player_twister wrote:I've had my CHL for over a year now, and have always wondered about this. Personally, I do not pack with a chambered round, I just don't feel safe. I know it takes seconds away from any situation, but that's a chance I feel I must take.
Please tell me your thoughts. Thanks.
Modern firearms do not go off by themselves. You have to do something very specific for a gun to fire - pull the trigger. Guns don't just go off and they don't pull their own triggers. If you have a good holster (which should cover the trigger and guard), your trigger isn't going to get pulled unless you do it yourself. If it's a pistol, you may have a manual safety as well. I carry a Hi-Power, cocked and locked. The Hi-Power is a single-action pistol, similar in function to the 1911. "Cocked and locked" means there's a round in the chamber, the hammer is cocked, and the safety is on. This is really the only way to carry this kind of pistol and be able to use it at a moment's notice in a self-defense situation. I was apprehensive about carrying my pistol this way, until I took it to the range and realized how utterly impossible it is to fire the gun when the safety is engaged. The safety isn't going to move itself, either. They're designed that way.
The bottom line is this: carried properly, your gun is not going to just go off. Not having a round in the chamber can mean the difference between living and dying in a pool of your blood, should the need for self-defense arise. A criminal isn't going to wait for you to rack the slide on your pistol.
