Israeli Carry Isn’t Really Useful
In 1947, the nation of Israel was reborn in the center of the Middle East. Founded as a home for Jewish people scattered all over the world, it has had to fight many wars during its short existence. As such, the men and women of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) have gained a fearsome reputation as warriors. The techniques and skills they learned in defending their homeland are in high demand around the world. One particularly well-known technique of the IDF is carrying a defensive pistol with a full magazine but no round chambered. We call this empty chamber carry or “Israeli carry”.
What is Israeli Carry
Israeli carry, or carrying a defensive pistol with no round chambered, didn’t actually start with the Israelis. For instance, it was common practice in the Old West to carry only five rounds in a single-action six-shooter. The empty chamber in the cylinder was positioned under the firing pin so a sharp blow on the back of the hammer wouldn’t be transferred to the chambered cartridge, causing an accidental discharge.
Put a pin in that safety idea. We’ll come back to it later.
The practice of empty chamber carry continued with the introduction of magazine-fed, semi-automatic pistols. In the 1930’s, W.E. Fairbairn and E.A. Sykes wrote their highly influential book, “Shooting To Live,” based on their experiences with the Shanghai Police Department. In that book, they suggest that the proper way to carry a semi-automatic pistol is with a full magazine in the gun, but without a round in the chamber.
![CZ vz27 The vz27 was a typical Israeli Carry pistol](https://blog-images.ammoman.com/blog/media/CZ27-300x199.webp)
The Israelis received literally boatloads of guns like the Czech vz27 pistol, chambered in .32ACP
Sykes and Fairbairn would both go on to play influential roles in training and equipping Allied armies during World War II. It turned out to be quite common for armies on both sides of WWII to train their soldiers to carry a pistol on an empty chamber. A U.S. Army Field Manual on the 1911A1 pistol from 1940 reinforces this idea. On page 19, the manual recommends that, “In campaign, when early use of the pistol is not foreseen, it should be carried with a fully loaded magazine in the socket, chamber empty, hammer down.”
However, when action is imminent, the manual recommends carrying the 1911A1 with a round in the chamber and the safety engaged.
What Condition Is Your Pistol In
Let’s pause for a moment and talk about how we talk about loaded pistols. There are five ways to talk about where the ammunition is inside your gun and how the safeties are engaged (or not). Legendary author and firearms trainer Colonel Jeff Cooper laid out these five conditions. Many of us continue to use his terminology today.
Condition 0: You’ve inserted a loaded magazine into the firearm, there is a round in the chamber, and all safeties are off. A gun in this position is ready to go “BANG!” the instant you activate the trigger.
Condition 1: You have inserted the magazine, there is a round in the chamber, and you have engaged all appropriate safeties. Let’s be 100% clear about this: This is how all modern firearms are designed to be carried. Every single one of them. Continuing on…
Condition 2: You have inserted a magazine, loaded a round in the chamber, and the hammer is forward (i.e. uncocked). This applies to hammer-fired, Double Action/Single Action guns like some semi-automatic pistols and double-action revolvers.
Condition 3: The magazine is inserted but there is no round in the chamber. We call this “Israeli Carry.”
Condition 4: No magazine is inserted and no rounds are in the chamber. The pistol is nothing but a rather awkward paperweight.
How Israeli Carry Came To Be
There are two prevailing theories about how the Israeli Defense Forces adopted Condition Three carry (no round in the chamber) as their standard method of carrying a pistol.
The first theory is that they adopted this technique for safety reasons. For the first few years of the IDF’s existence, its equipment was mainly cast-off equipment from both sides of WWII. This led to the IDF having to integrate a wide variety of pistols into service. This, in turn, led to having to train troops how to use different pistols. These pistols may not always employ the same method of operation. Instructors believed standardizing on Condition Three carry was one way for the IDF to eliminate the confusion of training for various safeties and firearms functionality.
![Israeli carrying German guns Israelis with Nazi gun](https://blog-images.ammoman.com/blog/media/israeli_soldiers_german_guns-300x240.webp)
No, you’re not seeing things. These are Israeli soldiers armed with a German MG34 machine gun
The second theory behind the origin of Israeli carry is related to the guns that the IDF inherited from the combatants of WWII. For the first few years of its existence, the IDF did not have state of the art equipment. Rather, it used the gear that everyone else had declared surplus, and some of it was probably in questionable condition. If you’re not sure that the safety on your pistol actually works, (and there are no other pistols to be had at that moment), Condition Three carry makes a lot of sense. The theory is that the IDF started out with Condition Three carry for safety’s sake. Now, bureaucratic inertia keeps it going to this day.
