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Thread: Leaving a round chambered for extended periods?

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by MX5 View Post
    ARs are not drop safe. With a round in the chamber & the selector on "safe", the weapon can discharge if dropped, fallen or anything else that could cause the firing pin to move forward due to inertia. This is an unnecessary liability & an ND waiting to happen. Good luck trying to defend yourself if harm is done. Chambering a round takes less time than it does to determine if a viable threat is present.
    I'm curious what drop safe matters? I don't plan on dropping it and also think if it was that huge of a concern the people using it in actal battle would have necessitated that it be change by now. The firing pin already strikes the primer anyway when you chamber a round

    As to the time criteria I live alone in a ranch style home. The house is 40ft long and it is easy to determine which rooms are the bedrooms. I could see someone smashing a window and being in my room in <10 seconds if motivated. So you think you could wake up, grab the gun, chamber a round, in my case put on glasses, and be prepared in that time because I don't know if I could. Simple is better IMHO when you don't live and breath home defense and not having to chamber around is time better spent getting prepared for what may be coming your way. I may be way off base though.

  2. #32
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    Drop safety = if the hammer falls without direct pressure on the trigger the gun won't fire.

    The AR doesn't have this type of safety.
    Chief Armorer for Elite Shooting Sports in Manassas VA
    Chief Armorer for Corp Arms (FFL 07-08/SOT 02)

  3. #33
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    I forgot to add to what happens if you have a malfunction when loading however unlikely that is? Do you transition to a handgun? I would rather know I have at least one shot than rely on fumbling with the gun in the dark.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by jlficken View Post
    As to the time criteria I live alone in a ranch style home. The house is 40ft long and it is easy to determine which rooms are the bedrooms. I could see someone smashing a window and being in my room in <10 seconds if motivated. So you think you could wake up, grab the gun, chamber a round, in my case put on glasses, and be prepared in that time because I don't know if I could. Simple is better IMHO when you don't live and breath home defense and not having to chamber around is time better spent getting prepared for what may be coming your way. I may be way off base though.

    i think those who want a round chambered all the time would be better served by a service pistol with a tac-light than an AR for a primary home defense weapon.

    i sleep with a fully loaded handgun on the nightstand that i can grab immediately. if i have a little more time (a few extra seconds) i could grab the AR that's close by and make it ready to fire.

    who says you can only have one HD gun anyway. everyone says home security is best done in layers (exterior light, dog, electronics security system, etc) why not have more than one layer for your home defense armament.

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Parabellum9x19mm View Post
    i think those who want a round chambered all the time would be better served by a service pistol with a tac-light than an AR for a primary home defense weapon.
    .
    That might be fine for you where you live, but here in Phoenix, where we have had several home invasions by Mexican Drug Cartels wearing PPD SAU uniforms and employing similar weapons and tactics to breach a home this year, the civilians who know about it are more than a little bit on edge, and I no longer think that my nightstand pistol with tac-light is sufficient for all HD possibilities - so I have my AR right next to my bed as well as my pistol: mag and chamber loaded, safety on. Since these Cartel hit squads have used well coordinated police and military tactics, I might not stand a chance no matter what I have next to my bed or in what conditionn of readiness, but I would rather go out with my LE M4 loaded and ready to bring to bear as quickly as possible while my wife works the 911 call and gathers the family, than just rely on my nightstand pistol.

    Call me paranoid, but a lot of us living in Phoenix (as well as some other border towns in Texas) are. You may not be seeing it on the news yet, but we're being invaded, and I don't mean by the poor immigrants crossing the border illegally looking for work; I mean by well trained Cartel Hit Squads dressed and armed as U.S. LE, drug smugglers, not to mention the Mexican Army troops that have engaged our Border Patrol.

    Also, MX5: in my neck of the woods, chambering a round does not always take less time than determining if a viable threat is present in the house. Maybe in the solitude of your home when all is well, but in the heat of the moment right after your dog went crazy and you hear glass breaking everywhere and maybe a flash-bang go off (which they've used here in Phoenix) I do not want to have to deal with making sure I properly chamber a round in my AR because I was previously worried about negligently dropping it and discharging a round. I'm no expert, but I'm well trained enough not to do that . . . . for me and mine: every second counts.

  6. #36
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    At a minimum, any rifle that has been stored for any period of time should get a chamber check before being taken into harms way to confront a threat inside your home, on the street, etc.

    Why not lower the likelyhood of a ND occuring, and store it "crusier ready" as described above. I really like to use a chamber flag for storage/duty carry. More specifically the Chamber Safe: http://www.chambersafe.com/ This is what I believe to be the best option for storage/cruiser carry since it eliminates the potential for ND's to occur, and lowers the likelyhood of you deploying a rifle with an empty chamber when you most need it to be loaded.


  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by jlficken View Post
    So you think you could wake up, grab the gun, chamber a round, in my case put on glasses, and be prepared in that time
    YES, Absolutely.

    Quote Originally Posted by jlficken View Post
    Simple is better IMHO when you don't live and breath home defense and not having to chamber around is time better spent getting prepared for what may be coming your way. I may be way off base though.
    Simple IS better, until you grab your carbine which has been sitting next to your bed stored for a couple of months, point it at a viable threat which is headed directly for you, and pull the trigger and hear the loudest "CLICK!" you have ever heard in your life.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by jlficken View Post
    I forgot to add to what happens if you have a malfunction when loading however unlikely that is? Do you transition to a handgun? I would rather know I have at least one shot than rely on fumbling with the gun in the dark.
    Sounds like an issue that training would mitigate/eliminate....


    IMO, the charging handle is not hard to find at all, once you have secured your firing hand on the pistol grip.

    And the sound and feel of a round being chambered properly is pretty obvious also, even in the dark, once someone has done it enough times.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by nickdrak View Post
    At a minimum, any rifle that has been stored for any period of time should get a chamber check before being taken into harms way to confront a threat inside your home, on the street, etc.

    Why not lower the likelyhood of a ND occuring, and store it "crusier ready" as described above.
    For the same reason I don't carry my pistol chamber empty in my holster. I do agree with you about performing a chamber and magazine check daily.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by DarrinD View Post
    For the same reason I don't carry my pistol chamber empty in my holster. I do agree with you about performing a chamber and magazine check daily.
    Apples & Oranges.

    Your pistol is in a holster attached to your person. You should be doing a chamber check everyday before you insert your pistol into your holster.

    The OP stated that he goes to the range 4-5 times a year, and between range sessions he leaves his rifle stored for several months at a time as a "Home defense" rifle.

    I am not advocating walking around with an empty chamber & a chamber flag inserted waiting until you are confronted by a threat to chamber a round. I advocate storing the carbine (regardless of length of time) with the ChamberSafe inserted so that when you grab the rifle, you have a bright orange visual indicator that your chamber is empty, which should register immediately with you that you need to rip the ChamberSafe out, and perform a proper loading of the carbine, instead of relying on the assumption that you loaded the carbine after your last trip to the range and subsequent cleaning of the carbine 4 months ago....

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