To chamber or not to chamber

[The Mad Moderate]

i saw this thread was revived and decided that I should let everyone know That I cant imagine not carrying with a round in the chamber.

[bnc]

i saw this thread was revived and decided that I should let everyone know That I cant imagine not carrying with a round in the chamber.

I like my self defense handguns to be configured so that all I need to do is aim and pull the trigger.

[John112709]

I don't think a life threatening situation will allow me to call a time out to rack the slide

[kjolly]

If you are asking this question it indicates you need more range time and experience with your weapon. with experience comes confidence. Do not push it until you are ready.
My favorite carry piece is a Kel Tec P-11. It has no safety. double Action only with a long difficult trigger pull. carried in a holster that protects the trigger from accidents.
Someone once said as fast as you can chamber a round it could be the rest of your life.

[cbr600]

deleted

[Carry4Life]

I own a Sig P238. It needs to be cocked and locked to be of any use in an emergency. I am concerned though of leaving it that way 24/7/365 because of wear on the springs, dirt getting down in the hammer area, etc. Likewise, having to empty the chamber and reload the same round in the magazine seems to cause wear and tear on the chambered round casing (dents). Would you empty the chamber and de-cock for storage if you weren't going to carry but a few times each week?

Thoughts?

[gigag04]

I own a Sig P238. It needs to be cocked and locked to be of any use in an emergency. I am concerned though of leaving it that way 24/7/365 because of wear on the springs, dirt getting down in the hammer area, etc. Likewise, having to empty the chamber and reload the same round in the magazine seems to cause wear and tear on the chambered round casing (dents). Would you empty the chamber and de-cock for storage if you weren't going to carry but a few times each week?

Thoughts?

If I couldn't lock it up securely then yes. I pretty much never download my duty pistol. I make sure the kiddo absolutely can't access it though.

[Excaliber]

I own a Sig P238. It needs to be cocked and locked to be of any use in an emergency. I am concerned though of leaving it that way 24/7/365 because of wear on the springs, dirt getting down in the hammer area, etc. Likewise, having to empty the chamber and reload the same round in the magazine seems to cause wear and tear on the chambered round casing (dents). Would you empty the chamber and de-cock for storage if you weren't going to carry but a few times each week?

Thoughts?

If I couldn't lock it up securely then yes. I pretty much never download my duty pistol. I make sure the kiddo absolutely can't access it though.

I decock but don't unload either magazine or chamber. Doing so would chew up the cartridge rim and require frequent replacement of the chambered round to maintain extraction reliability - an unnecessary expense for my situation.

[cougartex]

[gordonramsay]

unless its range time....

my 1911.... condition one always
my sig 228?.....round in chamber, DA mode

[Medic624]

Don't sweat carrying with one in and ready to go... If something happens ... you only have the rest of your life to put one there

[kjolly]

I vote for a round chambered however when first carrying and you are nervous about this do not chamber for a couple of months until you are convinced the gun will not spontaneously combust. After you are confident always keep a round chambered. Having to chamber a round and being slow about it could be the last thing you ever do.
I have a Bersa 9HC with a decocker/safety. When activating the decocker it places a block in front of the hammer so the weapon will not discharge. Test this at the range until you are comfortable with it. My carry piece (a P-11 Kel Tec) has no safety. Its a long DA trigger pull similar to many revolvers that are safely carried.

[johnson0317]

Chamber. Gross motor skill quickly deteriorate and it is just one more thing to do when you need to be concentrating on something else.

I am waiting on my plastic to get here. I carry at home, all of the time, in my CBST. It is fully loaded with one in the pipe. I am quite confident that it will not go off unless I put my finger on the trigger and also depress the grip safety (XDm 3.8" 9mm).

RJ

[40khammer]

one in the pipe

[philip964]

I guess I will repeat my post way back when this started. There is a video somewhere on the internet, that is very very hard to watch. I don't know where I saw it.

It shows a jeweler being robbed, by men who got the drop on him as they came in. He is shot as he is drawing his weapon. He tries to rack the slide as he is repeatedly shot again, he tries very hard to rack the slide over and over again as he is again shot. Finally he falls to his butt sitting up still holding his useless gun. As he is dieing a BG, walks up and snatches the gun from his hands.

If you see the video you will never carry without one in the pipe.