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Thank you for your comments mr.72. They are well taken and duly noted.

Thanks for the comments android. Mucho appreciated. I'd love a compact or subcompact gun. Ambi guns although ideal for me, isn't a determining factor, as I've mastered the art of using right handed guns very well. I'm not a particular fan of revolvers, but that's just me. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them. It's just my preference to have a semi-auto handgun. I'm also not a fan of the DAO semi-autos either. Nothing wrong with them, but here again, it's just my preference.

Outright purchase of another gun is not in the cards right now. I could always trade the Ruger in for a different gun that had the features I want, but I doubt the boot difference would be attractive.

Ok, now I'm just rambling and thinking out loud. Sorry.

I have held off commenting as I've read this thread, and doing a lot of soul searching asking myself the same question as the title of this thread.

I have 2 pistols. One is a DA/SA Ruger P-95, and the other a nice little Colt Government .380 which is SAO.

I would feel VERY comfortable carrying the Ruger with one in the chamber as the first round fired would be from double action mode. And safety would be off. No problem at all doing that. But trying to conceal the Ruger would be very difficult if not impossible. I'm not a large guy. It is simply to large and to wide to fit my body type. I could only wear it in the winter months WITH a coat over my other clothes. And wearing a coat in the winter probably amounts to 10-12 times per year, max. Let's face it, we live in Texas and it just don't get that cold.

So I have decided to carry the Colt. But that is problematic for carrying a round in the chamber. That's because I'm left handed and will wear the Colt on the left side of my body and the safety will be exposed. Strike one for one in the chamber.

In addition the Colt, although it appears in every was a small version of a 1911, does not have a grip safety. Strike 2 against one in the chamber.

Not only that, the "half cock" position that is prevalent on a 1911 is indeed a safety, meaning you cannot pull the trigger when the gun is in half cock position. The Government .380 has a half cock position, but it is not a safety per se. It is only a safety when manually cocking the hammer and your finger slips off the hammer before fully cocked. When it is in half cock position you can actually squeeze the trigger and the hammer will fall on the firing pin. Strike 3 against carrying with one in the chamber.

So I'm stuck with carrying without one in the chamber. I don't like it, but it is what it is. I'll just need to learn to perfect the drawing & racking the slide manuever.

Well, that's my case for not carrying one in the chamber. Comments welcome. (body armor on)