It’s been over 6 years that we’ve been doing this and when the topic of carrying with a round in the chamber comes up, we always say the same thing; do it.
I’ve been surprised at how many people decide not to carry with a round in the chamber, and the reasons are numerous. Many are new to concealed carry, some aren’t comfortable with it, etc.
The best thing that I can say to them in one paragraph;
Do what you are the most comfortable with, but be honest with yourself. Do you carry without a round in the chamber because you don’t trust yourself? Your skills? Your firearm? If any of these are your answer, the best step is to get yourself some formal training to ease any of these concerns. We carry so that we’re prepared at a moment’s notice, and having to pull that slide back will take precious seconds that we can’t always afford. Moreover, strange things happen to humans under stress, and there are times when it’s not physically possible for someone to rack that slide correctly.
The story below is from a few years ago, but I’ve been seeing it pop up recently on various social media accounts. In this case, we have a father and son working at the family business. When the bad guys come in, the father has his gun ready, but not actually ready.
He was missing a chambered round, and the half-second that he was given to react was not enough.
Sadly, both the father and son lost their lives this day at the hands of evil. Had the father been a little more prepared, the outcome could have been different. The fact is, we’ll never know.
But what this does teach us is that time, in these situations, is very precious, and literally every second matters when we’re forced into a fight.
