Just curious...

Does anyone load a round in the chamber and then top off the mag?

I never have. These days I'm carrying either the Glock 19 or 30S with two spare mags. I just load a round and when I'm back home or done for the day I eject the round and back in the mag it goes.

Matter of fact, I've never done +1 even in my hunting rifles....

Every day; all day - at least when carrying a semi auto. Never done differently.

Always. Why anyone would do otherwise is beyond me.

Well...

With 45 and 30 rds, respectively, I figure don't really need one more!

Are you guys carrying lower capacity autos or fewer mags? Both?

Never mattered. Glock 20, even with a +2 extender and extra mags; 1911s, .380s; whatever. Always one in the pipe, always a full magazine.

Interesting...

Looks like I may be the odd man out on this....

Course, That's why I was curious!

I do the same mojo. Always loaded mag and chambered a round and left it at that.

ALWAYS! Always have and will continue to do so, you betcha!

No. I carry the mag capacity, racking the top one into the chamber, leaving the mag one short of full. Sure, the gun is designed to carry that, plus one, but why push it to its design limit when you're already talking about 17 rounds? If a system is going to fail, it's likely going to be at the outer limits of its design parameters, so why risk it needlessly?

Yep. Glock 19, Shield, LCP. Those are the three I usually carry, all with +1.

Always top off, I'm I'm a big believer in murphy of Murphys law fame..

Yes was the way I was trained!, never know when you might need that one round!

Who *doesn't* carry +1? That's a better question.

If one is going to carry this is the only question.

I don't.

Can't ever have too much ammunition, IMO.

Never heard of any gunfighters complaining about have extra ammo left after the fight was over. Just sayin'...............

MM

I have carried Colts, KImbers, Browning Hi-Powers, Glocks and now a Springfield XDS--all carried +1. Never carried a revolver with an empty chamber under the hammer, either...

I always figured if the mag can hold it i should carry it that way.

Meh, never worried about it. I load my mags, put one in the gun, and run the slide. I shoot too much to have to worry about keeping track of an extra round when I change from duty to practice ammo. As it is, I can drop the mag, cycle the slide, and put the round back in the mag. Grab the range mags, and go. When its time to go back to work, throw a duty mag, run the slide, and go to work. Easy peasy.

I was taught to carry max. capacity (+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?

I don't typically carry an extra mag, but I do carry my XDS 9MM hot and topped off.

It just seems like the natural place to keep that round when it's outside the gun is back in the mag it came out of. I'm not saying it makes perfect sense, it just bugs me if I have to put it somewhere else.

I did not know that there was any other way to carry.

I know that MCSO and Sheriff Joe's people carry +1, I did for almost 20 years.

I've used CMC Power Mags for several years, they run slick and will seat fine with 8.

Heh - glad you picked up that I meant "outside the mag". If it bugs you is reason enough, I guess.

Back in the 1980s I had an American made Walther PPk/S that would jam on firing the first round if the mag was removed and topped off. Another friend had one that did the same thing. If a full magazine was inserted and slide racked and then just carried or shot without topping off, it would 100%.

The PARA Elite 10mm I just bought has two Checkmate 9 round magazines that can not be inserted and locked home if the slide is in battery. Many 8 round .45 and 10 round .38 Super/9mm mags will do the same.

Since I also carry 5 and 6 shot revolvers having one more round in a 15 shot semi isn't something I am going to worry about. I do top off my 1911s just because I always have and they have always worked...but I don't use 1+ magazines either. 7+1 in a .45 and 9+1 in 9mm/Super.

Bob

Bob

I never carry with one in the pipe. Never.

Hell yes, no other way afaic, plus extra mags in a rear pocket.

Yup, one in the pipe, and full mag. in gun.

And spare mags pointed the way they go in the gun, works the same for either right or left handed shooters.

That wasn't the question, but if you don't have one "in the pipe," your gun isn't loaded.

Never +1, the mag provides a place to put the unchambered round, plus I dont have to drop the mag and add it. If I was that worried I would use mag extensions and have same capacity, or just get something belt fed.

Dead man's gun.

Well I was carrying this but it was tricky to conceal...

(P.S. I didn't carry it +6 either!)

Always

My Glock 22 I carry with one in the pipe and a full mag. The rest of my handguns all have round magazines.

Aye.

Okay, I'm not the only one with mag-OCD.

Typically do carry with the mag fully loaded and one in the pipe. Always felt 16 is better than 15.

