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

Blue good post.

I also see times when the totality of risks may favor cold carry. Something mentioned early is the "administrative handling". For those of us with kids, the risks may favor a cold chamber at home. All the extra chambering and clearing adds an element of risk. If you live in a apartment or densly populated area, this risk can be increased. Depending on a persons current risk profile, this may outweight the added benefit of a hot chamber.

Laffin' Laffin' Laffin'

Carrying hot should be a prerequisite for carrying at all. Carrying cold is a recipe for disaster in a self defense situation.


I'm not too bright, but I do have my moments. Hopefully I'm not the only one that sees this?


All other kaffirs need not apply. GFY

condition 1, but then I have been strictly a govt model carrier for 40 yrs. same weapon the whole time. I know her parts as well as I do my wife's and am comfortable handling both in the same condition.

I suppose I did miss it. My apologies. How about we substitute "modern technique" (Excuse me Col. Cooper) with "current training doctrine"? Methods and training are constantly evolving. Hopefully, they evolve due to lessons learned in the real world and not because someone dreams something up they want to tack their name onto.

One other thing to remember, is that when the Israelis were using their "method" they were carrying out assassinations and working in teams. Doing so, they were proactive and were ahead of the curve in identifying their target and initiating the action without the target's knowledge with plenty of time to make ready. Everything else about the Israeli method is due to slick marketing and urban legend.

Armed citizens and cops under the best of circumstances are reacting to someone else's initation of action.

Fair enough. I just cringe when I hear "modern technique", because it's nearly always used by some tool whose only exposure to pistol training is reading Cooper's Commentaries and who wears a ghillie suit to the range. At least IME.

And I agree that cold carry isn't a part of any current training doctrine, at least that I'm aware of.

Like I said.....

You are right, no one can accurately predict such events. There are, however, possibilities and probabilities, historical data, behavior patterns and other indicators one can use to good advantage to greatly reduce the probability of an unwanted event.

It is somewhat like hunting in reverse. When hunting you go where you think the animals are. In the case of two-legged animals though, you go where you think they will not be or at least at times where their presence isn't likely and you don't engage in behavior that either suggests you are or in fact makes you an easy target.

Like hunting, there are no guarantees. I could hunt antelope in my back yard but don't because in 25 years we've only seen antelope there once and they were passing through at a high rate of speed. Nevertheless I've killed two antelope less than a mile north of the house. (These days I find it easier and more rewarding to hunt antelope in Wyoming where the animals are plentiful and I can get multiple licenses.) Elk range to within a mile of our home but in those same 25 years we've never seen them from the house - hunting them from the back deck would likely be a fruitless endeavor but by hunting elsewhere in Colorado I've taken 10 elk since the year 2000.

When the Franktown fire occurred a couple years ago a neighbor's roof caught fire and the flames came to within 300 yards of our place. We didn't worry too much about our home because we are outside the trees and keep the grass near the house mowed down and fairly well watered, plus it is surrounded on three sides by asphalt and concrete. That's not to say our house couldn't burn from such a fire but it isn't likely, either. I worry more about burglars, which is why our valuables are locked up in a heavy-duty and very heavy gun safe and at night we have a loaded gun by the bed. Burglars aren't likely though, because our home is too exposed. Any burglar that isn't a complete half-wit would pick one of our neighbor's homes first, where the trees and/or terrain would hide their activities.

Nothing people do can guarantee they won't be a target or a victim but there is much they can do to minimize the probability of that happening.

I'm with Poobah, I carry a round in all chambers!

+1

Yes, always.
However, I knew a cop once that carried a 1911 w/ the chamber empty, and cocked and locked. Back then, most cops got shot with their own guns. He practiced regularly drawing, taking the safety off and chambering a round. I showed him how to do it one handed. For those that don't know, you turn the gun 45 degrees and slightly away from your body and hook the rear sight on your belt or holster. Holding the sight firmly hooked, you push the gun away from you. When it stops with the slide open, simply lift it free. Not a bad skill to have, BTW.
How ever one carries, I firmly believe it should only be done one way. Simple and straight forward is always best. So, it's your call.
Heck, maybe you have kids that you are concerned about. Even some adults can't chamber a round, but anybody can pull a trigger, even a DA one. So, perhaps it's a good option for those with special concerns. E

I teach security officers & failure to have the handgun with a round chambered is cause for dismissal. On rare occasions have found officers on duty who forgot to load weapon. Usually due to reporting late for shift. They are transferred immediately to non-armed sites. Any time I carry my handgun(s) off duty they are loaded with spare magazines or speed loaders. Why carry a gun that isn't ready to fire. Same with my tactical knife. Its fast opening & always at hand.

Bear, not all of us are carrying around a half of a million dollars in large bills. What makes sense for your secutrity firm may not always make sense for the rest of us.

I agree with tbear why carry if the weapon is not ready for immediate action

Blue, your story reminds of a sidearm I used to carry. The thumb safty was small, and in a difficult position. After drawing, I had to break my grip to dig under the safty with my thumb to flip it up, at which point I had to contend with a long, hard, double action trigger pull. After trying it both way, I found it was quicker, more accurate, and more reliable to carry it cold.

Also, it had a nice stiff slide that the kids could not operate.

JP

How long does it take you to run the slide versus cock it?

Time it and get back to me.

Jayco

Cock what? Try racking a slide with some one on top of you banging your head into the concrete and get back to me

Owe..So you carry with one in the pipe relying on the safety?

I don't live in an area that shooting someone is the only option.I also do not rely 100% on safety mechanisms...But in saying that,I stoke all my cylinders on revolvers just not on semi-auto's.

Break into my house and once you get through my two dogs,I could load three weapons.Put a gun in my head in a parking lot,it's to late for anything....

So that leaves us with a short warning/people wise with alot of choices and goes back to what you said..Once your already down,he must not have a gun so your going to Zimmer him?

Jayco

You jump to a lot of conclusions and as always use flawed logic as to your basis to the jumped conclusion.

You said to get back to you about getting your head banged into the concrete..Never have,so tell me about it.

First-If your getting your head bashed in,the guy doesn't have a weapon...

Second-How many times have you been in that very scenario needing a bullet in the chamber of a semi-auto while getting your head bashed in,as you posted?

Third-If you have just a few seconds while an "armed" person threatens your life...How much difference in seconds or milli-seconds does it take to run the slide versus pull the hammer back or even click the safety off.

Now time it and get back to me.

Jayco