Glock carry

[DVSmith]

It is perfectly safe to carry one in the chamber. The firing pin safety blocks the firing pin unless the trigger is moved to the rear causing the trigger bar to lift the firing pin safety out of the way.

If something, like your finger, presses the trigger safety and moves the trigger sufficiently rearward, it will do what it is designed to do and fire the chambered round. Keeping your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot will prevent you from doing that. Safely holstering the firearm in an appropriately designed holster will prevent foreign objects from doing that.

A friend of mine has a saying that goes something like this: Carrying a firearm with an empty chamber is carrying an ammo storage device.

[ct126x]

chamber

[RollingCode3]

If you dont feel safe carrying a Glock, then get a different gun. If you don't feel safe carrying a gun with one round in the tube, then you shouldn't carry a gun in the first place.

[kdmmcc]

The simple asnwer is yes.

If you do not trust yourself or your gun-handling ability to carry with one in the chamber.....then honestly, you shouldn't be carrying a gun.

[1Luv4SF]

Im a little confused... I thought it was illegal to conceal and carry in CA. Ive always wanted to carry my G21 but heard its illegal.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Im a little confused... I thought it was illegal to conceal and carry in CA. Ive always wanted to carry my G21 but heard its illegal.

Perfectly legal with the 'License To Carry Concealed Pistol, Revolver, or Other Firearm Within the State of California'

That particular license is difficult to acquire in most of the state, but not impossible.

[PsychGuy274]

I am preparing to get my CCW and I plan on carrying my Glock, but was wondering if I should carry with one in the chamber or empty chamber. What does everybody else do?

OP: Please watch this video and read through this thread. Should show you why carrying without a round chambered is generally a bad idea...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=388509&highlight=useless+unloaded+gun

[Gryff]

Chambered.

When the moment comes that you need the gun, you are more likely to NOT have a second hand available to rack the slide due to warding off the initial attack.

[Blademan21]

Ask your CCW instructor.

[-hanko]

I am preparing to get my CCW and I plan on carrying my Glock, but was wondering if I should carry with one in the chamber or empty chamber. What does everybody else do?

If you're asking, you need to put a lot more thought into your choice before you even think of getting a ccw or carrying a weapon.

Everyone I know keeps a bullet in the chamber.

-hanko

[tacticalcity]

Ok, this is where I curse and scream at the computer screen at the top of my lungs, take a 15 minute break, still rewrite my response 10 times as I censor myself so I do not get banned.

This is not one of those times were both answers are correct. This is one of those times where there is only 1 right answer, the other one is terrible advise deserving of all kinds criticism and name calling that gets people banned. It is a head banging against the way, face to palm moment if ever there was one.

It boils down to trained and untrained. The trained person knows without question you carry with a round chambered. The untrained person knows they lack the necessary competence to be carrying in the first place and tries to make up for it by not chambering a round. They justify this decision with all kinds of FUD, that becomes a non-issue with proper training, because they don't know any better and are too insecure about their firearms handling ability to carry properly. There is NO argument in favor of carrying unchambered that cannot be answer by getting proper training.

If that sounds harsh...you should have seen my first 10 attempts to answer the question. That is as PC as I could stomach making it.

Those of you living in Norcal should checkout www.StoneCobraTactical.com. They offer classes right here in Sacramento, California and average $100-150 per class. It is the same quality training you get at the expensive schools, just broken down into 1 and 2 day segments on the weekends to make it easier for their students to fit them into their scedual. No need to eat up your vacation days.

Once you are properly trained your skillset will be proficient to carry in a holster, in concealment, with a chambered round and have ZERO fear of an ND. You will learn the proper way to handle your gun. Proper firearms safety and gun handling from the holster and concealment will be drilled into you to the point that it becomes muscle memory. By the end of the course will be able to draw from the holster and put multiple rounds into multliple attackers and finish the entire fight in about 1 second. All without any fear of an ND. The more courses you take, the better, faster and yes even safer you will be. But after the very first course you will be safe enough to start carrying properly (in other words with a round in the chamber).

This is the real world. You simply will not have time to chamber a round and get shots off (much less properly sighted good hits) before the bad guys sees what you are doing and kills you dead. The reality is you will be WAY behind the power curve as it is and it will take all your skill and knowledge to survive any experience where a gun is required. Not having a chamber in the round is the same as having an unloaded gun and there is nothing more useless an unloaded gun.

There is no debating this one. Anyone who says carry unchambered needs training. I'm sorry if that upsets them, but it is true. If they have training they need to ask for their money back.

For the OP specifically:

There are some specific things you should do whenever handling a firearm. These are practical applications of the basic firearms safety rules that people who know the rules often break and need a ***** slap for doing so. These are things you see people do by mistake all the time, and there simply is NO excuse for them. So brainwash yourself into believing these are the worst possible sins, for which there is no forgiveness, far worse than kissing your sister or your favorite pet, and drill that into yourself over and over and you will be a much safer gun owner.

