What is the difference between carrying your EDC chambered or not? I have a few friends who like to brag that they carry empty chambers “for safety”, I feel the only one safer is the criminal who looks to do you harm. I then begin asking myself why I feel “duty carry” is the way to go? An average person can sprint 21 feet in 1.5 seconds, that 1.5 seconds gives you time to decide a few things: 1. Does this person mean me harm? 2. Should I respond with deadly force? 3. Can I draw and shoot this person without injuring innocent bystanders? Now, you have answered all three things a yes. You draw your side arm do you still have time to charge the slide and shoot? There may be some who can in fact perform this with enough practice and with enough practice I’m sure a lot of people can, I have decided to take one step out of the equation I have decided that with an empty chamber I might be better off using my EDC as a hammer to the person’s forehead, I don’t carry a hammer I carry a .45 so I don’t have to shoot many times if more than once. While others chose to carry empty I will leave that to them and hope I’m there to protect them if need be.