I never unload at home.

At some point you've gotta decide that you have "enough".

To say that I'm safe with a 1911 carrying 8+1, but that I'm crazy for just carrying to mag capacity of 15 just doesn't make sense.

I hear what your saying

I guess my philosophy is that I've always carried full capacity no matter what I was csrrying, probably more of how we were trained

Never. Just chamber the first round and go from there. It's a pain in the arse to try to keep track of a single round.

How is it that a feller needs to keep track of that extra round often enough that it's a pain in the rear? Are you unloading and loading daily?

Yes. Chambered when I carry, condition 3 at home.

Too much manipulation for my taste.

Exactly

Get a pistol safe and stowe it loaded.

As far as the "keeping track of the single round,on the range

I've never even given it a thought. Drop my carry mags and +1 in a pouch on my range bag and start loading practice rounds

flave is that you?

Well you guys just do it your way, I'll do it my way. I dry fire practice pretty much every night, so the manipulation is gonna happen either way. Been doing it this way for 30 years, not about to change because it doesn't work for you.

Something quite like this....

Finally some sense!

That's why I asked if they carried smaller pistols...


You all have convinced me, though...to keep on doing it my way!

I certainly don't think you should change. I used to do much the same, but at some point I got uncomfortable with the daily loading/unloading. Part of the issue for me has to do with my lack of routine sleep schedule. Part of it waa I was going through more factory ammo than I cared to (since I usually tossed the chamber round in the range ammo bucket). I prefer to use a gun I am not currently carrying but has the same trigger system for routine dry-fire practice. I know that I have to practice more care than some to avoid accidents. Witness, my hand. I shouldn't have just thrown that out there with no explanation.

Mojo - nothing crazy about it. You do what is right for you.

Makes sense. I like the daily manipulation of my handguns; keeps me frosty.

I developed some habits from being a bodyguard that I can't seem to shake even though such habits really make no sense anymore. The habit of frequently swapping carry guns. I did that when I was doing EP because it wasn't uncommon that I would find myself boarding a plane in the middle of the day, having to leave my carry gun behind, then getting a loaner on the other side; and God knows what that will be.

So I always trained with as many different guns as I could get my hands on so I was proficient in the manual of arms for pretty much everything. Now it has just become habit. I kinda like the challenge at the range of someone tossing a gun in my holster and in the time it takes for me to clear leather and present, see if I can figure out which gun I'm pulling; and will I get it right and make it go bang.

These days I have 6 handguns that I swap between...doesn't make a whole lot of sense to anyone but me (and even doesn't make much sense to me), but it's a "skill" I attained at the cost of a LOT of practice, and I kinda don't want to lose it.

This question is kind of like asking if you fill your gas tank all the way up, or do you always like to leave it a few gallons short just for the heck of it.

The gun is loaded so you have to manipulate it anyway to unload before dry firing. The only downside is you have to deal with the Barney bullet. Since my clothing all has pockets, I haven't seen that as much of an issue.

The only reason I see to not go +1 is due to owning a gun that is unreliable in some way when fully loaded, or if the magazine is essentially impossible to seat when fully loaded. Other than that, I see no real persuasive argument against it, but it doesn't bother me when other people do it.

Yep.

Condition 1 with a 1911 too.

With my LW Commander, if I carry +1 I get mag rattle pretty bad. I don't get that with my 9mm or .38 Super 1911's. Happens with ACT, McCormick, or Wilson magazines. Not sure why I'm so "lucky" with that and this gun, but it is what it is.

I think you're not getting the question. I assume all of us (save one, anyway) are carrying condition one. The question relates to the magazine once condition one is arranged, i.e., topped off after racking, or leave it alone.

That setup would get ya about halfway through a set at an Okleehoma redneck bar there Mojo-music man.

I use Taurus G2 Milenium 9MM. It has a nice little safety provision in the Trigger, seperate from the Manual safety on the Frame. This supposedly will not allow the pistol to fire when dropped. I am not going to try it, but it makes sense to me, since I was always taught to keep a round in the Chamber when carrying. It might be too late to have to chamber a round in a bad situation. I don't load the maximum capacity. but just chamber the top round, leaving the mag one short. But my G2 has a 10 round mag, so that's enough for me.

Always carry fully loaded. This may not be quite so important if you are talking about a 15 round or so capacity weapon, but with a 6 or 7 round magazine, each asset has a higher degree of importance.