I have a glock 22 3rd Gen. I carry it with a full magazine but not with a round in the chamber. Also before I load the magazine I pull the slide and pull the trigger so the trigger can be all the way down then I load the magazine. I see it as another safety. What do you guys think?
Personally, IMHO, I would have to say you are being way too cautious. I carry my Glock 22 fully loaded, cocked, locked and ready to rock, condition 1. The Glock has three safeties, plus your safety (trigger finger). It is one of the safest pistols on the planet. And to my knowledge, no Glock has ever fired without someone or something pulling the trigger. Personally, you are limiting your ability to protect yourself by requiring yourself to take extra crucial seconds to rack the slide and load your weapon when you should already be shooting. You can't tell the criminal to hang on a minute any more than you can tell the police to get there faster. A gun without a round in the chamber is as good as a rock. That said, this is America and you may do whatever you please. If it makes you feel safer, if it gives you peace of mind, I would rather you carry like that then not carry at all. Best of luck to you! Its a crazy world out there!
I say that 1.) you will be dead by the time you rack the slide to load a round 2.) Even tho Illinois don't allow CC, if I was to CC there would be a round in the camber at all time. Just like my G21 sits this very second as I type this with one in the chamber ready to go with the mag topped off. 3.) the glocks 3 safety are fine on their own, you don't need any more "safeties". If you have trouble keeping your finger off the trigger of a loaded gun I suggest you think strongly about carrying a firearm in the first place. Just my .02 cents
I always carry one in the chamber. It's amazing what you have a hard time to do under stress. Remembering to chamber a round may be one of those issues. As one of the safety rules is to assume the gun is loaded and ready to fire...why not have it ready to fire?
Saw this on TV a month or so back, found it on YouTube. Excellent reason why you should carry a "Fully Loaded" gun. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syAReiTd9jg[/ame]
Since you asked what we think, I think from a self defense point, you're better off having one in the chamber. In the time it takes you to rack and present, the enemy is already engaging you. You never mentioned what type of holster you carry and in what configuration, but if you choose to walk around without a round chambered, I would consider looking at this holster: EFA-G17. You can google it and find information on it. It allows you to chamber a round in the holster by pushing down and unholstering by pulling up. In any instance, the best option is training, and with enough training you will eventually learn to default to your muscle memory when under duress.
If one in the chamber bothers you, that is fine for you and even better for the bad guy I feel. Mine is always loaded with the +1 in the chamber unless I am cleaning it or practicing my dry fire draws. If the lack of an external safety bothers you, you might look at another brand with the thumb safety or a wheel gun.
My gen 3 G23 is always condition 1. Even with the 3.5 lb connector. If it is in the holster it is safe. If its in my hand im safe.
Load your mag with all 15 rounds. Slingshot the slide to chamber a round into the pistol. Holster the pistol. The carry like normal. It's a Glock. It will not accidentally fire unless your finger is on the trigger. I promise!
Hey I do that every day! Have you been watching me?? Lol JK No worriers man, having a glock is Hakuna matata! Load her up and she'll speak up when you need her to, otherwise she'll stay quiet!
I say if that is what you are most comfortable with then go for it. Just remember it is going to take time to chamber a round if you ever need it. I used to carry like that, but then I thought about it and the reason I am carrying is for protection. It doesn't do me much good with all of my rounds in the magazine and the chamber empty. Not a whole lot of protection that way. If you are going to carry like that my advice would be to unload the gun and practice drawing and racking the slide, which would normally chamber a round. If you practice enough times and consistently like that it should become muscle memory so that if things go bad you won't have to worry about remembering to rack the slide. A glock is a very safe and reliable weapon. Even with a round chambered it will never fire unless you pull the trigger.
Most of the time, I have 3 diffeeent pistols on or near me at any given time. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are always loaded and ready to defend my life or the lives of my loved ones. I would also rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6. To each their own.
Do what you are most comfortable with. All of the posts have very valid points that you should consider as well. When I first started carrying, I carried without a round in the chamber. After carrying that way, each time I took the firearm out the trigger was not pulled. This gave me confidence to know it wasn't going to "shoot me in the hip". I now only carry condition 1. Build up your confidence with your skills and your weapon. Realize that owning a firearm for self-defense is a learning process, and do what you are comfortable with. I let others worry about the zombie apocalypse and having 150 rounds on their person at all times. I worry about the guy that wants to take my wallet while pumping gas in my car. Take care.
You can't really call it "Condition 1" since it's not really cocked and there's no manual safety to "lock" so we really need to come up with a different Condition for it. Maybe "Condition 2" since there is a round in the chamber but the striker isn't "cocked" so to speak until the trigger is pulled. Really though, Col. Cooper came up with the Conditions as related to the 1911a1 and they don't really translate very well to a striker fired weapon. Maybe we need our own "expert" to come up with a Condition chart for striker fired guns since there's so many of them on the market today. Anyway, I want my gun ready to fire if I have to draw from concealment or pull it out of my nightstand drawer at 2am, don't want to have to fuss with racking the slide since seconds may count on weather I live or die.
"As the creator of all things Glock, a proven design in service since 1982 with Austrian military and police forces, and currently used all over the world including civilian use, I hereby declare that all my striker fired creations being carried with chambered rounds be referred to as "Strike 1" status. In the game of life, unlike the great American game of baseball, we can not afford to allow violent criminals a second, or heaven forbid, a third strike." -Gaston Glock, 7/27/1999 STRIKE ONE, YOU'RE OUT!!! (First person to post what the significance of the date 07/27/1999 is gets a LIKE for their post! ***DISCLAIMER: Gaston Glock never actually said any of this...)
On July 27th, 1999, Gaston Glock was brutally attacked by a hitman, contracted by Glock’s onetime business consultant Charles Ewert. Glock fought back, powered by his indomitable will and years of exercise, overpowering the would be assassin and knocking him unconcsious.
