Need advice regarding carrying

[ifman]

So I've been CC'ing a glock 19 now for about 5 months, it was my first gun and I bought it about a month before I started carrying. I have taken an NRA class, and practiced a lot with both the Glock, a Kahr CW9, and a .22 revolver. I love shooting. I love carrying because I feel like I am taking control of mine and my family's safety. My wife just bought her first carry piece, a 2.25" SP101 .357.

Here is my issue:

I still can't get up the kahunas to carry my Glock chambered. I practice quick draws, rack, shoots, but I know that's just not the same as having a weapon that is completely ready and unhindered. I know my gun, I know it is safe, I know that I have to be the safety, and I know the four rules. I also have a nice, kydex holster, and when I put the Glock away each day I check to make sure the trigger is still forward, thus indicating that no ND *would* have occurred.

However, I am a bit of a paranoid pete (not the clinical diagnosis, but I do have issues with OCD, which can include paranoia). I worry a lot about being a statistic. That random story of a malfunctioning weapon. When I am sitting on my couch and my 2 year old is playing near me, I worry about my holstered weapon pointing at her. When I am in the car and my gun is pressed against the seatbelt release (I am a big dude), I worry that somehow it can magically get through the kydex and hit the trigger.

I don't want this to degrade into a +1 vs. no +1 argument, because I fully get the +1 argument and find it to make sense, I am just trying to overcome my own personal paranoia, no matter how rational or irrational it may be.

Because I am still new to firearms, I feel like maybe the thing to do is to try and get a gun with a heavier pull, or a *sigh* manual safety. I realize that these might be band-aids to the problem, but seeing as how I have owned firearms for less than 6 months, I feel like maybe this will help me overcome my concerns. When I started carrying I read so many stories about NDs, so many of them with glocks. I have read where some firearms instructors say it's not a matter of "if," but when, regarding negligent discharges.

So for now, I am going to sell my Kahr, and start shopping around for something in a DA/SA with a decocker. I am keeping my glock, both for when I get more comfortable carrying chambered, but also because it's fun to shoot, and my wife is really comfortable with it and likes having it in the house for a home defense weapon, since it is easier to shoot than her SP101.

Not sure what I hoped to get out of this thread, maybe just vent at how annoyed I am with myself, maybe get some advice, or maybe get some suggestions for good DA/SA guns. Right now I am looking at the following:

CZ75 (Love this thing, but it's a brick!)
Sig SP2022

or if I decide to go small, a Bersa Thunder .380. Not sure if I want to go that small, however. I don't really worry that much about deep concealment, and might even start open carrying more down the road once I am more comfortable and work a bit on retention and awareness training.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

If you truly believe YOU could have an N/D with your Glock and your training hasnt accomplished finger off trigger until ready to fire,I recommend a Gun Revolver or Semi-auto with saftey or safteys ! Good Luck.

[ifman]

I feel pretty confident in my trigger discipline. Once about 5-6 weeks ago while holster my Glock I let my finger slip into the trigger guard and was really angry at myself. Since then, I've been more aware of the location of my hands as I holster.

[M&P Chris]

Angry at yourself? I would recommend that you obtain a pistol with a manual safety. I was somewhat cautious on the chambered round when I began carrying but as I grew more comfortable with myself and my firearm I now always have one in the pipe.

[csmith]

I still can't get up the kahunas to carry my Glock chambered. I practice quick draws, rack, shoots, but I know that's just not the same as having a weapon that is completely ready and unhindered. I know my gun, I know it is safe, I know that I have to be the safety, and I know the four rules. I also have a nice, kydex holster, and when I put the Glock away each day I check to make sure the trigger is still forward, thus indicating that no ND *would* have occurred.

However, I am a bit of a paranoid pete (not the clinical diagnosis, but I do have issues with OCD, which can include paranoia). I worry a lot about being a statistic. That random story of a malfunctioning weapon. When I am sitting on my couch and my 2 year old is playing near me, I worry about my holstered weapon pointing at her. When I am in the car and my gun is pressed against the seatbelt release (I am a big dude), I worry that somehow it can magically get through the kydex and hit the trigger.

I had a lot of these same fears spawning mostly from being raised to believe that a gun can just go off on its own, not because my teachers actually believed that, but because it was the best way to get me (a kid) to embrace the practice of safety at all times.

Carrying my Glock with an empty chamber and checking the trigger every time I disarmed was how I got comfortable with it. It was proof enough that my holster protected the trigger during day to day activities. However, it sounds like it is not enough to convince you. It seems your fears spawn from a random malfunction, perhaps fed by the news stories of pistols going off in peoples pants. Every single one of these stories that I have seen involves somebody carrying a pistol in their pocket or waistband without a holster. The media doesn't like to report those details, you usually have to dig to find them.

One exercise I strongly recommend for you is to disassemble the slide on your Glock. Learn the inner workings and see just why it is a "safe action pistol". I am confident that upon doing so, you will come to see that there really is no way it can just go off without somebody or something pulling the trigger.

If you ultimately wind up carrying something with a manual safety, there is no harm there. But make sure you don't just pick it up and start doing it blindly. You have to train, build muscle memory to disengage that safety as part of your draw technique.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

I feel pretty confident in my trigger discipline. Once about 5-6 weeks ago while holster my Glock I let my finger slip into the trigger guard and was really angry at myself. Since then, I've been more aware of the location of my hands as I holster.

Realizing your finger slipped made you very aware,with this experience grow with it and feel more confident in your Glock.I CCW a G-19 every day either IWB or Belt holster,good luck !

[ByblosHex]

Carry it without a round chambered for a bit and see for yourself that the trigger doesn't pull itself or get pulled unintentionally. That's what I did.

[zeroflat24]

my advice (take it for what its worth) would be to try carrying a snap cap in the chamber around the house. that way you can get a feel for having a "loaded" fire arm in the holster and whether or not you will have an ND handling it. I carried my 1911 cocked and locked (no round in the chamber) for several weeks around the house to get a feel for things.

[ARay]

I would recommend taking a fundamental level class that includes holster work. Instruction and practice under the watchful eye of an instructor will most likely do wonders for your confidence.

[rmagill]

my advice (take it for what its worth) would be to try carrying a snap cap in the chamber around the house. that way you can get a feel for having a "loaded" fire arm in the holster and whether or not you will have an ND handling it. I carried my 1911 cocked and locked (no round in the chamber) for several weeks around the house to get a feel for things.

I was going to recommend the same thing, but I was a few min. too late. The only thing I would add is to use a new snap cap. This way, you should be able to see an indentation on the primer if the gun does go off. Also, seeing the un-struck dummy primer can help to reinforce that the gun did not go off.