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Should You Carry Your Gun With an Empty Chamber?

this is all that had to be said...

"This business of carrying with an empty chamber comes from people who, while they might mean well, really don’t know what they are talking about. They clearly don’t have the experience or knowledge to be discussing the subject at all. The sad news is that if you carry with an empty chamber, you have very likely lost the fight before it ever started."

let me add...

a few weeks ago, i bought 2 BRAND new, NEVER fired semi automatics.

1) S&W EZ 380

2) Glock 19 gen 3

the young couple bought them during the panic.

put them BOTH in the closet, maybe practiced a couple of times, with snap caps.

i bought both guns for a song and a dance, including 6 boxes of 380 ammo, round ball and HP's.and snap caps.

the Glock, he gave that ammo to his BIL.....

i see this happening again real soon, people panic bought guns, "just because"......

and some of us can swoop them up.

i guess being unloaded, in the closet, they were doing thier job and protecting that young couple..???

sheesh.......why bother?
 
I've heard this simple advice many times from experienced shooters regarding this very topic ..............................

If you are afraid, or even slightly concerned about carrying your CCW with one in the chamber, put your carry gun on loaded with a snap-cap one day while you're going to be home all day and wear it. Go about your normal activities as if it didn't matter. At the end of the day check the gun to see if it had discharged while you were wearing it. Do this several times over several days if you feel the need until you're comfortable the gun is safe while being carried.

I won't ever advise anyone how to carry/wear their CCW, but I will say it ain't likely you'll get a second chance to charge the gun when/if you ever actually need it. If that time ever happens, it'll sure seem silly why you didn't charge it at home when you put it on. (y) (y) (y) Jus' sayin' !!!
 
people will be under stress to think clearly and chamber a round at the very nano second, they need to shoot.

my opinion on carrying with nothing in the chamber?

"if you're that scared it'll go off, while holstered, maybe you ought to rethink carrying altogether??????"
 
I've heard this simple advice many times from experienced shooters regarding this very topic ..............................

If you are afraid, or even slightly concerned about carrying your CCW with one in the chamber, put your carry gun on loaded with a snap-cap one day while you're going to be home all day and wear it. Go about your normal activities as if it didn't matter. At the end of the day check the gun to see if it had discharged while you were wearing it. Do this several times over several days if you feel the need until you're comfortable the gun is safe while being carried.

I won't ever advise anyone how to carry/wear their CCW, but I will say it ain't likely you'll get a second chance to charge the gun when/if you ever actually need it. If that time ever happens, it'll sure seem silly why you didn't charge it at home when you put it on. (y) (y) (y) Jus' sayin' !!!
This is such good advice. This is exactly the method I used to logically convince my OCD brain that the handgun was not going to go bang unless I made it go bang. A couple of weeks of using the snap caps and something just finally clicked in my head, been carrying loaded for about a year now, no more issues.
 
I have this argument with my gf everytime I try to convince her to carry. (she has had her LTC for 3 + months now and has not carried at all). She squirms at the idea of carrying a loaded gun to which my reply is then dont carry it at all.
She struggles to rack the firearm despite me breaking it in for her quite nicely, So I know for sure that under duress the outcome for her would not be favorable.

She also keeps it in the case it came in. No Mags loaded, in the nightstand drawer, and our ammo is in the closet. It's essentially a $600 paperweight. After a few arguments i've given up trying in the interest of avoiding the inevitable fight that would ensue. It's just incredibly frustrating the more I think about it, because I know that if I'm not home, she is not prepared to defend herself and i'm just at a loss for how to further convey the importance of this to her.

I have carried every single day since the day my LTC came in the mail, and ALWAYS with a round chambered.

Just my 2 cents:
If you are that scared of the gun going off while carrying than you should not be carrying.
It shows lack of confidence in yourself, and lack of understanding the basics of how a firearm functions, to which point you are a detriment to others around you.

It may sound harsh but that's my take on it.
 
I have this argument with my gf everytime I try to convince her to carry. (she has had her LTC for 3 + months now and has not carried at all). She squirms at the idea of carrying a loaded gun to which my reply is then dont carry it at all.
She struggles to rack the firearm despite me breaking it in for her quite nicely, So I know for sure that under duress the outcome for her would not be favorable.

She also keeps it in the case it came in. No Mags loaded, in the nightstand drawer, and our ammo is in the closet. It's essentially a $600 paperweight. After a few arguments i've given up trying in the interest of avoiding the inevitable fight that would ensue. It's just incredibly frustrating the more I think about it, because I know that if I'm not home, she is not prepared to defend herself and i'm just at a loss for how to further convey the importance of this to her.

I have carried every single day since the day my LTC came in the mail, and ALWAYS with a round chambered.

Just my 2 cents:
If you are that scared of the gun going off while carrying than you should not be carrying.
It shows lack of confidence in yourself, and lack of understanding the basics of how a firearm functions, to which point you are a detriment to others around you.

It may sound harsh but that's my take on it.

