[ironmarshmallow]

Do all of you carry your weapons locked and loaded? My CWP instructor said you should usually carry your weapon with a round chambered so you're ready to fire if you have to draw and fire in a hurry. Is that typically what all of you do?

Has anybody ever had an accidental discharge or even heard of somebody else having an accidental discharge while carrying a locked and loaded weapon? I've only been carrying for a month or so. I carry a Springfield XD 9mm with a grip and trigger safety and it makes me a little nervous carrying it with a round chambered because this is the first time I've used this kind of safety system. Any advice or guidance? Thanks!

Ironmarshmallow

 

[Tarzan1888]

Do all of you carry your weapons locked and loaded? My CWP instructor said you should usually carry your weapon with a round chambered so you're ready to fire if you have to draw and fire in a hurry. Is that typically what all of you do?

Has anybody ever had an accidental discharge or even heard of somebody else having an accidental discharge while carrying a locked and loaded weapon? I've only been carrying for a month or so. I carry a Springfield XD 9mm with a grip and trigger safety and it makes me a little nervous carrying it with a round chambered because this is the first time I've used this kind of safety system. Any advice or guidance? Thanks!

Ironmarshmallow

I generally carry one of 2 guns; a Taurus 617 7 shot .357 Magnum revolver or a Springfield 1911 A1 GI .45 ACP. I also carry 2 extra Speed Loaders/ Magazines.

The revolver is carried fully loaded and ready to go.

The 1911 is carried cocked and locked, as it was intended to be carried.

It took me a little while after I got the 1911 before I could bring myself to carry it as God and John Moses Browning had it intended to be carried, but I finally realized that an unloaded gun is an expensive rock.

It may take time before you are completely comfortable carrying it loaded, but when split seconds count, you need to be ready.

When I first put a round in the chamber of the 1911, I carried it with the hammer down. Then one day I was looking at the round that I had been carrying in the chamber and I saw a slight dimple where the firing pin was riding on the primer. This scared the pajeezies out of me and so I took a deep breath and cocked and locked my gun. That was about 3 years ago and now I don't give it a second thought.

Tarzan

 

[tapehoser]

I too carry an XD (45) and am absolutely confident in the safety mechanisms built into the gun. I have carried every single day for 2.5 years with a round chambered and have NEVER worried about it. I have run hundreds of miles, wrestled with children, and even played basketball and have never felt unsafe with a round chambered.

I would say 99.9999% of accidental discharges are acutally NEGLIGENT discharges and are a failure to follow standard firearm safety procedures.

 

[bane]

I carry the XD9sc everyday with a round in the chamber. When I first started carrying I was wondering about this very issue.

The nice people on this forum helped me realize how truly safe my gun is with a round in the chamber and the gun safely in it's holster. Storing it in a good-quality holster so you can't inadvertently pull the trigger and grip safety at the same time renders the thing pretty doggone safe.

I'd say the only thing to worry about is FAILURE of the gun. But, as someone here put it: the gun doesn't just have 1 safety, it has *MULTIPLE* safeties... so, for the thing to fire, SEVERAL things have to break at the same time. *HIGHLY* unlikely, wouldn't you say??? I have read somewhere that taking your firearm to a good GS once every year or two for a thorough inspection will help to ensure such types of failures don't occur.

Also, as someone here once told me... yes, there are still odds. But if you are worried about those odds, as small as they are, you shouldn't drive or be anywhere near cars. That right there made all the sense in the world to me! I've been carrying fully loaded ever since and never even think about it.

 

[doconix]

I don't carry hot. I have an XD 4" and a Rohrbaugh. Both are considered "safe" to carry hot, and I think I would feel comfortable carrying with one in the chamber. The reason I don't is because I have too many kids around me in this phase of life. Without one in the chamber, I'm adding yet one additional safety mechanism to the gun (and a big safety as well). My kids can't pull the slide on either gun.

However, there is a risk at some point that my kids or a friend or someone might find the gun (yes, I've trained my kids appropriately on what to do, and yes, they have shot the guns and like the .22 much better ). Yes, a very, very small risk. But the consequences if something happened are *absolutely* not acceptable to me.

