As a former LEO I would never consider this. But also would not consider carry Condition 1.
Which this are you referring to?
Carrying without a round in the chamber.
I remember back in the day, people would carry their six shooters with the hammer down on an empty chamber (only 5 loaded) for safety. It’s a matter of personal preference stemming from what you are comfortable with. I used to feel the same way. I was never comfortable carrying a round chambered with hammer cocked. So I have a DA/SA, round chambered with the hammer DOWN…not cocked , gives me the warm and fuzzy.
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Actually, for old SAA type six shooters, that practices is not simply personal preference, it is a matter of safety. Those revolvers were and are not drop -safe. If dropped or slammed, the firing pin can pop forward and fire the bullet in the chamber. Modern revolvers have mechanisms that make them drop-safe, so they can be carried with a round under the hammer, so you can load all chambers in the cylinder. Check your revolver’s manual.
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Back in the day before that, it was also necessary to “keep your powder dry” and be sure you had a fresh flint at hand in case of malfunction. Standards for accurate historical reenactments are often not required or prudent with modern firearms. Best practices are always context dependent.
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This is the thing that convinced me finally to carry with a round chambered.
As ever, we have to decide which set of risks we are willing to run.
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Watch some youtube videos of self-defense scenarios. They happen so fast that you may not have time to rack a slide. Most happen at a close distance and you have little time to assess the situation. I carry one in the chamber with the safety off. Just like my revolver I pull the trigger the gun goes off.
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Well…yes and no. It depends. There are things to instruct where saying “no matter what” might be viable instruction. The trick is that reasonable people might disagree on what qualifies as an absolute statement, and what doesn’t.
I would say, no matter what, you should not carry a loaded and chambered Glock or similar firearm stuck in your waistband with no holster. Can we all agree that’s a pretty solid “no matter what” to instruct people?
Not like “it’s a felony I’ll put you in jail” if you do it, but, as an instructor or even fellow shooter, telling somebody “do not do that no matter what”.
Now, always carry with one in the chamber no matter what? I think I just proved the main point of your post correct lol, that’s bad no matter what advice, if your holster completely breaks and becomes unusable when you are out somewhere and you have to put your Glock somewhere and it’s too big for any of your pockets and you have no bag with you and and and IDK it will be held up by your belt if you jsut stick it in there…unload the chamber first.
I don’t really have a point to this post it’s more of a thinking out loud
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That is a good place for a firearm as long as it is quick to access. I, too, live in a very safe neighborhood, but things happen that one does not know about. I live across the street from an elementary and a high school. When my daughter was in high school, I came home from work to see a police officer in my side yard examining two sets of tire tracks that went from my driveway through my neighbor’s wood rail fence. After parking and meeting the officer, we found evidence of a broken taillight and scale he stated was typically used in drug deals. So much for the drug-free zone around schools. Thankfully, my daughter was on the opposite side of the house and did not hear nor saw anything. Safe is only as much as we are aware. Crime stats maps show no violent crime, no burglaries, or anything else of concern - very safe as far as I am aware.
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That may be true (highly suspect statement, as they aren’t all recorded), but the point is to not be in them in the first place. Shooting a guy is the last, last resort.
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… and one where situational awareness failed us and the only other option is to fight our way out; meaning if we have to waste time loading our firearm, it puts us further behind the “eight ball”. I never want to be in that position. My firearm is always ready to go, as it should be. My mind and finger are the “safeties”.
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Might be a bit harsh to say situational awareness failed, situations do sometimes occur, imminently, where nobody could ever have avoided it…but the main point of your post is spot on, IMO. That “last, last resort” (which it is, absolutely) might just need to be done 1.2 seconds after the threat presented itself, and we only have one hand available.
“It depends”
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I’m imagining the lunch lady leaping over the counter with hush puppies in one hand and a carving knife in the other…
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For clarification, the “personal preference” I’m talking about was intended for the original post, not the historical reference.
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The “standards for accurate historical reenactments” being discussed are directly related and “prudent” if not “required” to the “context” of the original post, which was carrying a firearm without a round in the chamber. The analogy may be considered inaccurate because of the safety features built into many modern firearms, which the Colt Army 1872 assuredly did not have. The analogy of carrying a muzzle loading flint lock could apply except for the process of loading the gun, being considerably more labor intensive than just cocking the hammer to get a round chambered. Which makes carrying one with an empty chamber for safety non sensical. Which IMO, brings us full circle. Carrying a modern firearm without a round loaded in the chamber could be considered non sensical because of the availability of safety features most of them have. My personal preference is DA/SA. I carry with a round chambered and the hammer not cocked and no need to rack the slide to be ready to fire. Best of both worlds. The long initial trigger pull is something easily overcome with practice and familiarity. Which is a point I feel I am at, giving me a “warm and fuzzy”. One last thought: practice dry firing a DA/SA with snap caps is easy and actually makes sense without having to rack the slide after every practice shot.
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We can learn from the most surprising sources:
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I always have one in the chamber. The time it takes to chamber one could mean the differences between life or death. I’m sure the crook will have one chambered.
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Only indirectly. The will tell you to keep your firearm unloaded until ready to use. If I am carrying, I am ready to use.
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I used to be the same. I’m overboard when it comes to safety. However, I eventually came around and carry with one in the chamber now. I finally convinced myself that the “risk” outweighs “safety.” Once I got an excellent holster made specifically for my gun, I no longer worried about a negligent discharge. The gun can’t go bang without pulling the trigger. It’s instinctive for me now to keep my finger pointed straight when drawing/aiming.
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