Rob Pincus - Empty Chamber Carry

[edporch]

The ONLY time I ever carry without a round in the chamber is in the very LIMITED instance I carry my Glock 27 in my pocket without a holster.

This because I want to reduce to a minimum the chance that anybody will know I'm carrying.

 

[DustyDawg48]

When i first started carrying it felt like I had an unchained pit bull on my side just ready to leap off and reek havoc. Once I came to understand just how a modern weapon functions it became easier to come to grips with carrying a hot weapon.

The big deciding factor, and my only real self-defense encounter in decades, happened while I was on my normal neighborhood walk. No boogieman or zombies, just a good size dog charging me from behind it's owners bushes. Once I heard it coming and turned to face it, I reached for the gun ready for the inevitable but the electric shock collar and invisible fence stopped it. That got me to thinking of exactly how the hell would I ever have had the time or the opportunity to draw the gun and get a round in there while being chewed on by something as common as 50-75 lb dog? I kept thinking about that during the next few laps around the block and when I got home I decided that it was time to take off the training wheels and carry the way the weapon was intended to be carried.

Investing in a quality holster made from quality materials with possibly some sort of active retention if you like that sort of thing goes a longer way in keeping the chances of a ND down than an empty chamber carry.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

If you aren't comfortable carrying with one in the chamber, why not carry a revolver? Leave the chamber under the hammer empty, the gun still goes bang when you pull the trigger the first time, and you can still do everything you want to do one handed.

If something pulls the trigger while its in your holster with enough force to fire an uncocked revolver, the fault is yours in selecting a terrible holster.

 

[netsecurity]

If you aren't comfortable carrying one in the chamber, then buy a pistol with a safety, then put one in the chamber while the safety is on. Or with a DA/SA you can even decock it, and turn the safety off, which is basically the same as a revolver (double action).

I definitely prefer having the safety on when loading/unloading or holstering/unholstering. That's why I like guns with safeties best, whether they are DA/SA or DAO.

 

[JettaKnight]

No round in the chamber makes for an interesting wrestling match in a close-in fight.
But if someone wants to carry that way, for whatever reason, it's their business. Better than not carrying.

Nope. Because in that situation you'll draw your firearm about the same time you attacker reaches you. Instead of defending yourself, you'll be futzing with your slide. I'd argue, condition butterscotch is better because then you'll know you can't use your firearm and will instead run, punch or stab.

Carrying with an empty chamber is only marginally better than carrying a gun where your buddy secretly replaced the cartridges with snapcaps.

 

[Noway Jose]

The ONLY time I ever carry without a round in the chamber is in the very LIMITED instance I carry my Glock 27 in my pocket without a holster.

This because I want to reduce to a minimum the chance that anybody will know I'm carrying.

Please get a pocket holster. They're really cheap so there isn't a reason to not have one.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

If you aren't comfortable carrying one in the chamber, then buy a pistol with a safety, then put one in the chamber while the safety is on. Or with a DA/SA you can even decock it, and turn the safety off, which is basically the same as a revolver (double action).

Not the same. You still have a live round under the hammer, which is what carrying without one in the chamber is avoiding. With a revolver there is no cartridge lined up with the barrel or under the hammer, period.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Carrying with one in the chamber is the only way to go. I mean, you really can't be too ready and we all should be constantly striving for ways to shave milliseconds off of our draw and shoot and to make sure we're ready for any kind of threat. I've tried different holsters and practiced my draw in front of the mirror for hours looking for ways to improve my technique. In the end, I decided that I needed to think completely outside the box if I was going to be ready for anything.

Every morning before I leave my house, I take my gun in my hand, loaded, with one in the pipe. Then I wrap the hand gripping the gun with tactical duct tape (tactical duct tape is just like regular duct tape, except it's black and it costs 29.99 a roll at the gun store) that way, nobody's going to wrestle my gun away.

