Loaded Chamber

**Donut Aficionado** · 01-18-10, 04:00 AM

There is a discussion between me and my Sgt, it concerns the possibility that there are municipal agancies in the United States that prohibit an officer from chambering a round in his/her weapon until it is drawn for the purpose of shooting someone.

I bet him that aside from a select few Dept. of the Army posts that no civilian agency has this rule.

Can anybody tell me if they know of any agency that has an empty chamber policy?

Also, any Canadian Police, do you chamber or not, he says most Canadian Police are empty chamber too, citing the RCMP's.

**pgg** · 01-18-10, 04:27 AM

I've never heard of one in this area. If an officer was caught without one in their duty pistol they would probably be looking at days on the beach

**MacLean** · 01-18-10, 04:34 AM

If I saw anyone doing that, I'd correct it.

I used to be "corrected" by Marines when I was on duty as an Air Force Cop - they'd rag on me for not having the 'safety' on with my Beretta M9.

I used to enjoy that chuckle until I found out the Army boys carried hammer down on an empty.

**Donut Aficionado** · 01-18-10, 04:47 AM

Yeah, I was one of those empty chamber Army guys. Something I have always hated about the military, they teach you to hit a paper target, but now how to handle a weapon.

**Second Chance** · 01-18-10, 08:48 AM

Before my flying days in the Coast Guard, I was a boat jockey, when we did boardings we never had one in the chamber. Looking back, damn that was dumb, but I guess a past or maybe still present military thing.

**ChesCopPodz** · 01-18-10, 08:50 AM

I worked with a guy at my old department who carried his Glock with an empty chamber. However, we all believed he used his skull to store old rags or something, and not just because of that fact.

Other than that, no, I don't know of any.

**jmur5074** · 01-18-10, 11:36 AM

Never heard of it.

**Kimble** · 01-18-10, 12:38 PM

An off-duty ICE agent was murdered when he wasn't able to react as quickly as needed with his firearm due to no round being chambered: Assistant SAC David Gray Wilhelm, United States Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Office of Investigations

**countybear** · 01-18-10, 02:16 PM

Almost as bad as the old wheelgun practice of keeping (a pin-blocked) hammer down on an empty cylinder. The reason I say 'almost', is at least with the revolver you could still pull the trigger and go 'bang'.

Any department requiring an empty chamber on a semi-auto must want that chamber to represent the head of the administrator making such decisions.

**ChesCopPodz** · 01-18-10, 08:33 PM

Never heard of putting the firing pin down on an empty chamber on a double action revolver. With a traditional single action revolver that's what you need to do to keep from shooting yourself.

**berserk** · 01-18-10, 09:10 PM

I've never heard of a department that requires an empty chamber (not even the two shitty departments I worked for early in my career, and you don't get much more backwards than that particular small town). At my department, it's a policy violation if you don't top off your magazine after you put a round in the chamber.

**MacLean** · 01-18-10, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by ChesCopPodz

Never heard of putting the firing pin down on an empty chamber on a double action revolver. With a traditional single action revolver that's what you need to do to keep from shooting yourself.

That's why he said pin block

The OLD single actions did it that way, but even those that are of modern manufacture no longer require the practice.

Load one, skip one, load four, cock, decock onto empty.

**luckyme** · 01-18-10, 10:06 PM

not here.

One of my supervisors did contract work in Iraq. When they issued him a pistol he jacked a round in. They had a shit fit, made him go to one of those "shooting buckets" and made him take it out. Said once he got by himself he made it hot again.

**ChesCopPodz** · 01-18-10, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by maclean

That's why he said pin block

The OLD single actions did it that way, but even those that are of modern manufacture no longer require the practice.

Load one, skip one, load four, cock, decock onto empty.

US Firearms and Cimarron are two modern companies making decent quality guns that you still have to put the pin down on an empty chamber. I believe the modern Colt SAA's still require you do it as well, but I'm not certain. I'm positive about the US and Cimarron guns though, they both still use the old safety notch system

**MacLean** · 01-18-10, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by ChesCopPodz

US Firearms and Cimarron are two modern companies making decent quality guns that you still have to put the pin down on an empty chamber. I believe the modern Colt SAA's still require you do it as well, but I'm not certain. I'm positive about the US and Cimarron guns though, they both still use the old safety notch system

Learned something, thank you.

I figured they all followed suit when Ruger and folks like Bowen went to the pin block.

Reps.

**Jks9199** · 01-18-10, 11:36 PM

I think it's stupid that the MPs and such can't carry hot. If there's a civilian cop that's not carrying hot -- they should raise hell with their agency, because you don't have time when someone's shooting at you to deal with a gun that needs to be racked...

I know some agencies that have set policies on whether or not to top off after making the gun hot, so that, if there's a shooting, they know whether or not you had 15 or 16 rounds in the gun, and can deduce how many shots you fired from that. That's reasonable -- though my view would be that the policy should be TO top off!

**TXCharlie** · 01-19-10, 12:14 AM

No one I know of. I tried that one time in practice draws just to see how much time it took, and sort of sprained my wrist - I twisted it wrong, it got weak and hurt for days. The Glock 22 can be pretty hard to put one in the chamber with a full magazine.

i tried it with my hainds oily, and just couldn't realiably rack the slide, even with the serations.

**Donut Aficionado** · 01-19-10, 02:36 AM

My Sgt still feels there are agencies that do not allow a loaded chamber, but cant tell me of one I can contact. He's kind of a moron, only ever been a cop here at the VA Medical Center, been here for almost 30 years and is not trusted to run anything more than a midnight shift.

He says its for liability reasons, its an extra step to make sure you intend to shoot the bad guy......again, moron.

**berserk** · 01-19-10, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Donut Aficionado

My Sgt still feels there are agencies that do not allow a loaded chamber, but cant tell me of one I can contact. He's kind of a moron, only ever been a cop here at the VA Medical Center, been here for almost 30 years and is not trusted to run anything more than a midnight shift.

He says its for liability reasons, its an extra step to make sure you intend to shoot the bad guy......again, moron.

Does your sgt have a round in the chamber?

**Switchback** · 01-19-10, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by Donut Aficionado

My Sgt still feels there are agencies that do not allow a loaded chamber, but cant tell me of one I can contact. He's kind of a moron, only ever been a cop here at the VA Medical Center, been here for almost 30 years and is not trusted to run anything more than a midnight shift.

He says its for liability reasons, its an extra step to make sure you intend to shoot the bad guy......again, moron.

Anyone who says the "feel" one way or another, cannot offer any examples to corroborate their opinion AND still refuses to consider alternatives really is a moron.

There is that funny thing about not putting your finger on the trigger until you are sure you "intend to shoot the bad guy."