A Third Theory of Israeli Carry
After researching for this article, I think there might be a third reason why Israeli carry came to be. I mentioned Skyes and Fairbairn’s ground-breaking work with the Shanghai police force. However, their work during World War II also had a lasting impression on firearms training. Their ideas and training methodology were used by the Allies’ elite commando groups, so much so that the fighting knife they designed, the Sykes-Fairbairn dagger, has become the symbol of elite units on both sides of the Atlantic. Their training included the idea that they carry a semi-automatic pistol in Condition Three. Experts considered this the best training available at the time. As such, it made sense that the newly-formed nation of Israel would look to their techniques to form the basis of their new military. They continue to teach many of those techniques to this day.
These are out-of-date techniques that, quite frankly, we shouldn’t use anymore. Let’s talk about why.
You Own a HANDgun, not a HANDS gun.
Full credit to my friend and fellow writer Tamara Keel for that great way of describing one of the biggest problems of chamber empty carry. Modern life is complex, and there is just no way we can be sure that we’ll have both hands empty if we need to use our sidearm for self-defense. Israeli carry requires you to rack the slide on your gun to chamber a round. This is usually with your support hand, sometime between when your gun clears your holster and when it is pointed at the target. This procedure assumes three things:
- We will see the threat and have enough time to clear the holster, rack the slide, and make a clean presentation towards the target.
- We will have both hands free to manipulate the gun.
- If we don’t have both hands free, we will have the time and opportunity to use our belt or holster or some other object to move the slide and chamber a round.
Right now, everyone who has done combatives, taken a force-on-force class, or has done any sort of training with airsoft or simunitions is chuckling to themselves. They know, as I do, that simulated gunfights (just like their real counterparts) can be a messy situation. Threats can pop up from close distances. These encounters require you to use one hand to fight off your attacker while the other hand is drawing your gun.
You might be holding a loved one with your support hand, or the attacker might grab this hand. Training for a wide variety of real-world situations is always a good idea. A surprise attack from close range is definitely a possibility for you to watch out for.
Safeties Work. Use them.
At the gun range where I used to work, we had a regular customer who carried a Sig Sauer P226 TacOps. This is a gun that I really, really like. I was surprised to see he carried it without a round in the chamber. So, I asked him why.
“I don’t trust myself,” was his answer. That answer puzzled me for a long time. That gun is very safe, and he was a trained, experienced shooter. Why wouldn’t he carry with a round in the chamber? Years later, I think I know why. I think that the idea of carrying a loaded firearm around is troubling to some people. If they carry it unloaded, they can tell themselves that they’re carrying an effective means of self-defense while saving themselves the worry of following the Four Rules Of Gun Safety while doing so.
Feeling Safe By Actually Being Safe
Carrying a defensive pistol without a round in the chamber is like riding a bicycle with training wheels attached. Actually, it’s worse than that. We design most training bikes to use training wheels. However, every single defensive pistol on the market today is designed to be carried with a round in the chamber. Carrying a defensive pistol any other way is literally using it in a way different from the manufacturer’s intent. Do the right thing: carry in Condition One.
The day and the hour of a potentially violent encounter will not be known to you. So, make sure that your defensive pistol is ready for use no matter what situation you are in. Live your life in the modern world. Carry your defensive pistol with a round in the chamber and safeties on, as it is meant to be carried. Israeli carry may have been a good idea back in the 40’s, but the state of the art in both firearms and firearms training has progressed since then. This has lead to both safer guns and safer gun owners. Manufacturers designed today’s guns for you to carry them in Condition One. Carry them that way, and train as if your life depended on it.
Because it just might.
Note: A previous version of this article confused “Condition Two” and “Condition Three” when describing Israeli carry.
We regret the error. We also regret having that food truck burrito for lunch, but that has nothing to do with this article.
“Israeli carry” is a very bad idea. It’s similar to the idea that a pump shotgun should have an empty chamber so you can frighten an intruder with the sound of working the action, which is supposed to frighten the intruder into wetting himself.
The only useful firearm, rifle, pistol, or shotgun is one that is loaded. Anything less is just a paper weight or a club.
