Plenty of people carry a handgun with an empty chamber. Sometimes called “Israeli carry,” it makes them feel better and removes their worry about their gun “going off.” There’s only one problem: carrying with an empty chamber, like other bad habits, can get you killed.
Sure, in a perfect world, depending on the situation, the good guy might have time to draw their gun, rack the slide, and bring their sights to bear on the attacking threat. The world isn’t perfect, however, and massive adrenaline dumps under pressure will cause fine motor skills to go right out the window. Just as it did for an Israeli soldier in a recently released video from an attack yesterday in that country.
Fortunately the good guy didn’t get killed, but only because he was lucky and had help from a bystander. Watch the video below and note how many attempts and how long it takes him to rack his slide . . .
Dude took about 30 minutes to rack that slide and literally tried to hand it to a civilian in the middle of all that shame… pic.twitter.com/ZIqshcyYOH
— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) March 14, 2024
I timed it at eight seconds. And that was after he’d gotten away from his attacker, stood up, and drew his gun. What would have happened if he didn’t have help and had to draw while rolling around on the ground with the attacker choking him from behind?
Criminal attacks almost always happen suddenly and on the attacker’s timeline, not yours. If you’ve failed to recognize pre-violence indicators and find yourself under attack, you have react and respond quickly. Taking up valuable seconds to load a round in your defensive pistol can come at a high price, up to and including your life.
Not only that, but if you’re trying to fight off an attacker, you very well may not have your off-hand available to rack your slide. And if you access your gun and try to load it, and the bad guy sees what you’re doing, you will invariably find yourself defending that pistol in a high-stakes game of take-away.
Most of the time, if you ask people who carry on an empty chamber why they do so, they’ll answer with their feelings about how it’s safer or that they’re more comfortable that way. Running that through the universal translator, what they’re really saying that they aren’t confident in their ability to safely and effectively handle their pistol.
The answer to that is more or better training and practice. However, for a lot of men in particular, a combination of pride and their platinum Man Card doesn’t allow for asking for help in learning how to use a gun.
Just like knowing how to swim or effectively throw a punch, using a gun safely and effectively requires some training. Sure, that training might come from a friend or relative. Better yet, it might involve a formal course taught by one or more competent instructors. Regardless of where they get it (aside from social media or hip hop videos), good training will serve them well.
One valid use of “Israeli carry” I’ve seen in my time involved a relatively new father. He practiced a version of this when he son was much younger for the spare carry rig he carried in his pickup truck’s console. “Should Junior somehow find that gun, he wouldn’t have the hand strength to rack that slide to load the gun.” Indeed. A three- or four-year-old might find that gun, but racking a slide? That’s probably not going to happen for your average defensive pistol. That example, however, is definitely an exception.
Don’t create obstacles for yourself when carrying your gun. Get training, practice, then rinse, lather, and repeat until safely handling your EDC gun becomes second-nature. Carry your gun loaded. Live your life prudently and safely. And always have a plan in case you notice things start to go sideways.
9 Responses
I have two EDCs, one with an additional trigger safety and one without. The one without holds a couple more rounds in its mag, has better grip traction, and a crisper trigger. The first one is carried with one in the pipe, but because I carry AIWB in a comfortable Sticky Holster, the second one is carried “Israeli” so I don’t inadvertently blow a nut off my family tree, ifyaknowwhatImean.
It all comes down to training. When I draw from concealed AIWB to train as “Israeli”, it’s literally half a second extra to rack the slide and chamber the round as I come up into full position, which brings my 2-shots-on-target drill time to about 1.9 seconds…while moving. I’m okay with that.
Eight years ago, when I purchased my first gun, I carried ‘Israeli’ for a month. Got that idea from one of the many sources I was referencing to accelerate my firearms education. “Take a month to get used to carrying. Once you are ready, put one in the chamber.”
During that month, I must have practiced ‘draw, rack, aim, shoot’ a thousand times (unloaded, safe). Got really fast.
Since that first month, there is always one in the chamber. My draw ( from my Sneaky Pete) may not be Doc Holiday fast, but it is quick.
“It all comes down to training. When I draw from concealed AIWB to train as “Israeli”, it’s literally half a second extra to rack the slide and chamber the round as I come up into full position, which brings my 2-shots-on-target drill time to about 1.9 seconds…while moving. I’m okay with that.”
Does your training include a literal ‘heart in your throat’ fight or flight ‘adrenaline dump’ response before drawing? You know the answer to that one, as I do, it’s NO.
When that happens, that ‘adrenaline dump’ turns fingers into flippers as your fine motor skills go to total crap. To me, it looks like that was happening in that video clip.
If someone is concerned enough with the potential for an accidental discharge, It’s my opinion they should seriously consider going with a Glock-style rude heavy ‘New York trigger’. Yes, accuracy at a distance will suffer, but that won’t matter at close range from your target.
The same also goes with those brain-dead and *stupid* enough to stick a block of rubber under the trigger of a striker-fired weapon as a ‘safety’… 🙁
The young full of piss and vinegar are able to carry with one in the chamber assuming they have a sharp mind.
However, training etc will not help the aged who suffer from a lack of physical strength but more importantly a loss of thought processes.
At 81 I have faced the fact that I am more careless than I was 10 years ago and even thought it is more time consuming, I feel that all are safer if I carry with an empty chamber. Simply saying, I don’t want to have a mind lapse and do something I can’t live with. Age is a bitch and if you young folk keep living, and I hope you do, then you will learn of which I speak.
Of course there are exceptions and perhaps you will be one of those, but consider not all grow old and retain the same level of mind.
Hush,
81 years and still that which you write is worth reading. God be with you!
LifeSavor: Thanks for the kind words and may God be with you!
“At 81 I have faced the fact that I am more careless than I was 10 years ago and even thought it is more time consuming, I feel that all are safer if I carry with an empty chamber.”
It’s a wise man who can recognize their own limitations. If you carry striker-fired, please consider a lot heavier trigger pull.
My hat’s off to you, Hush. One day, I hope I’m that wise… 🙂
There is only one case where I “Israeli carry”, when I take it out of storage and carry it to the work bench for maintenance or cleaning.
Sounds like a good argument for a DA/SA pistol.