Please check out the video above, it’s the most comprehensive argument for not carrying a gun without a round in the chamber that I have ever seen. It demonstrates, with real life security camera footage, people that either had no time to rack their slide, failed to rack their slide correctly under pressure, or totally forgot to rack their slide. In many of the instances in the video, it ended tragically.
When everyone starts carrying a gun on them for the first time, many people carry without a round in the chamber. This is also called “Israeli Carry” or “Condition 3” – which means you have a loaded magazine inserted in the gun but no round in the chamber. There are other nicknames for a gun without a round in the chamber, which include “Deadman’s Gun” or “Paper Weight” – obviously jokes but there is a reason behind the jokes.
Before I get into the argument for not carrying in condition 3, let me first breakdown what the conditions are:
Condition 0: Magazine inserted, round in the chamber, and the safety is off.
- For Single Action or Double Action Guns: The hammer is back.
Condition 1: Magazine inserted, round in the chamber, and the safety is on.
- For Single Action or Double Action Guns: The hammer is back.
Condition 2: Primarily applies to Single-Action/Double-Action. This is a magazine inserted, round in the chamber, hammer forward. For revolvers, it would be rounds inserted into cylinder, cylinder locked into place, hammer forward.
Condition 3: Magazine inserted, no round in the chamber.
- For Single Action or Double Action Guns: The hammer is forward.
Condition 4: Is an unloaded gun… no magazine inserted and no round in the chamber.
- For Single Action or Double Action Guns: The hammer is forward. For revolvers, the hammer is forward and there are no rounds in the cylinders.
When it comes to how to carry, that is always a PERSONAL choice.
There are many factors behind carrying a gun, and personal risk assessment is one of them. Obviously if you carry a gun in condition 3 or 4, it is much less likely to have an accidental discharge. Notice, I didn’t say it is “safer” because depending on the situation, it may not be safer.
For instance, if a guy shot me in the left arm, preventing me from being able to use that arm to rack my slide back and get my condition 3 gun loaded – then in that scenario, it would be less safe! Because my inability to take out the threat in front of me makes me less safe. By the way, the video above shows the exact scenario I just mentioned happening in a real life scenario, caught via security camera footage! You have to watch the video if you have not already done so: https://youtu.be/rVPiic-ELoM
But carrying in Condition 3 or 4 definitely makes you safer from yourself 🙂 You are less likely to shoot yourself. And this may be a major concern and you may ultimately decide that the risk of shooting yourself outweighs the risk of having to load your gun first to defend yourself against a threat. That is a personal choice for you.
I havn’t met anyone that carries gun in condition 4 – but good portion of concealed carriers carry in condition 3. Enough so that it inspired me to write this email and share this video.
I personally carry in Condition 0.
I want my gun to be able to get into the fight as soon as possible. That being said, I too felt scared the first time I carried this way.
However, if you invest in high quality holster, which provides complete trigger coverage, the risk is minimized. I’ve seen people investing $500+ on high quality gun, but then go cheap on holster, drop $15 on nylon holster. Your $500+ gun will be worthless if you aren’t able to draw your firearm effectively due to a cheap holster. Furthermore, cheap holsters have a much higher chance of creating a potentially dangerous situation with regards to accidental discharges.
Along with the condition you carry and the type of holster you select, where you carry your firearm is a factor when it comes to personal safety. Should you choose to carry on your strong side hip, it reduces the chance of a serious or fatal injury from an accidental discharge (compared to carrying “Appendix Carry” on the front of your body, which points the gun into your thigh/groin).
At the end of the day, ultimately, if you only feel comfortable carrying in condition 3, that is fine. Just make sure to practice your draw and the racking of the slide together as one movement. You will need to be extra fast to help compensate for the lost time in having to load gun. But most importantly, it is better to have a gun in condition 3 than not have a gun at all.
All of that being said, if you do plan on carrying condition 3, please watch the video above first so that you can be fully aware of the risks behind carrying that way. At the end of the day, everyone makes their own personal choice and has to weigh the pros/cons for themselves – but my goal with this email is to provide more information so that you can make a more informed choice.
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