineman]

About the only time I don't is when I carry a SAA style firearm

 

[bbbass]

Well then there's Tex. Good times, Tex, good times.

I got me one a them thar finger activated release holsters. They are not yet banned @ LGRPC nor at La Grande Defensive Shooters. It would seem that I know how to keep my finger where it belongs... unless we are talking about Ms. Chambers.

 

[bbbass]

If your going to carry a sidearm without a round in the chamber, then just leave it home and carry a hammer

Or rocks... a bucket of rocks... golf ball or baseball size - no matter. Nice round rocks, shiny if possible, nothing worse than being hit in the face with a dirty craggy creviced old rock.

 

[po18guy]

One consideration in this regard is that in defensive situations, you may be attacked first and thus be reacting rather than acting. Your response should be simple, quick, effective and well practiced. If you catch a round first, will you remember during that sudden disorientation to chamber a round? Assess, decide, draw, squeeze.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I firmly believe that once you decide on a particular firearm for self defense...settled in on a load , holster and such...
That you practice with it.
By this I mean :
Shooting ....both on and off the bench...in all kinds of lighting , positions , weather , when you are "100 %" or tired...etc...
Practice carrying... when at home , when going to the bathroom at home , so you know what to do , if the need arises when out and about...with different clothes...
Practice drawing your pistol from different positions...and learn / master how to re-holster your pistol...

Get to where you and your actions with your carry gun are "second nature" , make what you do with your carry gun a muscle memory.

Now any of the above will be different with the gun that you choose , just like how someone else , even if they choose the same gun and set as you , will differ in how they practice.
What is important is not what the other guy or gal does...but what you do and how it works for you.
Andy

 

[bbbass]

I hope that's just sarcasm. All else being proper, better to carry than not at all.

Not to take one side or the other, methinks one can argue that for every time someone dies or is injured by not having one in the chamber, dozens face similar fates with a negligent discharge.

I'm an amateur radio operator, so I get the "what if SHTF" POV. It's about the only reason that hobby is still viable, in spite of being rarely used for that purpose.

The only reason anyone carries is the "what if" thinking... It is called being prepared. I owe it to myself and my family. IMO a handgun w/o one in the pipe is not "prepared". You appear to have a different opinion. Not gonna try to change your mind, but there are just too many real life crimes for many of us to ignore. Safety concerns:

If you believe "one in the pipe" is unsafe, then for you it probably is. That doesn't make it so for the rest of us. I highly recommend looking up the definition of "negligent" in the term "negligent discharge". There's dumbazzery to be avoided when carrying to be sure, but good training usually overcomes this aspect.

 

[bbbass]

Were I ever to add a semiautomatic to my self defense repertoire again, I would make it one that had the safety on the trigger or was DA/SA, not a gun that had a safety I would have to deliberately manipulate.

... Me too!

Other than walks in the woods, my carry options both are "those that shall not be named".

 

[bbbass]

I got me one a them thar finger activated release holsters. They are not yet banned @ LGRPC nor at La Grande Defensive Shooters. It would seem that I know how to keep my finger where it belongs... unless we are talking about Ms. Chambers.

All action shooting training that I know of teaches to keep your finner out of the trigger guard until you are on target. Crooking your finger at the time of the draw, during the draw, or during presentation, can obviously get you into trouble no matter what holster you are using. This should apply to real life tactical situations as well. No need to shoot yourself or any bystander because of just plain old foolishness!

 

[cigars]

That may be. But negligent discharges require negligence. So the general odds don't apply to those who handle their guns safely. What worried me much more about using a semiauto for self defense than having a round chambered was forgetting to take the safety off when I wanted to shoot. And as I spent more time with revolvers, my remembering the safeties on semiautos got less reliable. At this point I have just revolvers. Were I ever to add a semiautomatic to my self defense repertoire again, I would make it one that had the safety on the trigger or was DA/SA, not a gun that had a safety I would have to deliberately manipulate.

Regarding semi autos with safeties, it depends on the individual. For those who might have been in the military, you had a lot of time to get a

All action shooting training that I know of teaches to keep your finner out of the trigger guard until you are on target. Crooking your finger at the time of the draw, during the draw, or during presentation, can obviously get you into trouble no matter what holster you are using. This should apply to real life tactical situations as well. No need to shoot yourself or any bystander because of just plain old foolishness!

Goes back to what Andy said above, be familiar with your stuff. Understanding a bit about developing muscle memory and all makes a big difference when the time calls for it.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I am one who has had to use a hand gun for self defence where I had to shoot, out side of how it makes people feel when these things happen, there is some serious take away I try and pass on to others when this topic shifts to its current track! Keep in mind here, I was in the Military when this took place, but the experience could have really been a urban city as a civilian. We were issued Beretta M-9 for many many years, a very good pistol with a lot going for it. When ever we were deployed, we would cycle a round into th e chamber and the safety was on. Once we hit the deck, the first thing you did was decock and leave the safety off so that the M-9 was in double action mode, hammer down!
My shoot happend so freaking fast that there was no time what so ever to react, no cycling a slide, no smooth draw, nothing. It was drop my long gun, draw my pistol as fast as my hand could and fire as fast as I could! It was bad breath close, and I took a round of 7.62x39 in the plate for my trouble. Point it, my body reacted instantly before my mind caught up, and all the training went out the window, and muscle memory took over and got the job done! I never saw my pistols sights, I never thumbed a safety off, and I don't know what my draw looked like, but I put 15 rounds center mass exactly where they needed to go! That's why you carry a round in the chamber, and that's why you train and train and train, because a threat can come from any direction and happen in an instant, and you have only that instant to react! If you are fumbling around with your carry piece, you have problems to solve, and you may wanna have a serious look at the piece you are carrying.
This is why I carry a 1911, I can carry in condition 1 and long before I may need to use it, I can thumb the safety off and be fully ready to go, because I train, and I know my piece and I have an awesome holster with a coverd trigger that cannot get plugged up and cause a issue during a reholster!