McPatrickClan

No offense taken. You make a good point.

I'm not necessarily uncomfortable doing it. As a matter of fact, I have carried around the house before (am right now- cocked & loaded) and been getting much more comfortable with it.

I think the bottom line is this. I'm a fairly serious person and I think the feeling I'm getting is just that feeling you get when you realize the gravity of the situation. I understand how deeply serious it is to carry a firearm and what responsibility I have. It's not something I take lightly. So I just want to think it through but not be afraid to cross the threshold of maturity (since you should be a mature, responsible person if you are going to carry).

Scott

It is something I tell people in my CHP courses. Before you carry a gun you have to make the decision that when the time comes you will use it. Some people get the training, the gun and the permit and in the end decide they will not use it.

For some carrying is a no brainer, for others it requires more time. Everyone is different. The decision is ultimately yours, but make it before you carry. Also consider several potential scenarios. Could you shoot an obvious young teenager or a woman. Unfortunately those are things to consider these days.

__________________
People, they're what's wrong with this planet. -Scott-

Zach and Holly

I know the feeling -- we invested in a class from a reputable instructor, badgered the Oregon Firearms Federation with a hundred legal questions, and took apart and reassembled our weapons a hundred times over. I'll probably get jumped on for this next statement, but I'm not comfortable yet carrying in public with a round in the chamber. We've got the Ruger LCP with NO safety so all we have to rely on is the heavy trigger pull. For a quick pocket draw, it makes me a little nervous. Out of curiosity, is there anyone here who doesn't carry chambered?

As mentioned, the "what if" scenarios are what sold us completely to start carrying.

__________________
Isn't carrying a gun a little overkill? Paranoid? When you need it, and don't have it, you sing a different tune.

ccw9mm

I was "new" to pistols in ~1992. A year later, I had decided to purchase my first pistol and to learn how to competently shoot and handle the gun.

I knew that I wanted to carry legally at some point, and I knew that it would help me stay legal through minor infractions to and from the range (this being California, at the time).

But, as I reviewed the questions I needed to answer for myself, I realized that I was nowhere near prepared enough for my standards. So, I set my standards in terms of legalities, moral/defensive position, degree of preparedness I wanted to achieve, and firearms handling and and shooting competency.

After two years of shooting several times a week, running through the various scenarios, dry firing, IPSC competitions and several training courses, I then felt reasonably prepared. For myself, I simply refused to even apply for a CHL unless I felt confident and skilled enough to be able to make the right decisions and avoid striking the proverbial 3yr old child across the street with misses.

Part of that two years was covering the questions and finding the answers we all need to know. What was I prepared to do in my own defense? In defense of my loved ones? Could I stop an attacker no matter what it took, even if if a life were lost? And so on.

Darned right I was prepared to defend at all costs, but some of the Q&A was unnerving, until I realized I had years earlier decided I would never again be a victim, never allow my family to be harmed, never again allow myself to be placed in a situation where I had zero control over events and nothing to say about it. Doing so with a defensive weapon in hand simply made that part of the decision simpler, really, if a bit more sticky, legally. I also realized that a defensive firearm was merely a tool, a means to and end. I had a right to the defense of myself and others, and the tools with which to achieve that.

"Gravity" of the decisions? Absolutely. Depending on where you live and the situation you're faced with, your snap decisions might have long-ranging consequences for you and your family. It's worth a little thinking.

The other part was competency with handling, usage and carrying of my pistol. I tried to put myself in the place of a jury of peers who might hold a fairly dim view of someone with careless gun handling skills, faulty judgment, anything less than exceptional accuracy under stress. While even experts can be seriously impacted by the chemical dump induced by stressful situations, I wanted to be as prepared as I could prior to taking the step. If I could not manage and mitigate the collateral damage via my competency and ability with my own defensive weapon, I don't believe I would have taken the step to CHL despite being otherwise at peace with the decision.

Once I was comfortable I could articulate and justify my understanding of the issues, my knowledge of the legal rights afforded me, my skill and competency with my chosen firearm, my ability to competently control it, and some skill with reading people and situations accurately, then I acquired the CHL.

I'm sure that to many folks such a process seems pointless. But for me, being new to owning a firearm, I simply refused to take the step without giving due consideration to what would most certainly be a long litany of questions presented by my California "peers" if I were to ever need to defend myself. I demanded that I be able to correctly interpret common situations, correctly understand the applicable law that covered the situation, and be able to competently and skilfully handle a defensive weapon to terminate the threat.

It short, all that preparation and evaluation comes to this: Am I prepared to defend myself and my loved ones to the degree necessary to protect life and limb, no matter what it takes, no matter the cost to the BG, even if that means death (his or mine)? Yes. Absolutely.

But, that's me. Where your comfort level lies, both in terms of the Q&A and the practical competency, only you can tell. A good teacher/trainer helps, and varies training can help quite a bit.

Have been carrying daily since. I won't have it any other way.

