ongoing argument with friend - wont' carry in chamber

[MikeDVB]

I prefer striker w/safety on, or DA/SA with hammer down (safety off) when carrying.

When I carry a striker pistol without a safety, I keep it chambered, but am just extra careful about unloading before putting it away. My pistols with safety/decockers stay loaded, and those without are only loaded when in use.

I leave my striker fired pistols loaded with one in the chamber even in the safe, but they're in Comp-Tac Infidel holsters that completely cover the trigger and retain the pistol well enough that I can hold it upside down and shake it a fair bit without it coming dislodged.

 

[LANShark42]

Bunch of hypocrites. So many of you are irate over the government wanting to control us, yet you want to control how other people carry...

Well said!!

 

[daddymikey1975]

I do not carry with one chambered. I have a 4 year old boy in the house and sometimes when I kick back after work he likes to come and jump on me. Call me what you want I do not care. I carry so I have the oppurtunity to protect myself and my family, not to put them at risk.

I carry on my hip unless I'm taking a dump, showering, or sleeping. My litle ones climb on my EDC as a step stool to rough house. I always have full mag +1 in the tube, always. My children are in no danger

for a long time my buddy refused to carry a round in the chamber of his glock but I can understand his hesitance, when he and his wife were just dating he took her to the range and she (thinking she'd be funny or something) went to take his G26 from his hip holster and wound up shooting him through the meaty part of his ass. He did wind up marrying her anyway so she must be doing something else right

Maybe, but I think your friend watches too many movies.

RabbleRouser, has your friend seen this one:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nW2QVTv250[/ame]

 

[MikeDVB]

I do not carry with one chambered. I have a 4 year old boy in the house and sometimes when I kick back after work he likes to come and jump on me. Call me what you want I do not care. I carry so I have the oppurtunity to protect myself and my family, not to put them at risk.

Carry how you want, I don't care... But I do have a question.

How, exactly, is a firearm in a proper holster and attached to your body going to allow a firearm to be discharged while holstered? I'm just trying to understand why you think it's going to go off on it's own while properly holstered?

 

[Excalibur]

A lot of people are kinda stupid when they don't have a holster for their gun and just stick it down their pants either in front, over their butts or straight into a pocket forgetting that anything going into the trigger can set it off and if it has an external thumb safety, anything in the pants can also flick the safety off and you'd get a round in your ass or straight through your balls. It's happened before.

Also as Mike just pointed out...how does a little kid stepping on your holstered gun going to set it off? Is the gun not in a holster and is just in you pants? If so, get a holster. I've fallen down hard on concrete on my weapon side and the gun never goes off. My buddy has 2 six year old boys and when I hang out with them, they would jump on me some times, but they never touch my gun. They point it out sometimes because they find it fascinating though.


I remember when I got my first handgun. For an entire day, I had it loaded by no round in the chamber. When I picked it up to put it away in the safe at night, I thought to myself...why? Then I chambered a round and kept it next to my bed. The only time my guns are unloaded are when I am storing them, cleaning them or taking them to the gun store.

 

[Darral27]

I do not have an expensive holster. I do use a holster. The gun just slides into it. If it could slide in it could also slide out. As I said before it is my choice. All you people saying "carry how you want but your stupid for doing that way" do not know me or the reasons I do what I do. It is personal preference. I do not talk down to you because you choose to do things differently than I do. There is no reason anybody should try to convince anybody else that their way is better. Do what works for you.

 

[ffsupra23]

There's no way I'd ever carry without one in chamber, in the heat of it you don't have a chance to rack one. Bad across the board

 

[baddyna96]

To each his own, but when the shtf, I want to respond as quickly as possible.

 

[Bung]

I EDC a LC9 in a waistband holster. I think it is called, appendix carry. Anyway, I don't normally carry one chambered and I have the thumb safety engaged. I have a two-year-old that won't touch the gun, I've tested him on this, but mistakes and accidents happen. I also value my balls so I'll keep the safety on, thanks.

I understand and accept the risk of SHTF and having to rack the slide because I also know that there are a lot of idiot smart-asses (and poorly disciplined children) out there that may reach for and remove the gun from the holster. I take my son to the library once a week and we are occasionally in a crowd of children, I can't watch all of them.

Once I get a full-size gun for EDC and a drop leg retention holster, I'll carry one chambered. But, for now, I feel less likely to mistakenly shoot off my tackle or get shot by some stupid kid wanting to play a joke by keeping the thumb safety on and the chamber empty.

There are occasions where I do carry a chambered round. Mostly when traveling a long distance or in parts of town where crime is high. There are other times as well, but no reason to go into that here.

There are too many examples of people accidentally discharging for me to do otherwise at this time. I don't care if you've carried one chambered with no safety for 20 years, that has no bearing on the future mistakes you can make. I have no problem with someone that wants to carry that way either so I'm not going to call you an idiot or illogical for wanting to carry that way. If it works for you, do it.

