Why do you leave one chamber empty?

One chamber empty or not while you carry

  • Leave one chamber empty

    Votes: 15 10.1%

  • Don't leave one chamber empty

    Votes: 133 89.9%
  • Total voters
    148
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If I carry a Colt or USFA single-action sixgun, I keep the chamber under the hammer empty, but I do not normally carry these as defensive weapons. Sporting purposes, yes. I keep my double-action and modern Ruger single-action sixguns fully loaded.

I did not answer the poll, because it did not allow me to differentiate between the types of revolvers. Being "cranky" has nothing to do with it; the poll is flawed, even if the pollster meant well. I may someday carry SA sixguns for defensive purposes, because I shoot them well. Presently, I work for a chief who considers all defensive shootings, on or off the clock, to be duty-related, and I am expected to use weapons with which I have fired a qual course. I am not allowed to qual with a single-action revolver.
 
I don't think the poll is really that flawed. I just asked if you chamber one or not while you carry. Then in the thread statement I asked for anyone tell a scenario or two where this is a good practice. I did not care what revolver you carried I just asked why you would or would not chamber one and give a scenario or two of why. So technically I did'nt ask you if you would not chamber one if you ever decided to carry a colt SA.

And actually that is what you did. You gave a scenario and that is cool with me. Thanks for the input. $4

Also it is interesting to find out that people would carry an SA for SD. Wow would that take a lot of practice.
 
Wow would that take a lot of practice.
Click to expand...
There are still a lot of old died in the wool SA guys around like myself who could put the hurts on you in a hurry with a SAA .45 Colt.

And a lot more Cowboy Action Shooters who put thousands of rounds a year down range in practice & matches with SA's.

They are probably better off carrying the SA gun they practice to handle & shoot in a hurry year round then changing to an unfamiliar DA or auto for CCW.

rc
 
Transfer bar, or no transfer bar.
Thats just one way of making it so.

All modern name-brand DA revolvers made in the last 100 years or so by Charter, Colt, Rossi, Ruger, Taurus, S&W, etc. are drop safe.

rc
 
And a lot more Cowboy Action Shooters who put thousands of rounds a year down range in practice & matches with SA's.
Click to expand...

...not to mention the CFDA people, who can hit a 24" steel plate at 7 yards in a few tenths of a second, starting with the gun holstered. They have a division for 7 1/2" SAAs, and even those times are well under a half-second.
 
In addition to the other responses there is another school of thought with leaving the next chamber coming up empty. About 35 years ago, some LE type thought up the idea if you leave the next chamber coming up empty and your gun is snatched by a BG, it gave you time to pull your backup. Never became a popular idea for obvious reasons.
 
I blame the movie The Shootist where John Wayne tells the kid to load 5 for safety while they are practicing shooting.
 
Many people don't know that modern revolvers are drop-safe.

And then again, many people didn't know that SAA and SAA-style actions are not (hence Ruger's liability problem way back when).

Personally, I consider a non-drop-safe revolver to be a range toy, at least mostly.
 
I little personal story: I am left-handed, and left-eye-dominant, but right-armed and right legged. My right hand used to be stronger, because I did heavier stuff with my right hand and arm. Old injuries/infirmities on the right side mean my left hand and arm are now stronger. I carry my duty handgun, a SIG P229 with the DAK trigger system, on my right hip. This is sensible, as my stronger left hand might be needed for some other urgent task.

While I am functionally ambidextrous with most firearms, there is a difference. I tend to shoot double-action weapons better as a right-hander, and single-action weapons better as a lefty. SA sixguns, in particular, work better in my left hand, largely due to my more dextrous left thumb. Once I retire, and can carry what I want, I can see myself carrying a single-action sixgun on my left hip, or in a Safepacker, as the "heavy" gun, and a snubby, such as a Ruger SP101, on my right side, as the go-to, reactive weapon. I have previously carried two SP101 snubbies, one accessible to each side, as a matter of routine, and sometimes carry two P229s at a time now, in certain environments, so two guns is nothing new for me.

