carrying concealed

P

PanamaJane65

Inactive
As I carry my Glock 36 concealed and without a round in the chamber (because of kids), I would like to learn the operational aspects of chambering a round if the time arises that I need to do that quickly. Can someone explain the process of how to do this to me from concealment (shirt)?

thanks
 
Pull slide to rear.
Release.
Re-holster.
Continue carrying.

Unless your gun is not operating as it should be, it is safe to carry with one in the chamber. I don't understand how kids affects this?
 
I carry my Glock 36 concealed and without a round in the chamber ... I would like to learn the operational aspects of chambering a round if the time arises that I need to do that quickly. Can someone explain the process of how to do this to me from concealment (shirt)?
Click to expand...

OK. I'm not the expert, nor am I an instructor. But for fun, I'll try to return the punt.

  1. Draw The gun.
  2. Retract the slide and release it.
  3. Hope it's not too late.:)

I carry with five chambers loaded.:)

I have just acquired a compact, modern 9MM pistol, with which I am still practicing and trying to find sufficient ammunition to make sure it functions reliably. I cannot imagine carrying it without a round in the chamber.

If you train for drawing from concealment when the threat becomes one of imminent, unavoidable danger of death or serious bodily injury (Tueller drill, say), you may find that getting the gun out and training on a a rapidly advancing attacker before he gets within arms reach of you is enough of a challenge without having to chamber a round. Use a blue training gun.

Seems to me that adding the extra step is asking for trouble, and all you may be doing is offering your gun to the attacker.

Now let's see what real experts say.
 
I have to ask:

I, too, am a little confused as to what the kids have to do with a chambered round. Would you mind explaining please?

-T
 
Last edited:
I've heard a lot of folks over the years admit to carrying without a round in the chamber because of the presence of children in their lives.

I do not understand the notion. (1) Carrying with an empty chamber is not safer. (2) Regardless, the firearm is under the control of the carrier, not the children. (3) Re the storage of firearms: children* should not have unattended access to firearms, empty chambers or not. (4) In the event that children achieve unattended access to firearms, it is not as if having empty chambers makes that a safe scenario.

* There's a point where children are often considered old enough for unattended access to firearms. Each family must decide for themselves when that is.

Best.
 
Regardless of peoples views of weather you should carry one in the chamber or not ...


Here is how I would train for it for speed ( as I have a Glock as well and THINK I know what you are asking )

When drawing with your shooting hand , bringing the gun up to target... take your offhand with the thumb pointed to you ( for ergonomics and natural smooth transition ) Rack the slide as the gun continues it's path to target.

With practice you should be able to turn this into one smooth motion with maybe a .5 second delay slower than if you have the chamber loaded.

The way your post is worded though I wonder if you are asking how to rack the slide while Still keeping the gun concealed ? That's one you would have to workout for yourself and I highly advise against trying to do so as it adds more into the mix to agitate a high stress situation.

Now , personally ... As I just started carrying , I still prefer to keep one out of the chamber myself with the trigger fully depressed in one of the safest states. Yet treat it like there is always one there. I won't feel comfortable until more time has passed and I am better practiced to avoid an AD. I also hope that I am never in a situation where I don't have that 1 second to rack the slide and that I will be able to recognize the threat and take cover prior to firing...


I don't exactly train to me Quick Draw Mcgraw but rather to be able to hit my target after assessment regardless of conditions.
 
To me, the biggest reason to carry with one in the chamber is not necessarily speed, but reliabilty. I chamber the round at home prior to carrying because I want that action to occur in a completely controlled environment. In the controlled environment I have the opportunity to double check the gun to ensure the round did, in fact, chamber properly.

It would be a terrible feeling in a self defense situation to have to pull the trigger to save my life or the life of those important to me and get nothing but a click because the round I had to chamber a moment before in a stressful and unknown environment did not chamber correctly.

Jane,
If you want to practice, obtain snap caps for your gun. Snap caps are fake rounds that you can place in your gun that are not capable of firing but will allow you to practice loading and unloading your gun in a safe manner.
 
To me, the biggest reason to carry with one in the chamber is not necessarily speed, but reliabilty. I chamber the round at home prior to carrying because I want that action to occur in a completely controlled environment. In the controlled environment I have the opportunity to double check the gun to ensure the round did, in fact, chamber properly.
Click to expand...


That is, in fact, a very excellent point.
 
Get snap caps like someone suggested. Put a mag in with the snap caps and nothing else. Don't chamber the snap cap.
Practice drawing/pulling the slide at the same time.
Same thing as normal drawing except when your weak hand is on your chest/stomach, as you move your gun forward with the strong hand grab the slide with the weak and pull back. Then grip with the weak hand. Yea its slower, and it has weak points, but if you are convinced that it is what you need so be it.
Honestly maybe you need a gun with a safety instead. You can put the safety off lots faster than pulling back a slide, and it is already part of a draw anyway.
If you are that worried about it, a glock is not the right choice for you.
 
carrying a weapon would mean that one understands there may be situations arise in today's world when said weapon will have to be pulled.

If said weapon has to be pulled, there is another likelihood that it will have to be fired.

That is not the time to even have to ponder "is there one in the chamber", "can I draw and rack the slide in time to save me and/or my children?" Too many people think that they will have time on their side in a
threatening situation. This is not the case.

I carry a small revolver. Always 5 ready to go. There are enough other concerns when/if it is pulled for use. Don't want to fool with more getting it "ready" when necessary.
 
