One in the chamber.... or not

[DFD536]

I have been having this discussion lately, and am out of ideas. So, majority rules, does it really make a difference, is it worth the "risk", I need opinions to further my argument.

Thanks,
Dennis

[ArmoredG22]

You might as well leave the gun at home if you're not gonna have one in the pipe. Once SHTF good luck remembering to charge it.

[revmedic]

The only risk is not knowing your firearm or how to carry and holster it properly.

[croute]

In MHO I think a gun shouldn't be "ready to fire." I use a semi-automatic and figure I'll have time to pull the slide. If I don't, I'm not sure it would really matter in the situation I'm in at that time. It's too easy to have your gun go off unexpectedly and just as easy to ready it.

[Sir Diealotz]

I always carry one in the pipe.

[mastrheadhunter]

I say absolutely 100% yes...one in the chamber. I sit here now at my desk in a medium sized office building with my Ruger SR9C on my hip (CCW of course) with a clip of 10 and one in the pipe. I like the Ruger because it tells me if there is one in the chamber...in case at my aging self...i forget. Plus the safety is on. Everywhere I go...everywhere...my Ruger is with me and ready to go. In my opinion if I ever have to fire my weapon, which i never hope I don't I may not have time to chamber a round...and I dont want to find out either. I have practiced drawing, flipping the safety and firing all in one swipe. In a bad situation...things can and will happen fast. Put yourself in that movie theater in Colorado...would you have had time to chamber a round? You don't know...so do you want to find out or just fire?

[Michael Gordon]

one in the pipe and a full mag

[ssgsimon]

If you have a good holster and a gun that had a drop safety, the risk is with out a doubt worth the reward. It is a personal issue. If you have small children or you don't feel like you have the proper training to not automaticaly put your finger on the trigger when you draw your weapon under stressfull situation. In my case I am always ready! You don't get to choose the situation under which you might have to use your gun. What if you are already shot and have little strenth to chamber a round, or if you are in an altercation where your are is not free. you are giving your weapon one more chance to have a malfunction. Just my thoughts. Like I said I always carry with one in the chamber.

[Omac]

Personally, I think that if I find myself in a life threatening situation I don't want to have any extra steps to take to address the situation. Time is an issue...think about the response time if you had a person charging you with a knife. You're probably familiar with Tueller drill (knife attack). You simply do not have much time to react. As far as safety is concerned, I see no safety issue with having a round in the chamber as long as you're practicing the basic rules of safety 100% of the time. That's not to say that a person couldn't train enough so that racking the slide would be an automatic response to a threat. I think that the Israeli's use that technique (or they used to). I just prefer to be as ready as possible.

[Sudden]

No risk if carried right with one in the chamber. Big risk if you need to defend and your gun isn't loaded.