CCW Round in Chamber? Y/N survey

[kjtrains]

I'm hardcore.  I keep two in the chamber...

Good move!   Alfonso.

[ACP]

Dissenting view:
I carry my R9 without a round in the chamber, (Condition 3). My training is to regard a pistol as always loaded and not to rely on a gun even when it has a positive safety, (Walther type).

I am open to criticism for those of you who wish to accuse me of carrying anything from a rock to a codpiece. I actually practice racking the slide on my R9 and getting a shot off when I am at the range.

Please consider that I am a native of New Jersey where everyone carries "Condition Zero"; no gun. I now live in a very rural area and do not feel the need to carry with a round in the chamber. On the rare occasions when I visit a town or city, particularly where crime exists, I carry with a round in the chamber.

[kjtrains]

This is just a thought.  The mind plays tricks on us all the time.  Wouldn't it be hard to break a habit when you're in the city to rack the slide in a panic situation?  It seems as if there's one more varible you shouldn't have to deal with.  You're carrying unchambered one day, say, and the next day (to the city), chambered.  

[tracker]

Your carry practice is certainly your choice and criticism would serve no purpose. My only observation is that whatever you choose it should be consistent because a stressful situation could cause problems if you vary your carry condition.

[kjtrains]

My point exactly!

[tracker]

Yes, I had posted that before I read your strikingly similar observation.
If there is anything I learned from 37 years of fight training and handling emergencies in a stressful environment is that the response has to be automatic; not quick, but automatic.

[ACP]

tracker and kjtrains are correct to point out that variables come into play and I would be better served to practice consistency. However, please note that when I am in a city I rack the slide prior to carrying.

Perhaps, in time, as I get the NJ whammy off my back, I will see the virtue of carrying in Condition 1. The overwhelming unanimity, in this forum, as to the importance of carrying with a round in the chamber is appreciated. I am just not there yet for the reasons given above.

[tracker]

I think KJ's point is that we all revert to our training and if you have practiced racking the slide after you draw you might tend to do the same thing in a city environment even though you were already in condition 1.

[kjtrains]

Couldn't have said it better, tracker.  Excellent.

[ACP]

Got it and thanks.

When I carry my Glock 36, I do so with a round in the chamber. The reason is because the Desantis holster has a "lock mechanism" that precludes a bad guy from disarming me if he were to reach for the gun.

By contrast, my R9, which I carry most of the time, is a Rafter S holster. Although it fits snugly, I still have difficulty carrying in Condition 1.

Again, I am a gun guy who spent decades in the People's Republic of New Jersey and I need to overcome my safety concerns if I am to join ranks with the vast majority on this forum.

[Richard S]

Back in my Army days there was a CO who had issued a standing order requiring all of his officers to unload their sidearms (magazine removed and chambered round ejected) before entering his HQ compound. That was until the inevitable happened. Some "shavetail" lieutenant returning to the compound from the field reversed the process by first racking the slide to eject the chambered round and then removing the magazine.

That was his first mistake, and you know what happened next.

Blissfully unaware that by racking the slide before removing the magazine he had chambered a new round, and thinking the 1911 was then empty (that was long before Beretta entered the scene), he then made his second mistake by using the trigger without controlling the hammer drop. As a result he d*** near shot himself in the foot. Thankfully he had at least kept the pistol pointed at the ground and no harm was done -- except to the man's pride and to his career. I don't think he ever made first lieutenant.

Not long thereafter, the standing order in question was quietly rescinded.