One in the chamber...

Beendare

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With the recent bear attack discussion surrounding the differences in firearm carry with one in the chamber...always good to talk gun safety

Hickock45 chimes in..................worth a look as he is always fairly entertaining
[video=youtube;mHLS7VrBb3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHLS7VrBb3w[/video]

I always have one in the chamber in my striker fired semi autos....never in my revolvers even with the hammer block. The cylinder has to rotate to fire anyway.......

I don't rifle hunt much...except coyotes ...empty chamber there.

poTAYto....poTAHto??????
 

Chesapeake

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I agree with running 1 in the chamber of striker fired pistols. Have also ran hammer down on an empty cylinder on double action revolvers. Prefer the striker fired semi-auto pistols.

Tap, rack, bang should have worked on the Glock assuming one didn't drop the magazine, but then if one knew how to operate the gun...
Likewise, a defensive weapon that's not on your body at the time of attack isn't much use.
 

isu22andy

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Really depends on the gun and caliber for me , my glock sits in the nightstand or truck center console and is always chamber empty, something about it just makes me leary, the .22 pistol on the trap line I will keep one in the chamber, same with all my rim fire rifles, big rifles im on the fence, coyote hunting I keep one chambered but I check the safety multiple times a day, and in all the banging around and years I cant remember a time its been off but Im sure its happened.
 

bbell

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Hunting I keep one in the chamber. I always watch my muzzle and continually check my safety. I don't carry a sidearm when rifle hunting so my rifle is also my bear deterrent. That said when my kids start we probably won't be carrying it around loaded.

Brandon
 
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Always one on the chamber on the sidearm and when I bring a suppressed 22 along for small game.

On the rifle, I usually have one in the chamber. If I am going through lots of brush, I will remove the one in the chamber.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

bsnedeker

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Sidearm: I feel VERY strongly about this one: you ALWAYS carry one in the chamber! The point of a sidearm is to have a weapon that you can get on target and fire quickly. Having to rack one into the chamber before it is able to do that defeats the purpose in my opinion. If you have a proper holster for your weapon and follow the basic laws of firearms safety you should have zero fear of an accidental discharge. When I was new to carrying sidearms it still made me nervous so I made sure I had a weapon with a manual safety and I drilled snapping that safety off as part of my draw cycle when training. Now that I have been carrying for a number of years I have no mental need for that safety so my current carry weapon doesn't haven't a manual safety of any kind.

Rifle: Depends on the style of hunting. If I'm still hunting through the woods I carry one in the chamber, safety on, and I'm religious about my barrel discipline. Any other type of hunting I do not keep one in the chamber until I'm on an animal.
 

Scoony

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Deer hunting here in KY, I carry an old 3 screw Ruger without the conversion so it gets loaded with 5 rounds only. No way in hell that gun is getting the conversion, so everyone that gets to fire it gets trained on how to load it correctly. Out west, I am either carrying a Glock 26 or a S&W22. The Glock will have a round chambered. The 22 w/suppressor is mostly for midday fun so I keep the chamber clear until an unsuspecting Oozelfinch suddenly becomes a target.
 

2five7

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Sidearm: I feel VERY strongly about this one: you ALWAYS carry one in the chamber! The point of a sidearm is to have a weapon that you can get on target and fire quickly. Having to rack one into the chamber before it is able to do that defeats the purpose in my opinion. If you have a proper holster for your weapon and follow the basic laws of firearms safety you should have zero fear of an accidental discharge. When I was new to carrying sidearms it still made me nervous so I made sure I had a weapon with a manual safety and I drilled snapping that safety off as part of my draw cycle when training. Now that I have been carrying for a number of years I have no mental need for that safety so my current carry weapon doesn't haven't a manual safety of any kind.

Rifle: Depends on the style of hunting. If I'm still hunting through the woods I carry one in the chamber, safety on, and I'm religious about my barrel discipline. Any other type of hunting I do not keep one in the chamber until I'm on an animal.

This is my practice also. Now if I was butchering an elk in grizzly country I think I'd have my rilfe loaded and ready right there on the animal.
 

FLAK

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I usually don't carry a SA except for a New Model RBH.
Always, Always one in the chamber, rifle, handgun, shotgun.
 

mireland62887

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Sidearm: I feel VERY strongly about this one: you ALWAYS carry one in the chamber! The point of a sidearm is to have a weapon that you can get on target and fire quickly. Having to rack one into the chamber before it is able to do that defeats the purpose in my opinion. If you have a proper holster for your weapon and follow the basic laws of firearms safety you should have zero fear of an accidental discharge. When I was new to carrying sidearms it still made me nervous so I made sure I had a weapon with a manual safety and I drilled snapping that safety off as part of my draw cycle when training. Now that I have been carrying for a number of years I have no mental need for that safety so my current carry weapon doesn't haven't a manual safety of any kind.

Rifle: Depends on the style of hunting. If I'm still hunting through the woods I carry one in the chamber, safety on, and I'm religious about my barrel discipline. Any other type of hunting I do not keep one in the chamber until I'm on an animal.

