Single action, one in the chamber

**wwhite72082** · December 24th, 2007, 06:18 PM

I have an old Beretta Model 70S in .380 and am awaiting my license to carry (should arrive in a couple of days, its been 2 weeks now). Is it safe, with this firearm, to carry the pistol with one in the chamber and the hammer not coked with the safety on?

I've read that in the 80's Ruger patented a system which the cartridge would not fire if the firearm were dropped. Since my pistol is pretty old, would it be safe to carry my pistol loaded and uncocked? The chances of me dropping it are slim, but if I were to drop it and it were to land on the hammer, would it discharge?

Right now I am in the market for a new pistol so I wouldn't be carrying it for too long. I want to be as safe possible.Would I be better off carrying it loaded and uncocked or should I run the risk of needing to rack the slide in the time of need?

Thanks
-Walt

**carterbeauford** · December 24th, 2007, 06:36 PM

I would not carry any single action in any other condition than cocked and locked. Even some modern double actions will fire if dropped, Kel-Tec P11 for example, the moral of the story is don't drop the gun and you won't find out if it will fire when dropped.

**wwhite72082** · December 24th, 2007, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by carterbeauford

I would not carry any single action in any other condition than cocked and locked. Even some modern double actions will fire if dropped, Kel-Tec P11 for example, the moral of the story is don't drop the gun and you won't find out if it will fire when dropped.

To be honest, thats exactly what I wanted to hear. I just wanted to be sure that if there were to be any accidental contact with the hammer, that there would be no discharge unless it would be a sever bump (like it would be dropped and landed on the hammer directly)

So a minor bump or bang would not be enough to discharge the weapon?

**carterbeauford** · December 24th, 2007, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by wwhite72082

So a minor bump or bang would not be enough to discharge the weapon?

it shouldn't, the safety keeps the trigger from being pulled, the trigger keeps the hammer from dropping, unless a mechanical failure takes place inside the gun you'll be fine.

**ChamberedRound** · December 24th, 2007, 09:58 PM

I'll second carterbeauford's point. I've never carried a SA pistol before, but given my understanding of how an SA pistol works, it shouldn't be carried in anything but Condition 1: hammer cocked, safety on, round in the chamber. The only other way which is safe is Condition 3: hammer down, safety on, chamber empty. The problem with Condition 3 is that it requires one to rack the slide in order to load a round, which can increase reaction time in an emergency.