Well, to each his own, I always say...,
but like my buddy VaTazdad, mine always go around with "one up the pipe", "stacked and racked", however you want to put it. To my way of thinking, unless there is some legal obligation that requires an empty chamber in order to carry, there are just way too many good reasons for keeping a pistol that you are carrying OC/CC ready to fire.
MSC 45ACP makes excellent points. Since I started carrying, I've learned how to drop a magazine, load a new magazine, rack it or chamber another round (even if it didn't hold at slide lock on the last round) and engage again in just a matter of seconds, and all that using only my weak hand. I can even break down my pistol and put it back together again in a few minutes, again just using my weak hand. I hope that I never have to do that for any reason, but if I do, I know how, and I know that I can, and I don't have to spend precious time trying to figure it out. Challenge yourself, learn it, know it, live it, and ALWAYS practice these things without live ammo!
IMHO, carrying without one "in the spout" is also a safety issue, meaning that if you have not seriously, seriously practiced drawing and firing from that condition, when the SHTF you run the risk of a jam or malfunction at a critical time, and could very well blow some of your fingers off.
I also think that not carrying with "one in the pipe" for safety suggest to me that one is not confident in or comfortable with their own skills and/or firearm. Just sayin'...
sidestreet
we are not equal, we will never be equal, but we must be relentless.