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Old February 18, 2013, 12:13 AM   #1
SHE3PDOG
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SD weapons conditions

I was just wondering what condition you guys and gals keep your self-defense weapons in. Whether it be concealed carry or home/property defense.

Perhaps this is something that varies between person, circumstance, and weapon (i.e. long gun vs. handgun). Give reasons and logic behind your decisions, please.

I keep my home defense gun, GLOCK 23, with a magazine inserted and a round in the chamber. I've never thought that I would forget to rack the slide if there wasn't a round in the chamber or anything like that, but I like the idea of being able to be ready-to-go as soon as I grab it. I also don't have kids, so it is of less concern to me that GLOCKs do not have manual safeties and whatnot. I don't have a concealed carry permit yet, but I'd like to know what condition y'all keep those in as well.
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Old February 18, 2013, 12:51 AM   #2
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Glock19 Gen4, carried, round in chamber, 16 total. On bed side table, at night.

Steyr AUG in safe. AK47 in Safe. Both loaded magazines, breach empty, bolt forward, action relieved. Rack and go. Either one.
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Old February 18, 2013, 12:55 AM   #3
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Glock 19 and M&P9, round chambered in a Gunvault if I am home. Colt commander, round chambered, mag topped off, cocked and locked (main carry gun).

AR-15, bolt open, 28 in the mag behind it and safety on. Kept in the safe usually)
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Old February 18, 2013, 01:01 AM   #4
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I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who keeps a round in the chamber. My wife thinks it is a little strange. She keeps her Sig P229 on the nightstand with the loaded magazine out of it and lying next to it.
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Old February 18, 2013, 01:15 AM   #5
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Quote:
My wife thinks it is a little strange. She keeps her Sig P229 on the nightstand with the loaded magazine out of it and lying next to it.
Everyone is different. I personally will not leave a loaded gun out on my nightstand at night. I have a tendency to get up and move around when I am not exactly coherent (get water, stretch legs a little), and I don't want to be able to access a firearm unless I have full knowledge and control of my actions. That is why I like my gunvault. I don't think I would ever have a problem without it, but I really don't want to test that theory... Better safe than sorry, IMO.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:30 AM   #6
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I think the main thing is to have the gun, a light and the phone where you can find them in the dark without fumbling around. Just like my keys, I have a specific spot for them so they're not misplaced when I'm in a hurry.

I store most weapons unloaded in the safe. Most of my ammo is stored separately, but I keep some mags/clips/loaders, etc., stored loaded and ready in the safe.

For a carry handgun, when I get home, I keep it loaded but secured in the holster (that covers the trigger). I think it's nearly as ready, but much safer when sitting around in a drawer, on a shelf, under the pillow, whatever.

I've had a "Safepacker" for years, also. It's a padded cordura nylon case designed to protect a handgun during outdoor activities, but is good for storage, too.
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Old February 18, 2013, 03:23 AM   #7
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If the gun has a safety it is on and the gun is loaded and cocked. If it has a decocker the gun is loaded and decocked. Revolvers are hammer down on a live round in a full cylinder.

The guns in the safe are all empty.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:06 AM   #8
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No chambered rounds unless it is on my person. I give a pass to DA revolvers. I have had my nightstand gun in my hand and the safety off before I was awake. Sooo, after that, no more C1 1911 by the bed for me.
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Old February 18, 2013, 08:03 AM   #9
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My Colt 1911 stays condition 1 on my nightstand, everything else is condition 3.
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Old February 18, 2013, 09:19 AM   #10
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I keep my 642 in loaded in my pocket 24/7.

The rest are locked in a gun safe. The exception is one rifle I keep handy, (unloaded) in case that mountain lion who's been hanging around desides to have my horses for dinner.

A partial exception, I might have one or part of one stuck in the lathe or milling machine, being repaird or built.
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Old February 18, 2013, 09:24 AM   #11
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1911s are all C1 were ever they are.
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:04 AM   #12
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Navy Joe, I hope that never happens to me, but if it does, I would most definitely no longer keep my nightstand gun in C1.
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:19 AM   #13
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G26 EDC is always chambered (and holstered) along with my G17 HD gun.

No chance of accidentally grabbing the trigger in the middle of the night if needed. I don't use the thumb break that's in the picture.





