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Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 20th, 2019, 2:52 pm
by Cyndicalist
In the spirit of friendly holiday conversation,

I wanted to talk to folks about their philosophies on carrying their P64.

I have heard a lot of different philosophies and a lot of different ideas on this. What I want to know about the most is carrying with a round in the chamber and the safety on. I could be incorrectly assuming this is fairly safe (in terms of lessening the chances of an AD), all things considered.

After reading about a few AD situations wherein folks keep a round in the chamber, but left the safty off. I'm curious how much keeping the safety on mitigates that.

I understand the implications of slower reaction time if one does not keep a round in the chamber at all - is that same drawback true when the safty is on, but a round is chambered?

I generally prefer Israeli carry, but I wanted to explore this for my P64 with all your collective brains.

Thanks folks.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 20th, 2019, 6:07 pm
by Curly1
You release the safety with one hand you have to but a round in the chamber with 2 hands if they are available.

So yeah one hand is faster than 2 when getting it into action.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 20th, 2019, 7:17 pm
by Ketchman
I carry with one in the chamber and safety off. With a trigger pull in excess of 10lbs even with the 17lb spring option I believe that this is the same as carrying a DA revolver, a type of sidearm carried for over a hundred years with a very small DA occurance. There is no such thing, in my opinion, as a completely safe gun, carrying one requires acceptance of such risk. So, we do what we can to mitigate and reduce those risks but they are still present. I carried daily for 10+ years in some extremely risky situations where I had all the responsibility and very little of the authority in a professional basis as well as personal and to my way of thinking when I am going to be in need of my sidearm I am going to need it as fast and with as few actions on my part as possible to get it into action. That means a round in the chamber and guns safety off as the final safety is the one between my ears, the one that dictates when my finger goes onto the trigger and starts the press that will result in a round going downrange. If the situation does not require a round to be fired my finger must NOT be on that trigger.
Now, this mindset is not for everyone, and some here will object to my carry style, and I do not expect that my experience or thoughts will convince you to do things as I do, but you are asking for perspectives and reasons and I am responding. All I know is there were only 2 times my weapon ever cleared the holster while on duty, with thankfully no rounds fired, and the second time it was my opinion that had I had to remove a safety before having to fire and fumbled doing that at ALL I would not have had time to engage the BG in time to avoid contact.
What you are doing is trying to learn and decide what is best for you, do not let anyone belittle you for asking this question, yes it has been asked and debated countless times but only you can make the decision on what carry style best suited your needs and abilities. Get a good quality holster that holds your weapon snugly and covers ALL the trigger. That more than anything else will help keep you from having an AD, that and always handling your weapon as if it is loaded and not carelessly.
And if we can help you I will be glad to do that.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 20th, 2019, 7:42 pm
by GuitarmanNick
My preference with the P-64 is a round in the chamber, safety on, IWB holster. It does take a second to disengage the safety should a threat be encountered, but it also insures that I will not experience an AD should the hammer snag on an article of clothing while carrying.

I've seen more than a few stories of people shooting themselves in the arse while drawing when carrying IWB.

If I need to go into Baltimore, the Glock 26 has no safety to fumble with, and holds 4 additional rounds in the mag.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 20th, 2019, 9:43 pm
by Weasel640
We can argue safe conditions vs fast conditions all day and really not change each others position.

With all other factors aside. Carry how you train at the range. If you train a certain way when you are at the range, that is what your body will remember in a tense situation. Don't do anything differently in your carry condition or it will mess up that muscle memory, and cost you more time, potentially putting you in a worse situation. Slow and Practiced is Smooth, Smooth is Fast.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 21st, 2019, 12:49 pm
by Ketchman
+1 on Weasel's comment.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 22nd, 2019, 10:16 pm
by mb3
IWB carry in a stiff holster, round chambered, safety on. I feel better this way, not worried I might shoot my junk off while seated.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 23rd, 2019, 2:06 am
by Cyndicalist
This is great everyone. I appreciate the extra input, just what I needed to chew on.


Thanks to everyone.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 24th, 2019, 12:10 pm
by austinjoe13
It may have been mentioned, but I didn't see it in my skimming. With the safety on, the firing pin is physically blocked by the saftey's drum. So, the pistol is drop safe when the safety is engaged, but not on fire.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 24th, 2019, 1:38 pm
by Weasel640
austinjoe13 wrote: December 24th, 2019, 12:10 pm It may have been mentioned, but I didn't see it in my skimming. With the safety on, the firing pin is physically blocked by the saftey's drum. So, the pistol is drop safe when the safety is engaged, but not on fire.
That is correct. It has been brought up many times in similar discussions on carry condition. The other thing that you are missing is that; Since the Safety physically locks the Firing Pin in place, and blocks the Hammer from contact, if for some reason the Hammer gets snag by something foreign, or clothing, etc. the Safety will stop that Hammer from causing an AD.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 24th, 2019, 2:06 pm
by Curly1
It's called a safety for a reason.

I just hope I am not around anyone who is carrying any type of handgun without using the safety.

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 24th, 2019, 10:21 pm
by Ketchman
Does that apply to anyone carrying a snubbie Curly?

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 25th, 2019, 3:12 pm
by Curly1
Revolvers dont have mechanical safeties .

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 25th, 2019, 7:34 pm
by Ketchman
Exactly my point so what is the difference between carrying a snubbie without a mechanical safety and a pistol that has a heavy DA trigger pull without a safety? Just sayin............

Re: Carry questions- or Resurrecting a dead horse to beat

Posted: December 25th, 2019, 8:42 pm
by GuitarmanNick
The revolver in most cases has a hammer block that keeps the hammer from contacting the firing pin unless the trigger is pulled which prevents ADs. Snagging the hammer cannot result in an AD!
I have carried my snubby with a round in the chamber under the hammer and it is completely safe. I will only carry a P-64 with the safety on, if a round is chambered.
As mentioned above, practice with your preferred carry weapon so that if the need arises, you will have the muscle memory to execute a safe and effective response to the threat. If the threat is within 10 yards when recognized, it is already too close. Most do not understand the limit of their reaction time. Add a little adrenaline, and you have a recipe for disaster. Proper training can give you a fighting chance. Sadly, most that carry do not train as they should and think that hitting a target consistently is all they need to practice.