To chamber or not to chamber

[BDA.45]

My EDC is a Glock 26 or 19, neither of which have a manual safety which would be defined as carry condition 0, meaning round chambered, full magazine loaded, safety ( n/a on a Glock) off.....condition 3, what you are describing, empty chamber, hammer uncocked, loaded magazine in weapon.
With that said, I have been carrying a sidearm for many years, both in military service as well as a civilian.

If you are new to the CCW scene, don't rush to carry in a certain condition because someone says so. Learn to be proficient, safe and comfortable with your weapon. Take some training courses and learn to safely draw and holster your weapon from a good fitting, professional grade holster that will be comfortable to wear day in and day out. After a while you will know when the time is right to move into a different carry condition and will not feel the least bit uncomfortable wearing your sidearm....in fact, you'll feel naked without it.

This.... Also classes.... I jumped the gun on my first post of chambered. Sorry

 

[keithte]

Without doubt there will be classes in the future, until then appreciate your feedback here and will continue to read, watch video's and chat with my friends to become educated.

There is a short blurb about me in the New Member area if you are curious who the hell I am...lol

 

[Stomper]

If you're in a situation where you need your gun, you will not have time to rack a round.

This right here.

 

[oli700]

Should you chamber a round with safety on while carrying or rack a round if in a situation?

without a doubt , chambered gives you a better chance at success.
I once wondered that, took some training where I learned very quickly how very fast an average middle age instructor could close a 20-30 foot gap. Over and over, one would have to be extremely fast to , make the decision go or no go, clear all your cloths, rack the slide, sight picture, squeeze.
Even when not racking, if you are hesitant , more times than not a guy could squeeze off a round about waist high in that 20 or so foot range .
They showed us to start back peddling or side stepping on the presentation as it gives you a precious couple seconds.
When someone is bum rushing you it makes you fumble more than you would think too . I was eager to get my permission as well, funny thing happened though. As soon as I got it all I could think about was ways to avoid trouble so I wouldn't have to use it.

 

[udoggie]

Answer me this -- When's the last time you accidentally pulled the trigger without intending to do so?

If the answer is never, then a round in the chamber is no less safe.

That said though, carrying without a round in the chamber is better in my opinion than not carrying at all.

I bought a crossbreed supertuck last year, and when I did, I carried without a round in the chamber for a few weeks. After practice, practice, and more practice (with an unloaded glock, of course!), I switched right back to keeping a round in the chamber.

For what it's worth -- UD

 

[Steve M]

Your goal should be to carry chambered and ready to go, but suggesting the gun is useless to you unless chambered isn't being honest. Plenty of times the sight of a firearm has been reported to be enough to cause the bad guy to show his true colors and run away. There are also plenty of reports where the would be victim ran to another room in their home to fetch the gun that ended up saving their life. Seems to me like that could be enough time to fish out your EDC and rack the slide.

My wife is working towards getting her CHL and finding a handgun that is a good fit for her. The other day she asked me if it would be ok to carry empty for a while till she got comfortable with it, but I was able to convince her that a better idea was loaded mag and empty chamber till she got comfortable carrying. Even if you never graduated to carrying with loaded chamber, it beats peeing your pants to avoid being raped while wishing you had another option to try.

 

[jbett98]

Here's my thought on the subject.
All guns are loaded and there's always one in the chamber. Always.
A friend hands you a gun that he says is unloaded. A far as you're concerned, it's loaded.
You pick up a gun at a gun store display. It's loaded.
You find a gun in a back alley. It's loaded.
See where I'm going with this. All guns are loaded until you safe them.
If your mind is conditioned to accept that all guns are loaded, then carrying a firearm with one in the chamber is not an issue, because every time you handle it, you know that it's loaded until you physically remove the chambered round and safe the weapon.

 

[Redcap]

An unloaded gun is a crappy club. Condition 1 all the way.

 

[U201491]

Every Gun I own is loaded (magazine full) at all times and brought my kids up understanding that.
Anything I carry is chamber charged. An empty gun is a useless object until it is loaded.
A 1911 is inherently safe with multiple safetys. Train with what you choose to carry. If you feel you do not trust it, find something that you do feel comfortable with. I carried wheel guns up to about 1980 then moved to the 1911.
Have carried many other types of semi autos as well.

Just a preference I will get hammered for, carry anything except the Glock when first starting, It has a very unique trigger system and can be accident problematic until you become more in tune to carrying.
There is some great advice given here., Just listen to them and train as much as you can and you will become more comfortable.

 

[Jammer Six]

Assuming training, Glocks are fine. That's why cops use them-- it's easy to train newcomers to them.

 

[Oklahomie]

And yes more importantly classes and training, then classes and more training, then when you feel you are competent enough more training and more classes. Don't be that guy who kicks that can down the road....don't be like me.

 

[oli700]

Whatever you do, when it comes to your life and the lives of those you choose to help, don't ever depend on might, should and could.
Always operate on shall, will and do.......don't ever depend on the sound of a pump shotgun to scare bad guys and don't ever rely on the mere sight of your handgun to scare off a would be killer .....never.
Carrying a firearm is serious business, don't pull punches, if one cant accept that carry a nightstick or mace

 

[keithte]

Great advice and can see the theme here. I keep my SR9 chambered which is my home weapon, will keep my SR9c carry chambered also. Thanks again for the feedback!

What does condition 1, 2, 3 mean? Keep seeing that reference.

 

[simon99]

Great advice and can see the theme here. I keep my SR9 chambered which is my home weapon, will keep my SR9c carry chambered also. Thanks again for the feedback!

What does condition 1, 2, 3 mean? Keep seeing that reference.

Conditions of readiness:

Condition 0: round in chamber, hammer cocked, safety Off
Condition 1: round in chamber, hammer cocked, safety On
Condition 2: round in chamber, hammer uncocked
(note: all of the above include a loaded magazine in the weapon)

Condition 3: empty chamber, hammer uncocked, loaded magazine in weapon
Condition 4: empty chamber, no magazine in weapon

 

[oli700]

What does condition 1, 2, 3 mean? Keep seeing that reference.

keep in mind this applies to 1911 ownership usually, because obviously not all handguns have those features, people like to sound cool

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Again?

 

[Velzey]

Chambered! If not chambered your better off carrying a brick! And you don't need a ccw for a brick!!

 

[keithte]

Looks like I'm a condition 1 sans the hammer cocked, have a striker fire hand gun

 

[simon99]

Every Gun I own is loaded (magazine full) at all times and brought my kids up understanding that.
Anything I carry is chamber charged. An empty gun is a useless object until it is loaded.
A 1911 is inherently safe with multiple safetys. Train with what you choose to carry. If you feel you do not trust it, find something that you do feel comfortable with. I carried wheel guns up to about 1980 then moved to the 1911.
Have carried many other types of semi autos as well.

Just a preference I will get hammered for, carry anything except the Glock when first starting, It has a very unique trigger system and can be accident problematic until you become more in tune to carrying.
There is some great advice given here., Just listen to them and train as much as you can and you will become more comfortable.

I'm in 100% agreement with Taku regarding Glocks, and as I stated earlier, I carry one everyday. I never suggest a Glock for a first time EDC weapon, simply because I personally feel they take a higher level of awareness and safety that needs to be developed over time through practice, muscle memory, and trigger control and discipline.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

Again?

I know. It's the Song That Never Ends. Worse, trying to convince people that carrying a weapon that is not ready to deploy one-handed immediately is like whizzing into the wind. I won't try anymore.