Carrying without a round in the chamber, sometimes called “Israeli carry,” is a controversial idea these days, but there are those who swear by it.
To put the issue into perspective, those who don’t carry with one in the chamber tend to fall into three groups:
- Those who hate guns, are scared of guns, don’t want to be near guns but want to pretend that they’re actually pro-2A. This is a person doing the Tim Walz “hunting” photo op (see here for a bit about that). My answer to these folks: Just stop it. Be honest. Get educated about firearms, the real facts (in context) about gun violence, and about why it makes sense for people to carry.
- Those who aren’t confident, yet, with carrying one in the chamber. If you’re new to carrying daily, I get it. It’s a strange feeling knowing that you have something that could potentially kill someone strapped to your body. It can take some adjustment, so I have no criticism for people in this situation. The solution: keep carrying. The more that you do it, the more comfortable and second nature that it gets.
- Those who hold the Israeli Defense Force in ultimate esteem. Now, based on the stories that I’ve heard about the IDF, I wouldn’t want to be on the opposing side of a conflict with them. They have a solid reputation. Does that mean that you should be using their training methods for your (presumably civilian) firearm training? That’s what we’ll talk about today.
To be specific, in the video below, Caleb with Patriot Training Center tells us why you should not carry Israeli style.
To summarize: modern pistols have safety features built in to make carrying with one in the chamber safe, so if you don’t carry one in the chamber, you are giving precious time to the attacker to continue to inflict violence before your firearm can be used to stop the threat.
The bottom line: When seconds may be the difference between life and death, do you want to take the chance that you may not have those extra few seconds that you need?
I don’t.
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Here we go again, with what to do while carrying a gun. Do I keep a round in the chamber or not. Lets start here. So your attacked. Your gun is loaded. Can you load a round in the chamber, before they shoot you?
If we the people can’t make up our mind, how we are going to deal with criminal assault, then maybe, we shouldn’t have guns at all. As a life member of the former NRA, and a Viet Nam veteran, I do know what I’m going to do, if I am assaulted by someone with a gun.
I will shoot to kill. If you are not prepared for such a response, then why do you continue to support the second amendment ? In a real attack, you have no time to thick about what you will do. You will do what nature drives you to do, kill or be killed.
Seems to me that a weapon without a round in the chamber ready to fire is basically nothing more than a glorified brick. When someone is attempting to kill me or inflict bodily harm on me, I want something that will do the same thing to him quicker than he can do it to me. Unloaded gun doesn’t meet that qualification. So carry your weapon with a round in the chamber, make sure the appropriate safety mechanisms are engaged until you’re ready to actually shoot, and then practice, practice, practice. Practice until you’re sick of practicing and then do it some more. Your life may depend on that one day.
I always keep one in the chamber it’s crazy not to!!!!!!!
As a now retired Director of Facilities,back in the 70s one of my responsibilities was the securities department.whitch mandated that I attend and pass the Dekalb co police range requirements. Back then my carry was a Smith &Wesson model 60. Always carried with a full cyclinder.
From than to now I have never carried on an empty chamber. Today I carry Smith M&P Shield + two 13 round mags
One in the pipe can save your life!