Its "Christmas time"... time to leave one in the chamber????

Unloaded gun is like an uncharged fire extinguisher, a real good idea but worthless if you need it when you do.

I have been told by many that if a gun is unloaded when you need it a knife is better, and who wants a knife in a gun fight. Practice as you intend to carry. If you want to carry with one in the chamber then do so in practice. It builds muscle and memory retention. And a good piece of advice from an officer I met with was, "when practice drawing and presenting don't fire, it will be ingrained to do so when you need to draw, and you might not want to fire at that time and injure or kill someone that you didn't intend to.". Be safe

the only time the wifes and i guns dont have 1 in the pipe is when we are reloading, or we have to go through Ill.

NG19 said:

I have been told by many that if a gun is unloaded when you need it a knife is better, and who wants a knife in a gun fight. Practice as you intend to carry. If you want to carry with one in the chamber then do so in practice. It builds muscle and memory retention. And a good piece of advice from an officer I met with was, "when practice drawing and presenting don't fire, it will be ingrained to do so when you need to draw, and you might not want to fire at that time and injure or kill someone that you didn't intend to.". Be safe

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This is some really good advice that I'm sure most people don't think of. Thank you for sharing.

I carry my P99, which has no manual safety, with one in the chamber, uncocked. Alls I gotta do is pull hard on the trigger to get through DA mode and the gun goes bang, just like if I had a DA revolver, except the second shot gets a lot easier.

<snip> cause I was not thinking

wrightme said:

<snip> cause I was not thinking

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Happens to the best of us. Cerebral flatuence?

Sent using tapatalk

100% of the time my defense gun is charged! Without a round in the chamber you would be carrying a two pound paper weight... Always have situational awareness and be ready!

I'm on the unpopular side of things: i keep the magazine loaded inside my gun, but i do NOT have a round chambered (ever, unless i'm in the process of shooting something). Why? Kids.

My own children (ages 10, 8, and 6) know well to never touch my handgun or any others, and they only pick up their bb gun and Papa's pellet gun with adult supervision, but i can't assume they'll never have a lapse of judgement, or they won't have friends around that aren't as well parented. My gun does not have an external safety, but my own kids (and i dare say most others under the age of 12 or even a bit older) would have a very hard time racking the slide, if they could do it at all. I would rather take the extra second and a half to chamber a round when i need to than to have a child pick it up cocked and loaded and make a mistake that can't be fixed.

It's a touchy subject, and you have to go with what works best for you, your firearm, and your environment.

RPGamingGirl said:

I'm on the unpopular side of things: i keep the magazine loaded inside my gun, but i do NOT have a round chambered (ever, unless i'm in the process of shooting something). Why? Kids.

My own children (ages 10, 8, and 6) know well to never touch my handgun or any others, and they only pick up their bb gun and Papa's pellet gun with adult supervision, but i can't assume they'll never have a lapse of judgement, or they won't have friends around that aren't as well parented. My gun does not have an external safety, but my own kids (and i dare say most others under the age of 12 or even a bit older) would have a very hard time racking the slide, if they could do it at all. I would rather take the extra second and a half to chamber a round when i need to than to have a child pick it up cocked and loaded and make a mistake that can't be fixed.

It's a touchy subject, and you have to go with what works best for you, your firearm, and your environment.

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It seems you have a plan that works for you and the safety of your children.

RPGamingGirl said:

I'm on the unpopular side of things: i keep the magazine loaded inside my gun, but i do NOT have a round chambered (ever, unless i'm in the process of shooting something). Why? Kids.

My own children (ages 10, 8, and 6) know well to never touch my handgun or any others, and they only pick up their bb gun and Papa's pellet gun with adult supervision, but i can't assume they'll never have a lapse of judgement, or they won't have friends around that aren't as well parented. My gun does not have an external safety, but my own kids (and i dare say most others under the age of 12 or even a bit older) would have a very hard time racking the slide, if they could do it at all. I would rather take the extra second and a half to chamber a round when i need to than to have a child pick it up cocked and loaded and make a mistake that can't be fixed.

It's a touchy subject, and you have to go with what works best for you, your firearm, and your environment.

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That is so true. I have been training my son on gun safety for sometime. I have recently taken him to the range and like you said, pulling the slide back is almost impossible for him (right now). He's 12 years old. Its just a matter of time before he can do it all by himself. At this time, I have only one with me and I keep it with me lik 99% or the time. Its great at my job, they allow me to lock it in my locker and even in there I have a biometric safe. I'm not saying I have 100% of the bases covered, but I'm doing my best.

RPGamingGirl said:

I'm on the unpopular side of things:

It's a touchy subject, and you have to go with what works best for you, your firearm, and your environment.

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I agree very strongly with your last statement, with that noted, I am not trying to influence your decisions, simply trying to understand them.

1. Two of my children are in the constant battle of autism, both are older than yours at 12.
2. My son is magnetically drawn to any mechanical device and loves tools, he simply can not resist.

