Why HANDICAP yourself? Are you going to ask for a “time-out” while you chamber that 1st round, or load the cylinder? For first-time gun owners, I always urge them to purchase a hammer-fired pistol - DA/SA - with discrete controls - and emphasize that gun-handling skills along with range sessions are confidence-builders leading to proficiency with firearms. Moving on to a DAO should be a gradual step in training.
Safety, to be honest, sits in the head. There is no mechanical safety that would make all shooters happy.
- one in the chamber? Yes, but what if I accidentally pull the trigger?
- safety levers then… OK, but that’s another part I have to think about during the shot
Whatever we do, there is always something that will make us uncomfortable.
But the truth is that the firearm is safe by design… the user / operator may make it unsafe only.
DA/SA, DAO, SAO, hammer, striker, jigsaw, screwdriver, knife, bat… all these and other stuff are safe when you know how to deal with them.
What does it mean? 
…
Train and practice. Not how to shoot only, train and practice your mind as well.
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Just for the sense of adventure, mostly. 
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Nose picker control
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One in the chamber or two feet in the grave!
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@KURT17 Always carry one in the chamber, SECONDS count when you’re life is on the line.
Training with your gun totally EMPTY!!! Draw your gun from the holstered position with your finger off the trigger, place your gun on target, pause then replace your gun to the holstered position with no finger on the trigger, repeat this training often until you start feeling more comfortable with drawing and re-holstering with no finger on the trigger. This training should help you get more comfortable and ready to start carrying with one in the chamber. The most important thing is never put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire your gun.
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To have a good chance at saving your bacon you should be able to place the first accurate shot from concealment into a threat in under 1.5 seconds. What part of the time does anyone want to spend racking a slide? If a person is too nervous with a round in the chamber of a semi-automatic pistol, ANY OF THEM, then they should strongly consider carrying a double action revolver.
Not trying to be contentious at all here but I will disagree with your recommendation. In my experience a DA/SA pistol is one of the hardest guns for new shooters to become proficient with and it is tough for many to master that transition, especially under stress AND to remember to de-cock a gun they just fired. That action is not in my list of recommended new gun person first guns. And BTW I carried a SIG P226 for MANY years as my primary. it was a great design in the 80s but we have better choices nowadays. But again, America is the land of the free and we are all entitled to our opinions and choices, and there are some great DA/SA guns out there.
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I trained all with Glock and Sig striker fired pistols.
No problem ever carrying with one in the chamber, became natural.
I added 1911’s to my choice of EDC and the learning curve is quite different, not uncomfortable, but just practicing a lot ,cocked and locked unloaded, getting the muscle memory second nature with the manual safety thumbing it on before holstering it, thumbing the safety off as it clears the holster.
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@KURT17 , So I entered the gun owner/CCW club later in my life, so I’ve had only 5 years of training and carrying. I’ve been blessed to have been trained by an ex Army Ranger, and have been blessed to shoot a wide variety of pistols.
My favorite for EDC is my DAO semi-auto. It’s the first gun I ever owned, the gun I’ve put thousands of rounds downrange with, the gun I learned to shoot with. No safety, a long, heavy, but consistent trigger pull, and easy to carry. I carry chambered comfortably. But at the end of the day, doesn’t it come down to training? When SHTF, I have a weapon I have drawn and shot almost 3,000 times, a trigger I am well-accustomed to, and a reliable platform.
So while I agree with the need to carry with a round chambered, I’m glad there are hundreds of choices for folks who prefer something different than me!
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If you even can rack the slide.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, based upon another thread on this topic. The other day, I was walking my dog in an unfamiliar neighborhood – not a bad neighborhood, just unfamiliar. I was thinking, what would I do if I had to draw and rack? Would I let go of the leash, possibly allowing my dog be hit by a passing car? Would I fumble with the leash and the slide, maybe shooting myself in the foot or worse?
In this scenario, I see the only solution is to be able to draw and shoot one-handed.
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Always one in the chamber time counts
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My position is that I’m not holding a gun until there’s a round in the chamber. Prior to that I’m holding an oddly shaped rock with potential. When that round enters the chamber is a safety issue between you and your weapon.
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Not only that but what about if your strong hand is disabled? How many folks here practice DRAWING Their guns and shooting them one handed with their weak hand? Probably almost no one…
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What if both hands a a foot are disabled? Are your training to use your only good foot to draw?
The more posts I see on this, the more I rank it along with the character looking for “bullet-proof” holsters. To me, it shows a lack of confidence in gun-handling skills, and another in functional knowledge. Remember: you very well may be betting your life on what you carry!
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Become comfortable with the gun. Get dummy rounds,practice load/unload and chamber/clear rounds. Most important is finger discipline and muzzle discipline. Over time you will become comfortable and your default mode will be trigger and muzzle discipline
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Practice with the thumb safety needs to be muscle memory. In my case, my strong hand thumb sits on top of the thumb safety and has become a part of my natural grip. It’s become so familiar to me that when I practice with a handgun that doesn’t have a thumb safety, my thumb kind of searches around, looking for something to do. It’s like when I first started driving cars with an automatic transmission, my left foot would twitch around, looking for a clutch to step on. Also, while the decocker on a Sig or a Beretta is okay and has become natural for me, I can’t use a CZ with a decocker since it’s right where the thumb safety should be and my thumb wants to ride on top of it. Lucky for me, CZ also makes them with a thumb safety where the thumb safety should be. 
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“Are you coming to bed?”
“I can’t. This is important.”
“What?”
“Someone on USCCA carries differently than I do!”
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