When do you UNchamber your gun?

[RedTJ]

Generally speaking, I have a chambered round in my gun.
At work - Live round
Out shopping with the wife and kids - live round.

But when I get home, I don't love keeping my gun attached to my hip as I walk around the house. I'll admit, sometimes I forget its even there so it hangs out with me for the day but more often than not I put it in its designated home once we walk in and get settled.
Prior to doing so, drop the mag and eject the live round. Put mag back into the gun, gun back into the holster, set her in her home with the round right next to it.

Why do I eject the round?
Well, I don't really know. I have kids and aside from them knowing I'll bring the closest measure of god's wrath to them that I can, I do keep it out of reach of them and as far as I know, a location they aren't aware of.
I also have a small keyed safe downstairs and if I put it in there I still eject the live round.
I leave the round out of the chamber until I'm headed out the door again (this includes at night).
All the firearms in my safe are stored without a round in the chamber. The mag is loaded, but there are zero live rounds in any gun while we are there.

So, when do you unchamber your weapon or is yours always 100% ready to fire?
How many times can you chamber/eject a shell before you effect the integrity of the casing?

Everyone likes pictures so I shall include pictures.
Now I know what you're thinking and I agree... those are some nice BB guns.

 

[Bonkers4Bacon]

Only time my EDC doesn't have a round chambered is when I'm doing dry fire practice.

 

[snafu21]

Mine stays chambered all the time unless I'm cleaning or going through draw drills.

 

[SteveM4A1]

Mine stays chambered all the time unless I'm cleaning or going through draw drills.

This. It is also the only time I take my firearm out of the holster.

 

[venenoindy]

I'm no expert but a round that is chamber several times can experience bullet setback (it has happened to my with my carry .45), having kids may be a razon not to have a round chambered but in my case all my SD guns have a round in the chamber but they are secured and out of reach of my son.

 

[Hopper]

Mine stays chambered all the time unless I'm cleaning or going through draw drills.

x3, my EDC always has a chambered round unless I'm cleaning it, or doing dry-fire drills on the laser target.

 

[9mmfan]

Always keep a live round in my Glock. Only time it's not is either shooting it or getting ready to clean it. And occasionally dry firing it.

 

[Expat]

Same as most above, I never unchamber the EDC except for cleaning it or shooting at the range. If the grandkids are at the house when I pull it off, I just put it at the top of my bedroom closet.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Count me as one of those that don't unchamber on a regular basis. Only when cleaning or for some sort of other work where it isn't a good idea to have it loaded, period.

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

I've always got a live round chambered, and pretty much every gun in my safe stays chambered. If a live round isn't chambered the mags loaded and in the gun, ready to rock and roll if the need arises.

 

[RedTJ]

Interesting.
I'm not worried about my kids grabbing my gun. I'm fairly certain I could leave it on the living room floor and they'd walk by giving it a wide birth just to get past it. Its something that we have taught since they were old enough to understand and truly, even before they could. I wouldn't test my theory by leaving a live gun on the ground, mind you, but I am confident in my children's ability to make the right choice in such a situation.
Truth is, I've only recently started to keep a round chambered. Prior to I'd chamber a round when "I felt the situation may call for it". I realize that's an foolish approach because no one on the news ever says "Yeah, I've seen this day comin for some time now in my small town". So I'm trying to get into better habits for being prepared.
I figured there would be some sort of side effect (bullet setback/etc) to rechambering a round too often and trust me, trying to cycle them through the mag so a different one is rechambered next go round is time consuming to say the least.

I wasn't sure if there would be issues with a shell being in the chamber for extended periods of time and my thought was better safe than sorry in the event that it helps trap moisture, promotes ejection failure, etc due to being in there for extended times.

 

[Rocket]

Cocked, locked, and ready to rock. At all times except training and cleaning

 

[possum_128]

All my handguns are always loaded with one in chamber and all long guns are all loaded without one in the chamber, unless cleaning or of course, reloading.

 

[pudly]

Definitely no need to dechamber/rechamber your EDC on a regular basis. It should either be in your holster or safely stored and quickly available. I'm not a fan of having other guns loaded, but certainly having mags pre-loaded, secured and available doesn't have any real downside.

Two possible downsides to dechambering/rechambering on a regular basis.

• Setback has already been mentioned and can potentially damage your firearm. Search for previous discussions to see a lot more detail.
• Every time you handle/load your firearm leaves the small, but non-zero, chance for a mistake that can change your life. Do not play with your gun more than you need to and when you do, be sure to take all appropriate safety precautions.

 

[BiscuitNaBasket]

My Every Day Carry gun is always loaded with a round in the chamber except for cleaning and dry fire/holster practice. I don't store my other guns with a round in the chamber. I keep my EDC on me at all times in the house as well as outside. I don't have small children in the house. Take that however you want to.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

When I drive to Ohio, when I clean, or when I'm handing a new gun to a friend to check out.

 

[Thrown Hammer]

At slide lock.

 

[pudly]

When I drive to Ohio

You might want to consider a Utah license.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I leave my edc guns chambered all the time, except when I am cleaning it or something like that.

I try to avoid chambering and unchambering rounds because I figure that's a prime time to accidentally fire a round. When I do chamber and unchamber, I make extra careful double sure that the muzzle is pointing in a safe direction.

My edc's are always in holsters so i feel pretty safe about keeping a round in the chamber. I figure it is more unsafe to jack around with the gun than it is to just leave it chambered and in the holster until I am ready to use it or clean it.

 

[WebSnyper]

I wasn't sure if there would be issues with a shell being in the chamber for extended periods of time and my thought was better safe than sorry in the event that it helps trap moisture, promotes ejection failure, etc due to being in there for extended times.

As the guys below have discussed already, there is more potential for an issue with ejecting/rechambering either during the process (discharge) or due to the process (round setback), than there is from it staying chambered.

Definitely no need to dechamber/rechamber your EDC on a regular basis. It should either be in your holster or safely stored and quickly available. I'm not a fan of having other guns loaded, but certainly having mags pre-loaded, secured and available doesn't have any real downside.

Two possible downsides to dechambering/rechambering on a regular basis.

• Setback has already been mentioned and can potentially damage your firearm. Search for previous discussions to see a lot more detail.
• Every time you handle/load your firearm leaves the small, but non-zero, chance for a mistake that can change your life. Do not play with your gun more than you need to and when you do, be sure to take all appropriate safety precautions.

I leave my edc guns chambered all the time, except when I am cleaning it or something like that.

I try to avoid chambering and unchambering rounds because I figure that's a prime time to accidentally fire a round. When I do chamber and unchamber, I make extra careful double sure that the muzzle is pointing in a safe direction.

My edc's are always in holsters so i feel pretty safe about keeping a round in the chamber. I figure it is more unsafe to jack around with the gun than it is to just leave it chambered and in the holster until I am ready to use it or clean it.

Agreed with these guys. Leave it alone. There is more chance of an issue going through repeated chambering and ejecting of the round than if it was just left alone.