This is my exact practice as well. While I realize there are exceptions, in general, a firearm will not go off unless the trigger is pulled. Index, index, index. My rifle isn't always chambered, but my handgun is. Always.
 

hodgeman

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For a defensive weapon like a pistol or revolver- it's simply got to be ready to go with a pull of the trigger. It also has to be in a holster that protects it from negligent discharges and that holster has to be on your body. The whole point of the thing is to make it work and work fast. In a vehicle or stored- full mag, empty chamber.

For hunting rifles, I never carry one in the chamber. I just do far too much hiking, climbing, in and out of vehicles, canoes, rafts, etc. Too much contact with brush and scree. Loaded mag, empty chamber. The only exception to this is following up hit game that made it out of sight.

The only static hunting I do is ducks...the round is chambered when I get in the blind and unloaded when i get out.
 
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^ this! 16 in the clip and one in the hole! Holster acts as a safety if you have the proper one and trigger finger never enters the trigger guard until the gun is moving forward and the off hand has made supporting contact. (away from your body and towards danger).

If you follow this accidental shots from pulling the trigger as your finger enters the guard will only ever be sending rounds down range.
 

ramont

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Unless you are carrying an old design Colt style single action pistol, or a modern replica, you really don't have to worry too much about keeping an empty chamber under the hammer on any revolver or semi-auto pistol, most have design features that make it impossible to have an accidental discharge because of legal liabilities and laws.

The difference between external "safeties" and everything else (internal safeties, hammer blocks, etc.) is that you can see them and people seem to feel better seeing a safety but as far as what the are intended to do they are all the same. They accomplish their goal a little differently but they all are designed to prevent the hammer from moving the firing pin. The biggest change over the years has been the redesign of where the firing pin rests, they used to rest directly on the cartridge's primer but not any longer, unless the gun is a replica of the old single action pistols. As long as the firing pin doesn't not rest on the primer, or it's not free floating (like some military style rifles) you can safely leave a cartridge in the chamber.

When I was in the military we were taught that a handgun is a last ditch weapon, it's used when the threat is right in front of you and you have nothing better to defend yourself with. In a self defense situation with multiple human assailants I believe that all handguns should be carried with a cartridge in the chamber so that you can have the maximum number of shots available - but that may be less important than most of us realize in a hunting situation. The reality is if we are trying to defend against a deadly animal that is charging us we wont have enough time to get more than a few shots off anyways - in most cases. In most of the bear attack situations that I've read about the shooter only gets a few shots off, maybe 3 in most cases, so do we really need 6 shots? Will having 6 shots vs. 5 make any difference in the real world?

I suspect that I carry a round under the hammer because;

A) I'm used to doing things that way after 40 plus years of handling handguns.
B) I trust the safety features of my handguns.
C) I practice a lot with all of my guns.
 

davsco

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yep if you're going to possibly need your handgun in a fraction of a second, it should be kept fully loaded, in a holster that blocks access to the trigger. other hand might be otherwise occupied, plus quicker than having to rack it.
 

AKDoc

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For a defensive weapon like a pistol or revolver- it's simply got to be ready to go with a pull of the trigger. It also has to be in a holster that protects it from negligent discharges and that holster has to be on your body. The whole point of the thing is to make it work and work fast. In a vehicle or stored- full mag, empty chamber.

For hunting rifles, I never carry one in the chamber. I just do far too much hiking, climbing, in and out of vehicles, canoes, rafts, etc. Too much contact with brush and scree. Loaded mag, empty chamber. The only exception to this is following up hit game that made it out of sight...

I roll the same way, but I have a few more exceptions when I will put one in the chamber of my rifle (you probably do as well), e.g., when I get to where I'm set-up to start calling for moose, when butchering-up animals, when walking through restricted visibility areas with bear sign, prior to a stalk, etc.

The other point I'll make is that muzzle control is soooo important. I have no trouble at all letting someone know that they just muzzle flashed me. Also, those I hunt with and I discuss safety and communicate together during the hunt, e.g., "loaded, chamber empty", "one in the chamber", etc.
 

Gobbler36

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Never one in the chamber for me while hunting with a rifle. It just doesn’t take that much time to rack a round in and if you are that rushed on an animal that you don’t have enough time to rack a round you probably shouldn’t be shooting. My partner used to like to hike with one chambered and I told him if he wanted to hunt together anymore he’d carry it unloaded from now on. With it unloaded you can 100% assure that nothing can go wrong. Remember a year or 2 ago a hunter in Montana was killed by hiking around with his rifle loaded. Randy Newberg mentioned it in a podcast. Sidearm I’m on the fence I guess, in big bear country I’m probably carrying one in the chamber
 
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So for those that dont hike or carry one in the chamber of their bolt action rifle, what is the reason?

And I'm just naturally curious not knocking your view or trying to change your mind.
 
OP
B

Beendare

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Re; defensive firearms

This guy makes a lot of sense...."if you are carrying on an empty chamber, you aren't ready to carry a firearm for self defense"
[video=youtube;BYGRB3SWwWE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYGRB3SWwWE[/video]
 
OP
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Beendare

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Re; defensive handgun

Many instances and good examples of why NOT to carry your defensive handgun on an empty chamber.



[video=youtube;rVPiic-ELoM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVPiic-ELoM[/video]



If you haven't seen these, this is a pretty good vid series for guys that own a handgun
 
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