eldeguello

I carry a single-action like the M1911A1 cocked & locked w/round in chamber. I would carry a DA with the hammer down on a round. IF speed of deployment is not an issue, a clear chamber is the safest, but also slowest....

spuddog

Hey BC I have the same dilema. I do not carry but, the one at home I keep with the chamber empty. for me the only safe & practicle way I've seen to keep one cocked and ready in the home is with the pistol safes. The safe with the finger combo seems to work well. I just haven't bought one yet. I have an SA XD and have full confidence that it will not go off on accident. It is my 14 year old or the random kid that some how happens to get to it that I do not trust. I teach my kids but even smart people do dumb things once in a while.

I agree that you would be more ready if you had one in the chamber and ready to go. In fact you would be even more ready if you slept with it duct taped to your hand so all you had to do was lift and squeeze, but come on. Each of us has to make decisions based on their situation and needs. I think we all agree that this is an important right that we have and that we should use it, but I don't think any one can say that "because you don't feel comfortable keeping a round in the chamber, you shouldn't have a loaded gun in the house" or that you shouldn't carry. You can't possibly cover every situation and sceario. We all need training, experience and common sensethat will allow us to make wisedescisions for our individual situations.

Spud

eldeguello

"In fact you would be even more ready if you slept with it duct taped to your hand so all you had to do was lift and squeeze, "

Now there's a thought!!

mauser06

brain was foggy and i hit submit before finishing the question...


in the house, it depends on the living situation. my apartment, i live alone. if i know i have a visitor coming, i got a hiding place for it just because the visitor is usually not knowledgable on firearms and i dont want it bedside hot or not...so if someone wants to get me, do it quickly while i have a visitor

home, mom and sister know not to touch me and dads guns. if anyone comes by to visit, the bedroom doors get shut and they are told not to go in our rooms. not sure why dad never taught my mom and sister to shoot, but between me and him one of us is almost always there...

always gotta have safety in mind.

carry, i carry a DA/SA sig...no saftey..first shot is DA and i feel perfectly comfortable carrying it hot.

Sniper151

Magazine is in and ready, safety is off andthe chamber is empty.

oldsmellhound

If I would be carrying CCW (which I don't), I would carry one in the chamber - either a revolver or DA auto. Concealed carry is when you might need the gun instantly without time to chamber a round.

At home, I keep a 12 gauge pump loaded with buckshot - with an empty chamber. It's not going to take me hardly any longer to chamber a round than it is for me to get out of bed, go to the closet and pull out the shotgun. I'd rather have a little extra safety and lose that 0.2 seconds it takes to chamber a round. Besides, I've see a lot of evidence that has shown that during a home burglary, the sound of a shotgun being pumped often sends the intruder running (to later change his underwear) with no shots needing to be fired.

stalkingbear

An unloaded defense gun makes a darn good rock to throw at them. Speaking as 1 whom has unfortunately actually had to use deadly force, The ONLY way to carry a defensive firearm is fully loaded, and on safe. My 1911 .45acp clone I carry is carried cocked & locked, exactly the way John Moses Browning designed them to be carried. When that time comes when you HAVE to use deadly force, your adrenalin is going to negate all thought processes and you'll only have a split second to draw and utilize your weapon. You'll be doing good to remember to take the weapon off safe-much remember to rack the slide. If you are far enough away that you have to try to decide whether or not to pull it, you WON'T be cleared later in court. Also by the time comes, the time to attempt to intimidate them into leaving you alone is well past and will only get you killed. I could keep going all day but you get the idea. I DON'T consider myself to be ANY kind of defense expert, but AM a survivor of firefights. When/if that time comes, it WILL permanently change you, even if it's totally justified.

bigcountry

I won't ever be able to find out. I live in MD. I will be too busy dialling 911 and praying I don't get shot. This state is killing me. Big deer, good people, love the seafood, but laws are rediculus.

They just passed a law in MD, that is a lady decides to take out a restraining order, your weapons are confiscated immediately. She can make it up. I miss my Ky home.

Neil, glad your still among the living with us.

driftrider

I keep my pistol unloaded with the slide locked back with a loaded magazine separate but nearby within easy reach. All I have to do is put the mag in and send the slide home and it's ready to shoot (Springfield XD). I also have my shotgun with 4 rounds of 00 buck in the mag tube, chamber empty, in a high place. The reason I do this is to compromise between readiness and keeping a loaded gun away from my very inquisitive 4 and 2 year old kids. If I were living without kids in the house, I'd have one locked and loaded all the time. I do not carry concealed, since I cannot get a CCW permit in my county in Iowa (our liberal democrap sheriff does not issue except in exceptional cases, and according to current stupid Iowa law, he has the final and unappealable say on the matter). However, if I did, I'd alway carry with a round chambered.

Mike

Sniper151

You may want to learn to handle a firearm. If you can't clear your holster, chamber a round and fire as a reflex, maybe you should throw rocks, because I sure wouldn't what to be around you with a handgun.[:-]