You may want to revisit your supporting statements.
each of these facts are nothing more than opinions, just as mine and yours and everyone else here. There are a number of dissenters within those links that feel otherwise.
(here are a few):
I just have to add to your list of what you’ve given away when you “rack one in the chamber”. I’m not trying to disagree, but… In fact, you have given away two more very important bits of information. The fact that you do have a gun, and the fact that now it is loaded, cocked, and ready to fire. You only have to picture yourself in the dark, and in the stillness of the night you hear this loud “Kachunk Chunk!” I don’t know about you but it freezes me in my tracks. We RV around the country and my own issuance of that sound has saved us from any further troublesome actions by others of foul intentions a couple/few different times. Glad that I never had to shoot of course, and very relieved that the intruder decided it just wasn’t worth it. If you are looking for a war, you can probably find it these days. However if you’re just trying to diffuse or neutralize a situation, and save yourself all the trouble & turmoil after the fact, then the simple racking of a round into the chamber of any loud actioned firearm in the night, is usually enough to turn most, if not all, evil minded critters to completely forget their plans and worry about their own skin for just awhile. Luckily, in our cases, they were concerned enough to turn away and even in quite a flurry disappear… maybe to at least consider what shape they could have been in right now if they had proceeded. I know I would.
I kind of agree with Kicknbak (#3 above). It is true that racking your shotgun gives away your general position. That, in and of itself, reveals that you are home. A shotgun can’t rack itself. As stated,
it means that you have a weapon and it is loaded. And very likely ready, able and willing to use it defensively. When the intruder hears that, yes, he knows you are waiting with a loaded gun. It also means he has totally lost the tactical advantage of surprise. One thing criminals fear is failure. They like the deck stacked in their favor be it firepower, physical strength, numbers or surprise. If the playing field is the least bit level, I believe they will likely retreat and search out an easier target.
I have read interviews where criminals stated they were more afraid of a homeowner with a firearm than getting caught by the police.
Comment by Joe — March 2, 2013 @
12:50 pm
I own two twelve guage shotguns. One is a pump with a short but legal length barrel. The other is a semi-automatic saiga.
I never leave either one with a round in the chamber. I do however load both...
Comment by david robinson — March 3, 2013 @ 8:58 am
Having been a police officer for a decade now and having deployed a pump shotgun many times against criminals, I can tell you the mere sound of a Remington 870 being racked, scares the crap out of most bad guys. I have had had them piss themselves, cry and flat out surrender without ever giving any commands.
Most criminals break into residences during the day when they hope the homeowner isn’t home.They do not want confrontation.
To think a criminal is breaking into a residence looking for a gun fight is ridiculous. Any criminal short of one strung out on drugs or insane is going to hear that racking sound and go find an easier target to hit. And when they hear that racking sound, they may know where you were… After racking the shotgun, MOVE to another location. You still have the tactical advantage. Dial 911 and have the cavalry on their way with lights and siren going. You quietly hold your ground and if the burglar wasn’t smart enough to know to flee, he’s going to get a load of #6′s followed by loads of 0 buck shot until he is no longer a threat.
To worry that a armed intruder is going to immediately start shooting at the sound of a racking shotgun is like worry someone is going to light fire to my house while I am asleep. It sure can happen, but the odds are far less. I keep my shotgun with 6 in the tube but no round chambered. It is far safer in that condition. I do not feel I loose any tactical advantage by keeping it free of a round in the chamber. Last, you don’t have to make a pile of noise when racking a shotgun. If done gently, it can be rather quiet…
Comment by Johnson — March 4, 2013 @
10:08 am
and we could go on and on...but why?
The fact is, it's a personal decision.
If we can get away from HOLLYWIERD for a moment, the fact is, as the officer above points out, we never carried a round in the chamber in our Mossberg's while on duty.
We trained to load them as we exited the vehicle. Same with the Guard. While we would occasionally "lock and load" prior to boarding, I can't recall ever having a round in the chamber of a shotgun, until it became necessary (or apparently so).
For psychological reasons?
No, of course not. For
SAFETY reasons.
For home defense, I still do not keep a round loaded.
1) Unlike one of the respondents in one of those links, I do have small children in the home. As well, I DO want to be awake and alert enough to think about what I'm doing, and not be able to squeeze off a round in a stupor. TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING...I can't stress it enough. If you train to load the weapon and release the safety, time and time again, you will do so under stress.
You train as you fight, and fight as you train.
2) I want the added safety around others who may incidentally access the weapon.
3) God forbid, the bad guy finds it before I do, I'd prefer that they "think" it's loaded...this may or may not be a rational thought process, but hey, if the case presents itself, I guess I'll take the chance.
This debate could go on an on ad infinitum, but I'll bow out at this point.
To the OP, good luck with your decision, and your decision on being loaded or unloaded, if you chose a shotgun. I hope that some part of all this has assisted you in some small way. As someone else pointed out, what may be good for you, may not be good for the Admiral.
And whatever you decide on, train with it until both of you are comfortable...then train some more
All the best....now back to drooling over trawlers I can't even afford to board
OD
