Checking if a handgun is loaded

I don't physically check the chamber of guns, and avoid sticking my fingers in there. It's not like it was an 'acceptability memo' that went out lol. I only own a couple handguns. They get shot a decent amount, and go into battery pretty easy. I don't like chambering my digits. Other people are free to do whatever floats their boat.

What I DO teach is to always look for brass... never look for an empty chamber. Like someone said earlier. The brain is funny in that it will find what you tell it to look for very often.

This is true. I don't have an issue with people physically checking chamber, but for the visual portion you shouldn't train to look for an empty chamber - you should train your eyes to look for brass.

I would add that if it's low light it's even more important to get a visual if possible. If you can't see, how are you really sure you got your finger far enough into chamber and breach to verify? Hopefully you have a light source handy to do both checks.



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Yeah, or you just get used to know the status of your weapon. Jesus, I know it is necessary to have a healthy respect for your weapon. But most of you guys sound like you're downright afraid of them. Sounds like pee pee central here.
 
Wait guys, didn't MAURA say we should use a "Loaded Chamer Indicator" and just depend on that?! [rofl]
 
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Yeah, or you just get used to know the status of your weapon. Jesus, I know it is necessary to have a healthy respect for your weapon. But most of you guys sound like you're downright afraid of them. Sounds like pee pee central here.


Im afraid of mine, they often speak to me in tongues, late at night. I hear complaints about being dirty, an American weapon being forced to be next to a chi com or Hessian weapon, shit like that. There is a lot going on in my safe.
 
I have OCD when it comes to making sure a firearm is clear. I pull the slide back visually inspect the chamber, rack it 3 times, visually inspect the chamber again. I'm a little off I will admit.

Nope, not off by a little or even a lot. I say something similar to that as well and 3 is my magic number for checking the action.
 
Thread title is "checking if a handgun is loaded". Yet most everyone is telling how they make sure it is unloaded... except a few guys who are talking about rifles. [rofl] Loaded? Pull the slide back a half inch or use the loaded chamber indicator. Unloaded? Drop the mag, rack the slide. Get the chambered round and the mag on the table or in your hand and then rack it a few more times to settle the ocd and lock the slide back. When all the ammo in the gun is accounted for, why would you go about fingering the damn thing? Perhaps some people should shoot all of their ammo before they leave the range (as proposed in another thread), then they will be sure. (And I hear it reduces liability too.) Frenchman is right...
 
this is why i only carry guns with magazine safeties, on my dec p22 i leave a round in the chamber with the manual safety off 24/7 365 but i keep the magazine out of the gun and in my pocket. if shtf i just pull my gun, insert the mag and I'm ready to slay zombies.
 
I inspect all of my firearms both visually and physically. Some of my firearms get put away with an empty chamber flag so that I know I physically checked it. The last thing I ever want to happen is have the boom sound happen when i didn't want it to and then having to spend my night at police headquarters explaining why I thought the gun wasn't loaded.
 
Thread title is "checking if a handgun is loaded". Yet most everyone is telling how they make sure it is unloaded... except a few guys who are talking about rifles. [rofl] Loaded? Pull the slide back a half inch or use the loaded chamber indicator. Unloaded? Drop the mag, rack the slide. Get the chambered round and the mag on the table or in your hand and then rack it a few more times to settle the ocd and lock the slide back. When all the ammo in the gun is accounted for, why would you go about fingering the damn thing? Perhaps some people should shoot all of their ammo before they leave the range (as proposed in another thread), then they will be sure. (And I hear it reduces liability too.) Frenchman is right...

I stated my preference for using a finger to check the chamber, but I'm pretty open to alternatives. The key thing is to not make assumptions.

Your method would be fine except for one thing. You made an assumption that the extractor pulled the round from the chamber. You rack the slide, check that the mag is clear, then rack it a few times.

You fail to confirm the chamber is empty.

All you have to do to finish your unloading ritual is point the gun in a safe direction and pull the trigger. (Just like we do to prove clear at any practical pistol competition. ) Then you know its safe and you didn't need to finger the chamber.

What? You're damn right, you'll put a round into the floor if you are wrong.

But you were sure it was empty before you pulled the trigger anyway. Right?
 
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I'm a triple rack with a look after. No finger check.

You should do whatever procedure is going to make you sure it's empty. People learn differently, so how you try to teach them habit should somewhat be driven by how you observe them learning.
 
No longer is it acceptable to stick your finger into the breach of a firearm. the slide could release while your finger is in the breach and cause injury. At one time this was the normal way to check a firearm, no longer is this taught. Visual inspection only now.

no one taught you to keep upward pressure on the slide stop lever while physically checking i'm guessing......
 
You made an assumption that the extractor pulled the round from the chamber. You rack the slide, check that the mag is clear, then rack it a few times.

You fail to confirm the chamber is empty.

Full mag on table. Check.
Round from chamber on table. Check.
Chamber is not confirmed empty?

Nothing personal against you or anyone that digitally checks the chamber is empty. (Except maybe GPP [wink]) I didn't learn to do it that way and I am happy enough with my method. (Especially with two Glocks that require you to pull the trigger to break down.) Of course when I got a Seecamp, the drill had to change a bit as the magazine doesn't drop first...
 
We all have our ways. I see your logic. Its perfectly sound.

If the mag comes out first, confirming the chambered round is in your hand is excellent confirmation the chamber is empty when combined with a visual check. This is typically what i do when I'm at the range. Followed by pointing the gun downrange and squeezing the trigger.

Back at home, its just instinctive that I check them again before they go into the safe. My safe door throws a shadow in the area where I put the guns away, so I "finger" the guns before they go away.

If its a defensive gun, I'm confirming that there is a round in the chamber and the mag is fully seated. These guns go into the safe in a holster. Its my wife and my protocol. Any gun in a holster in the safe can be counted on to be loaded.

If its not something I store loaded, I check again before they go into the safe. I caught a loaded gun once this way. I let someone shoot a classic blued Ruger Mk 1 of mine that I kept in a silicone sock. He put it in the sock and back in the bag when he was done. I never shot it that day. I checked it at home and out popped a round of CCI SV.

Don
 
The manual for the p238/938 says visually and physically check the chamber. Disclaimer talk I'm sure. I have been visually inspecting only. Slide lock back, find the ramp and look up. If I can't see then I'll send a digit in.
 
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[crying]
No longer is it acceptable to stick your finger into the breach of a firearm. the slide could release while your finger is in the breach and cause injury. At one time this was the normal way to check a firearm, no longer is this taught. Visual inspection only now.

Is it OK to put my strap on in there? I'm just scared cuz the world is so dangerous [laugh][crying]
 
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