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Papa_Tiger wrote:

Liberty wrote:I understand the original posers reluctance to chambering his Glock while carrying. I wouldn't carry carry one in such condition. The thing is that a Glock is a terrible choice for ones first carry, The OP should get rid of the Glock and find a gun with a proper hammer and thumb operated safety. I don't know how the OP came to the decision that he should purchase a Glock, but if he did so on a recommendation from his friends they did him a disservice. Glocks are not for everyone. Those who choose Glocks should be very aware of their safety issues and risks.

Replace Glock with "striker fired pistol without a manual safety". I disagree completely with the part in red and agree completely with the part in blue. There is nothing inherently wrong with a striker fired pistol without a manual or thumb safety nor are they more dangerous when used and carried properly than any other firearm. Using and carrying them requires the bearer to be aware of the safety issues and train with them appropriately, just as one should be aware of the safety issues and train appropriately when carrying any type of firearm.

One could say that a hammer fired pistol with a manual thumb safety is a terrible choice for one's first carry weapon as it requires more training to USE if the need arises. Same thing with DA/SA firearms without a safety. It all comes down to a matter of practice, training and familiarity with your weapon of choice.

I agree with this completely. I carry a striker fired. Proper training and practice with the thumb safety (along with a trigger job to clean up and reduce the pull) and I'm better with it than I am with any other pistol I've shot. With proper training and frequent practice, hammer vs. striker fired isn't an issue. It's "can it be carried safely and fired quickly at the desired target"

Alaska2texas wrote:
Also, if 30.06/30.07 signs are posted, the firearm stays in the vehicle. Is it smart to leave it locked and loaded while in the vehicle?

Regarding keeping a round chambered in the vehicle, I don't see an reason this would be an issue. The cabin temp would have to get pretty high (in excess of 800 degrees) to ignite gunpowder, which is the most flammable part of standard pistol ammunition. Assuming your car is going to be stationary, there are no impacts to worry about (even so, most modern pistols have mechanical safeties to avoid this problem). The only other way I could possibly see there being a danger to a gun in a vehicle is if someone got to it (at which point a chambered round is irrelevant). So, to my thinking, I see no concern with leaving a round chambered, outside of the same issues regarding leaving any firearm in your vehicle.

Not a whole lot to add, as I agree with both "carry how you're comfortable" and having the rest of your life to chamber a round. By that I mean spend some time getting comfortable carrying red, along with building muscle memory for your draw. I practice (with an unloaded pistol) drawing and taking off the safety in one fluid motion. It's such a part of muscle memory now that when I'm unholstering my pistol at the end of the day I have to do it slowly, otherwise if I move quickly I have a tendency to automatically take off the safety.

A lot of it comes down to whether or not you trust your sidearm. I would encourage you to get a set of "snap caps", so you can learn to trust your sidearm along with your own competency. You can use them to comfortably check the safety with a round chambered. Actually feeling how I couldn't accidentally fire a round off with the safety on was all I needed to be comfortable carrying red. It also gave me the opportunity to practice drawing, taking off the safety, and pulling the trigger. It helped me train, and training is the best way to build the much lauded muscle memory. Making sure I clear the holster, take off the safety, aim, and then pull the trigger smoothly was essential, as those are the actions I would want to take in an SD event. My preferred range allows holster draw, so I get live practice there every time I go, but with snap caps I can practice at home at my leisure.

Along with practicing, snap caps helped me test the quality of my EDC. The majority of issues with a pistol regarding its safe carry can be identified with snap caps. If you hear the click and firing pin impact any time it shouldn't (holstering, draw, pulling the trigger with the safety on, etc.) it's better to find out there's an issue with a dead round. A) You need to find out about the issue and B) you obviously don't want it to be with a live round. When both you and your sidearm can pass these tests, I've found most people are completely comfortable carrying chambered (I don't say cocked and locked because S&W Shields don't have a hammer to cock). Some prefer to not even have the safety engaged (or no manual safety at all), but that's not me. I'm confident in both my sidearm and myself when it comes to disengaging the safety during the draw. But again, that's a preference issue. You have opinions on both sides of the argument, some claiming carrying with a manual safety on will most likely lead to not firing when you need to, others saying that not having a manual safety engaged will easily lead to an ND. That's one where I say go with your level of comfort.