I also can't see how a safety is 'dangerous' as I've never witnessed or heard of a safety killing someone. Maybe it'll pinch you but even that would be difficult. If someone isn't comfortable carrying one the chamber or not using a gun without a safety, that doesn't mean they aren't comfortable with the gun. You have to have a great deal of comfort with a gun to be able to carry one with you in public. If you were uncomfortable, you wouldn't carry it. Someone carrying a firearm is infinitely more prepared than someone not carrying. Even an empty and openly carried gun can be a deterrent.

I don't really care how you carry, just carry.

 

[CPT Nervous]

I also can't see how a safety is 'dangerous' as I've never witnessed or heard of a safety killing someone. Maybe it'll pinch you but even that would be difficult. If someone isn't comfortable carrying one the chamber or not using a gun without a safety, that doesn't mean they aren't comfortable with the gun. You have to have a great deal of comfort with a gun to be able to carry one with you in public. If you were uncomfortable, you wouldn't carry it. Someone carrying a firearm is infinitely more prepared than someone not carrying. Even an empty and openly carried gun can be a deterrent.

It's one more part that can break or malfunction. The simpler the design, the safer. No mechanical safeties. Also, what's the point of a safety on an unloaded gun? Seems redundant to me.

 

[Smokle]

I have several friends that don't carry with 1 in the chamber, they look at me weird cause I choose to keep one in it

 

[looney2ns]

Watch some of the You tube videos of store security cameras where the store owner doesn't carry with one in the chamber. Owner loses everytime.

Can you draw your weapon, rack the slide and put 2 rounds on target in less than 2 seconds? Doubt it.

Read here: Tueller Drill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Aaron1776]

If your buddy wants to die there isn't much you can do about it. You can try doing the 21ft drill with him if he's open to being humiliated, or you can try to explain to him that bad guys who are willing to take you on when you're armed aren't going to be scared by you "racking the slide", and you can try to explain to him how a firing pin interceptor works, but until he actually starts training with a weapon (you'll never convince me that he does train if this is his attitude) he won't have the confidence to carry chambered....let alone stick it out and win, or even survive, a gunfight.

 

[Armored Saint]

It all boils down to each person's confidence with carrying the handgun. If he's not confident with having one in the chamber, then he should spend a lot of time at the range until he's comfortable with it. Just my opinion...

 

[Bung]

It's one more part that can break or malfunction. The simpler the design, the safer. No mechanical safeties. Also, what's the point of a safety on an unloaded gun? Seems redundant to me.

Is there some statistic supporting your claim or belief that safeties fail?
Who said we needed to use the safety on an unloaded gun?

If I worked in a convenience store, I would keep one chambered. That is one of the situations where I would feel safer with a chambered round as I wouldn't have to worry as much about someone walking up behind me and trying to take the gun or some curious kid making a grab for it. I would rather be overwhelmed by an attacker than have some kid grab my gun and shoot someone.

 

[sofrosune]

Is there a general consensus on which is "safer" and/or more practical: cocked w/ safety, DAO, or DA/SA decocked?

 

[CPT Nervous]

Is there some statistic supporting your claim or belief that safeties fail?
Who said we needed to use the safety on an unloaded gun?

If I worked in a convenience store, I would keep one chambered. That is one of the situations where I would feel safer with a chambered round as I wouldn't have to worry as much about someone walking up behind me and trying to take the gun or some curious kid making a grab for it. I would rather be overwhelmed by an attacker than have some kid grab my gun and shoot someone.

There doesn't need to be. I won't carry anything with a safety, because I see it as an addition step, an additional part, an additional obstacle.

If someone tries to grab my Glock from the holster, they either get knifed in the arm and face, or shot with the BUG (also chambered, no safety, if you were wondering).

A South Bend officer was asking me about the Ka-Bar TDI I carry. He told me he had a guy try to grab his gun, and he didn't have a knife to stop him. He told me if he had had a knife like that on him, the guy wouldn't be alive today.

It is unlikely that someone would grab your gun. To carry empty because of that, is foolish.

I'll tell you what. I offer this to anyone carrying with an empty chamber. You get in your vehicle, no seat belt. Drive at 80 MPH at a tree, and when you're 30 feet away, put your seat belt on. That's what you're doing anyway.

 

[CPT Nervous]

Is there a general consensus on which is "safer" and/or more practical: cocked w/ safety, DAO, or DA/SA decocked?

DAO or DA/SA. Double action is more practical.

 

[Tinner666]

Is there a general consensus on which is "safer" and/or more practical: cocked w/ safety, DAO, or DA/SA decocked?

Consensus? Just like opinions I believe. It'll vary all over the board.

I do believe it comes down to confidence, pure and simple. I've carried something since i was about 10. In the military, my 45 was cocked and locked. I even carried my Colt Officer's that way.
Point is, I KNOW I might have to be in action in less than a second. Things go down really fast in reality.

 

[Somemedic]

We hate for anyone to tell us if we can have guns or not but we get hung up about who open carries or conceals or if there's one in the chamber or if its a glock...

Really need to make sure if you're stuff is wired tight and not worry about the other guy.