1) Whenever you pick up a gun you assume it is loaded. You do a chamber check, mag check, chamber check. It does not matter if you unloaded it moments before. The moment you set it down, you lost custody, so when you regain custody you do a chamber check, mag check, chamber check drill. It doesn't matter if the slide was locked to rear and it hand no magazine, you do the drill every single time.

2) Whenever you get ready to hand a gun to someone else. Guess what you do? Chamber check, mag check, chamber check. It doesn't matter what any other circumstances are. You do the damn drill no matter what. It is also a good idea to lock the slide to rear as well.

3) Whenever handling a firearm keep your trigger finger pointed straight and high on the slide. Nothing, and I mean nothing gets to go inside the magazine well. The only time your trigger finger gets anywhere near the trigger is after you are sighted in on the bad guy/target and have made the decision to fire. This concept includes dry fire pratice. And guess what you do again, even if you did it just moments ago, before you begin dry fire practice? That's right...chamber check, mag check, chamber check...and you make sure there is NO ammo anywhere in the room you are training in.

4) You never cover/muzzel anything you are not willing to destroy. Even if you just cleared the firearm you never ever point the gun at any part of your own body, your dog, your kids, your wife or your buddy. Noobs screw this one up constantly. When you correct them they cop an attitude and say, "I was just handing it you" or something along those lines. Wrong! Unacceptable. You cover something you better be perfectly willing to live with the consequences of putting a round into it. Would you be cool with putting a round into your hand? Your dog? Your TV? Your wife? Your kids? You buddy? Hell no! So never, never let the muzzel cross their path. Not ever! Another point you need to drive home, is that pointing a gun at the wall is still covering somebody if they are in the next room or the room in line after that. Bullets rip through dry wall like butter. That is what "know your target and what is infront of and behind it" means in practical terms.

Note: This one is a huge indicator of the level of training somebody has. If somebody would be willing to hand you a gun (regardless of its condition) without the muzzel pointed in a 100% safe direction, they are an untrained and unsafe moron. My best friend who was a cop used to do this with the slide locked to the rear. He refused to believe me when I told him it was like shouting to the world "I am too stupid to be trusted with a gun." Until he did it at work one day a bunch of his fellow officers all chewed him out on the spot for it. Trained people take safety to an absolute extreme, and treat unsafe things like cardinal sins.

5) Once you start working from a holster #4 starts to take on whole new meaning. It suddenly requires a great deal of attention to what you are doing that goes beyond what you are used it in order to keep from muzzeling yourself. If somebody video taped you when you were first starting out you would be absolutely SHOCKED at the # of times you muzzeled yourself but where convinced you weren't doing it. So here are some tips that you should really take to heart...

A) Draw with only one hand and put your support side hand on your belly button. No exceptions. I don't care how silly you think it looks. Do it. Your support side hand only starts to move and meet your gun hand once the muzzel is well forward of your belly where you are resting your support side hand. No exceptions. Do it. Now you can finish pointing in with two hands, aim and fire at the target/bad guy. Practice it that way enough it becomes lightening fast/smooth while being 100% safe.

B) When reholstering use your eyes to check your holster and keep your support side and permanently glued to your belly button. If your shirt is blocking the holster don't just reach back and fix it. Point the gun forward at the low ready one handed, and coming absolutely no where near the gun use your support side hand to clear the obstruction. Tuck the shirt in further if need, etc. Then put your free hand back onto your belly button and keep it there. Now carefully, while looking, reholster your weapon. Nobody ever won a gun fight with a super faster reholstering technique. But they have had NDs. Third, do not try and use your support side hand to help support or hold the holster while reholstering. You see people do this all the time and in the process they muzzel and entire 1/2 of their arm and entire hand. Dumb, dumb, dumb. If your holster moves around too much and your pants are falling down tighten up your damn belt. Next, when holstering keep the gun pointed straight down. The temptation is to tilt or tip the gun into the holster. Guess what you just did? You just pointed a loaded gun at your own hip, balls, and both legs. Lastly, pay attention to where your feet and toes are. If your foot is at and angle and directly under the path to which you are moving the handgun, either change the path or move your foot so you never muzzel them. There simply is zero excuse for muzzeling yourself or others. It is a clear sign of an untrained idiot. Don't be that guy.

Quick Quiz:

Q: Where was your trigger finger during all of that except the moment you were firing?
A: Pointed straight forward and high on the slide out of the trigger well and far away from the trigger.

Note: If terms like chamber check, mag check, muzzeling, low ready and so on have no meaning to you that is what an entry level firearms course is for. If you don't know them, you need to get some professional training.

[Gryff]

Those of you living in Norcal should checkout www.StoneCobraTactical.com.

Sorry, but every time I hear that name, I figure that White Goodman has taken up tactical training.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Ok, this is where I curse and swear at the computer screen at the top of my lungs, take a 15 minute break, still rewrite my response 10 times as I censor myself so I do not get banned.

This is not one of those times were both answers are correct. This is one of those times where there is only 1 right answer, the other one is terrible advise deserving of all kinds criticism and name calling that gets you banned.

