Hi Kebler - welcome to OCDO. I think the "carry however your comfortable" replies are courteous but I don't really feel that's really in your best interest.
I think that those who carry in "condition 3": a) drastically underestimate the amazingly sudden nature of assaults and the extremely small amount of elapsed time before the "winner" is evident, and b) need to spend more quality time with a loaded firearm to get a comfort level with it.
In this
Tueller drill video the "intended victim" is completely aware of the impending "attack", is carrying openly on her strong side, and still barely gets her second shot off before the "perp" reaches her -- and her draw is reasonably fast. In real life nearly none of those advantages will generally be held by the victim.
Some will probably respond that you're better to have a gun with you in condition 3 than no gun at all. That may or may not be true depending upon the circumstances. In a life or death assault that dump of adrenaline into your system is going to demolish your fine motor skills. If you have trained yourself to draw and chamber a round smoothly and efficiently you may be able to do it successfully, but no way in hell you'll be as fast as if you didn't have to chamber a round.
I think it's reasonable to ask what your concern about a round chambered is. This isn't the old days where we had to worry about the gun falling to the ground or being struck and just going off. Modern firearms can be spiked to the ground, with a round chambered, as hard as you can throw it, and there's no way in hell it's going to go off. If you're concerned about shooting yourself during the draw or during reholstering, then that's a training/practice thing. Were you ever taught the proper procedure to safely draw a loaded firearm and fire it? You can learn to safely draw and holster a loaded gun a helluva lot easier than you can learn to draw and chamber a round in time to save your life in a "rule of 3's" lethal encounter (within 3 meters/yards, 3 seconds, and 3 shots fired).
I read a good suggestion once - it was someone on this forum or FCC - I don't remember which or whom or I'd give them credit. The person suggested carrying with no round chambered, but with the gun
not decocked (in other words, trigger forward as if there were a round chambered) for a couple weeks. During that couple weeks keep track of every time that trigger ended up pulled to the rear when you didn't intend for it to be. Most likely you're going to find at the end of that period the "count" is zero. If the count is not zero, then one might argue that you haven't had enough training to be carrying a firearm in public.
That word - training - is a key factor in all this (in my opinion). Some folks learn to shoot like some folks learn to ride a motorcycle -- someone they know who "has one" shows them how to do it. The person often isn't particularly qualified, but they "know guns" so whatever they tell the new shooter must be right. As a range officer, if I had a dollar for every time I've seen the "expert" in the group doing everything wrong as they "train" a new shooter, I'd be rich. Like learning to ride a motorcycle, one should seek the instruction of a professional when learning to handle a lethal instrument.
Safely drawing a loaded firearm and engaging a target quickly and accurately is not rocket science. I think that most professional schools and instructors are going to be teaching nearly the exact same thing (neglecting quibbling differences like isoceles vs. weaver, thumbs high vs. thumbs forward, etc.). When you draw the gun, where is your support hand? If you don't answer "on my abdomen" the chances are pretty good that you've not received professional training. Professional training gives you the confidence in mastery of the firearm. You won't worry about it being loaded because you know for an absolute fact that the procedures you have been taught and have mastered make a negligent discharge essentially impossible.
There are tons of good instructors and schools all over the country. If you don't know of any, one place to start is by clicking
this link, checking the "NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course" on the left side, and then entering either your zip code or state to search for a class. In Oklahoma it looks like this course runs from about $65 to about $125. When you're done with it I'd be surprised if you are concerned about a chambered round any longer.
Please don't take this as a criticism of you. This topic strikes close to home because my wife is one of those who sometimes-carries but is simply not comfortable carrying with a round in the chamber. Her problem is definitely that she doesn't get hardly any time behind the gun and just isn't comfortable with her own skills. I see carrying a firearm with no round chambered as "potentially snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". Hopefully you receive this message as an encouragement to finish what you started and not as a disparagement of how far you've already come.