Now please understand I mean no offense but I think you are underestimating your sons abilities. I would wager a very large sum of money he can indeed rack the slide.

I carry 100% of the time in "ready" condition and store them the same way. I say ready because the 1911's are cocked and locked, the XD's, revolvers and such offer no external safeties so there is no locked and others are DA only etc.

My point is, this thread is about carry of the weapon and there is no reason within your post that indicates a qualified reason for one not to be in the pipe when you are carrying it, your children would have no such access to the weapon, it would be in a holster on your person. Retention training is a key element to all forms of carry and under no circumstances should anyone so weak as to not be able to rack the slide be capable of grabbing your weapon successfully if you have adequately addressed such concerns.

Coming back on point, I have weapons often through out my home, but NEVER when either of the two kids without the capacity to understand are here which is weekly, when they are present, the firearms are in the safe or on my person, no if's, and's, or but's.

I say this not to influence your mode of carry, but to perhaps influence your storage. It seems to me that your comments are not driven from carry, but perhaps more of bedside storage etc and I can not stress enough that I think it is possible that you have a false sense of security thinking a 12 year old can not rack the slide.

My point: In the pipe or not, put them in a safe, do not ever depend upon ones thoughts of abilities when it comes to access. On your person you should be good to go, off your person it is 100% your responsibility to be sure no one incapable of making a deadly force decision has ANY access to the weapon at all. I required my fiance' to get basic pistol safety training prior to leaving a weapon she could access. How nutty am I? I locked my firearm in the safe in my truck until I bought a pistol safe for her house, simple rule, no training = no access.

Food for thought, you are free to do as you see fit.

LMTD said:

I agree very strongly with your last statement, with that noted, I am not trying to influence your decisions, simply trying to understand them.

1. Two of my children are in the constant battle of autism, both are older than yours at 12.
2. My son is magnetically drawn to any mechanical device and loves tools, he simply can not resist.

Now please understand I mean no offense but I think you are underestimating your sons abilities. I would wager a very large sum of money he can indeed rack the slide.

I carry 100% of the time in "ready" condition and store them the same way. I say ready because the 1911's are cocked and locked, the XD's, revolvers and such offer no external safeties so there is no locked and others are DA only etc.

My point is, this thread is about carry of the weapon and there is no reason within your post that indicates a qualified reason for one not to be in the pipe when you are carrying it, your children would have no such access to the weapon, it would be in a holster on your person. Retention training is a key element to all forms of carry and under no circumstances should anyone so weak as to not be able to rack the slide be capable of grabbing your weapon successfully if you have adequately addressed such concerns.

Coming back on point, I have weapons often through out my home, but NEVER when either of the two kids without the capacity to understand are here which is weekly, when they are present, the firearms are in the safe or on my person, no if's, and's, or but's.

I say this not to influence your mode of carry, but to perhaps influence your storage. It seems to me that your comments are not driven from carry, but perhaps more of bedside storage etc and I can not stress enough that I think it is possible that you have a false sense of security thinking a 12 year old can not rack the slide.

My point: In the pipe or not, put them in a safe, do not ever depend upon ones thoughts of abilities when it comes to access. On your person you should be good to go, off your person it is 100% your responsibility to be sure no one incapable of making a deadly force decision has ANY access to the weapon at all. I required my fiance' to get basic pistol safety training prior to leaving a weapon she could access. How nutty am I? I locked my firearm in the safe in my truck until I bought a pistol safe for her house, simple rule, no training = no access.

Food for thought, you are free to do as you see fit.

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Good points. As you have mention, each child/teenager is different. For my son who is 12, he and my wife cannot rack the slide (my wife have medical conditions) and my son is plane...not developed yet. But I don't let that be a reason to be careless. With enough effort and several pulls my son can rack the slide. Right now my Taurus PT 638 is always with me. I have a Springfiled wrapped up ready for Christmas:banana: But I wonder when I lock my guns up later. I have biometric safes' etc. But we know kids learn fast and how to open things that are difficult to open. I just pray from the traning I gave to my son etc. That he resists the temptation of taking my firearms. The last thing I want is to be on the news or even my son doing something bad like taking it to school. It happens. Well, thanks for the comments and the points.

LMTD said:

Now please understand I mean no offense but I think you are underestimating your sons abilities. I would wager a very large sum of money he can indeed rack the slide.

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With enough time and determination, i'm sure he could. And in a couple of years he'll be able to with little effort. I only consider it an additional barrier (in addition to the house rules and their general disinterest in weapons they aren't allowed to fire), not a foolproof safety feature.

My point is, this thread is about carry of the weapon and there is no reason within your post that indicates a qualified reason for one not to be in the pipe when you are carrying it, your children would have no such access to the weapon, it would be in a holster on your person. Retention training is a key element to all forms of carry and under no circumstances should anyone so weak as to not be able to rack the slide be capable of grabbing your weapon successfully if you have adequately addressed such concerns.