Now, I'm still a CC guy, so I keep my gun hand in my pocket. I've had to have all my pants altered to enlarge the pocket on the right side, but my draw speed is awesome. And once I get used to doing things with my left hand only, life will be great.

 

[edporch]

Quote:
Originally Posted by edporch
The ONLY time I ever carry without a round in the chamber is in the very LIMITED instance I carry my Glock 27 in my pocket without a holster.

This because I want to reduce to a minimum the chance that anybody will know I'm carrying.

Please get a pocket holster. They're really cheap so there isn't a reason to not have one.

I RARELY carry my Glock 27 like this without a round chambered once or twice a year or less.
For example, I can think of only one time I did this last year, and 0 times this year so far.
Any kind of holster will add enough bulk to my pocket that it will defeat the purpose.

 

[Double T]

If no round in the chamber is how you want to carry because that works for you, great.
Just don't chamber a round near me like this, and we'll get along fine.

Then mark it zero...

 

[lrahm]

Question ... How many people after seeing this says this looks great and decides to practice this and adopt this for their needs. In reality, most people will revert to their original training in a stressful situation.

 

[esrice]

In reality, most people will revert to their original training in a stressful situation.

Not exactly-- they'll revert to their level of mastered training.

I really hope I don't revert back to NRA Basic level under stress.

 

[AJBB87]

Then mark it zero...

"I am the walrus"

 

[wrez]

5 or 6

rather carry my revover with 5 and not need to worry. I f I can't hit in first three more practice is needed.

 

[lrahm]

Not exactly-- they'll revert to their level of mastered training.

I really hope I don't revert back to NRA Basic level under stress.

It might be "mastered training" but they will revert back to their original training. This type of training is a sample of "fine motorskills". It takes too many steps to solve the problem. Under pressure, "gross motor skills" are the best.

If you had to pull your weapon, think about chambering a round, acquire a sight picture vs. pull your weapon and point ... which appears to be the easiest under stress?

 

[Spike_351]

rather carry my revover with 5 and not need to worry. I f I can't hit in first three more practice is needed.

what about multiple attackers at different angles, or crack/meth heads.....those guys apparently feel no pain when there jacked up on that stuff. True story that happened not to long ago in crothersville, a guy was shot in the head with a .38 and lived.....he was able to tell the police his side of the story while waiting on am ambulance.

 

[the1kidd03]

what about multiple attackers at different angles, or crack/meth heads.....those guys apparently feel no pain when there jacked up on that stuff. True story that happened not to long ago in crothersville, a guy was shot in the head with a .38 and lived.....he was able to tell the police his side of the story while waiting on am ambulance.

Well, traumatic injury rarely results in immediate pain, per say. The body recognizes the sincerity of the injury immediately and dumps certain chemicals such as adrenaline into your blood stream to help you deal with it and ultimately not feel nearly as much pain. Realistically, it's not painful at all compared to what you would expect until those chemical cocktails fade off. Then the pain REALLY sets in.

Also, the head shot is not necessarily the proverbial "one shot stop all" that hollywood, television, and some trainers would have you believe. To achieve such a result there are specific regions of the brain which must be hit and ultimately those regions are rather "deeply buried" and protected inside the head. At least, if the target is facing you. Also they are relatively small portions of the brain when compared to the size of the rest of it and/or the cranium. From the back, these areas (cerebellum and medulla) are much easier to hit which is why professional killers such as for crime families utilize the .22 point blank from behind with a suppressor at a slightly upward angle. Direct, quiet, effective. Ultimately the area in the brain to target is maybe only about 10% of the mass inside the skull, so simply shooting in the head often isn't as effective as people believe.

Also, from the shootings I've seen personally the .38 is NOT the caliber I would trust to get the job done. In one instance a dog was shot at point blank directly into the spine in the neck. Not only did the dog live, but the round did not even sever his spine and only penetrated about 1" or so before being stopped by the spine.