I started single-action sixgunning relatively late in life, in 1998 or so, after starting with both 1911s and DA relovers in 1983. But, once I started shooting that first USPFA SA, it was like a match made in heaven. There was virtually no learning curve; I was instantly shooting an SA sixgun as well or better than anything I had been shooting for years, and the lefty-friendly manual of arms really "clicked" for me. It usually takes me several thousand rounds to get used to a new type of weapon. It could be argued that the SA sixgun is my ideal weapon. A quick hit from an SA sixgun just might STOP a fight before it gets out of hand eliminating the need for a large reservoir of ammo. OK, enough rambling, and to be clear, I am not advocating that anyone else adopt an SA sixgun for self-defense. :)
 
Last edited:
FWIW, my wife carries her 7-shot L-frame snubby with an empty chamber under the hammer. She is no dummy, as she works as a forensic investigator, and has an M.D. after her name, but she feels more comfortable with an empty chamber under the hammer. Period. So, since I could not vote for myself one way or the other, I will proxy-vote for her.
 
The Colt Walker, the succeeding several Dragoon Models, and, the Model 1860, all had a safe position for the Hammer to be down between Loaded and Capped Chambers.

Possiby other Colt Models of Cap and Ball did also.

Why this sensible, practical method was not continued in the mechanism of the Metallic Cartridge SAAs, I have no idea.
 
Several years ago I dropped an old .45 revolver that was fully loaded. The hammer actually stuck like a nail in the wooden step with the butt pointed to the rear with the barrel pointed in an upward angle just outside my left arm and shoulder. I ended up with a hole in the basement ceiling and upstairs bathroom closet door. Now, with the exception of the revolvers I have with the new safety transfer bars, I keep the one chamber empty. Just like the old S&W 1958 Mod 14 I am currently carrying in a shoulder holster. If 5 shots don't do the job...I'm screwed. Except for the 16+1 9mm on my right IWB. I got lucky once. Not gonna try for twice no matter what the odds.
 
Quote: "The Colt Walker, the succeeding several Dragoon Models, and, the Model 1860, all had a safe position for the Hammer to be down between Loaded and Capped Chambers.

Possiby other Colt Models of Cap and Ball did also.

Why this sensible, practical method was not continued in the mechanism of the Metallic Cartridge SAAs, I have no idea."


I've wondered about that myself. I suspect there is not enough room between the rims of the larger cases (like .45 Colt) to accomodate the firing pin.
 
I downloaded an owners manual for my Python. It states...

Caution:LEAVE ONE CHAMBER EMPTY AND ENSURE IT REMAINS IN FRONT OF THE HAMMER AND IN LINE WITH THE BARREL, for safest method of carrying a loaded revolver. (aka referred to elsewhere as Mode 2)

Also...

-Use Mode 2 when CARRYING THE REVOLVER READY FOR USE.
-Use Mode 3 (6 rounds) when you must have MAXIMUM FIREPOWER IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE.
 
I've wondered about that myself. I suspect there is not enough room between the rims of the larger cases (like .45 Colt) to accomodate the firing pin.
Click to expand...

In smaller calibers, it's possible to put the pin down between the case rims, and it works the same, with one HUGE exception: the SAA has the "safety notch" aka "1/4 cock". It's really easy for the hammer to be nudged up just far enough for the sear to lock into the safety notch. This lifts the hammer just far enough to clear the rims, the cylinder spins naturally, and locks over a live round.

There is a modern gun with this provision, though, like a deeper version of the 1858 Remington cylinder design. The NAA Mini-Revolver family has deep slots in the cylinder for this purpose. It doesn't have a "1/4 cock", and it requires deliberate effort to cock the hammer sufficiently to clear the deep slots.
 
HexHead said:
I downloaded an owners manual for my Python. It states...

Caution:LEAVE ONE CHAMBER EMPTY AND ENSURE IT REMAINS IN FRONT OF THE HAMMER AND IN LINE WITH THE BARREL, for safest method of carrying a loaded revolver. (aka referred to elsewhere as Mode 2)
Click to expand...
Written at lawyers direction, of course.
 
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