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You're right; the question was about carrying, not storing. But i figure if i get out of the habit while carrying, i won't set it down or even lock it up with a round in the chamber and forget it's there. It happens! Last year an officer was killed in St. Joseph, MO during training because another officer was sure he had switched back to non-lethal rounds after taking a break--he hadn't. Much can be said for habit. I don't want anyone falling victim to mine, so my habits are going to be the safest alternative i can come up with.

Coming back on point, I have weapons often through out my home, but NEVER when either of the two kids without the capacity to understand are here which is weekly, when they are present, the firearms are in the safe or on my person, no if's, and's, or but's.

I say this not to influence your mode of carry, but to perhaps influence your storage. It seems to me that your comments are not driven from carry, but perhaps more of bedside storage etc and I can not stress enough that I think it is possible that you have a false sense of security thinking a 12 year old can not rack the slide.

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You have to know your kids to even have a gun in the house (even locked up with ammo locked up in another county!) and i didn't purchase mine until i was absolutely sure i could keep one by the bed at night without issue. Maybe i have too much faith. Things could happen. But when other people are in the house, adults or children, the guns are locked up tight 100% of the time.

My point: In the pipe or not, put them in a safe, do not ever depend upon ones thoughts of abilities when it comes to access. On your person you should be good to go, off your person it is 100% your responsibility to be sure no one incapable of making a deadly force decision has ANY access to the weapon at all. I required my fiance' to get basic pistol safety training prior to leaving a weapon she could access. How nutty am I? I locked my firearm in the safe in my truck until I bought a pistol safe for her house, simple rule, no training = no access.

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That's actually really reasonable. My kids haven't used handguns, but they DO know all about gun safety, and they understand and practice it often (with bb guns and the like). They know how the guns work; we've taken them apart and explained every feature so they're not curious a go exploring on their own. Again, i wouldn't have them in the house if they were the type of kids to want to play with them anyway! I totally respect that your kids are different, and knowing that their curiosity is impossible to sate makes your home a totally different situation. Good for you to recognize that difference. And i appreciate that you consider it in regard to other people's kids--better safe than sorry!

Food for thought, you are free to do as you see fit.

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Thanks for mentioning all of that; it is helpful to see other peoples' points of view and read about their experiences and what works for them. Some want their guns loaded, rounds chambered even on the nightstand or otherwise out in the open. Others want them unloaded, locked up, ammo locked up separately. You have to weigh the positives and negatives of each method. Me, i don't want to fumble with the lock on a safe in the middle of the night, when my husband is at work and it's up to me completely to protect my children, but i don't want to endanger their lives unnecessarily with the tool that's supposed to protect them either. It's something that takes a lot of thinking.

Firedawg314 said:

I have to say, this is the time of the year where the thugs are really out, they know that people are packing tons of cash on them and debit cards are ready to be drained.

With that being said, I "OC" where I can, and then I "CC". My wife has finially accept me "CC"ing. She is still trying to picture me "OC"ing. While we went to a store in the city area, it was bit an "eye opener". Before I got out of the truck, I loaded one in the chamber. I just figure, its easier for me to quickly throw the safety off and "let it loose" if I have to. But, wow, it really hit me hard... that I had to load one in the chamber. Normally, its just the mag is in and it ready when I need it to charge it.

What do you all think, good move or bad? Also, take care out there, there are several crap just going on in our local area.

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I think you've been carrying a brick for far too long.

I think you've had a false sense of security by carrying unloaded.

I think you need some real force-on-force training to show you the time you think you have to rack a round is time you don't really have.

I think you have been lucky.

Seek additional training...

SIGguy229 said:

I think you've been carrying a brick for far too long.

I think you've had a false sense of security by carrying unloaded.

I think you need some real force-on-force training to show you the time you think you have to rack a round is time you don't really have.

I think you have been lucky.

Seek additional training...

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Thanks for the advice and I realized this post is a bit long... but I have been carryin one in the camber everytime I step out the door. It was for awhile, I didn't. The mag is full, but I didn't have one in the camber like (at the mall, parents house, or even walking around my house). BUt it was a mental thing to do. Now its no problem.

Firedawg314 said:

Thanks for the advice and I realized this post is a bit long... but I have been carryin one in the camber everytime I step out the door. It was for awhile, I didn't. The mag is full, but I didn't have one in the camber like (at the mall, parents house, or even walking around my house). BUt it was a mental thing to do. Now its no problem.

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I was a wheel gun person long before my first auto loader. The only time I put one in the chamber was at the range. When I got my CCW I started CCW with the wheel gun just to get used to carrying.
It took a while to get used to an auto loader with one racked, but i adjusted and now I wouldn't have it any other way. I pray I never have to use it, but after years of CCW and a heck of a lot of practice time I'm good.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE. PRACTICE.