Chambered or Not Chambered.

[AmnChode]

I've had my CHL for over a year now, and have always wondered about this. Personally, I do not pack with a chambered round, I just don't feel safe. I know it takes seconds away from any situation, but that's a chance I feel I must take.

Please tell me your thoughts. Thanks.

So you carry a small chunk of metal for striking a person?

I'd like to think of it as a small club with a pistol grip.

But on a serious note, I would never consider carrying in any other condition than condition 1.

[austin]

If you are concerned about the sole safety, then get a 1911 style pistol that has a manual safety.

You should still train yourself to draw and hold the pistol with your trigger finger along the slide.

[pbandjelly]

If you are concerned about the sole safety, then get a 1911 style pistol that has a manual safety.

You should still train yourself to draw and hold the pistol with your trigger finger along the slide.

or better yet, a Beretta 92

[Will938]

I carry a Sig Sauer P228. No external safety. Do I fear something snagging the trigger? Absolutely, which is why I always keep it in a holster.

So then chamber a round, keep it in a holster, and stay paranoid.

[flintknapper]

I can't imagine carrying a gun with no round in the chamber.....I know a lot of people do it and I never understood it. I always think of it as carrying a knife with no point.

Does seem kinda "pointless".

[Photoman]

I've had my CHL for over a year now, and have always wondered about this. Personally, I do not pack with a chambered round, I just don't feel safe. I know it takes seconds away from any situation, but that's a chance I feel I must take.

Please tell me your thoughts. Thanks.

Please reconsider your mode of carry or use a different type of handgun.

[Greybeard]

Quote: "The only thing worse is if they do not know how to clear the jam either."

Yep, had lady (another instructor's student) chase me down via cell phone a few years back. For "safety" purposes she always carried .380 in Condition 3. She was at range alone (trying to shoot 50 rounds over her lunch hour) with slide locked on a FTF and uanble to get magazine out. She was so so distraught over her circumstances that I left my deli lunch early to show her how to do a three-handed job with two hands and a bench. Thereafter, she decided that, yes, the thing needed to be carried in a useable condition.

[Photoman]

Yep, had lady (another instructor's student) chase me down via cell phone a few years back. For "safety" purposes she always carried .380 in Condition 3. She was at range alone (trying to shoot 50 rounds over her lunch hour) with slide locked on a FTF and uanble to get magazine out. She was so so distraught over her circumstances that I left my deli lunch early to show her how to do a three-handed job with two hands and a bench. Thereafter, she decided that, yes, the thing needed to be carried in a useable condition.

I was hoping she would have decided to carry a quality, double-action revolver.

[Greybeard]

"a quality, double-action revolver"

Had one on my ankle at the time and shared the same thought. Unfortunately, some sentimental attachment to the trot line weight, a real thin budget and "other prioities". I was at least glad to see she was attempting to get in some trigger time - which is more than many of 'em do.

[The Marshal]

The key is to practice drawing with your finger OFF the trigger. I find various features on the pistols to put my fingertip on - slide stop for the 1911, takedown gadget on the Glock. Whenever I'm holding a handgun, my finger is like that - on the takedown, resting on the trigger guard, on the slide stop, depending on the model of gun. My finger only goes into the trigger guard when I want to squeeze that trigger (range practice, dry-fire, etc).

It takes a fraction of a second and one hand to move your finger into the trigger guard and slap that first shot off. It takes several seconds and both hands to rack the slide and then fire. Frankly, once the gun is in my hand, the Glock is NO LESS SAFE than my 1911, because I'm in the habit of sweeping the manual safety off as I draw and holding it down the entire time I'm shooting. Effectively, that safety doesn't exist while I'm holding the pistol.

I believe that Thane really has a nugget for you here.
Get in the habit of indexing your trigger finger on the slide/frame above the trigger guard. It is a natural, comfortable postition, and you can move to the trigger from there faster than you can think about it.
After lots of forced repetition, you will get that 'muscle memory' in your trigger hand. If you *know* that your finger is not on the trigger, nor will gravitate to it unconsciously, your confidence will go WAY up. A gun can't shoot unless something is pulling the trigger. Eliminate that problem, and then you can carry Cocked & Locked all the time without second thought.

Also for myself, both with my 1911 and my XD, I carried it "unloaded" until I was comfortable on the draw, reholster, and general moving around that a) my finger did not touch the trigger and b) the safety (1911) did not drop.

One last opinion. A firearm on your side with a full mag and empty chamber is definitely better than a Cocked & Locked pistol in your gunsafe. Get used to carrying it around. Get comfortable, and then when you're sure of yourself then load that barrel.

~Bill

[DSARGE]

I always carried a Glock or a revolver until I was blessed with a 1911 GI .45. I felt very uncomfortable carrying cocked and locked until I took it to the range one day. I chambered a round and put on the safety. I tried every way to make it go off, and this made me realize that it was "technically" safer than my glock as far as what you had to do to make it fire. I feel more unsafe with a round NOT chambered in my carry piece.

[Greybeard]

Quote: "One last opinion. A firearm on your side with a full mag and empty chamber is definitely better than a Cocked & Locked pistol in your gunsafe. Get used to carrying it around. Get comfortable, and then when you're sure of yourself then load that barrel. "

Excellent summation.

[govnor]

You need to go buy some snap caps. They're basically dummy rounds with a spring in them made for dry firing. Cock and lock then practice your draw with one of them loaded, that way no accidents. Around here you can buy them at Bass Pro.

I've got a couple of friends that are scared to carry with a round chambered, but from the research I've done, it's better to carry it ready to go. I've got an XD .40 and a Glock 26 for carrying purposes. If you're not willing to carry with a round chambered, which you might not be, I suggest a revolver. I'm not being smug either...a revolver has to have the trigger pulled pretty hard to go off and otherwise it feels pretty safe in your pocket. I like revolvers personally and you can fit some pretty big rounds in a snub nose...

[Thane]

I like revolvers personally and you can fit some pretty big rounds in a snub nose...

Hmm... sounds like as good an argument for a Charter Arms Bulldog as any.
I just wish I could find a used one around here (plenty of new, but no one seems to part with that particular Charter Arms model, and I don't want to pay "new" price). Five rounds of .44 Special in a pocket revolver...

...not that I really need one. But a .44-caliber pocket wheelgun just has a certain "coolness" factor to it.

[ELB]

player-twister,

If you need any more encouragement, add me to the chorus of "keep a round chambered," and "cocked and locked with a quality gun is perfectly fine."

If you are uncomfortable with any aspect of your self-defense skills, go get some quality training. Heck, even if you ARE comfortable with everything, go get some anyway.

I personally went with Farnam's courses (http://www.defense-training.com/) with my cocked and locked Hi Power, and found the courses to be excellent, and I thought quite reasonable on price ($400 at the location I went to). I wrote them up in the Advanced Training section of this forum. There are other good trainers of course, but the only one I have experience with is John Farnam (and his wife Vickie, who is also an excellent firearms instructor). They come to Victoria, Texas every March and October.

Good luck.

elb