On your HD shotgun - Do you have a live round in chamber?

[Blackeagle]

Like was stated before, most shotguns aren't drop proof. If Baser's dog is a little rowdy, it seems he's just trying to protect the dog from getting shot.

An empty chamber will do that just as well, without the potential for confusion, so why the snap cap?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pcon]

An empty chamber will do that just as well, without the potential for confusion, so why the snap cap?

*shrugs* I don't know his reasoning. I guess maybe I misinterpreted the question.

[BaserRonin]

An empty chamber will do that just as well, without the potential for confusion, so why the snap cap?

because I had one is the only reason.

It is just myself and my girlfriend in the house, there is no one to mess with my stuff. For all intents and purposes the shotgun is unloaded and we both know that. First action is and will be to rack it.

It does make a neat sound when that snapcap hits the floor at 2 AM though...but there is no reason other then I had 1 laying around.


Edit: it is an Ithica m37 with the extended tube. It's only purpose for me is self defense. You will never find me checking to see if it is loaded; the tube is always full and the snapcap is always in the chamber. After cleaning/maintenance, it goes back to that same "Defensive ready" state. If I take it to the range for a function test, when I get home it immediately goes back to it's "defensive ready" state.

[64zebra]

I can understand that, but I'm thinking about timing. If the guy is in my house (my apt) I want to make sure I'm ready as soon as I can be to defend myself. I see tv shows where someone is carrying a gun around unholstered looking for someone and 5 minutes into the chase decides to rack the slide. That makes 0 sense for me. I leave my chambered with the safety on. If the guy is already in my home, I don't know that he deserves a warning.

think more about timing....it takes half a second to rack a shotgun

be ready as possible is a good thing but have a shotty chambered that does not have other safety features (drop safe, etc) is something you should consider compromising on
also, since you're in an apt you might consider a handgun at the bedside/tableside/wherever you are to grab in an instant

as far as what you see on TV.....its on TV.....don't put into practice what you see on TV....its usually stupid/bad practice about 99.999999% of the time, thats why it makes 0 sense to you (that means your brain is working right )

I keep my Mossy 500 with 7 in the mag NOT chambered safety off, 6 in the side saddle, that way I (or the wife) can grab it off the rack over the inside of my closet door, rack it and take care of business
edit: I do not keep the chamber empty for the sole fact of the sound of racking the shotgun, if the sound of the chambering has an effect then fine, if not then the sound of the discharge and the 00 impacting the BG will

[retsupt99]

My coach gun is sitting just inside the safe...2 - 12ga 00 buck shells on the shelf, and 5 more on the stock...I can load it in a couple of seconds.

[edr9x23super]

I voted; I don't care much for the racking of the slide sound at all. My view is that if I have picked up the 12 gauge Benelli, we aren't talking, racking slides or threatening or asking or giving any quarter.

I am going in shooting without prior warning, because if I have picked that weapon up, BGs are already inside my secure perimeter......

[GKG]

I voted; I don't care much for the racking of the slide sound at all. My view is that if I have picked up the 12 gauge Benelli, we aren't talking, racking slides or threatening or asking or giving any quarter.

I am going in shooting without prior warning, because if I have picked that weapon up, BGs are already inside my secure perimeter......

+1000 - Gotta go with edr9x23super here. As impressive as it sounds when I rack any of my Shotguns, the moment when I'm racking that weapon it is UNUSABLE. It is not in battery and cannot be discharged. Of course I keep a round in the pipe on my carry weapons, be they Glock or Single action pistols, rifles or shotguns.

[Rexster]

No, because I also transport my shotgun almost daily, as it is also my police duty shotgun, and sometimes a road-trip gun. An inertia-fire would be possible in a vehicular collision, and if a fire followed the collision, a cook-off from a chambered round is MUCH more dangerous that a round in a mag tube. Moreover, at work, one of my rookies might decide to examine my shotgun; I can't always be keeping an eye on them. They are trained to carry shotguns chamber-empty. If I had a dedicated HD-only shotgun, I might well store it with a chambered round, safety on.

Edited to add: As for this idea of impressing one's enemies by racking a pump gun, well, that is a mixed blessing. I often want stealth on my side. I like that my 870P will smoothly chamber a round if I pump it slowly and quietly; some pump guns will tend to hang up if not stroked smartly in both directions. Moreover, not everyone is all that impressed by a shotgun being racked.

[Dal1Celt]

Nothing like the sound of racking a shotgun loaded to scare the hell out of any would be intruder.

And I have young kids in the house, so no loaded round but ammo in the mag.

[Tally XD]

Keep it chambered with safety on when its on duty in my house. Empty when stored.

Why chance a misfeed when its needed most?? One round ready to go is the "way to go" in my opinion.

I don't fall for the "sound of a pump shotgun being racked will scare the intruder to death" crap. All I want him to hear is the muzzle blast.

[Moga]

Yep, 8+1. Safety on. Gun is in plain sight next to the nightstand.

+1 edr9x23super. It's time for business if some one breaches my home in the middle of the night. Forget about racking a round. That's made for tv to dramatize an action sequence. Plus, some guys may be hopped up on junk and may not discern that sound or may not be otherwise frightened by it. I don't want to take chances with my life. When I need my tool, it has to be ready to go right then.

[rodc13]

Full mag + round in the chamber, safety on, just like my 1911s.

I don't see any tactical advantage to having a weapon short one round and not ready to fire. There may be a safety advantage if you live with someone who's likely to be mucking about with it, but that circumstance requires even more care.

If your goal is to scare an intruder, I'd submit that yelling, "I've got a shotgun, you #$%$^@%!!" could be equally effective as the slide racking sound. Because my goal is to be prepared to defend myself and my houshold, I prefer to have my weapon ready for use.

[ppkheat]

Full mag + round in the chamber, safety on, just like my 1911s.

I don't see any tactical advantage to having a weapon short one round and not ready to fire. There may be a safety advantage if you live with someone who's likely to be mucking about with it, but that circumstance requires even more care.

If your goal is to scare an intruder, I'd submit that yelling, "I've got a shotgun, you #$%$^@%!!" could be equally effective as the slide racking sound. Because my goal is to be prepared to defend myself and my houshold, I prefer to have my weapon ready for use.

+1

Same with me, though everyone's household/family situation is different, so you do what works for you. My bedside shotgun stays nearby, fully loaded ready to go, if I had toddlers, or teens I couldn't trust, living here, I would alter my readiness.

As far as "racking the shotgun" as a deterrent. Yep that sound would be a deterrent; and so is that little click when the safety goes off.

[wjh2657]

"Cruiser Mode" (tube loaded/chamber empty) just because that was the way I have been trained and I am comfortable with it. I have the house hardened with storm doors etc. so there will be enough delay between first crash and getting into the house for me to cycle gun. Shotgun is in Home Backup rack on bed and will be in my hands in seconds.

[razz]

Most pump shotguns don't have firing pin safety so if you drop your loaded shotgun, it could go bang even if it had safety on.