It boils down to trained and untrained. The trained person knows without question you carry with a round chambered. The untrained person knows they lack the necessary competence to be carrying in the first place and tries to make up for it by not chambering a round. They justify this decision with all kinds of FUD, that becomes a non-issue with proper training, because they don't know any better and are too insecure about their firearms handling ability to carry properly. There is NO argument in favor of carrying unchambered that cannot be answer by getting proper training.

If that sounds harsh...you should have seen my first 10 attempts to answer the question. That is as PC as I could stomach making it.

Those of you living in Norcal should checkout www.StoneCobraTactical.com. They offer classes right here in Sacramento, California and average $100-150 per class. It is the same quality training you get at the expensive schools, just broken down into 1 and 2 day segments on the weekends to make it easier for their students to fit them into their scedual. No need to eat up your vacation days.

Once you are properly trained your skillset will be proficient to carry in a holster, in concealment, with a chambered round and have ZERO fear of an ND. You will learn the proper way to handle your gun. Proper firearms safety and gun handling from the holster and concealment will be drilled into you to the point that it becomes muscle memory. By the end of the course will be able to draw from the holster and put multiple rounds into multliple attackers and finish the entire fight in about 1 second. All without any fear of an ND. The more courses you take, the better, faster and yes even safer you will be. But after the very first course you will be safe enough to start carrying properly (in other words with a round in the chamber).

This is the real world. You simply will not have time to chamber a round and get shots off (much less properly sighted good hits) before the bad guys sees what you are doing and kills you dead. The reality is you will be WAY behind the power curve as it is and it will take all your skill and knowledge to survive any experience where a gun is required. Not having a chamber in the round is the same as having an unloaded gun and there is nothing more useless an unloaded gun.

There is no debating this one. Anyone who says carry unchambered needs training. I'm sorry if that upsets them, but it is true. If they have training they need to ask for their money back.

Nah, I think you nailed it just fine. Carrying with an empty chamber is absurd for all the reasons you stated.

1. Get a quality handgun and keep it properly maintained.
2. Get a quality holster that's made for your specific make and model of handgun (Uncle Mike's generic one size fits all need not apply).
3. But above all, get proper training with a qualified instructor.

[Will Goes Boing]

Ok, this is where I curse and swear at the computer screen at the top of my lungs, take a 15 minute break, still rewrite my response 10 times as I censor myself so I do not get banned.

This is not one of those times were both answers are correct. This is one of those times where there is only 1 right answer, the other one is terrible advise deserving of all kinds criticism and name calling that gets you banned.

It boils down to trained and untrained. The trained person knows without question you carry with a round chambered. The untrained person knows they lack the necessary competence to be carrying in the first place and tries to make up for it by not chambering a round. They justify this decision with all kinds of FUD, that becomes a non-issue with proper training, because they don't know any better and are too insecure about their firearms handling ability to carry properly. There is NO argument in favor of carrying unchambered that cannot be answer by getting proper training.

If that sounds harsh...you should have seen my first 10 attempts to answer the question. That is as PC as I could stomach making it.

Those of you living in Norcal should checkout www.StoneCobraTactical.com. They offer classes right here in Sacramento, California and average $100-150 per class. It is the same quality training you get at the expensive schools, just broken down into 1 and 2 day segments on the weekends to make it easier for their students to fit them into their scedual. No need to eat up your vacation days.

Once you are properly trained your skillset will be proficient to carry in a holster, in concealment, with a chambered round and have ZERO fear of an ND. You will learn the proper way to handle your gun. Proper firearms safety and gun handling from the holster and concealment will be drilled into you to the point that it becomes muscle memory. By the end of the course will be able to draw from the holster and put multiple rounds into multliple attackers and finish the entire fight in about 1 second. All without any fear of an ND. The more courses you take, the better, faster and yes even safer you will be. But after the very first course you will be safe enough to start carrying properly (in other words with a round in the chamber).

This is the real world. You simply will not have time to chamber a round and get shots off (much less properly sighted good hits) before the bad guys sees what you are doing and kills you dead. The reality is you will be WAY behind the power curve as it is and it will take all your skill and knowledge to survive any experience where a gun is required. Not having a chamber in the round is the same as having an unloaded gun and there is nothing more useless an unloaded gun.

There is no debating this one. Anyone who says carry unchambered needs training. I'm sorry if that upsets them, but it is true. If they have training they need to ask for their money back.

Well said...

I am all for citizens ccwing as long as they are well trained. I've seen posts where people say they have very little to no firearms experience..... but want to ccw. That just bewilders me.

[Gryff]

Nah, I think you nailed it just fine. Carrying with an empty chamber is absurd for all the reasons you stated.

1. Get a quality handgun and keep it properly maintained.
2. Get a quality holster that's made for your specific make and model of handgun (Uncle Mike's generic one size fits all need not apply).
3. But above all, get proper training with a qualified instructor.

And if I recall correctly, QuarterBoreGunner is the man to listen to. If he didn't have a round in the chamber when he needed his gun, he would wouldn't be around today to snap the CGN whip when members get out of line. No exaggeration.