Carry mode: Keep a round chambered or no? Why or why not?

[QuercusMax]

So the consensus is to always have a round in the chamber, to be ready instantly.

But I don't want to leave it that way all the time, so I need to eject the chambered round when I want to make sure the gun is unloaded. I also know that I don't want to chamber and unchamber a round very much, to avoid "bullet setback."

There are various strategies for dealing with this, such as cycling your rounds, firing them off from time to time, etc.

So for everyone who always keeps a round in the chamber, how do you deal with this?

[ripley16]

I was being a bit cautious with kids, but see no reason why I can't unload upon arriving home and rechamber in the morning.

IMHO, this is also a dangerous practice. The more times you handle the pistol, the more chances there are of an event. Removing the gun and holster together, locking it away in a safe place, is I believe, the safest way to handle an "always loaded" pistol. Loading and unloading, 365 days a year, twice a day, is a fair amount of handling. I just leave the gun as is, in a holster, holster and gun go into a safe over night. Simple and safe.

[HenryinFlorida]

So the consensus is to always have a round in the chamber, to be ready instantly.

But I don't want to leave it that way all the time, so I need to eject the chambered round when I want to make sure the gun is unloaded. I also know that I don't want to chamber and unchamber a round very much, to avoid "bullet setback."

There are various strategies for dealing with this, such as cycling your rounds, firing them off from time to time, etc.

So for everyone who always keeps a round in the chamber, how do you deal with this?

I keep rotating the bullets whenever I clear the chamber.

[kb2wji]

Round chambered!!! I understand your concern about bullet setback. If you are in a situation where you load / unload your weapon daily, there are things you can do. Use a Sharpie to put a dot on the ejected round. Rotate the rounds in the magazine. Once each round has 4 or 5 dots on it, shoot that ammo and replace it with new. It only requires a couple extra boxes of SD ammo per year, but you should be using your carry ammo regularly anyway to be 110% sure its 110% reliable. If I havent mentioned...round chambered!!

[Replay13]

I also know that I don't want to chamber and unchamber a round very much, to avoid "bullet setback."

I reload so getting more ammo cheap is not a problem for me. Others here will say never carry reloads for carry ammo, but thats my choice. I'll hopefully be alive to deal with that if the time ever comes.

I would suggest cycling the same round and keep an eye on it and shoot it if it starts to set back any. Then start over, easier to keep an eye on one round.

Also if you just put one round in the magazine it will hand cycle slow and you should be able to load it that way several times without any setback, way more then you think. A set of 6" calipers makes it easy to check rounds with minimal expense.

[bonjorno2]

always one in the pipe!

[JFootin]

IMHO, this is also a dangerous practice. The more times you handle the pistol, the more chances there are of an event. Removing the gun and holster together, locking it away in a safe place, is I believe, the safest way to handle an "always loaded" pistol. Loading and unloading, 365 days a year, twice a day, is a fair amount of handling. I just leave the gun as is, in a holster, holster and gun go into a safe over night. Simple and safe.

+1. A small gun lock box can be purchased for the cost of a carton of cigs and will solve the problem of keeping it loaded, yet safe with children around.

[gm412]

What kind of safe do you use by the bed. I was going to get one that read your finger prints but the guy at the gun shop said they are slow to open and hard to open under pressure.

[Planedude]

My son in law has a pistol lockbox, just large enough for his Glock 22, a tactical light and one spare mag. It has plastic finger groves top but has a four buttons at the figer tips. You set the pressing order as your code (PIN#) and when pressed right the spring loaded door flys open. My Son-in-law has practiced this to the point of having open in aprox 4 seconds. The house is alarmed so he figures to have that much time to ready himself. the little strong box is screwd to the side of a nightstand.
An excelent ideal for the carry gun that comes home at night. I bought that one for him a Cabelas for Christmas. It was less than $75 bucks IIRC and I have seen them on sale cheaper.
Peace.

[ParabellumJ]

Always keep a round in the chamber when carrying. Always use a holster that covers the trigger guard. Always keep the gun locked up at home. Always carry it and hope you never have to use it.

[knkali]

for those who want to carry your gun in condition 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdZ3hZ8y-w

[tv_racin_fan]

So the consensus is to always have a round in the chamber, to be ready instantly.

But I don't want to leave it that way all the time, so I need to eject the chambered round when I want to make sure the gun is unloaded. I also know that I don't want to chamber and unchamber a round very much, to avoid "bullet setback."

There are various strategies for dealing with this, such as cycling your rounds, firing them off from time to time, etc.

So for everyone who always keeps a round in the chamber, how do you deal with this?

I feel the rim of the round I have been chambering and rechambering. After about ten times the rim is chewed up enough to feel it. I know from testing that the rim is chewed up enough to notice long before any setback has occured. I take any round that is noticably chewed up by the extractor and put it to the side for range fodder.

[ripley16]

...or just keep on nightstand...

I respectfully disagree. If you have children in the house, hiding a gun in a drawer or under something is not a foolproof plan. If there are kids, as the dad, you owe it to them to keep a loaded gun away from them and a horrible accident. Kids are curious about everything. A responsible gun owner stores loaded guns in a locked safe of whatever sort fits your needs. This is my opinion, but "better safe than sorry" is truely a good theme in this particular area.

EDIT;
The posting I quoted and responded to seems to have disappeared, but the reply and thought remains.

[Barth]

I respectfully disagree. If you have children in the house, hiding a gun in a drawer or under something is not a foolproof plan. If there are kids, as the dad, you owe it to them to keep a loaded gun away from them and a horrible accident. Kids are curious about everything. A responsible gun owner stores loaded guns in a locked safe of whatever sort fits your needs. This is my opinion, but "better safe than sorry" is truely a good theme in this particular area.

My guns are either;
A) Physically on my person.
B) Literally locked away.

There is no Option C
You can't be too safe with a handgun

[paperpuncher]

I just bought my first Kahr PM 45. Had a problem with the ejected casings coming right in my face partially due to the fact that I'm left handed. Called Clayton Covel and within 24 hrs it was back in your shop and the ejector was being customized by one of the techs. That is FANTASTIC customer service, and Clayton is a true asset to Kahr!!! Can't wait to get it back and start shooting again. JM

I don't mean this question to be derogatory in any manner, but how long have you been carrying?

I ask because when I first started carrying it took me roughly 2 months before gaining enough confidence in myself to carry with one in the pipe.

It's silly to not carry in that manner, but don't do it until your comfortable.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2