Do you carry with a round chambered?

[Dragnut06]

yup i carry chambered. my buddy asked to see my glock the other day so i dropped the mag out and unchambered my gun and handed it to him and he was like why do u carry it with one in the chamber "y not waist time i may not have" his reply: "u cant cock it back it takes an 8th of a sec" me:" yea 8th of a sec i might not have to waist" he said the say thing about my shotgun i keep next to the bed only thing with that is its not chambered just loaded.

 

[rhino]

Having said that, the Isreali's (spelling?) are famous for carry ALL weapons with a loaded mag insterted but emtpy chamber. They have their own reasons for it, and let's face it, they do know a thing or two about shooting.

According to people I know who have cross trained with and trained Israeli military and police personnel, that's not the case anymore, at least for pistols among the real "shooters." I'm sure some still do it, but certainly not all. The historical reasons for adopting the policy of empty chamber carry for pistols are no longer pertinent, whereas the realities of having your pistol loaded (which means a round in the chamber) are far more compelling.

 

[G McBride]

A second can be very short when you are faced with a serious threat. An empty chamber is like carrying your bullet in your pocket on a revolver.

 

[indyjoe]

yup i carry chambered. my buddy asked to see my glock the other day so i dropped the mag out and unchambered my gun and handed it to him and he was like why do u carry it with one in the chamber "y not waist time i may not have" his reply: "u cant cock it back it takes an 8th of a sec" me:" yea 8th of a sec i might not have to waist" he said the say thing about my shotgun i keep next to the bed only thing with that is its not chambered just loaded.

To me it is not about if I will have enough time, it is if I will be able to at all. I can easily see a situation where my weak side arm is required to fend of an attack as I draw and shoot into the threat with my strong side arm. If a round was not chambered, I would have to try to rack the slide like a one arm drill. That would not be a good situation.

 

[Mike Elzinga]

I didnt read the whole thread though I did sift through it. All I wish to add is something for those that feel "it only takes a half second" to charge the chamber. Take a shot timer and do a side by side comparision. Check your draw times against your draw, load and shoot times. I think you will be shocked at how much longer it takes you. Remember anyone closer than 21ft will likely punch you before you get a gun drawn. Now decide how much that extra "half second" is worth.

 

[Sailor]

Probably the most important aspect of carrying a handgun is to practice, whatever your carry preference. It's a fact that, in a stress situation, you will do whatever you have practiced. Right or wrong, regardless of what you think sitting there at your keyboard, in a real honest-to-God gunfight, you will do what you're conditioned to do. That's also the reason I always carry the same gun.

Exactly, if you are going to carry it unloaded, then you should always practice that way.

Things dont happen like the scenarios in our minds make up.

A better option is some professional training, and a good holster.

 

[Sailor]

From another forum

I would ask the folks who carry unloaded what they are more afraid of- A. their poor gunhandling and their lack of a grasp of safety funndamentals or B. the BG trying to kill them.

I would also ask why they ASSUME they will always have both hands available to LOAD the empty gun they are carrying gun once the fight is on.

I would then ask them that if the typical civilian gunfight goes about 3.5 seconds , then just how much time their extra manipulation of the gun takes out of that already limited time frame.

Carry your freakin' gun, keep it freakin' loaded.
I don't even carry a gun. If I were to get mugged, I would make an appointment to meet them back here in a couple of hours so I could go home to my safe and get a pistol. After all, guns are dangerous...
Seriously, it's almost 2008. Why are we still having this debate.

An "Unloaded" gun is not safer. It should still be treated as if it is loaded so what would you do with it that you wouldn't do with a loaded gun? Nothing. So, why is it safer? It isn't.

People manage to shoot themselves (and others) with "unloaded" guns all the time.

 

[dburkhead]

After getting my LTCH, the first day, I carried magazine loaded, no round in chamber, but from day 2 switched to round in chamber, "cocked and locked". Between the grip safety and thumb safety that both blocks the firing pin and blocks the sear, I'm comfortable with the safety.

As for kids: the gun is either on my person, in arms reach and visible to me (might take it out of the holster and set it next to me when I'm sitting), or in the safe.

 

[SavageEagle]

Alright I tell you people what. Give me some place where I can practice drawing and shooting and somewhere I can get comfy testing my gun so that I KNOW it's ok to carry one in the chamber then I will have no problems at all.

Also, where can I find statistics proving that most civilian gunfights last no more than 3.5 seconds on average? Where can I find stats proving it's stupid to carry without one in the chamber?

 

[rhino]

Also, where can I find statistics proving that most civilian gunfights last no more than 3.5 seconds on average? Where can I find stats proving it's stupid to carry without one in the chamber?

I am unaware of any such body of evidence involving non-LEO defensive encounters. The only person who is doing a serious job of tracking and documenting non-LEO defensive shootings and gun use is Tom Givens of Rangemaster in Memphis, TN. Most of his case studies are of his own students, but if you are familiar with Memphis, you will understand why he has a sizeable number of incidents to document and analyze. You may want to contact him and ask your questions. You can find his web site by googling rangemaster+memphis.

 

[SavageEagle]

Ok, appreciate it Rhino!

 

[indyjoe]

Ok, appreciate it Rhino!

