Carry with one in the chamber

[380guy]

I think the best idea would be, leave the house, one in the chamber, come home, empty chamber. I just cant see a situation where I have locked doors and loud breaking windows, where I wont have enough time to rack the slide.. I mean it takes a 10th of a second. Out on the street, if something happens, you could have NO warning. so one in the pipe...

Ideas??

This is my thoughts exactly, just have to be aware of where you left it.

 

[chezuki]

I think the best idea would be, leave the house, one in the chamber, come home, empty chamber. I just cant see a situation where I have locked doors and loud breaking windows, where I wont have enough time to rack the slide.. I mean it takes a 10th of a second. Out on the street, if something happens, you could have NO warning. so one in the pipe...

Ideas??

Personally, I see no point in carrying a gun that isn't ready for action. With that said, however you choose to carry, do so consistently and train accordingly. Either keep it chambered or don't, but going back and forth causes unnecessary "coonfingering" (KF®) and increases your chances of a N/D. It also leaves you with the potential to be uncertain of the condition of your firearm when you need it most.

 

[danielson]

This is my thoughts exactly, just have to be aware of where you left it.

???
left it?
I carry the whole time im at home. I know right where it is.

 

[JetGirl]

so i like having a gun around me at all times

i get up and go the other room to take a deuce or just to do whatever i dunno

obviously its my responsibility to ensure she cant mess with it, but sweat pants arent easy to keep a gun on the hip?

Sooo....am I understanding this right? You have this gun "around you", but not "on you". You keep it loaded (sometimes chambered sometimes not). When you leave the room for whatever reason, you leave your gun??
Even if you're wearing sweats, what's the reason you are not taking it with you (keeping it in your immediate supervision)??

 

[45fan]

If you like wearing sweat pants, and cant keep the gun on your person otherwise, go to Wally World, or Dicks, and pick up one of the cheap airsoft shoulder rigs. not the best thing out there, but it will carry a pistol securely, and not be dependent on a belt. That, or you could juts pony up for a real shoulder rig, and then you will have another carry option no matter what the situation..

 

[jgreiner]

I too, have a G23. I almost always carry it Condition 3 (full mag, empty chamber). My 1911 Compact EDC gun is ALWAYS Condition 1 (round chambered, @ full cock w/safety engaged). My youngest kid is 17 though, and she's shot enough to understand how to treat handguns. It was different when mine were younger like yours and most everything was kept C3.

^^^^^This^^^^^ My M&P does not have the thumb safety, so I was never very comfortable carrying with one in the chamber. Now with my 1911, I carry it cocked and locked, and have zero qualms doing so.

If I was to do it over again, I would have gotten an M&P WITH the thumb safety. I am still looking at getting a M&P 9c some time with one. Giving up my 1911 will be tough though.

 

[Grizhicks]

^^^^^This^^^^^ My M&P does not have the thumb safety, so I was never very comfortable carrying with one in the chamber. Now with my 1911, I carry it cocked and locked, and have zero qualms doing so.

If I was to do it over again, I would have gotten an M&P WITH the thumb safety. I am still looking at getting a M&P 9c some time with one. Giving up my 1911 will be tough though.

While the M&P-9c is a real nice gun, I would not give up your 1911 for one (not if it is the Se in your avatar). Try to figure out some way to keep the 1911 and get the 9c as a 'bug' or summer carry. Just my ..... Grizhicks

 

[LarryC]

