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Dirthawking wrote:This topic came up the other day while we were visiting family. My brother in law is home for a few days before deploying to Afghanistan ( US Army). He asked why we felt the need to carry one in the pipe as they are taught not to. Took me by surprise that our soldiers in a combat zone are being taught to not carry one at the ready!

That's horrific!

Wes wrote:Some mags will not properly seat in the mag well if it is full and one is in the pipe. My girlfriends Beretta Nano for instance, you can't load a mag to full capacity and have one in the pipe as well. My Ruger and my xdm otoh will accept a full mag with one in the pipe. The idea being with extra mags at one less is that you can do a tactical reload if necessary (ie you are engaged in a fire fight and take cover to reload while a round is still chambered).

As to whether we carry with one in the chamber, absolutely. Anyone who has their chl should have reviewed the 21 foot scenario, and if one is not ready to go that distance gets even larger. The concern abut potentially dropping it and having to get over the instinct to reach for it as it falls is a very valid concern though (always let it fall!). I am curious though as to why some think people would come on an anonymous forum and lie about something like this.

My mileage varies. My Beretta Nano will seat my original 6 rounders as well as my 8 rounders with a round chambered. I've never had a problem with it.

Count me as one of the "one in the pipe" crowd. And I don't care if anyone believes me. I know I do & God forbid I have to use my gun, the attacker would know that it's true.

One other reason to carry a full load is that it gives you an extra round (17+1 in most full-size 9mm, 15+1 in most full-size .40 s&w, 8+1 in most full-size .45 acp). Why give up any advantage of you don't have to.

YouTube unintentional discharge, non intentional discharge, accidental discharge, etc. The overwhelming majority involve putting a finger or some other object on the trigger. I've spent hours on the site and have yet to see an incident where a discharge happened without trigger contact.

Also, I tend toward semi-autos without external safeties.

And last, I have no delusions about my abilities in a high stress situation. Adding a slide-rack to my equation is a recipe for disaster. I'm not willing to put me or my family at that kind of risk.