Firearm Safety and Reaction Considerations of Carrying with a Round in the Chamber
Times
Carrying your firearm without one in the chamber adds 2.5 seconds to your reaction time. The act of chambering a round may only take a second, but add in human error (such as drawing and pulling the trigger once or twice before remembering you need to rack the slide), and you’re adding valuable seconds to a life or death situation where every second counts.
The reaction time of an expert shooter from a concealed carry holster with a loaded chamber is 1.5 and normally 3 seconds for the average shooter. In a real-world scenario, add 1-2 seconds.
For our purposes, reaction time includes the period of time that passes from when you detect the deadly force necessity (threat) to when you are able to get a round in the direction of the threat. (Draw and clear holster, make weapon ready to fire, get on target, fire a round.)
Scenarios
Civilian stop-the-threat scenarios vary. You could be a bystander in a convenience store robbery or the target of an armed carjacking. FBI statistics state that, on average, these encounters occur at less than 3 yards, have a total of less than 3 rounds fired, and conclude in less than 3 seconds. We need to beat the 3 seconds.
If you’re doing the math you’ll see that in a real-world scenario an expert shooter can get a round on target on average and at best in 2.5 seconds. An average shooter can do the same in 4 seconds unless they need to chamber a round, which now puts the average shooter at 4.5 seconds at best.
With all this in mind, consider the reaction time. Consider other tactics and unknowns. Some play to your advantages, such as your ability to have the element of surprise (bystander scenario) or the chance you’re the one at the disadvantage (armed carjacking while you’re sitting in a car with your CCW in a difficult to draw from location). When seconds count, we want them working in our favor.
Reasons Not to Carry with One in the Chamber
Most people that don’t carry with one in the chamber do so due to little practice, fear of a negligent discharge, or concern for the safety of a child that could access the firearm. We can understand the child aspect, and without getting into that topic, let’s leave that to your judgment.
If you’re not carrying one in the chamber simply due to your lack of trust and ability in yourself and lack of training, it’s time to change that. If you’re doing so for the safety of a child, start rethinking other safety measures that could decrease the child’s risk and also allow you to keep a round in that chamber.
This article was originally written by the Grayman Briefing. Stay in the know, sign up for Intel and Situational Awareness alerts pushed to your phone on emerging threats and preparedness warnings. Click HERE to subscribe to the Grayman Briefing.
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