.....The point is that many situations are slow developing. I would contend that most are, if one pays attention to their surroundings and acts accordingly.....
Does it bother you at all that you are almost completely alone in assuming that your Very Bad Day will be slow in developing, and you'll see it coming? Do you know of any qualified instructors in the free regions of the US that espouse such an idea and advise carrying with an empty chamber?
Does it bother me? Not at all.
When I go to the airport I go unarmed as I don't want to leave a weapon in the car at the parking lot, especially since I valet park. Then I spend the next few days wandering around cities in the US and other countries with, if I'm lucky, a thumb-open folding knife. (Donated another one to the TSA last week.) This is my first full week home since September, so most of the time I have no option to carry a firearm at all. When I'm out and about while at home I'm usually with my wife, who carries a .38 Ruger LCR (read "DA revolver in Condition Two"). The most likely time for a 'situation' when I'm out by myself is when I'm walking between my car and a business, which is almost always in broad daylight and very, very rarely in areas where I have a concern about getting jumped. When I do have such a concern, I go to Condition One or Two, depending on the weapon I'm carrying. (One of my semi's has no safety, making Condition One very unsafe for carry, and two have hammer-drop safeties and are thus incapable of Condition One.) As I stated in a previous post though, the times I've put a semi in Condition One in the 15-16 years I've had my carry license has been very limited - once or twice a year on average. When I carry a revolver it is in Condition Two all the time.
I can point to a large number of instances where an AD/ND occurred because a handgun was being transitioned to/from Condition One or was in Condition One and a momentary lapse in proper handling caused a discharge. I can also point to situations where firearm safeties have inadvertently moved to the "Fire" position after catching on clothing or brush and hammer-drop safeties have caused discharges when used. (My Walther PPK/s was recalled because of that problem.) I trust an empty chamber far more than I trust a mechanical safety and a light semi-auto trigger.
You cannot point to ANY instance where a firearm in Condition Three has discharged because it is physically impossible. Just sayin'.
Somehow I've lived 66 years without needing a firearm in Condition Zero, which is really the Condition of most importance. But yes, some firearm instructors do preach awareness and avoidance as a means of reducing risk - and rightfully so. If I was a city dweller, I'd probably carry Condition One all the time. But I'm not, and don't. While some people carry at home, I do not - although we have house guns (DA revolvers) that are readily available. And as I sit here at my desk my .40 Shield is an arm's length away - in Condition Three.