Well I've carried for several years and have handled and shot firearms for over 50 years. I normally carry condition 3. I have a Colt Double Eagle 45 ACP. For those not familiar with this weapon, it is a single/double action full size 45 - similar to the 1911, except the ONLY safety is a de-cocker. When de-cocked and a cartridge in the tube, all that is necessary to fire is to pull the trigger. Yeah, I've heard all the Bull about "must carry with one in the barrel or its worthless". In my opinion that advice is worthless. I can draw from my inside the belt Uncle Mike holster and chamber a round while I am sighting in and verifying that what I intend to do is correct (not shooting a family member or non-threat). I have Zero safeties to release - nothing to look at - just chamber and fire. I am far more concerned about the safety of my Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren than being concerned about having an extra 700 milliseconds of response time facing a threat. As one post mentioned in 99% of the cases where you will need to fire your weapon (hope none ever happens to me in my lifetime), you have some warning. Someone breaking a window, rattling a door etc.. With all the odds - 1) Someone breaking into your home, while you are there, awake and in possession of your weapon AND you not hearing something. (quite low) and if that happened the odds of you even being able to draw your weapon before being shot or attacked! or 2) An inquisitive child finding and playing with your firearm with a round in the chamber - extremely high chance of someone being hurt or killed (much more likely scenario). I'll take my chances with condition 3. I do chamber a round when I am driving in a questionable area or I see anything that may be or become a threat. I then clear the round before entering my home. If I forget that a round is chambered in a situation where I need my weapon, it will only cost me one of the 8 rounds in the magazine if I chamber another. To me the safety of my family members and friends is far more important than my own life. But with the practice I have done chambering and firing my weapon I honestly don't feel I compromise either carrying in condition 3.

 

[cosermann]

SO, racking the slide, takes longer than unlocking a box???

Im not trying to be an *******, though I seem to project that image constantly.

But you make it seem like things happen THAT fast, that I SHOULD always have a round in the chamber, but then say to buy a lockbox....

Im lost.

First option is CARRY IT.

Second option is lock box. This is not preferred, but if there are extended times when it's not on you it has to be somewhere.

Leaving it "laying around" is almost never a good option if/when unauthorized individuals may access it. This varies a bit by family situation.

Does that help?

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

While I respect the opinions and experience of those of you who have posted before me I have one major issue with several of you that I could not get past. Consistency. If your training is not consistent then what is that going to do to your actions when/if the time comes that you have to draw your weapon? Hesitation, confusion? If you carry with one in the pipe but train to rack a round what is the point of one in the pipe when your muscle memory takes over and you eject it? Let's pretend you are new to carrying and you haven't yet mastered the motions, do you take a moment to think about which condition you are carrying in? Can you afford that moment?

No one can know how they will react to an extreme situation until they have been through it. The only thing we can all do is train and be confident in the fact that when the time comes, we will default to our highest level of mastery in our training.

I made my EDC choice based on consistency. My P250's DAO trigger allows me to carry condition 2 with no safeties to disengage. I will not risk a moment of hesitation or confusion when my life or the well being of my family is at risk. OP, whichever route you decide to go with, make sure you stick with it and train with it until you are sick of training with it...and then train some more.

 

[cosermann]

... Yeah, I've heard all the Bull about "must carry with one in the barrel or its worthless". In my opinion that advice is worthless. I can draw from my inside the belt Uncle Mike holster and chamber a round while I am sighting in ... I am far more concerned about the safety of my Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren than being concerned about having an extra 700 milliseconds of response time ... As one post mentioned in 99% of the cases where you will need to fire your weapon (hope none ever happens to me in my lifetime), you have some warning. ...

Whatever floats your boat. We all do personal risk assessments (whether we realize it or not) and do things in such a way that we're comfortable given our own personal risk tolerance.

I will simply say that experience shows that carrying a handgun that is ready to use is not "bull." A recent example from a first-hand post on INGO was shared as well as a video. Those are just a couple of samples. Many people are dead because of such an approach.

Under the stress of a life/death situation the manipulation of so-called active safeties and slides are more prone to be fumbled. This is correlated a bit with level of training and level of stress. All one has to do is participate in or watch some practical handgun competition. Fumbling of such things is not rare - and this is only under the stress of competition, not a life/death struggle.

Most handgun confrontations happen from within arms reach to 8' or so. Consequently, there simply isn't much time to react. 700 miliseconds (even if accurate) is almost 1 whole second. One second is 2/3 the time you might have as determined by the Tueller Drill (and that's 21').

