Do You Carry With a Round in the Chamber?

Do You Carry With a Round in the Chamber?

For folks that use a handgun for self-defense (whether it’s concealed carry, in your vehicle, or at home), one important consideration is “should you have a round chambered”? Like so many questions in the firearms world, there are differing opinions. The answer here has safety implications, no matter which way you choose….so let’s unpack the question and consider both sides.

Some folks, often especially new shooters, will choose to carry with an empty chamber due to the notion of ‘greater safety’ of carrying the weapon with an empty chamber. Some will cite this as the “Israeli carry” method; while carrying personal firearms is quite common in Israel, many in that nation are taught to carry with an empty chamber. Even Israeli military and paramilitary units are taught this method, as noted in the book “Vengeance” by George Jonas, which described Israel’s response to the 1972 Munich Massacre (and later in the film ‘Munich’ by Steven Spielberg).

Clearly, carrying a weapon that has no round in the chamber eliminates any possibility of an inadvertent discharge; such a discharge can pretty much only happen from one of three causes, including dropping the weapon, snagging the trigger on clothing (or some other object), and poor trigger finger discipline on the part of the person carrying the weapon. Each of those problems is indisputably side-stepped by not having a round in the chamber.

However, that “safety benefit” of having no round in the chamber should be weighed against the realistic additional risk that having a weapon which is not immediately usable presents to the user. Reality says that if you are in a position where you have to draw your weapon, you better be able to employ it quickly and accurately, because your opponent may do you imminent harm. The additional time required to rack that slide just may be the difference between being able to fire a round and stop the threat or being hurt (maybe killed) by the bad guy. If your plan is to defend yourself or your family with a firearm, wouldn’t you want to be able to do it as quickly as possible?

Some folks may say, “racking the slide only takes about 1.5 seconds”… although if you are in that real-life situation, you may wish you could employ your weapon 1.5 seconds sooner. But can you really do it even that fast under the stress of a real-life incident? It’s well known and accepted that under stress, people tend to do even simple tasks much less effectively than under normal conditions. Racking the slide properly under pressure requires regular training and repetition, which most shooters will neglect. Further, a common natural response to stress is perspiration on the hands… making it hard to reliably grip the slide. Some female or older shooters may also struggle with grip strength to quickly operate the slide; that happens even during training. Any fumbling or slipping of the hands can radically increase the time required to get the gun ready to fire….so that 1 to 1.5 seconds could turn into 3 or 4 seconds, or even longer. Could that be the difference between life and death for you or your family?

Even the shooters who are committed to carrying with an empty chamber will admit that having a round chambered allows you to deal with the threat faster. But what about those previously mentioned safety concerns of inadvertent discharges? What can be done about that? Let’s address each of those concerns one at a time.

Dropping the weapon… first, don’t do it! The most likely time to fumble the gun is during the draw stroke, but handling your weapon surely and effectively is something you can (and need to) train for. Regular holster-draw and dry fire training will significantly reduce the chances of dropping your weapon. Also, nearly all modern firearms are completely drop safe. While there have been a few widely-publicized cases of inadvertent discharges when dropped, this has virtually always been on newly released models, which have been subsequently re-worked and tested. To our knowledge, there are no current models among the major firearms manufacturers (Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, H&K, Canik, Walther, Ruger, Colt, Shadow Systems, and others) that are known to have drop-fire problems. So, the likelihood of this being a problem is low, and even that very low likelihood chance can be further reduced with proper training.

The notion of having a trigger snagged on clothing or other objects can likewise be nearly eliminated by use of a good quality holster. The holster should always fully cover the trigger and trigger guard, and the weapon should never be carried or stored loaded without being in a holster. Never carry a gun in the waistband of your pants (despite what they do in the movies) or in a pocket or purse without a good quality holster. Use of a good holster pretty much eliminates this issue.

This leaves the final, and most likely cause of an inadvertent discharge…which is the fault of the shooter himself. Poor trigger finger discipline is the number one reason for inadvertent discharges, and the number two reason isn’t even close. Proper training, use of good technique and good dry fire practice will effectively mitigate the risk of inadvertent discharge from this reason… and this is something that every single shooter should work on.

So, with all of that in mind, it’s up to the individual to decide which risk is greater. You will take some amount of risk with either choice: either you take a slight risk of inadvertent discharge (if you carry a round in the chamber), or you take the risk of much delayed response during that one moment when you really, really need to use your gun. Regular, professional training and practice can reduce the risk with either method. If you are choosing to carry (or have in the home or vehicle) a firearm for defense, you need proper training and practice, no matter which method you choose.

We hope you find our articles interesting and useful. Check out our previous articles at http://webbynsm.com/sftc240731/posts/, and stop into train and practice with us at Select Fire Training Center. See you soon!

 

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