Comments on: Stupid Gun Inventions: Loaded Chamber Indicators

By: MostlyGenius

MostlyGenius — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:12:11 +0000

If you need to "get a round off in a split second" you are not looking at your LCI, you are looking at your sights (presumably.) If you are serious about self defense you carry your handgun with a loaded chamber and have the gun handling skills to do so. You could say that my loaded chamber indicator is that I am carrying MY firearm - I don't carry unloaded guns.

If you are pressing the trigger on a bad guy you are expecting the gun to go bang. The state of the LCI at that point doesn't matter (you won't be looking at it.) If the gun doesn't go bang you are going to be racking and trying again and the LCI will remain irrelevant.

"All that indicator does is let me know that round is ready to go" - Wrong. All that indicator does is let you know that a metal nub is sticking up on your gun. If everything is working correctly you know that the chamber is occupied by something that makes the metal nub stick up (like a live round, or a plastic training cartridge.) If everything is not working correctly, then you know your gun is dirty enough to make the LCI stick up when it is empty, or something broke. This would be like confirming your double action is unloaded by pressing the trigger until you don't hear a bang: the gun is either empty or you had a light primer strike on the last round.

"Stand down and de-chamber" - there is no such thing as "de-chamber", but there is such a thing as "unload" and there is no reason to invent one (unless you are Israeli.) Those of us that actually carry loaded guns (full magazines and loaded chambers) for defensive purposes all ready know what is going to happen when safeties are disengaged and the trigger is pressed: A bang, likely followed by more bangs, or a click (probably due to faulty ammo) followed by a rack and number of bangs greater than zero. The state of the LCI (if observed prior to pressing the trigger) does not change the two possible outcomes.

If you are fortunate enough to stand down without pressing the trigger then it is purely academic if a round was chambered or not, but I don't actually have any doubts myself as to the state of the chamber of MY firearm.

By: rockyrho

rockyrho — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:22:29 +0000

I strongly disagree. As with most everything it depends on how you use it. If I am handling the pistol in any non self defense situation, I agree, always treat as loaded and go thru the drill as one normally does, regardless of the indicator. But if I am in any position to potentially need to get a round off in a split second, it must be chambered. All that indicator does is let me know that round is ready to go.
I'm not going to pull that trigger needlessly. At that point my life is being seriously endangered and I must eliminate the threat immediately. Believe it or not that split second it takes to rack a round especially in the dark, may allow your attacker to disable you. I'd hate to explain that to surviving family. “If I only had the time to chamber a round, you're mother would still be alive.” Of course you will both be dead, so that explanation will come from law enforcement because you both are dead. If you don't like it you can ignore it. If you have the indicator up and you stand down, then at least you are pretty sure you were ready. But the perp believed you when you said so. Stand down and de-chamber.

By: PG

PG — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:39:46 +0000

While I agree a gun should always be treated as though it is loaded there is at least one very valuable positive use for this. Lets say its 4 am your asleep you hear the worst people in the world kicking your front door down. You dive over your bed grab your pistol jump behind some cover and think you are chambered to fire if needed. Its very nice to be able to feel in the dark and tell if there should be a round in it. Other wise you need to pull the slide hard back and chamber a round telling the would be terrible guys where the hell you are. I see other post also point out it is to tell it is loaded not to check if it might not be loaded since every gun is treated as though its loaded by anyone smart.

By: Words Twice

Words Twice — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:53:55 +0000

you missed the point.

No. Read the post again.

LCI is for verifying that the weapon is loaded, not for verifying that it is unloaded.

Read the post again, carefully.

waiting until a firefight is upon you to find out that you're carrying an empty chamber is folly.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

enjoy tons of extractor wear on your carry ammo from constant and unnecessary press-checking.

This is what you are worried about? Wear on your carry ammo? It never fails. Someone will always show up and go through all kinds of preposterous mental gymnastics to justify their fetish for silly gadgets. I bet you have a bayonet for your pistol.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:21:21 +0000

you missed the point. LCI is for verifying that the weapon is loaded, not for verifying that it is unloaded. waiting until a firefight is upon you to find out that you're carrying an empty chamber is folly.

enjoy tons of extractor wear on your carry ammo from constant and unnecessary press-checking.

By: Mostly Genius

Mostly Genius — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:44:43 +0000

Timbre:
You are still missing the point. You will not be chamber checking in a gunfight. If your chamber was unloaded at the start of the gun fight then you are going to apply immediate action and drive on. “It’s a tool” doesn’t hold any water. It an attempt at making a technical solution to a training problem.

Professional slickness aside, I can certainly envision a private citizen needing to fight terrorists/Active shooters. There are two states here: chamber loaded and chamber unloaded.

In the case of the chamber being loaded, confirmation is a feel-good maneuver, it doesn’t change the state of the chamber.

In the case of the chamber being unloaded you haven’t explained what is going to happen when it’s time to take a shot. The state needs to change in order to make the shot. There isn’t a stealth-load.

By: Timbre

Timbre — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:39:41 +0000

Mostly Genuius: Thank you for your clarification, although not the sarcasm. I was not referring to government military operations or a pre-planned ambush. We live in an age when rapidly spreading and intensifying terrorism may require private citizens to defend themselves instead of waiting for the Cavalry. I am well aware of the necessity for the checking and loading equipment prior to the undertaking of any task. I am simply pointing out, as I did earlier, that the LCI is a tool, subject to the same considerations of any other tool, including other parts of a firearm. For the private citizen who is in immediate trouble, and may not be as professionally slick as you, the LCI may save his/her life. I am not arguing with you that a chamber-check is paramount. And Rule #1 is always Rule #1. I am simply suggesting that the LCI is not a “stupid invention.” I won’t bother you anymore with my mostly ignorant observations.

By: Mostly Genius

Mostly Genius — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:07:40 +0000

@Timbre
A chamber check is an administrative procedure, it is not done under time pressure. A manual chamber check does not require a visual inspection of the chamber.

If you are in a fire fight you will quickly determine if you have a round in the chamber or not because of the old, universal, standard, loaded chamber indicator: the loud “bang” noise that happens when you press the trigger.

If you are imagining some kind of ambush scenario, you would have loaded your weapon and chamber checked prior to setting into the ambush. I guess if I am going to play along: in this scenario what happens when your LCI indicates that the chamber isn’t loaded?

I am not sure why you are ambushing with a handgun, and I have never seen a loaded chamber indicator on any M-16, M-4, M-1A, or AK-47 that I have ever been issued. Clearly your ambush edge case is not a military priority. I think this is because loading your weapon prior to moving out on the operation has successfully solved this problem (and a host of others) since the introduction of firearms to military applications.

By: Timbre

Timbre — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:06:15 +0000

Mostly Genius: I do not understand your post at #14. If you are in low-light combat, during a firefight, a visual chamber check is impossible. And doing it by feel means, most certainly, creating enough noise with the action to give away your position. I do not understand how you can say “There is no military/stealth application for a loaded chamber indicator.” The scenario I just gave, however rare, demonstrates otherwise.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 23:21:16 +0000

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