OR
just drive your car without a seatbelt so you are comfortable. Then you can put it on when you go to get in an accident.
OR
Jump out of a plane holding onto your parachute and put it on when you want to deploy your parachute.
If you end up having time to load a round in the chamber, the sound will alert the other person what you have and what your intensions are.
Confident gun handling is learned by training and practicing. Memorizing the Gun safety rules and applying these rules are the ideal steps in being safe with your gun.
I don’t think that’s a good analogy.
If someone is carrying without one in the chamber, it’s probably due to a lack of trust in one’s self or in the equipment (firearm, holster). So it isn’t like driving without a seatbelt and putting one on when you need it, it’s more like driving with extra seatbelts and trying to untangle yourself after an accident.
I still don’t understand why this bothers people so much. If a new gun owner purchases their first firearm and keeps it at home instead of carrying it, we don’t start screaming about how they’re going to die. Or if someone carries in a purse or bag instead of on appendix, everyone seems ok with that. But if that same person carries without one in the chamber, we write the obituary and schedule the funeral. We’re so sensitive about it that it’s forbidden to even discuss here. Perhaps I’ll get in trouble again, but I’ve never understood why- of all the different things people do with firearms- this is the one thing that sets us off.
A round in the chamber is a must. You may not have the time (or the manual dexterity under stress) to jack a round in to the chamber. There is a reason that professionals carry with a round in the chamber. And thousands (perhaps millions) carry Glocks in “condition one” every day. If you carry your gun that doesn’t have a safety in a proper holster that completely covers the trigger guard, you are as safe as possible.
Looks we are gonna have a copy of other thread here.
I really advocate having round in the chamber… but this is a personal choice. I know few people who don’t carry this way and they are still alive.
It may take time to convince yourself to keep loaded firearm on you. You need to just understand and accept the risk of having the firearm at the first place.
…
It’s not a MUST, it’s a CHOICE.
…
There are also professionals who carry WITHOUT round in the chamber.
I know I am stating the obvious, but I think it is multi-facetted:
As previously pointed out, it is noisy and attracts a lot of attention.
An alternative is to “silently” chamber a round like Antonio Banderas in the movie Desperado, but I personally have 2 pistols that jam every time if you try to do the slow silent chambering routine on them. I suggest you try it with your own carry pistol if you are thinking about this approach.
If you have one chambered and the pistol jams after the 1st shot, at least you got 1 shot instead of zero.
I personally know a couple of people that will not carry nor have a bedside gun nor a loaded gun in the safe with one in the chamber. I totally get not chambering one in the safe but have discussed the other 2 situations with them. They are not changing their mind, nor am I changing mine; and we are all fine with that.
I’m not really trying to change anyone’s mind, I just don’t understand the response this topic always gets.
If I said I keep my firearm in a vault under the drivers’ seat, or in a zipped interior pocket of my purse, or in a hidden pouch inside my chastity belt, no one would bat an eye. These all add response time. But if someone admits that they carry without a round in the chamber (as seems to happen every 6 months or so), the entire board has a meltdown.
I don’t mean to ignore the calm responses people give which explain why it’s ok to carry with one in the chamber. That’s the kind of stuff that makes this board so great. But it really seems like we beat people up over this particular issue, and I’ve never understood what makes it such a touchy subject.
It’s not just this board, it’s gun carriers as a whole.
And I agree that a gun carried in condition 3 (loaded mag inserted, empty chamber) is infinitely more useful than not carrying a gun at all.
If also rather carry condition 3 than in an interior pocket in a bag. I’d be consistently faster with the C3 than the bag pocket, personally, I suspect
I agree with @Ouade5 that having an unloaded firearm can be better than not having a firearm at all in many situations. But there are also many situations where having an unloaded firearm will not only not be helpful but may put a person in more danger. Deciding to draw and rack without the extra needed time and space instead of running or giving in to demands could be a fatal decision.
I have had that aim/click embarrassment more than once at the practice range. Fortunately I am often shooting on my own so no one else got a laugh out of it:)
Having that experience at the range is why I always check to make sure my pistol is loaded before putting it on to carry for the day. Even when I am positive that I have not unloaded it since the last time I carried.
I don’t press check.
EDC introduces a lot of dust, lint and general dirt, so if I’m to press check, I’ll normally drop mag, empty the chamber, cycle slide, wipe down, oil, insert mag, chamber a ( rotated ) round, safety, holster, carry on till next month. Been doing this for decades.
It’s a monthly reminder on my phone! Not only am I in condition 1 24/7 but so is my firearm.
IMHO having one in the chamber is peace/piece of mind.
Carry cleanly, carry safely!
You got me thinking, this might be the bigger distinction. We can argue about having one in the chamber, carrying in a bag, leaving in the car, etc. But uniting all these distinctions is the fact that some of us are always in condition 1, but some are not. I know a guy who carries in condition 2, and I don’t lose any sleep over it. Condition 3 (empty chamber) may be unnecessary, but in my view is still much better than being unloaded (condition 4) or unarmed.
If you pressed me on the issue, though, I’m not always armed. So maybe that’s why I can’t relate to the frustration so many have when someone opts to carry in Condition 3.
One of my reasons for checking is that I occasionally do dry fire practice with my carry options. I almost always immediately reload after practice but sometimes routines can be interrupted or I may think I am going to do some more practice before heading out. So a quick check before putting on the holster is part of my muscle memory. I don’t have to press check. My carry and home defense handguns allow me to see the round in the chamber without pulling them out of the holster.
Quite honestly, they’re are many factors beside not having one in the chamber that can cause a slow reply. Depends on where in your person that you are carrying. If it’s on your ankle are they going to show down while you hike up you pant leg, un-snap pull up, aquire your target and shoot. Or if it’s in your back. You can practice pulling as much as you want. It still takes time to draw.
My 1st immediate thought is not to pull out and shoot either. Yes, it’s a quick assessment and if you pull that trigger, that bell can’t be un-rung. Not to quote spiderman but with great power comes great responsibility. On the hand he who hesitates is lost. I get both sides.
I said it before on here. People are passionate about it, i don’t believe it needs to be all or nothing. I have not read 1 article or heard of someone who carried who was killed because they didn’t have one chambered.
I may have understared passionate. Let’s get into something less passionate like get a covid shot or not, or how about illegal immigration lol, I’m joking please don’t