I recommend that, if you do continue carrying with a chamber empty, that you find some instruction on how to manipulate a slide with one hand
 
IMO, carrying an unloaded weapon is quite useless.

If you think that you'll have the A) time B) presence of mind C) gross motor skills and D) fine motor skills to accomplish a draw from concealment AND chambering a round, it is my opinion that you are placing yourself in a situation to get yourself dead.

Drawing from concealment while under duress will be difficult and slow enough as it is.

If you want to completely unload your weapon while you are at home, that's another matter. But please, for your own sake, carry with a round in the chamber.

-J-
 
indycolts, I do understand what it's like to carry and have a child.

My daughter is 5 1/2 and I carry around her with one in the chamber and a spare mag on my left hip. I have no hesitations or concerns as I know my equipment is safe and maintained and I and only I control my firearms around her.

Quite frankly, I feel safer with a round chambered. If I were to have an issue with her around, I'd rather have my weak hand free to hold her behind me, push her behind something, etc.
 
GuyMontag said:
Quite frankly, I feel safer with a round chambered. If I were to have an issue with her around, I'd rather have my weak hand free to hold her behind me, push her behind something, etc.
Click to expand...

Not having children myself, that's an aspect of it that hadn't occured to me.
 
Carry chambered. Can you imagine letting your child somehow removing your gun from your holster? I can't think of one reasonable set of circumstances that could arise that would put your child in possession of your loaded hand gun carried on your person.

Not trying to be contrary. I just can't see as to how it actually matters.
 
PanamaJane ~

Welcome to TFL. :)

As the others above, I'd suggest you re-think carrying without a round in the chamber. The reason for this is that racking the slide generally takes two hands and at least a brief window of time. You may or may not have the time, and you may or may not have two hands. In particular, if you need to (for example) shove a child down and to safety while drawing, you won't be able to rack the slide at the same time as you get your child down and out of the line of fire. If you can't do both -- get the gun into play, and get the child to safety -- you'll have to choose one. But if you choose to shove the child to temporary safety, the danger becomes more extreme and you become unable to defend either yourself or the child. If instead you choose to rack the slide, leaving the child standing there, you are now equipped to protect yourself and child -- but the child may be in the line of fire. More time and more danger...

Another possibility: if you are toting an infant or toddler on your hip when trouble arrives, you may be able to draw one-handed, but you probably won't be able to get a round into the chamber that way -- and then what? Bluff? Criminals generally have a finely honed sense of when people are bluffing (it's what they do for a living after all!) and if the guy calls your bluff, it'll be a problem. Drop the child so you can rack the slide? I don't think so...

Another one: an intruder comes to the door. You grab the kids and retreat to your safe room, shoving the safe room door shut behind you. The intruder is right behind you, shoving the door. You must hold that door shut at all costs! So your body is tied up in the struggle to keep him out of the room where your children are. Your firearm is on your body, and you maybe could draw without allowing the door to open -- but there's no way to rack the slide once you've drawn. And pitting your physical strength against his is a losing struggle. The door is opening ... now what? Are you ready to fire or not?

There are ways to learn how to rack a slide one-handed, but it's a last-resort technique, not something you would regularly do by choice. It takes even more time, and even under calm range conditions most people aren't 100% reliable racking the slide one-handed. And learning the technique is somewhat dangerous unless you have a very experienced person walking you through it in person.

For all these reasons, I'd really urge you to find a solid, secure holster which covers the trigger guard and holds the gun in place, and then trust that holster to do its job. Here's how to check whether the holster will do its job.

1) Unload the gun. Unload it again -- lock it open, visually inspect the chamber and the magazine well to be sure both are empty. Unload it one more time -- lock it open, and run your pinkie finger into the chamber to be sure there's no round in the chamber, then run a finger into the magazine well to be sure the mag well is empty too.

2) Place the unloaded gun in your holster, without the holster being on your body.

3) Hold the holstered gun an inch or two above a soft surface (a bed or a couch). Turn it upside down and shake gently. If the gun stays in, yay!! If it falls out, check to see if there's a tension screw; if so, tighten the screw. If not, throw the holster away. It's dangerous. Try the test again. If the holster doesn't pass, throw it away because it's dangerous. If it passes, proceed to step 4.

4) With the unloaded gun still in the holster, try to get a finger into the trigger guard and onto the trigger. Can you do it? If so, throw the holster away. It's dangerous. If not, proceed to step 5.

5) With the unloaded gun still in the holster, run your finger firmly along the outside of the holster. Can you wrinkle the outer surface of the holster enough to move the trigger even a tiny bit? If so, throw the holster away because it's dangerous. If not -- load the gun and trust the holster to do its job.

Now some recommended reading for you: www.corneredcat.com -- click "table of contents" and read everything in the section about kids and guns. There are several articles there that might be helpful to you.

Again, welcome! Glad you're here. :)

pax
(mom to five boys now in their teen and young adult years)
 
Last edited:
very few of us have even attempted to answer her original question of:
I would like to learn the operational aspects of chambering a round if the time arises that I need to do that quickly. Can someone explain the process of how to do this to me from concealment (shirt)?
Click to expand...

everyone has been hell bent on telling her that not carrying one in the chamber is unsafe. Whatever everyone's opinions are on the matter of chambered or not is moot. Its personal preference here, and to answer the question: Since I don't carry unchambered, my best advice is to practice and practice lots.
 
So, we should give her advice that supplies her needs even if it's less safe?

I want to look down my barrel while I pull the trigger cause I think it'd be neat to see what it looks like when the rifling imparts a spin on my bullet. Should I pull the trigger with my left or right hand?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top