I still get the following question all of the time-

“Jason, for home defence or when carrying concealed, should I have a round in the chamber?”

The answer is yes- yes- and yes.

I always have around in the chamber, whether my concealed carry gun or home defence gun.

Why?

Well- in a stressful situation – as your heart is bursting out of your chest – you won’t remember to chamber a round.

Just ask the fellow I know whose wife wouldn’t let him have a loaded gun in the house.

One night, someone was trying to kick in his front door.

He grabbed his gun and ran to the door, and started screaming that he had a gun.

Thankfully, the intruder ran off.

But, he realized he forgot to chamber a round.

He was walking around with an empty gun.

Had the intruder kicked in the door; he would have heard a “click” when he tried to use his gun to defend his family.

But, what about the Israelis?

Members of the Israeli military never have a round in the chamber.

It’s their requirement. The soldiers don’t have a choice.

If your job does not allow you to have around in the chamber; I get it.

But, it’s still a bad idea.

That The extra second it takes to chamber a round could be a second you don’t have.

Plus, a lot of gunfights involve one-handed shooting. You might be holding a child or something else in your other hand.

And, if your other hand is complete, it’s now even harder to rack the slide so you can fire.

So, unless you’re in a job that won’t allow you to have a loaded gun-

Make sure – as the cool kids like to say – that you’re cocked and locked.

And, if you have any questions about what guns to use for home defence or concealed carry, check out our free Bug Out Bag Guns book here.

Also, before I forget to mention it, I recommend having all of your loaded guns stored in a rapid-access safe.

I own safes made by GunVault, Fort Knox, and V-Line to store my guns in my house.

I’ve got little kids at home, so all guns are locked up but still loaded, so they are ready to go if I need them.