Do you like "loaded chamber indicators" on your pistols?

[usmarine0352_2005]

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Do you like a loaded chamber indicator on your pistol?





Cut-out loaded chamber indicator.








Standard loaded chamber indicator.




I really like it and wish all pistols had them, especially a cut-out one like above. I like that you can see the brass. Some pistol's loaded chamber indicators are hard to see such as my Sig P220's.



As you can see the difference between the two pics, the cut-out style is much easier to see if their is a round in the chamber.





Does anyone know of any reason why you wouldn't want one on your gun?


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[Sam1911]

For me it depends on how its done. A cut out one is fine but it doesn't work in the dark. I would like the one on my xDM, which is a pop-up lever that you can feel, but it gets debris under it and doesn't ever really retract, so I can't use it as intended.

I don't care for the Ruger ones that are way too obtrusive.

In general, I just give the slide a little tug and peak in there before holstering.

 

[Rail Driver]

In general, I just give the slide a little tug and peak in there before holstering.

This.

I make it a habit to check my pistols every time I handle them or holster them. I am thinking about getting an extractor for my G26 that has a loaded chamber indicator however.

 

[bigfatdave]

Peek is fine, built into extractor is OK ... mechanical is generally OK, although the XD series seem to have figured it out (I do not have troubles with the XD9sc's LCI sticking up, don't know yet on the XD45c)
I have seen a mechanical LCI interfere with feeding and extraction, and I have come to the conclusion that putting un-needed moving parts in a gun is a hazard to reliability, particularly when they interfere with the feed/eject path.

But the proper way to check the chamber is to open it up and peek, then make sure your magazine is full. But then I have no use for guns in any condition between "hot" and "cleared", maybe the LCI helps those who think there are useful conditions in that gap.

 

[fastbolt]

I happen to find the visual cutout types (ala S&W's machined ports) to be pretty handy & useful.

I dislike the designs which use additional parts which serve no other purpose (levers, plungers, springs, etc).

I don't mind the Glock LCI extractors, but I prefer a visual inspection which reveals the round's case.

I dislike the painted splotches, as paint can be degraded or removed over time.

 

[MMCSRET]

Of all my hand guns only one has an indicator and I don't ever remember using it.

 

[Lord Palmerston]

I find the GLOCK system very convenient. It is not bulky and can be felt in total darkness.

 

[One-Time]

I have no need or desire for them, a quick chamber check is easy enough

 

[Jim Watson]

For IDPA with 1911, I "Barney Bullet" load the chamber with an old magazine with only one round. If the round is gone from the mag, I can reasonably assume it is in the chamber.

I was watching an IDPA shooter with a late model Glock swipe his finger over the extractor protrusion every time he loaded his gun. I could handle that. I am not enthused over extra parts like the XD.

For carry guns which I do not top off, I press check and look inside.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I don't really care. They are OK if they can be both seen and felt and are unobtrusive. My CZ75D Compact (PCR) has one, a little peg or pin that visibly protrudes from the slide when loaded, which is just about perfect. It was not a factor in my purchase of it, however. A cutout in the barrel hood through which you can see a glint of brass is not very useful at 0-dark-thirty. A LCI is a convenience, not for verifying that the chamber is empty for field stripping to clean (you should always verify this visually by looking inside), but that you remembered to load the chamber. It isn't a great hardship to pinch back the slide a little bit and look, though.

 

[Chip1wa]

Yep, a quick swipe of the finger to feel the nub on the Gen 3 Glocks and the Kahr's are nice to have.

It works in the daylight or in pitch black.

Dirty

 

[Mike J]

My XD is the only gun I own that has one. It has always worked just fine but I really don't care if I have one or not. It only takes a second to peek. If it is a gun I'm carrying I don't need to look I know it is loaded.

 

[yhtomit]

It's not a huge deal to me, but Yes, I like it. Some of my guns have it, some don't, and it's no deal breaker either way, but, well, I like information. I don't want to peek in the gas tank frequently to know if I have enough to get to the grocery store

What would change my mind: if I had reason to think that it could fail badly -- that is, if there was a way that the LCI could fail making the *gun* (not just the LCI) inoperative.

Is there any gun for which that scenario is likely?

timothy

 

[Black Butte]

If the LCI is simple and low-profile I have no problem with it. The way Ruger did the LCI on its Mark III pistols, however, is offensive and a complete eyesore. Ruger has lost a sale to me, as I will now buy a Buck Mark instead.

 

[Hunt480]

SR40 & SR9 has the absolute best ones right on top in plain sight. I think it is a nice feature to have IMO it makes good since.

 

[Manco]

I don't mind them as long as they don't stick out far and could not possibly degrade function in any way (big IF from what I've seen), but I don't use them so no, I don't particularly like them.

In a somewhat similar vein, I don't have any use for "cocking indicators" (or whatever those are called), either. On my M&P (the only autoloader that I currently own and use for defensive purposes), for example, if the chamber is loaded with a live round, then it will fire when I pull the trigger, otherwise it won't fire--that's all I care about.

 

[Drail]

"All guns are always loaded" Loaded chamber indicators make about as much sense as built in trigger locks. They operate on the basic assumption that you don't really know what you're doing - in which case you have no business handling firearms.

 

[M2 Carbine]

Do you like "loaded chamber indicators" on your pistols?

No.

 

[rogertc1]

Can take them or leave them. I consider every pistol I carry and handle is loaded with one in the chamber.

 

[benEzra]

They're handy for quickly verifying a round is properly chambered in a carry gun. I prefer being able to see the case (and a lot of pre-"loaded chamber indicator" pistols, e.g. 3rd-gen S&W's, allow you to see a chambered round also).

Thing is, I never use one to verify gun is unloaded, and IMO they are not suitable for that. They are useful for verifying a loaded status, but not the reverse.

 

[Pyro]

Nope. To me it's just another thing to bump up the price an extra $50. If I picked up a handgun with one and shows that no cartridge is chambered, I'd still check the chamber out of habit.

 

[Rail Driver]

maybe the LCI helps those who think there are useful conditions in that gap.

It also helps to ensure you have a round chambered if it's dark (such as being woken in the night by an out of place sound).

 

[psyshack]

As long as it's not a blade style.

 

[BK]

I like them. The only ones I have experience with are the XD and Ruger MKIII type.They work and I've begun to use them more and more when I practice.

 

[16shells]

In general I like them. Some, like on my H&K USP Compact, are small I have difficulty seeing it at a glance.