The only time I carry is when I am in the woods and I keep one chambered because that hog or snake won't wait for me to rack one in. But in my car and house I no not have one in the chamber unless I am out of town and my wife is by herself, she has trouble pulling the slide back so I do it for her right before I leave after we go over the gun safety again. She is getting a revolver soon though. I have an alarm system that is set every night and beeps everytime you open a door or window, so I will have a warning if something is going down. The system is wired into the house in my closet and has a battery back-up if the power is cut.