In chamber or no?

[Sidro]

Life is tough enough without complications, chambered is the only way to carry your XDM. As far as your Springfield ultra compact V10, it is safer to carry it chambered on cocked and locked than it is chambered and hammer down.

[Wes]

chambered...the only time ive carried, in my short time mind you, was when i did not have a good carry holster for my lcp that covered the trigger and i kept it in my pocket. now that i do, its always ready to go. you just never know how much time or access you will have to the weapon before needing to fire it.

[n5wmk]

I always carry chambered. My holster(s) cover the trigger. Your modern handguns have internal protections to prevent accidental discharge in case you drop it. As others have said, if you drop it, let it fall. It's more likely to discharge from your finger hitting the trigger while trying to grab it from falling than from the impact with the floor. If I'm in the situation of needing to draw it from the holster, I wouldn't want to have to use two hands and spend the extra time racking the slide. And my PF-9 is double-action only anyway, requires a positive effort on the trigger to cock and fire.

[Transplant]

I didn't carry chambered until I saw a video on youtube of a jewelry store getting invaded. The thieves kicked in the door and started shooting. The owner pulled his gun and tried to fire, but couldn't. He got shot 3 times before he could rack the slide and start shooting back. He wound up passing away. it all happened so fast he had no chance to rack it.

If you're going to carry, chambered is the smartest way to do it, IMO.

[amart60emtp]

I have a Ruger .380 Auto and have been struggling with the same issue. Chambered or not? What do y'all recommend?

[Transplant]

I have a Ruger .380 Auto and have been struggling with the same issue. Chambered or not? What do y'all recommend?

I recommend reading the 18 existing answers above your question.

[psijac]

The xdm has a grip safety.

Also I have yet to meet the chl holder who had a negligent discharge with one in the chamber, while carrying

[The Annoyed Man]

I have a Ruger .380 Auto and have been struggling with the same issue. Chambered or not? What do y'all recommend?

Read the post immediately above yours:

I didn't carry chambered until I saw a video on youtube of a jewelry store getting invaded. The thieves kicked in the door and started shooting. The owner pulled his gun and tried to fire, but couldn't. He got shot 3 times before he could rack the slide and start shooting back. He wound up passing away. it all happened so fast he had no chance to rack it.

If you're going to carry, chambered is the smartest way to do it, IMO.

Round in the chamber is the only way to carry that makes any kind of sense. If you're nervous about it, one thing might be to reexamine your choice of carry weapon, but pretty much all guns are safe to carry, even a cocked and locked single action because of redundant safety systems. If reexamining your choice of carry gun doesn't either alleviate your fears about the gun you have, or get you a gun you can trust, then perhaps you should give a good hard look at whether or not CHL is for you. There's no shame in it if that's the conclusion you arrive at, but you should understand that there are hundreds of thousands of us carrying every day, under all sorts of conditions, with all kinds of pistol/holster combinations, and yet CHLs very rarely ever injure themselves or someone else by accident with their gun while carrying it.

I would suggest that the best way to alleviate worries about an accidental discharge is simply to spend a lot of time at the range, expending a lot of rounds, until you get to the point where you are confident about your weapon system and its manual of arms.

[MoJo]

I carry an M&P with a round in the chamber and no safety. I have an XD that when I was carrying it I carried it the same way. My 1911s and my HiPower are the only guns I carry that have a mechanical safety, I rarely carry them.

Mechanical safeties on handguns are for people who can't or won't keep their stinkin' finger off the stinkin' trigger. The reason for the 1911 to have a thumb safety was the Army board thought Mr. Average GI was too dumb to keep his finger off the trigger. JMB's first prototype had a grip safety no thumb safety but, the Army didn't trust their troops.

[C-dub]

Been Glocking with a round in the chamber for ten years now. Pay attention to what you're doing, respect the gun, and you'll be fine. I think I carried around the house for a week or so before my plastic came without a round in the chamber. It was during this period that I realized I would rather have one in the chamber and carried that way ever since.

[gigag04]

KISS

[The Mad Moderate]

haha I asked the same think when I first joined. Chambered. End of story. Do you really want to have to rack the slide under duress when milliseconds count?

[hi-power]

KISS

A simple "Welcome to the forum" will do.
I kid, I kid!

[aaangel]

i admit i had the same worries 6 years ago. don't worry it will go away. so the first year i carried my DAO snubby. it's a mind thing i was more comfortable knowing that you really have to PULL the trigger to go bang. now i carry my glock 27 (always one in the pipe) with a NY-1 trigger. it's a mind thing......i know.

[FishInTx]

Chambered, even the .380 in front pocket.