Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Do you carry with a round in the chamber?

This is true. Also, some situations are slow developing and a person may want to anticipate the situation and do a stealth draw to be ahead of the 8 ball instead of behind it. Having to chamber is a big "tell" and gives away the advantage of surprise.

I don't ignore that fact but many of those situations are entirely avoidable, too. If I think there is a likelihood of such an event, I go to Condition One. But that has been pretty rare.

Do you smoke? Those that do, those that drink too much, text while driving or engage in any other number of activities are at far higher risk of an unwanted end than I am using Condition Three as my main carry method.

Instead of trying to defend the advisability of carrying an unloaded weapon, why not just admit that loaded guns, even those under your control, make you nervous. We'd all understand that, and no one would criticize you for it.

No I don’t smoke or drink too much and if I’m going to carry a club it will be a baseball bat. If you are so good at avoiding situations that call for a loaded weapon, then you really don’t need a handgun at all. Glad to see your crystal ball is in working order.

Chambered removes the unpredictable variable, and safety ALWAYS lies entirely at the feet of the operator, not the tool.

Being mentally prepared to use your weapon can be as important as having your weapon prepared for use. Assuming you will never use your weapon for self defense and further assuming you will probably have time to charge your weapon prior to its use is...well...not being mentally prepared to use deadly force. While it's still a free country and you are free to think how you will, and free to carry as the law allows, just know that you already have two strikes against your survival "in the unlikely event" of a deadly force encounter. Your life, your risks.

If carrying a loaded weapon made me nervous, I would never carry a revolver. But I do so frequently.

The semis I carry range from safety to no safety, safety up to safety down, SA to DA/SA to DAO, hammer to striker. Empty chamber, safety off makes them all the same. In this case, I prefer 'same' to 'different'.

It isn't carrying them loaded chamber that makes me uncomfortable, it is the recognition that in the many transitions from Condition Three to Condition One and back there is a likelihood of an AD/ND at some point in time. I've been carrying pretty much every day for 10-11 years, and intermittently for several years prior, and I don't leave my semis in Condition One when they are in the car or safe. By my calculations I've avoided around 8,000 to 10,000 thumb-slip AD/ND opportunities during that time by carrying empty chamber. I've simply made the calculation that such an incident is more likely than the chance that I'll find myself in a situation where chambering a round is not possible due to constraints of time or physical ability. If I lived in Denver I'd carry loaded chamber. When my wife and I spend the night in Denver, that's exactly what I do.

Perhaps you've never experienced such an event. Good for you. I had one with a Marlin levergun at the range, Big Brother perforated his car with one (in 30+ years of CCW for him) and I know of others that had have experienced such an incident. Carry long enough and there is a good chance it will happen to you, too.

Carry a semi-auto as it's designed to be carried, and you won't have that issue.

why on earth would i ever unload my carry gun?

Pushing forty years now of concealed carry. So far, so good. I guess carrying guns the way they're designed to be carried is pretty safe.

More evidence of the good luck charm vs. tool debate.....

Lowering the hammer on that lever gun, were you?

I'm still wondering why you think you have to make such transitions with a handgun that you are carrying. My pistols are either loaded or not. The 1911 is C&L when loaded. If I want to unload it, I drop the mag and eject the round in the chamber. Load it back up and chamber a round - safety on. The hammer can stay right where it is. Where is this transition of which you speak? Having trouble keeping your finger out of the trigger guard? DAO pistol - even easier. No safety to deal with. Trigger pull like a DA revolver (only better). What transition? Is it the DA/SA pistol that's the problem in your mind? Why not just eliminate that one from your carry practice? Is it the hammer back that scares you? There are plenty of good pistols that don't use that system and either have long revolver-like trigger pulls or redundant safeties. Personally - I'd ditch that little Beretta .25 simply on the basis of needing to thumb the hammer back from "half-cock safe".

It would make more sense to get your operating systems on a smaller map, so you can actually be ready.

BTW - I've been carrying a lot longer than you, and so have a lot of others here. I'd quit leaning on that statistic if I were you. It is meaningless.

Well, just for cleaning..

It's the only reason I unload mine - unless I'm changing ammo at the range..

There are many who believe that it's actually safer to store guns loaded, so no one ever gets the presumption of an unloaded gun. An unloaded gun is either the most worthless item there is, or the most dangerous accident waiting to happen.

+1, all my guns except hunting rifles are loaded all the time. I kind of agree that someone who carries with no round in the chamber is a bit odd, sort of like an oxymoron only different.

One in the chamber, hammer down, safety on. Use de cocker to lower hammer.. I prefer a safety, I swipe without thinking on draw. Also know how to work slide one handed if needed.

Well....DA, hammer down, safety on is a better solution than an empty chamber....how much is debatable, but definitely better.

YEP. = Unless I'm in a place where licensed carry is PROHIBITED by law, my little S&W Shield is on my belt & loaded w/one in the chamber.
(I don't "go out looking for trouble" but Darla & I are armed, in case "trouble" comes looking for us.)

As an old Colonel at USAMPS used to say, "Handguns are like parachutes. If you need either one & don't have one, you won't ever need it again."

"The Falcon" also said, "Gentlemen, it is entirely possible that you may complete your career as a peace officer, without even once needing to defend yourself with deadly force. But there may come a BAD day, when you need a pistol badly, so it is my opinion that you should always go about your day, armed & prepared for any unfortunate circumstance."

yours, tex

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?

All my carry guns have one in the pipe. Keeping your booger hook off the bang switch and holstering without obstructions creates zero ND’s.