should your gun be chambered and safety off during concealed carry?

[combat clarence]

i was wondering if i should have a round chambered and or should i have safety on or off while carrying? i am sure there are several opinions any help will do. thank you.

[tombogan03884]

Carry with a round in the chamber and safety ON.
That's why it is there.

[mkm]

It is my personal belief that a carry gun should definitely have a round in the chamber.  To me, chambering a round while the threat is present only increases reaction time, increases steps you need to take to address the threat, and increases the things that could go wrong.  I see no advantage to carrying what, to me, is essentially an unloaded gun.

As to the safety, I think that has a lot to do with how much practice and muscle memory you create in swiping it off, the type of firearm you carry, and your mode of carry.  However, I'll let folks who carry guns with safeties provide more details and experienced input.  Personally, I'm a fan of keeping the steps to engage the threat at a bare minimum.  I'm a fan of simple and effecient; for that reason, I carry a pistol with no external safety to disengage.  My Glock (insert any similar pistol and all revolvers that I can think of) is draw, aim, shoot with no extra steps.  Other opinions may vary.

[Ichiban]

Definitely want one chambered.  Regardless of how quick you think you are it just takes too much time to chamber a round - assuming that you have both hands available to do that, which you may not.

If your gun has a safety use it and train with it until sweeping it off is just part of the drawing motion.  Panicking and forgetting to take the safety off is a very real concern if it requires thought and is not ingrained into your "muscle memory."

Practice, practice, practice.   

[Timothy]

I carry a 1911 as do TomBogan and Ichiban.

I carry cocked and locked which is Condition 1, chambered round, full magazine and the thumb safety engaged to safe the firearm.  It's what I'm comfortable with!  In my mind, any gun that is supplied with a thumb type safety is designed for it to be used at all times.

DA/SA pistols will generally have a decocker with a device to keep the hammer from contacting the firing pin like the Beretta, Sig Sauer and others.  DAO like the Glock have no external safety.  In all cases, it serves no purpose to keep the chamber empty as others have explained.

[Sponsor]

[Solus]

Did you catch the show on the Tueller Drill?

It demonstrated that with an attacker starting from 21 feet, you would need to be very quick to draw and get off any effective shots before he was upon you without moving significantly and then just being able to get the job done.  If you had to rack the slide to be ready to fire in addition to all of that, you chances go way down.

And that was from 21 feet.  You will be very lucky to have that much distance between you and your attacker when you perceive the threat.

Keep a round in the chamber for sure.

[Jkwas]

Definitely want one chambered.  Regardless of how quick you think you are it just takes too much time to chamber a round - assuming that you have both hands available to do that, which you may not.

If your gun has a safety use it and train with it until sweeping it off is just part of the drawing motion.  Panicking and forgetting to take the safety off is a very real concern if it requires thought and is not ingrained into your "muscle memory."

Practice, practice, practice.   

Yes. Modern firearms are perfectly safe with a round chambered.  They have built in safeguards against going off "accidentally".
Should you have your safety on or off?  Depends on the gun. Slide mounted on DA/SA safeties?  Off  IMO. Frame mounted safeties?
Optional but train hard with whatever you decide to use.  And of course, some guns don't have manual safeties.

[mauler]

Absolutely carry one in the chamber.  If your gun has an external safety then I strongly suggest keeping it on safe while carrying and putting it on fire when drawing.  Carrying a gun without one in the chamber is a really bad idea.  It is handicapping yourself severely in a life and death situation.  It would be kind of like buying a Dodge Challenger with the 10 cylinder and racing it without taking it out of first gear, only you don't lose your pink slip, you lose your life.

[twyacht]

Have one in the pipe, or get a revolver....Utilize all safeties and features of said firearm. Regardless of model.

The BG's are cocked and locked,.....so should you...

[kmitch200]

Should you have your safety on or off?  Depends on the gun.

This. ^^^
My Glock has no external safeties to disengage, neither do my Sigs. (or revos) By carrying my (series 80) 1911s cocked and locked I get to use all 3 safeties.