Empty Chamber Carry
Rob PincusDescription
Rob Pincus discusses the concept of empty chamber carry and why it is important to carry your firearm responsibly when choosing to keep a round in the chamber. The trigger area should always be covered by a quality holster when a weapon is loaded for defensive use.
Here comes another important tip from the Personal Defense Network. Imagine a worst-case scenario of defensive shooting. Imagine that I've got a crowd of people, I've got family members around me... Someone comes into this public environment and starts shooting. He's turning the shotgun or the rifle or the pistol towards me. He's shooting. There's people screaming. There's people moving all around the environment. I've pushed a family member out of the way. I'm clearing my concealment garment. A bystander comes by. There's the bad guy. I'm getting ready to push them out of the way and protect myself from getting knocked over. I'm going back under my concealment garment, getting my hand on the gun. And now I'm finally in a position to stop the bad guy. But I don't have a round in the chamber. Some people choose to carry a firearm for personal defense, for the defense of others, for the defense of their family in a public environment. But they don't put a round in the chamber. Honestly, I've never really understood that. Lemme give you a couple principles here. First, if you're gonna carry a firearm and be prepared to use it to defend yourself, you really should be comfortable with having that gun loaded and ready to go. Second, if you're gonna carry a firearm and be ready to use it in a public environment, you should be carrying it in a way that protects the trigger guard and ensures that the gun isn't gonna go off accidentally if someone bumps up against it or if you rub up against a pocket or reach for it quickly... You shouldn't be able to hit the trigger if you're trying to pull it out of a pocket, pull it out of a waistband. So we should never be in a situation where-- This gun, obviously, is unloaded just for demonstration purposes-- we just take a gun and stick it in our waistband with the trigger exposed. There's even holsters that are designed now-- so-called holsters--that are designed that leave the trigger exposed. Now, some of those holsters "recommend" that you not have a round in the chamber, and yet... If you go to their websites, they even show you how the gun can be shot while it's still attached to that holster if you were to use it with a round in the chamber. Carrying a gun with a round in the chamber and the trigger exposed is reckless. It's stupid. Don't do it. At the same time, carrying a gun with a loaded magazine, no round in the chamber, inside of a holster that protects the trigger guard also seems like a bad idea. If you're not comfortable with a loaded gun, if you're not prepared to use that loaded gun quickly and efficiently, maybe it's not time for you to be carrying a gun. On the other hand, if you are gonna carry a gun, go ahead and load it, make it ready, and know that regardless of what this hand is doing, regardless of what the circumstances and the surrounding that you are, if you can your hand on the gun, you can get it up into a shooting position, you're gonna be able to fire a round with as little time, effort, or energy as possible. And that means carrying a round chambered. Be sure to check out the Personal Defense Network for more important tips, just like that one.
Bad things can happen if you try to chamber a round under adrenaline and extreme stress. Carry responsibly, carry one in the chamber...always!
Carrying a gun for a private company means that I have to carry with an empty chamber. There are many times when I'm in a crowded situation and have to make an arrest and my gun can be exposed. I can't take the chance that somebody will take my gun and start shooting innocents, or me. That gives me a split second to react and try to get my firearm back.
Disagree. You are arrogant and rude. I don't believe I need to carry "hot". Still America here and still free.
Sick and tired of ALL the EXPERTS out there who think they should be the ones to declare "who should carry" or not, just because someone want carry C3!!!
Whats the point if its not loaded , don't carry if your not trained and confident.
I've been in law enforcement for the past 12+ years. I always carry C1 and my handgun's only safety is me. If the laws in your area don't allow you the freedom to carry as we can in Arizona, then you may not be able to carry C1; but if you can, you should. Someone said they'd go up against anyone w/ a blunt object vs. them w/ C3 carry. That's stupid. You don't know the when, where, who & how of the attack that is coming. Most attacks aren't that announced, they happen in moments and close at hand. The person with a knife in hand will win over the gun carry in C3 every time. This is what we (LE) train for, & the simple truth is people overestimate themselves when they have a gun. As to "would you let your 9 month old granddaughter crawl on your lap next to C1 holstered weapon?" YES!!!! She would be safe & I doubt she could wrestle it away. If the holster you have could let a baby or child remove it from your person, then it is not a good holster. My sidearm goes with me to church, movies, birthday parties, parks, banks, schools, etc, etc, etc. It is always C1 and it has NEVER fired itself. I am the safety. You should train, train, train; and be the safety. The only safe firearm is the one being used by a responsible owner.
I think it is very personal issue. If somebody is not in instant danger all the time then s/he has one more 1 second to put a round into chamber. So it is not so important to carry loaded or unloaded. In my opinion the real matter is training. By the way Rob wounded paper-man in the arm.
This logic is how we got Obama in the White House. Don't be sheeple - being a "gun expert" who teaches tactical shooting everyday makes the guy no more an expert on C1 vs C3 than the pilot in the left seat of a B-737 is an expert on hijackings. The 2 subjects are NOT necessarily related. Think about it, don't just blindly follow. Secondly, it is reckless and nonsensical to suggest that anyone carrying C3 isn't rteady to carry a gun. What egotistical BS that is! Who is Rob Pincus to tell anyone what they can and can't do? Shall not be infringed, remember? Sheesh. Thirdly, I taught karate for many years. As such, I felt reasonably safe being in places where others may not be safe. Does that mean everyone is safe going where I go? Nope. Pincus trains everyday and has good habits - not so for the average joe carrying a gun everyday in his job in the bank. That advice Pincus gives is shallow and reckless and may just get him invited to a lawsuit someday. When you use poorly-worded terminology that suggests only a noob carries C3, guess what, you encourage people to carry C1 when they aren't ready. Bang. Everyone loses that scenario. Also, Pincus cannot possibly know all the myriad reasons that make C3 practical for some situations. Would you let your 9 month old grandaughter crawl all over your lap next to a holstered C1 1911? Do you think C1 is just as safe with a Glock as it is with a Sig Mk25? Of c ourse not, so let stop attempting the one-size-fits-all mentality. The scenarios Pincus presented are fantasy. I've seen many black belt instructors who couldn't teach squat because their techniques were too dependent on a series predetermined reactions by the bad guy. Stats say you'll go your entire life and never need to draw. If you do, stats further say you won't need to shoot. Stats also say if you defy all those odds, chances are better that you'll win tonight's $420 million Lotto jackpot than to have all those conditions met and to also have C1 save the day. You'd be better off worrying about a lightning strike. Lastly, Pinus lost credibilty with me the day he sidled up to internet lunatic James Yeager. P.S. I hereby issue the follow challenge: I will challenge anyone to a duel, me armed with a C3-carried G17 and you armed with a "blunt object" or stapler. No takers? Didn't think so, so lets stop making the gun community look stupid and stop making patently stupid comments.
Never understood how some people insist that a round always has to be in the chamber, and equally insist that a firearm should always be stored unloaded. The same people will lock their defense weapon up when they get home. Really? That is when you are most likely to need it if you are a civilian. Isn't an unchambered auto on your hip in the house far superior to any weapen that is locked up somewhere? Just asking . . .
I've never understood why people would want to carry a gun without one in the pipe. I've had people tell me they're not comfortable carrying a gun with a round chambered. I usually tell them to go buy a good hammer, it's cheaper. Go about it right or go home.