I agree with Rhino. Most documented studies are LEO. The often quotes stats are from an FBI study.

• 55% of gunfights take place 0-5 feet.
• 20% of gunfights take place in 5-10 feet.
• 20% of gunfights take place in 10-21 feet.
• 95% of gunfights take place in 0-21 feet. (Source- FBI)
• The average man can cover 21 feet of ground in 1.5 seconds.
• The average man cannot draw a gun from concealment in under 2 seconds.
• Seek and use cover. Be aware of false cover. (ie bushes - that's concealment, not cover)
• The average gunfight is over in 3-5 seconds.
• 3 to 4 shots are usually fired.
• Most gunfights take place in low light conditions.
• On average, one shot in four strikes someone.

To me you have to start with if you think carry on in the chamber is more unsafe. With a good holster and good trigger finger discipline, it is not. Next, are the advantages of carrying round chambered. There are three main places where I see an advantage.

First, speed of first shot. You might be close to the speed while racking the slide, but you will never be faster.

Second, there are many situations where one arm might be disabled.

Third, I could see a situation where stealth is important. If you are in a strange hostage situation, the sound of a racking slide could be the difference between you dying and the gunman dying. Unlikely, yes. Possible, yes.

Edit: Wow, that was ugly. Sorry about that. This site is now black listed at work and my proxy isn't quite as good as I hope.

 

[Sailor]

Alright I tell you people what. Give me some place where I can practice drawing and shooting and somewhere I can get comfy testing my gun so that I KNOW it's ok to carry one in the chamber then I will have no problems at all.

Also, where can I find statistics proving that most civilian gunfights last no more than 3.5 seconds on average? Where can I find stats proving it's stupid to carry without one in the chamber?

You can not draw and shoot at a local range?

I do a lot of dry fire practice. You can do this anywhere.

When LEO, Military, and those that train others for a living say over and over again, carry your freaking gun, and carry it loaded, I take their advice with out question.

Do you lack confidence in the gun, or your use of it?

 

[agentl074]

Exercise the way you will fight. Carry hot (most weapons have firing pin blocks) and remember that the only safety that matters is your finger

 

[Donnelly]

Ya know, after much brow-beating that SavageEagle and I have had to take, I thought about it again, and realized it is just me being too lazy to walk upstairs and lock the Glock in the safe that makes me feel like carrying without one in the chamber. My solution: put some sort of trigger lock on it that would prevent one of the kiddies (or anyone else) from being able to pull the trigger back while the Glock is downstairs and off my person. I always keep guns out of reach of the toddler (unless she is helping daddy clean a rifle), but still prefer redundant safeties, and a trigger lock on the handgun while it is downstairs and off my person would soothe my fear (plus the teenager doing something stupid and impulsive is my main worry). I have a MasterLock trigger lock (keyed version) but have not tried it yet (it is upstairs on top of the gun safe!).
So, any advise on a solid trigger lock that would prevent a Glock trigger from being pulled rearward enough to activate the firing pin? I

 

[Caleb]

Ya know, after much brow-beating that SavageEagle and I have had to take, I thought about it again, and realized it is just me being too lazy to walk upstairs and lock the Glock in the safe that makes me feel like carrying without one in the chamber. My solution: put some sort of trigger lock on it that would prevent one of the kiddies (or anyone else) from being able to pull the trigger back while the Glock is downstairs and off my person. I always keep guns out of reach of the toddler (unless she is helping daddy clean a rifle), but still prefer redundant safeties, and a trigger lock on the handgun while it is downstairs and off my person would soothe my fear (plus the teenager doing something stupid and impulsive is my main worry). I have a MasterLock trigger lock (keyed version) but have not tried it yet (it is upstairs on top of the gun safe!).
So, any advise on a solid trigger lock that would prevent a Glock trigger from being pulled rearward enough to activate the firing pin? I

trigger locks are considered by many as not very fool proof....why not just get a second hand gun safe downstairs where you can access it from any room downstairs.

 

[Donnelly]

That was my other option, and I might still go that route, but I don't currently have the handgun safe, and I do currently have a trigger lock.

 

[Sailor]

A small gun safe, that holds one gun needs no batteries, is fast to open and only you know the combo.

Compact

You are right, with kids always have the gun locked up.

 

[SavageEagle]

People frighten me who say their kids aren't allowed in their room and never go there so they don't worry about it. Lemme tell ya, it doesn't matter how trustworthy you THINK your kids are, if they want access to your gun for WHATEVER reason, they will break that threshold into your room and get it. If it's not locked up when you're not home you run that risk of them getting to it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[USMC_0311]

I let my boy (9) see my guns anytime he ask. We go to the safe and I make him get the one out he wants to see. He inspects and makes safe before giving it to me to do the same. He could not access my guns with out me being there, no way, no how. I only have one key and it is my person always. Ok..I lied I do have a back up key but I am not telling anybody where it is....lol. I have mentioned before in other post about softair guns. You can almost always find a replica of your carry gun in softair. Anywhere form 30 to 100 bucks depending. It is an excellent way to practise drawing and shooting. If you make it to Anderson, Savage Eagle you can practise in my back yard with live ammo.