My gal was pretty nervous with fire arm. I just took her to the range. She still is not comfortable carrying with one in the chamber, but she can rack it just fine. I am ok with her not having one in the chamber, because we have not worked on drawing it very much. Fact all we have done is her showing me how she would draw and since her instinct is to put her finger on the trigger right away, I am ok with her carrying without one in the chamber, until I break her of that habit. In the meantime, she gets used to carrying and the weight and being comfortable with it.
 
IMHO there are several solutions to this age old dilemma. STOP SELLING, you are not going to change their mind by yourself. My LGS has a "ladies night only" beginners class once a week. Ask her to find a friend and go (birds of a feather flock together). Repetition is learning, over time she will go from fearful to fearless. I experienced the same issue with my wife many years ago. Now she shares her experience with family and friends with positive results. A revolver in her purse is another option. Point and shoot.
 
I have this argument with my gf everytime I try to convince her to carry. (she has had her LTC for 3 + months now and has not carried at all). She squirms at the idea of carrying a loaded gun to which my reply is then dont carry it at all.
She struggles to rack the firearm despite me breaking it in for her quite nicely, So I know for sure that under duress the outcome for her would not be favorable.

She also keeps it in the case it came in. No Mags loaded, in the nightstand drawer, and our ammo is in the closet. It's essentially a $600 paperweight. After a few arguments i've given up trying in the interest of avoiding the inevitable fight that would ensue. It's just incredibly frustrating the more I think about it, because I know that if I'm not home, she is not prepared to defend herself and i'm just at a loss for how to further convey the importance of this to her.

I have carried every single day since the day my LTC came in the mail, and ALWAYS with a round chambered.

Just my 2 cents:
If you are that scared of the gun going off while carrying than you should not be carrying.
It shows lack of confidence in yourself, and lack of understanding the basics of how a firearm functions, to which point you are a detriment to others around you.

It may sound harsh but that's my take on it.
Treat her car keys the same way. Go lock them up. Put the key and FOB in those 2 different places. Make her go thru the same steps to get her car keys as the gun.

then make sure the couch has a nice comfy pillow and blanket. Yes, I’m married as well.
 
You might want to look at a nightstand safe. I went with the Hornady Rapid Safe which works with an RFID wristband or sticker for the back of your cellphone, and a digital punch-in code or a key. Runs on AC (with battery backup) or battery. It's permanently mounted to the nightstand and backed up by the steel cable that came with it through a thick steel hasp that's wall mounted through a vertical support beam with 4" screws and a plate that covers the screws. Inside is whatever I'm carrying that day, one or two spare mags, and a small 500 lumen tactical flashlight. I use the digital code as I don't like the idea of someone finding the RFID devices. It takes about 2 seconds to enter the code and the safe pops open. I have a dog and alarm system that will give me more time than I need to be ready for any threat. I feel very secure with this setup.
 
It is this same reason that I never carry a concealed firearm that has a safety. That is simply because I've never used a gun with a safety in the training I have received over the years. I do not want to have to think about flipping a safety in a time of need. I just want to pull out the gun and go bang-bang. Condition 1 - always and forever.
 
You might want to look at a nightstand safe. I went with the Hornady Rapid Safe which works with an RFID wristband or sticker for the back of your cellphone, and a digital punch-in code or a key. Runs on AC (with battery backup) or battery. It's permanently mounted to the nightstand and backed up by the steel cable that came with it through a thick steel hasp that's wall mounted through a vertical support beam with 4" screws and a plate that covers the screws. Inside is whatever I'm carrying that day, one or two spare mags, and a small 500 lumen tactical flashlight. I use the digital code as I don't like the idea of someone finding the RFID devices. It takes about 2 seconds to enter the code and the safe pops open. I have a dog and alarm system that will give me more time than I need to be ready for any threat. I feel very secure with this setup.

We just bought a house a few weeks ago and that exact Hornady safe is on my list. Appreciate the input on it.
 
Most of us have different levels of comfort with firearms in general, and some are more experienced with firearms than others. I personally hesistate to put too much pressure on someone else to adapt to or accept things "my way." I would feel horrible if they tried to comply and wound up getting hurt or killed. I would not be comfortable carrying a 1911 locked and loaded, depending only on the safety and my trigger discipline, especially in the heat of the moment in a life or death confrontation. Others are very comfortable doing that (or at least say they are). If someone is apprehensive, I think the best approach is to try to give them more exposure and experience with firearms and let them decide as they "mature how best to carry. My $0.02 worth
 
Most of us have different levels of comfort with firearms in general, and some are more experienced with firearms than others. I personally hesistate to put too much pressure on someone else to adapt to or accept things "my way." I would feel horrible if they tried to comply and wound up getting hurt or killed. I would not be comfortable carrying a 1911 locked and loaded, depending only on the safety and my trigger discipline, especially in the heat of the moment in a life or death confrontation. Others are very comfortable doing that (or at least say they are). If someone is apprehensive, I think the best approach is to try to give them more exposure and experience with firearms and let them decide as they "mature how best to carry. My $0.02 worth
Plenty of people, myself included, are totally comfortable carrying a 1911 in condition 1.

I agree with this post.
 
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