Nathan,
You don't need to carry a round in the chamber. Lots of carriers (CC or OC, and lots older than you) don't and for several reasons. You just adjust your TACTICS accordingly. It's no big deal.
Even those people in states (??) that are only allowed the carry of an UNloaded handgun (no round in chamber, no magazine in gun but it's in your pocket) are okay, too. Again, you adjust your tactics accordingly to overcome any "shortcoming" -- either real or perceived.
No matter how they carry then, ALL the people above are "armed and dangerous" to criminals...so don't fret on that point. The MAIN rule to observe is to have a gun ON you at ALL times. Exactly HOW one prefers to carry -- loaded or not, Condition 1, 2 or 3 -- is either a personal choice or a matter of state law. People regularly overlook the fact that having a gun is only HALF the self-defense equation, the OTHER half is Tactics.
Whatever, you're not AT ALL carrying any "paper-weight" with no round in the chamber -- whether (if) the State makes you or YOU want to.