Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Anyone carry +1?

I'm always loaded to maximum capacity

Yep, all day, every day.

always, never thought anyone wouldn't.

^^^This^^^

I don't think anyone is talking about not carrying one in the chamber.

Only in my 642

.l..

I do with my 1911s but for some reason I just never have with any of the other semis I carry...which is rare anyway.

Bob

Well, yeah, of course.. DUH!

And I don't unload 'em at the end of the day either...just in case I gotta USE one in a helluva hurry so I don't have to waste time.

I'm just the opposite.. Load 'em to the max, I always say.. One can always wind up with an extra, but IF one needs an extra and it ain't there, yer gonna miss it - big time..

YMMV..

I almost never top off for the reasons set forth by lillysdad. I keep magazines with carry ammo constantly loaded and practice with other magazines. I don't like to keep track of the chamber round, and it is much easier to put it back in the magazine and stow the magazine.

I have found some 1911's - or maybe 1911 magazines? - function better with one less than the max capacity. Also, with some rounds - notably .460 Rowland and 10mm - if a round is chambered and not fired, it needs to be checked for possible bullet setback, which can cause dangerous over pressure. Since I hate to discard "good" ammo, I prefer not to chamber a round unless I intend to fire it. BUT - that said, if I were carrying for protection, and serious about it, and using a firearm that can be carried with a round chambered SAFELY, then yes, I would not hesitate to carry with a round loaded, but still probably one less than the maximum capacity. I have Wilson 10 round mags for my .45 1911's, by the way, as "reloads" or bedside loads, and many extra magazines..

When I was in High School, I worked as a petroleum transfer engineer. There used to be an old man who drove a Mercedes that would stop in once a week or so for a fill up.

The first time he did so, I filled his tank, and told him how much he owed.

He asked "Did you run it over the side?"

"No,sir."

"Then it ain't filled up. Run it over the side."

"Yes, sir."

From then on, I filled his tank and then ran it over. He felt like it would would give him a little extra mileage. I don't know if in reality it actually did, but it was his car.

I figure loading my pistol and topping it off might give me the extra mileage I need. Makes me feel a tad better. In reality, that one round probably means very little, but it doesn't hurt.

I wonder if he felt the same way when getting service from a fermented beverage distribution specialist?

Yes.

I have noticed, however, in the specific case of Wilson 47D .45 mags, they may say 8 rounds, but it's hard to get them to seat under a closed slide.

I thought everyone did. I do.

I carry a 12 shot .40 cal auto and I don't sweat it one way or the other. I may or may not carry a spare mag, depending on where I'm going; but there's always a spare mag in the door pocket of whatever vehicle I'm in.

I do if I can... some guns just don't like it. I have an M&P 9C that has a 12 round magazine so theoretically its a 12 +1 gun. The problem is that to seat a fully charged magazine under the closed slide is damned near impossible. You have to stand the gun up on a solid surface and lean down on top of it with considerable force to seat a fully loaded magazine. I'm not doing that. A magazine with 11 rounds seats smooth as butter. Add one extra round and its a gorilla gripping and hand slamming exercise. Does that with all four of the mags I have for that pistol. I don't fight it, 12 it is. My Glock 20 isn't quite as bad but it requires more force than I like to charge it 15 + 1. I don't fight it, 15 rounds of full house 10mm is plenty. Other guns that don't suffer the problem get fed to the limit.

Not exactly. I generally put one in the mag and chamber that. Then I fill the mag all the way. Why load that last round twice? Unless, of course, I don't have an empty mag handy to start with.

At the range, I don't bother with it. If I unload the gun, the chambered round simply gets tossed in with the range ammo. I don't unload my carry gun very often.

I don't use mag extensions or mags with non-stock followers. I don't use bargain aftermarket mags that the gun's manufacturer wouldn't use. History shows those issues to be the origin of the "don't top off" practice.

I don't top off the mag that's in the gun.

If I have to unload for some reason, I want a place to put the round from the chamber.

Consider it OCD or whatever, with a full seventeen rounder in my pocket I don't think it affects my percentages noticeably.

Why should you care if you can't store the extra round in the gun?