One in the chamber? Or not!!

[matthewaynelson]

One in the chamber, safety on. But... I have practiced my draw + safety release a thousand times! Operating the safety switch on my H&K USP .40 drawn from my Blackhawk CQC Serpa holster has become a natural part of my draw motion and negligibly impacts my speed in firing off rounds. Practice and preparation for action are of utmost importance!

Attached below is an excerpt from a prior post highlighting the importance of speed and preparedness…

FBI statistics compiled from over a century of record keeping suggests that most fights resulting in a justified homicide typically come down to three, three, and three ∷ three shots in three seconds at about three feet away.

I don’t know… hope I never have to find out. BUT, three shots, four… five… the whole mag… WHATEVER, the key is to have done due diligence in training for the fight. Know your game plan by heart, and be prepared for multiple scenarios. Be able to draw, shoot and eliminate the threat (or threats) in short order.

Check out the following image...



This is the signature image for S&WM&P40… it illustrates the sorts of scenarios you need to practice and be prepared for!

And, by the way... mentally preparing for "after the engagement" is just as important. Being able to compose yourself following the adrenaline dump that results from a firefight will be crucial to your ability to gather the details needed to provide emergency responders an accurate picture of what transpired. LEO’s will be using your statements and the information you provide as a basis for determining whether your actions were justified… as well as any others who witnessed the action. So, you'll need to be able to communicate the perceived threat, and that your ONLY desire was to STOP the threat with clarity!

Good and thorough training will give you the advantage—as the image above demonstrates, the bg’s are taken by surprise when their intended victim suddenly responds with fluidity (I know, it’s staged and this example is not really real!). BUT, the point is… you can be prepared to react with the speed and accuracy of a rattle snake!

Training is KEY!

In a situation like the one portrayed in the image above… time is of the essence. You won’t always have time to rack the slide and feed one into the chamber.

So, full mag(13)+1 w/safety is my preference.

[mistertaco]

i carry chambered.

i also like that image above. him shooting from retention, the guy on the right flinching and getting two the body, one to the head.

[.45acp]

1 addition,

I haven't noticed this listed here and felt I should bring it up. One critical thing with carrying a firearm (even more critical carrying it "hot") is to make sure you have a quality holster that covers the entire trigger guard.

Carrying with a "hot" firearm is a safe practice IF it is combined with a holster that covers the trigger guard!



MO Instructor

Good catch, 100% correct.

[Edvon]

This is why i am buying a revolver for concealed carry so i am ALWAYS able to shoot in an instant.. when it comes to you or him and you dont have one in the chamber OR you have the safety on ... then that very intant when all you have is that instant youll wish one was in the chamber and the safety off.. now in my home i keep my shotgun WITHOUT one chambered because #1 if someone esle gets to it before me (which is unlikely) id like the chance of them not knowing how to cock it (it has a soft trigger.not sure what its called but you have to push it in in order to cock the first time) #2 i dont need the extra round you for keeping one chambered because 00 buck with wide spread choke you only need 1 #3 Last thing i wanna do is take someones life so if i have to chance to be able to cock the gun to scare off the perp while shouting "ill blow your head off" then 1 more chance of not having to take a life #4 (for those who might say "what if you only have an instant?" well if i woke up to them standing over me then its already to late.

[mdemichael2]

One up the spout and fully loaded mag on all my carry guns.

[thunderlounge]

One in the pipe, no exceptions. With the proper holster, of course.

"Yo homie, is that my briefcase?"

I love that quick clip from Collateral. Of course, it cuts off TC picking up said briefcase, and putting one more in the first guy for spite. :D

Naturally real life isn't the movies, but sometimes they do make decent examples.

[infntrysuicdekng]

I carry my 1911 one in the chamber hammer back safety on, you should never ever ever carry a gun without one in the chamber you might as well not carry a gun at. The situation, you are faced by a mugger with a gun, he is under ten feet, his gun is loaded you can either draw your weapon and try to load it and get shot or not draw it and possibly get it taken by the mugger. Or you could side step draw drop safety and drop the bad guy in one fluid motion.

[JT]

Cocked and locked on my Kimber Ultra Carry II

[BearTaylor]

I was a little uncomfortable carrying one in the hole at first but my new PPS .40 seems pretty solid to do so. I now always have a round in the chamber and hope I never have to use a gun for self defense. However, I know I can if I have to.

[infntrysuicdekng]

I dont understand not carrying a round in the chamber you might as well keep it in the house, drawing an unloaded weopon is like pulling out a sign that says shoot me faster. if you cannot trust yourself or your weapon to be ready to shoot, then a) you should get more training or B) change your weopon or both.