It's all about how much risk you are willing to take. Risk of AD (due to kid or me being stupid) vs. risk of needing a "fast draw" vs. risk of not being able to rack it when needed because I'm too nervous. Hopefully my personal practice will allow me to rack quickly and effectively it when needed. I don't have any problem with those who carry hot. In fact, I do carry hot in a very few exceptional cases, and I may choose to carry hot more often at some point. But for now, it usually is just rounds in the mag.

 

[Paul]

I would say 99.9999% of accidental discharges are acutally NEGLIGENT discharges and are a failure to follow standard firearm safety procedures.

This is true. In my opinion, guns don't accidently discharge. People do stupid stuff.

When I first started carrying, I carried without one in the chamber. I wanted to be very comfortable with carrying, handling, holstering, unholstering, etc before I carried hot. Once I was 100% comfortable with carrying, (just a few months) then I started carrying hot. I do agree with doconix that unloaded is a huge extra safety! If you are concerned about having that extra layer of safety, you should not carry hot. To each his own and I for one won't look down on anyone that doesn't carry hot.

I guess that last thing I would add is the number one rule of guns it treat every gun like it is loaded. If this is rule number 1, may as well have it loaded for real. I kind of have a problem with treat it like it is loaded... but hehehe it really isn't. I came to this realization when I was answering a typical barrage of questions from my 7 year-old. "Dad is it loaded?" Answer: "NO, but treat it like it is." It struck me at that moment that my response was a pretty stupid way to train my son about handling guns. My response now it, "Yes son. Every gun is loaded. Go ahead and handle it, but remember it is loaded." He doesn't need to know that it isn't! I would rather have him think it is loaded and really treat it that way, than think it isn't loaded and treat it like it isn't, but pretend it is. Seems like a pretty good way to teach someone BAD gun habits. Hopefully this paragraph made sense.

 

[tap-rack-bang]

If you follow the four rules and can manipulate the firearm in any light and feel comfortable about it then there shouldn't be any issue with carrying it in condition one.

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

 

[GeneticsDave]

Has anybody ever had an accidental discharge or even heard of somebody else having an accidental discharge while carrying a locked and loaded weapon?

The only discharges that I have seen that were bad were negligent. I have never seen or heard of a weapon failing and causing a discharge. Down at Front Sight we had a few people who had a real hard time keeping the finger off the trigger as they drew their weapon. As such we had a few shots in the dirt only feet in front of us - pretty scary. However, all these problems were due to poor form and habit (I mean come on, the gun is designed so that your finger will naturally go to the trigger), you just need to break childhood habits and learn new and better technique.

Once you feel confident with yourself being 'gun safe', you will realize that the gun was ALWAYS safe and that it was YOU and NOT the GUN that you were really worried about.

Do what you feel most comfortable with, however, yes, it is better to carry with a round in the chamber if you can - your life may depend on it.

 

[natehunts]

I carry with one in the pipe.

 

[tanman]

My Glock 26 has one chambered. Every second counts.

 

[Cinhil]

Always. When I carry I always have one in the pipe of my Taurus Millenium.
Almost needed it once and was glad I was able to use sound reason, along with my hand on the gun to wake up the perp and send him on his way.
Had one in the tube then and still do to this day.

 

[Hunter]

I honestly can't think of any rational reason why you wouldn't want a round chambered. I know in the movies it can look and sound cool, but in real life it just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Guest]

I carry in condition 1 (round chambered, cocked, safety on).

Being an engineer by trade I am fond of process. I believe process is critical for both firearms safety as well as effective use and accuracy. Humans are fallible things; we forget things, we get confused, we make mistakes.

The whole point of process is to be able to do something, anything, 100% repeatable every time with no variation in the outcome. Whether that be manufacturing a widget or storing your firearm when you arrive home from a long days work so you don't leave a loaded firearm laying around for your children to find.

A good process should of course be repeatable under a wide variety of circumstances, stress or danger being one of them when we are talking about handling a firearm.