I want to be able to use either gun with just one hand. Chances are that you will need both hands to chamber a round and what if you are in the middle of a fight?
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Old February 18, 2013, 10:39 AM   #14
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My carry and bedside revolvers are loaded and ready. When I carry my 1911 it is in condition 1. My shotgun has a loaded tube, empty chamber. The AR is in condition 1.
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Old February 18, 2013, 11:44 AM   #15
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I have kids, so I keep my M&P Pro in a NanoVault, loaded magazine, empty chamber. I've never been too hot on leaving a striker fired firearm laying around with a loaded chamber. If it was a hammer fired weapon, I would leave it loaded, one in the chamber, decocked. Not an option for the M&P though.

I also have my Mossberg M590 in "cruiser safe - 1" in the locker downstairs. Cruiser safe means loaded tube, nothing in the chamber, - 1 meaning I don't have it fully loaded. I leave it that way in case I feel the need to use a slug first instead of the buckshot that is in the tube.

When I CC, I keep either the M&P or my Keltec PF9 loaded, with one in the chamber at all times.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:11 PM   #16
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I also have kids, and also keep my gun in a nonovault when it's not on me.

However, I do keep a round in the chamber in both my XDs and my PPQ. I find - for me - knowing that there's a round in the chamber makes me always treat them like there's one in the chamber. I had a scary experience with a gun that I "knew" was unloaded a couple years ago, and this seems to work.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:13 PM   #17
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I don't have kids yet, but those Nano Vaults look like a good investment for whenever I do.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:26 PM   #18
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I used to have a Minivault, which is the one with the 4 buttons and a programmable code, but switched to the Nanovault. No batteries or power outages to worry about. I keep the key taped to the underside of my bed frame, back to where you would have to flip the bed upside down to find it if you didn't know it was there, but easily accessed if you know where it is.
All of our bed rooms are on the second floor, so from the moment my alarm goes of, full sprint, it would take someone roughly 7 seconds to make it to the first landing. It takes me roughly 5 seconds to go from laying in bed, to round in the chamber, covering the hallway and stairs. My fiance is about 6 seconds. Still working on her speed a little.
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Old February 18, 2013, 02:43 PM   #19
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Navy Joe, I hope that never happens to me, but if it does, I would most definitely no longer keep my nightstand gun in C1.
The good news is that I did not shoot the imaginary bad guy who was standing over my bed and choking me, woulda cost me some plaster. The bad news is crazy dreams happen after 5 minutes of sleep if you go 30 hours or so without sleeping.
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Old February 18, 2013, 03:08 PM   #20
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Let's just say that there 'might' be an unloaded firearm in the safe. Matter of fact, I know a BP revolver is unloaded. Odds are, if you pick one at random and just pull the trigger, it'll go off.
Definitely true about all the SD weapons. Condition One.
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Old February 18, 2013, 03:18 PM   #21
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Carry gun (Glock 21) is always in loaded, with one in the chamber, mag not topped off.

It generally rests on my bedside table in it's carry holster when not straped to me.

A Mossberg 590 is kept ready with a mix of slugs and buckshot in the gun safe, chamber empty.

Also, a Mini-14 with the bolt foward on a factory 20-rd mag is generally ready for coyotes who decide they might want beef tartar for dinner.
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Old February 18, 2013, 05:20 PM   #22
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When my guns are in the safe, they are unloaded and I keep the ammunition in separate ammo cans. I guess I figure if I need them for defense, SHTF anyway and someone really wants me dead.
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Old February 18, 2013, 07:44 PM   #23
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My Glock 26 goes from the drawer of my bedside table to my holster and back to the drawer. I have a GunVault that usually stays in my car, but can come inside when we have overnight guests. It is loaded and chambered always.

My Beretta 92FS lives in the other bedside table, on my wife's side. It stays loaded and chambered, but decocked. It goes under lock and key if we have company.

Other firearms are kept unloaded and locked up.
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Old February 19, 2013, 01:15 AM   #24
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For carry, one in the chamber but hammer is always down. Home defense is the same, keep my carry in the night stand. No other loaded weapons in the house, sure there might be a couple full mags floating around the safe but thats for more than just a common B&E.
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Old February 19, 2013, 07:57 AM   #25
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My hd pistol always has one in the chamber, magazine inserted, in my night stand drawer. I have two other pistols loaded and ready to go in my closet. No kids at home, but if the great grandkids come over I lock my guns up.

The two in the closet are carried and I choose which one depinding on my mood at the time. I always shoot each one, including my hd pistol, to keep them limbered up.
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