YMMV, of course.

__________________
Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it.
Reports: CZ P01 pt1, pt2.
Thoughts: Justifiable self defense.

SleepingZ

Good morning you 2, I carry a Kel-tec P-3at, just not as lucky as you to have a LCP. Both guns are similar (yea I know it's hard to believe) You sound like you have covered all of your bases, and are well on your way to responsible CCW, but the one big concern I have is the empty chamber. Because of the size of the LCP and shape of it, I for one think you have a FAR GREATER chance of shooting your self while in a panic mode trying to chamber a round than the odds of it going off while drawing your weapon.

While I am not a wheel gun fan, if you hate the idea of a hot round, maybe you should look into one of those.

Have you ever put a snap-cap in your LCP and tried to make it fire while drawing?

Bottom line is you 2 will need to do what your are comfortable with. Nice to have you around, and I enjoy your enthusiasm.


Z

__________________
You can run & hide, but it will take them that much longer to find your body

Cupcake

Carrying is a serious business, but not the most serious part. Read a bunch of true stories and what-ifs. Think about them, and what you think the correct course of action would be (without peaking at everyone elses answers first). Be honest with yourself. If you can't decide that you are able to take another human life to save your own or your families', then maybe don't carry yet. If you find yourself thinking that you just want to scare them with the sight of the gun, but if they get closer you'll fire a warning shot: Perhaps not yet. I'm not saying this is an issue for you, 'cause I have no idea. I'm just saying that if you aren't sure about your ability to act without hesitation when faced with great danger, then your gun just might be taken from you and used against you. You have to decide ahead of time, there is no time to be rational once you've been attacked.

__________________
www.zerotoathlete.blogspot.com
My journey to fitness.

ccw9mm

^^ Ditto. Situation management. Effective defense essentially comes down to that. The more expertly and quickly you can turn the tables and take some measure of control of the flow of a situation, the greater chance you have to direct the outcome. Until then, you're simply in the path of the train. Seriously, being one round down and forcing non-essential motions into a presentation on which your life depends can be the last thing you ever do. Think about it. It might well be the right choice for you. For me it's not, but then that works for me. You'll need to understand and accept what your carry mode is going to be, along with the attendant risks.

Is it the "public" nature of things, or simply the perceived risk of negligent discharge due to lack of a formal manual safety? If merely the latter, gaining competency through repetition and use can mitigate those concerns.

As the very wise saying goes: keep the booger hook of the bang switch, until you're ready to fire.

So long as you have a proper holster and have a competent draw, you should never have troubles with the LCP, P3AT, Glock or any other modern pistol that's lacking a formal manual safety. The cure is to dry fire, dry "draw", and keep practicing until the couple/three thousand iterations become muscle memory. Then, practice some more, to keep it fresh.

Without a round in the chamber, a gun is only a (bad) club. You're also down a round, which is a serious consideration in a pistol with only 6-7rd magazines as it is.

My suggestion is to gain the familiarity and competency through dry fire / dry draw exercises until, after several thousand iterations of drawing from concealment, you can competently and reliably acquire and present your firearm even as (mental) scenarios are unfolding. It takes practice to gain that comfort level, but that's a crucial skill with a concealed weapon. Can't bring to bear what you can't effectively bring to bear.

__________________
Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it.
Reports: CZ P01 pt1, pt2.
Thoughts: Justifiable self defense.

McPatrickClan

Try carrying with one in the chamber around the house. That's what I did for hours last night & it was amazing how much more comfortable I became. At first, I was a little skittish but after a while, I realized that nothing was going to enter the trigger guard unless I was quite careless.

BlackPR

As long as you have a good holster for a LCP or Kel-Tec, pocket carry should be safe -- although I don't think that's what the OP is carrying. I refused to carry my Kel-Tec with one in the chamber. I never got past the lack of manual safety. At one point, the kel-tec came out of my pocket while I was rolling around playing on the floor with my 2 year old (using a DeSantis Nemesis holster). That made my mind up then and there that I would NOT carry it with one in the chamber.

When I switched to the CCO full time I went to Condition 1 carry, but it required that I get a good belt and a good holster. A very good holster made all the difference in the world in my comfort level while carrying, both mental comfort and physical comfort.

I have said to folks before that I think the "Gun is useless unless it has a round in the chamber" idea is kind of bunk. We carry guns to mitigate risk. You're dramatically safer with one than without one. You increase your odds slightly by carrying one chambered, but I suspect we're getting down to the difference between 99.9% defensible and 99.99%. Each step you take after training and simply carrying is subject to the law of diminishing returns.

__________________
Truth and falsehood are both whatever and simultaneously not so, rather than not.

Colorado Gun Law FAQ's: http://rmgo.org/faq/

KD0EMF

archer51

I've been carrying whenever I can, since I got my permit.
As you know noplace is safe from the possibility of an attack. You have the means available to you to protect yourself and loved ones, why not do it?