A fantastic example are Kata; which many may know from the world of Karate. By rigorously practicing a well developed process we can improve safety, repeatability, awareness, speed, threat assessment/mitigation, and accuracy.

A good kata well rehearsed will instill in the devotee a phenom often referred too as muscle memory. That little thing in your brain that allows you to type quickly while at the same time not having a clue where on the keyboard the "J" key is actually located (DONT LOOK>>>> CHEATER!). The correct action becomes perfunctory and is done automatically, perfect for those times when stress is high and your brain is screaming RUN florist RUN!

I have a process for almost everything firearm related. loading, unloading, holstering, storage, combat readiness, combat shooting, storage, cartridge reloading, you name it I do it by some sort of process. Some of these things, like combat readiness I have practiced enough that I feel I am very fast indeed, and the result is always the same.

So after taking the long way around the barn; my advice:

Tap-rack-bang posted a variation of the four rules of firearm handling. Using those as parameter develop your own process for handling your firearm and insist on top notch gear; you don't want to do everything right and still have an AD because of a crap holster that allowed your firearm to come free.

 

[bane]

If you follow the four rules and can manipulate the firearm in any light and feel comfortable about it then there shouldn't be any issue with carrying it in condition one.

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

Couldn't agree with this more! That being said, I need to work on #2 better whenever the gun is in the holster. Yes, when I remove my holster sometimes I inadvertently cross my wife or dog. :shock: Then again, it's still in the holster and all active safeties are still engaged... nevertheless it is a bad practice that I need to correct.

 

[xmirage2kx]

The gun is not going to fire unless you pull the trigger. Ready to fire is the best way to carry, but for various reasons, some choose not to. If you choose not to carry ready to fire then make sure you get really really good at getting your gun ready as fast as possible. 95%+ of cases I can think of that would cause me to draw my gun and shoot having to chamber a round could easily cost me my life.

 

[James]

Double action semis offer a way to carry with one in the barrel, yet not be cocked. The first pull of the trigger is harder, since it has to cock the hammer before firing. Successive shots are the regular trigger pull. These are usually carried with one in the barrel, uncocked and the safety on.

With arms like the Glock and XD be sure to have a good holster that protects the trigger from accidentally getting pulled or bumped while in the holster, and remember, don't put your finger on the trigger until you are on target. This type of semi is pretty simple to get into action, draw and pull the trigger.

I have an XD but it is not my carry gun most days. I carry a DA revolver and yes, fully loaded. I have no concern at all about an accidental discharge. When I do carry the XD I put one in the barrel. I have confidence in the design. I don't want to have to rack the gun the moment I need it. It is easy to imagine a scenario where you only have one hand available to get the gun into action. Also you might say which hand is available? Can you get your gun into action with either hand?

 

[ian husford]

This topic is like deja vu. Didn't we discuss this just recently? Or maybe I just dreamed we did. Anyway, when I do carry, I do carry hot. One is a DAO and the other is a double safety.

ian

 

[HERMIT]

This whole thing about getting comfortable carrying a gun is not as easy as people who don't carry a gun think it is. If you look back to when you first carried a concealed firearm (at least for me) it was a very strange thing to do. The best advise I can think of is "take it easy, work into it only as fast as you are comfortable doing and always remember the safety rules". -HERMIT

 

[GeneticsDave]

I honestly can't think of any rational reason why you wouldn't want a round chambered. I know in the movies it can look and sound cool, but in real life it just doesn't make any sense.

I've thought about why they always rack their slides in movies. I wondered, Why wouldn't they just carry with one in the pipe (movie cops, FBI, etc)? I finally came to the conclusion that since Hollywood is not usually based on any reality, the reason for racking the slide is to show the audience that yes, the gun is now loaded and ready to go - that and the possibility that movie makers know very little about how to properly carry and use a firearm.

Sorry, I know this was off the topic, but Hunter's post got me thinking.

 

[divegeek]

I finally came to the conclusion that since Hollywood is not usually based on any reality, the reason for racking the slide is to show the audience that yes, the gun is now loaded and ready to go

It's for the same reason that whenever someone hangs up on you, you immediately hear a dial tone. If there's a conflict between reality and drama, reality wins.