pre-press trigger or not to holster?

[jburtonpdx]

http://tdiohio.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Training facility in Ohio that provides top notch instruction. Highly recomend you visit and go through handgun 1 - 3 even though you already have your concealed handgun license. There is a tremendous amount of knowledge to be gathered still.

[JonasM]

I spent my first week or two carrying without one in the chamber (Glock 19). It does take a while to get used to it, and there's a lot of good advice in the thread so far.

One thing I can add: when I mentioned to my friend and instructor that I didn't (yet) have one in the pipe, he looked at me with a serious expression and told me to "always know the condition of my firearm". By that he meant that if you carry without a round chambered, always be very aware of that fact. Nothing like pressing the trigger when you need to and only hearing 'click'.

You'll get there pretty quickly. I use a kydex holster. With any good holster, it doesn't take long to see for yourself that there's simply no way the trigger could get pulled without removal from the holster.

[OhioPaints]

Kay-

Do what feels right.

BAD advice

She is asking so that she can learn. But to someone with little training or experience, "doing what feels right" may be a deadly mistake.

Kay, if you feel so concerned about carrying with a chambered round, well the empty chamber is a poor, but acceptable alternative.

BUT NEVER, NEVER pull a trigger unless you have first absolutely verified that the chamber is empty AND THERE IS NO MAGAZINE PRESENT...and then do a double check. Even then, make sure the gun is pointed in a safe direction.

Experienced shooters have done such things routinely, and then one day they "see" what isn't there (such as an empty chamber) and pull the trigger out of routine. The gun goes boom! Sometimes people get killed that way.

Routinely pulling the trigger is a bad habit to get into for any reason except when the gun is pointed at a target you are ready to shoot at. Please don't get into a dangerous routine.

I agree with what others have said: if the course you took did not meet the state requirements, any license you get will be invalid. Get your money back (if possible), take a good course, and report the shyster who is doing an improper job.

Welcome aboard.

Ken

[pirateguy191]

Bad feeling on this.

[jabeatty]

Newby CCW here. learning safety myself - local ccw class was embarrassingly bad; NO training, no test, just guy talking for a few hours about experiences of others....

Kay, where are you located? (The general area would be good enough.)

[techguy85]

I encourage you to get comfortable carrying with a round in the chamber. If you are carrying with one in the pipe it'll encourage essential safety behavior i.e. you'll never lull yourself into a false sense of security in regards to your firearm being loaded.
That being said, it is your choice as others have said and carrying without one in the chamber is bettter than not carrying at all. But I would tell you that you should never press the trigger as a routine part of handling unless required to disassemble, or when you intend to discharge your firearm.

[wkdravenna]

Just as a rule, the gun is always, always loaded... Even if its not, you should treat it that way. So regardless of one in the chamber or not it shouldn't be treated any different.

[rDigital]

Your instructor belongs in jail. Do another class for your own sake.

[Jake]

Carrying without a round in the chamber is very serious.
Even with training, you still may not have time to chamber a round when the fecal hits the air circulatory device.

Even with a round in the chamber, when the stress levels spike and the adrenaline surges, you better be on your game.

[TSiWRX]

Just as a rule, the gun is always, always loaded... Even if its not, you should treat it that way. So regardless of one in the chamber or not it shouldn't be treated any different.

^ Exactly. Words to live by!

[Brian D.]

Dang, every time this comes up there's another disadvantage about carrying unchambered that nobody brings up, so I always feel compelled to. Thing is while the 'what if' is not common, it certainly can happen and no doubt has happened: One could find themselves in a situation where they want to get the gun out and ready quietly, but it is not (yet at least) time to shoot. There is no way to do so, without significant risk of causing a feed jam in a semiauto. Slides to not like to be racked or released forward slowly. Now, let's say you're doing this in low light, you might not realize the gun isn't in battery!

[TSiWRX]

Dang, every time this comes up there's another disadvantage about carrying unchambered that nobody brings up, so I always feel compelled to. Thing is while the 'what if' is not common, it certainly can happen and no doubt has happened: One could find themselves in a situation where they want to get the gun out and ready quietly, but it is not (yet at least) time to shoot. There is no way to do so, without significant risk of causing a feed jam in a semiauto. Slides to not like to be racked or released forward slowly. Now, let's say you're doing this in low light, you might not realize the gun isn't in battery!

^ Very good point.

I wrote something in this vein, in another Forum:

So, yes, not having a round in the chamber is a viable safety solution for those who deem the extra margin of safety either necessary or preferable.

In justifying this decision, though, one must be careful not to fall into the danger-zone of false logic.

What do I mean?

I mean the debate about being able to "see trouble coming." Why? Because if you truly can see trouble coming, then wouldn't you simply rather have not been there in the first place? or wouldn't you rather simply escape? Yes, I understand that, in some cases, the option of retreating/escaping may not either be available or viable, but to those who would argue that they can get the gun out, chamber a round, and ready to get in the fight (and below, I'll cite an example of just how fast and efficiently this can be done, even with just one hand) simply because they are "always situationally aware," I would simply counter with the "what if" of the possibility that you are only human: that you can make a mistake that would cost you your life. That you could potentially have let someone into that magical 21-foot circle that you should have, in that case, guarded (after all, as situationally aware individuals, we NEVER let ANYONE close within that distance, right? not even when we're in line at the supermarket or waiting to get Santa's pictures at the mall....right?). I bring up this possibility of a very human mistake because it's the same one that Condition Three carry folks always use to counter the Condition One folks - that human error is not only possible, but an everlasting specter that simply cannot be denied, no matter which side of the argument you're on. What holds true for one must, by logic, hold true for the other.

And specifically in terms of "racking the gun surreptitiously"

Look at Blitz_308 from AR15.com: http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/988015 ... nd_30.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

^ Did he see it coming?

Would he have been able to surreptitiously chamber a round in his gun, given that, in the AAR, he said that the BG "either saw the gun or heard the safety click?"

[Cynyster]

Wow gang..... King has all of 2 posts... Take a deep breath....

Gun Safety IS important but lets not alienate someone by jumping on their back... lets wait for some interaction...

[JonasM]

Wow gang..... King has all of 2 posts... Take a deep breath....

Gun Safety IS important but lets not alienate someone by jumping on their back... lets wait for some interaction...

I agree. I remember the nervousness of the first week or two, not having grown up around guns. It takes a little time for some of us.

[TSiWRX]

Wow gang..... King has all of 2 posts... Take a deep breath....

Gun Safety IS important but lets not alienate someone by jumping on their back... lets wait for some interaction...

The other way to view this is that we care.

Oh, wait, we're not CBS!