There are things one can do to buy time. Awareness and avoidance are good. One can have additional layers of security at home; alarm systems, dogs, etc. All these things are good too.

Safety is always the primary concern of course. That's what the 4 rules are for. Follow them and there are no accidents, yet one's firearm is ready to do its job when called upon. Note that none of the rules say anything about an empty chamber. Carrying without a round chambered does not make one's gun worthless, but it does significantly diminish it's value in many situations.

It's important to have a realistic conception of how such situations actually occur from statistics, history, and experience. TV, movies, fantasy, and imagination are poor sources of information.

Just trying to get folks to think about things in a way they may not have before.

 

[seldon14]

Luckily there is an easy solution to this one. WEAR REAL PANTS.

 

[cbhausen]

A ThunderWear or SmartCarry holster works with sweats or athletic shorts, just another carry option to consider.

 

[Beau]

Keep it in a holster and take it with your when you go into another room.

 

[Armchair Operator]

If you choose to carry it in C3 make sure you do so for all of your guns. If you have multiple guns around you house make sure that either all of them are in C3 or in C1, when something happens you will rely on your lowest level of training and on your muscle memory. You will not have the time to wonder if you left this particular gun chambered or not, consistency is the name of the game.

In my honest opinion (in no way is this a criticism of any sort) if you make a choice to carry a firearm you should carry it C1 ready to go. Ultimate safety is your trigger discipline and control of your firearm. All mechanical safeties can fail and only relying heavily on mechanical safety might not be a best choice of action. If you don't trust yourself with carrying a loaded gun how do you think you would do in a high pressure situation?

Good holster, proper trigger discipline, training and situational awareness should be adequate for you to carry with one in the chamber with confidence.

I applaud you for teaching your kids about firearms safety, every kind that grown up in a household that has guns should know how to use one and respect it.

 

[1donos]

I think it will take a lot longer to get it out of the lock box than rack the slide. So if you are concerned about having one chambered carry C3

 

[Small's]

I have a two year old in the house and i keep a few guns stashed up high with the chamber empty with a full clip. I would rather have it that way than locked up in the safe where its useless. When he gets bigger that will change. It just depends on what school of thinking you come from. Yes you will be a 1/2sec slower . Thats alot better than 30 seconds in my book. Or better yet if someone breaks in your house and wants to rape you just tell them your on your period and that you will pee on them.

 

[adws943]

Zippy,
I do not chamber either. I spent fours years as a military policeman never chambered. Train how you shoot and carry. I personally think this is safer especailly around kids.
Do what you think is best and do not give in to pressure from anyone else. Better safe than sorry.

 

[xfrostybeersx]

I too have a 6 yr old also 4 yr old both boys. I keep my M&P 40 C3 in my safe and my Taurus 709 slim (carry piece) always C1. When home both locked up but easy access to me.

 

[Car Ramrod]

Apparently none of you has ever heard of Condition: Butterscotch.

Well, it's your reaction time PLUS one's fumbling around racking the slide under stress, so it's way more than 1/10 of a second; at least 3 times that if you're aware in condition yellow (if not, then it's more time. if it's not on your belt it's yet more time. etc.).

Exactly such experiences have been posted on this very forum. A home invasion can develop much faster than most people imagine.

Edit: See posts 16 & 35 in this thread for a recent example (I don't have the energy to look up others):
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/carry_issues_and_self_defense/261926-guns_at_home-2.html

Exactly. If you are sitting on your couch, pistol in hand, then you might be able to rack the slide in .1 seconds. However, I doubt this is the case and you will need to: recognize/realize there is a threat and react to the threat (typical human reaction time is .15 to .30 seconds), locate your firearm, reach for and grab your firearm, rack the slide, eliminate the threat. This doesn't take any fumbling, inability to locate your firearm, or removing your firearm from a holster into consideration.