Why does my handgun owners manual say never carry the gun loaded? Is this really a safety recommendation..?

Question

that people follow? Or is it just a disclaimer type liability thing? I mean, how is the gun s'posed to protect you if it's not loaded when you carry? It still needs to be ****** to put a bullet in the chamber and has a heavy trigger pull... isn't that safety enough?

Answer 1

Owner's manuals are written with the idea that you are using the gun for hunting or target shooting, Not protection from humans. In this scenario, it would only be necessary to load the gun just before using it. But use your own common sense.

Answer 2

It depends. On some older firearms, there is no impact / drop safety feature.

This means if a sudden blow, like the firearm was dropped and hit the ground, it could discharge, even if the hammer was not pulled back. Most modern firearms have drop safeties of some sort, whether its part of the trigger pull, or a block plate.

As someone pointed out, its generally a bad idea to transport loaded firearms. Its a different story when its being carried. A loaded firearm would be one where a bullet is in the chamber.

It also depends on the state regs for transportation of firearms.

Heavy trigger pulls don't mean safety. A sharp impact to the arm, or anything that causes you to flinch may cause you to generate enough pressure in your hand that would cause you to squeeze that trigger.

If the firearm is to be used as self defense, it should always be carried in Condition 1.

Answer 3

For the most part, it is for liability reasons. Secondly, it is one of the safe gun handling "ten comandments". For most recreational purposes, there isn't really a need to carry a firearm with a round in the chamber, however, you should always treat every firearm as if it is loaded.

For personal defense, it makes no sense whatsoever to carry an unloaded firearm. I noticed one of the other posters to this question suggested carrying the firearm unloaded, but with a loaded magazine on your person because "it only takes 3 to 5 seconds to load it". That is a recipe for disaster. A very practiced person may be able to secure the magazine and the firearm from different carry positions, insert the magazine, activate the slide to the rear most position, and release the slide to battery in less than 5 seconds under ideal field conditions, however, when faced with a deadly threat, the fine motor skills required to perform that task will be destroyed and you will be left with two hands full of objects that you might as well throw at your attacker because you are very unlikely to be able to put the weapon into a functional position.

Most any quality handgun made today (not counting single action revolvers which are less than ideal for concealed carry anyway) are drop safe, meaning that even with a loaded round in the chamber, it takes a full pull of the trigger to discharge the cartridge. If you are looking into getting an older, used handgun, I would suggest you do your homework before you purchase it. Stick with something that was made and intended for concealed carry (there are HUNDREDS of choices) and ask plenty of questions of knowledgeable people before you buy.

The purpose of the defensive handgun is to allow the person carrying it to regain control of his immediate environment. One can not achieve that desired result if they have to fumble around looking for ammunition and going through the motions of making the weapon functional in their time of need.

Answer 4

Q: "in case you have not have been given a hid handgun permit, how do you carry a gun in public?" A: 2 techniques. a million) brazenly. 2) interior a locked case. the particular rules & rules variety from one jurisdiction to a distinctive. so which you would be wanting to examine this merely before time. i've got found it handy to apply a backpack or a briefcase to incorporate the locked case that includes the gun. it is way less conspicuous and facilitates you to progression around with out attracting interest. A rifle or a shotgun could require a super duffel-bag to incorporate the locked case which includes the gun. Ammunition will probable could be stored separate (in a distinctive backpack, duffel bag, briefcase or super handbag or something).

Answer 5

<>Obviously, if you are carrying for protection, the gun has to be loaded. If it is a single-action revolver, the hammer has to be ******, if a double-action, you only have to pull the trigger; however, revolvers are very safe to carry loaded. Even most semi-automatic pistols are extremely safe to carry loaded. I would sign up for a gun safety course if you are carrying for the first time. Such training can make you feel more confident about your carry.

Answer 6

For hunting, target shooting and storage you should never have a firearm loaded. It is not enough to say you have to cock and have a heavy trigger pull.

I will never forget the police RSO who had an unauthorized rear holster and shot himself in the butt and I am sure that none of his fellow officers let him forget it either.

As for a firearm for the purposes of self defense you are more likely to shoot yourself or someone around you with a loaded weapon then you are to need to shoot an attacker. If you are truly in need of this type of defense consider carry a separate loaded mag. It should only take 3-5 seconds to load a weapon.

Alternatively you could consider only carrying a loaded weapon when in the situation that would call for it but even then I would rather load then carry a loaded weapon. In reality if the situation calls for a weapon to be drawn and shot, you might not even have enough time to draw it. If you do have time to draw you probably have time to load. Consider that someone trained to kill is able to draw and load in under 10 seconds. I at one time had it down to 8 but I probably can't do it that fast anymore.

You can think of it as a disclaimer if you want but it is just common sense. When I was an RSO I would have nailed anyone's hide to the wall and that included my CO if they had a loaded weapon anywhere but on the range preparing to shoot and it better be pointed down range.

Damn yahoo censors the word is ****** minus the "ed"

Answer 7

its not just a liablity thing, in fact some of the best trained special forces officers ( MOSSAD) are trained to carry their side arm with no round in the chamber. they are taught to rack the slide as they draw it. I have been shooting with these guys and can tell you, this is very effective. I can say that after spending a few weeks with them i learned the mentality behind it. If someone takes your gun from you, and tries to fire it, that gives you the extra few seconds to retreat or fight and recover your weapon. One of my carry guns is a 45 that i carry in this configuration, but my normal carry gun ( Sig P229) i carry it loaded and ready to go. its not just for the lawyers. :)

Answer 8

It seems the world is run by multinational corporations, and the only thing they fear is lawyers. Even countries and their armies are less powerful.
On the other hand, don't you feel your new handgun, without cartridges, fits your hand better and is easier to wield than its protective equivalent, the rock? We've gone through millenia of evolution to get to the point of the well-fitted super-hard $800 rock. So easy a caveman can do it (sorry GEICO).

Answer 9

You always need to stay extra careful around a gun. the only time i have a bullet in my gun is when I'm sitting in a blind, never walking around. its too dangerous, even not chambered or on safety. you can always easily forget if you chambered it or not. be extra careful. take the gun safety course too.

Answer 10

It is to satisfy their liability lawyers.
They more or less have to tell you that to avoid being blamed for an accidental discharge.

If it's being carried for protection, and it's not loaded, you may as well have left it at home.