How do you carry your XD (chambered, etc)?

[dstorm1911]

Any gun I carry is locked and loaded as soon as I leave the house,

3 years ago we had a robbery at a nearby Circle K convience store, a customer attempted to draw his concealed block he carried it chamber empty and THOUGHT he'd practiced racking the slide enough to be able to do it fast etc... he found out that the living room in front of a mirror is no way near real life the BG took the glock outa his hand as he attempted to rack the slide racked it himself and then shot the man in the groin for attempting to interfer with his robbery he tossed his gun on the now down customer.......... it was an airsoft he traded for a real glock which 2 days later he used to kill one police officer and wound another!!

PLEASE do not bother to carry a weapon unless #1 ya are properly trained in its use under stress

#2 don't bother to carry a weapon unless its ready to actually be used the gun ya supply some BG might just get used against some of my brothers in Blue (or tan as it were)

[lilxboi]

I'm sure most felt uncomfortable with carrying a round chambered when they first started carrying concealed. I only carry IWB at home, until the day I may get a CCW, and felt uncomfortable with the XD for awhile. With time you realize that you have a quality gun that will not discharge accidentally. I wan't worried about myself pulling the trigger accidentally, it was more of a comfort thing with what I am carrying.

I felt more comfy carrying around my Taurus pt-911 because of the manual safety and when carrying, rnd in chamber, I would not have the hammer locked.

From your post, you state that you don't trust yourself to accidentally pull while drawing. In that case, I don't think the public should trust you either.

[firearmdiva]

I am the 1% that carries a purse LOL

[[TASF]Overkill]

I carry a purse, it's just not for my gun.

[chrome]

Originally Posted by [TASF

Overkill]I carry a purse, it's just not for my gun.

same here...sometimes my Mary-Kay products get in the way of my carry piece..

[Damon]

I've carried a Beretta 92F Compact for 17 years, mostly in a IWB holster. I always carried with one in the chamber and with the manual safety off.

If I ever have to draw in self defense I want to do as little as possible to get the weapon ready to fire. I also prefer open top (no thumb break/retaining strap) holsters too. Again less to do if I have to draw.

I bought a XD9 Service a few days ago to replace my Beretta as my main carry gun. It will always have one in the chamber when carrying it too.

[gsh341]

Due to the redundant safties built into the XD that require a proper grip and a trigger pull to make it fire, carrying with a round in the chamber is perfectly safe. That is, unless your holster has a thumb break retention across the grip safety and the trigger is exposed.

However, if you don't feel comfortable carrying hot, put a snap cap in the chamber for a week of constant carry. After that you will feel much better.

[KyXD40]

Here is the real scoop for those who carry empty chambered.....those who are willing to state they do this, and for those of you who are reading this without commenting.....

It is stupid....and here's why: When you are under stress your body will be flooded with all sorts of naturally occuring chemicals which will impede, if not totally eliminate your ability to perform many fine motor skills (think back on your last auto crash, or the last time you were caught red handed, or whatever....remember the shakes you had then??). Racking the slide of ANY auto is best described as a fine motor skill. If you do it, you may well not do it correctly, ie the slide may not slam home leaving you with a now useless gun and a BG on your @ss, too late to rethink your options now. Most likely to happen though is your inability to even bring your gun into play.

Solution? 1) Role play....WITH EMTPY GUN (BOTH OF YOU VERIFY THIS), and with a cardboard knife (something similar) stand 10-15 feet apart with your best buddy. Have a conversation with him calmly. Instruct him to suddenly attack you and see if you can draw, rack your slide and pull the trigger while pointing at your target. Unless you are some accomplished hollywood type you WILL NOT be able to do this....and then remember that you are dealing with a calm scenario here. According to some experts your safe distance from a BG needs to be 21" or more as the BG can cover that distance in many cases before you can draw and shoot while carrying condition one, which is why awareness and avoidance wins the battle before it has begun.

2) If you are concerned with carrying condition one with ANY particular auto, do this to prove to yourself that it is safe: Load your gun with a snap cap and the leave the mag empty. Go through your daily activities, at the end of each day (do this for several days) check your gun to see if it accidently discharged. DO NOT look at your weapon during the day, only at the end of the day. If your weapon has fired you need to ask yourself what you were doing to have likely caused the discharge, and you need to get another gun which will not be so "prone" to "going off".

3) Think of all the LEO's out there that carry condition one on and off duty. They certainly do not carry with an empty chamber...this alone should attest to the safety of the practice.....BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE TRAINED, CONFIDENT, AND COMPETENT!

Summary.....my gun is loaded ALL the time unless I am cleaning it or handing it to someone to look at my weapon (seems to happen a lot since I am carrying the XD 45ACP there's always one person who just has to fondle!). I am still very much alive, have not noticed a lack of loved one or friend so I am assuming I have not accidently shot someone during any daily activities!

Seriously....if you have to ask the question, you are not ready mentally to carry....and perhaps not ready to even have a gun. If you cannot trust yourself, then reliance on that gun may get you killed quicker than if you relied on your wits alone. I have both....if my wits fail me I can assure you that I can draw, shoot COM, and do so before you get to me!

Now back to your regularly scheduled forum...........

[jdavionic]

IWB with one in the pipe. The hardest part for me is the discomfort level getting in & out of the car. It could be my holster or my build / holster combo (no, not a fat arse) or ...

Someone suggested removing it from the holster when getting in car and reholster when you get out. That's what I've been doing; but the getting in part is an issue at times. If I'm in a parking lot with no one around, it's pretty easy. But in crowded mall parking it, I want to get in the car completely before removing it from the holster - to avoid panicking our illustrious mall security folks. It's that initial sitting in the driver's seat that is real uncomfortable.

Any thoughts with addressing that problem would be appreciated. BTW - the gun is my XDSC 9 and the holster is a DeSantis Tuck This holster.

[Exmasonite]

thanks for the input everybody. i spent the first 4 days carrying w/ a snap cap and have since kept 1 in the pipe. I hope I never need to use it but appreciate the input.

I do unchamber at night when it's on my nightstand. there are 3 dogs/ 3cats in the house and want that extra 2nd to chamber when considering any potential targets (besides, dogs will make sure they don't get too close). also, girlfriend and roomate around who aren't as familiar w/ guns.

thanks again.