Well no… the pump shotguns is carried chamber empty cause most shotguns are NOT drop safe. Yes even the Remington 870 and Mossie 500. Plus if you have time to get your shotgun or rifle.. you have time to rack it.
The long guns are usually used in attack… the pistol is usually used in defense, and thus in defense you need it immediately.
I agree, but have to add something; Pull your heads out. If someone gets you in a position where you’re in a quick draw contest for your life, you’ve already lost. The folks that talk about combat are suspect, as, in combat, safety is a different animal, as people expect to be injured, or worse, In combat, you fight for your life, and the facts of how it went down are sketchy. In civil society, you better know what’s going on and what you’re doing, because you’ll be help responsible.
Right, and you can never be surprised. BULLSHIT! Yes, pay attention to your surroundings. Stay off your phone in public. But there will be times you can get got. You mean to tell me you never read a label on an item in the grocery store? Or talk to a pharmacist? Or turn your back to the entrance of the bank when it’s your turn at the teller? Common dude, I understand to be aware of your surroundings but NOBODY can be on 100 percent of the time. And no it’s not a guaranteed loss is you find yourself in a reactive situation. That’s where the training comes in. And that’s where Israeli carry will hurt you, not help you.
Everything is about training. Watch how fast a trained IDF soldier can rack that slide one handed! I’ll stick with condition 1 since I know I can’t do that!
The author of the article addressed that issue. It’s not the speed or proficiency of the draw it’s the fact that you cannot know the when you may need the weapon and you may not have your support hand available. Plus the pistol is used differently with different philosophies between the military, police and civilian users. With the military the pistol is not normally a primary weapon, the rifle or some form of rifle is, and there may be time to rack the slide when going to a sidearm. With police it is imperative to have one ready to go as their encounters like civilians are sudden and usually unexpected and the pistol is their primary weapon.
Well consider this. If you are grappling with the other guy, twisting, turning, and grunting as you try to subdue the guy… how are you gonna rack that chamber one handed? Or of he is punching the dickens out of you?
I’ll stick to condition one to!
Train harder.
If he’s that close he’ll just be getting opened up like a zipper with my karambit. Probably won’t even draw the gun.
There are ZERO safe guns. There are only safe firearm owners/operators. Firearm safety resides between your ears, not upon the presence or absence of any mechanical safety.
The myth of “the old west” carrying only five rounds in a six shooter has been debunked many times over. Through the years there have been many articles and discussions with “old timers” about that.
Uh no… Wyatt Earp, himself, in an interview, said they did carry them with just 5 rounds as they were not drop safe with one under the chamber.
And you can find a thousand other “interviews” that say that’s bunk, when your life literally depends on the rounds in your gun why decrease them by one? Believe what you want, makes no difference now.
Been packing Glocks, 1911s, Sigs, & revolvers since CHL started here in Texas (about 20 years ago!) I’ve never packed chamber empty. I have also been in IPSC and IDPA for well over 30 years. Never used chamber empty. And I’ve never had an AD/ND!!! Why? I keep my finger off the trigger till I’m just about to fire old ‘Betsy’! Like has been said, “On target, on trigger. Off target, off trigger” (and even that can be modified if you have to hold a suspect at gunpoint.)
I do know of one case, as told by Massad Ayoob in The American Handgunner, where a guy tried to rack his Phoenix .22 auto to help another guy at a Wal-Mart carjacking, and it jammed! Yes he carried the gun chamber empty.
Isreali carry is amateur hour at its finest.
Tell that to the Israeli Secret Service. Or anyone who carries a Glock.
I carry a Glock, appendix carry. With one in the pipe. Chamber empty is AMATEUR HOUR.
And if you shoot Mr. Happy off you’ll probably just want to use the next round finishing the job. I think Gaston designed Glocks for the military, not for shoving down in your pants, holster or not.
Would you walk around with a cocked revolver in your pants, cause that’s essentially what you’re doing.
Apparently you don’t have much experience. I’ve been carrying a Glock appendix carry for over 20 years. I use a quality kydex holster and have trigger finger discipline because I train in one form or another, on a daily basis. I don’t just “shove” a Glock down my pants. And it’s far from a cocked revolver. Learn about the realities of what you talk about before you speak because it only reveals your complete lack of skill and understanding. Hey, appendix carry is not for everyone. I’ll give you that. It’s not for the lazy slob of a gun owner who goes to the range 3 times a year, and believes their 15 dollar nylon holster is “just as good” as a 100 dollar kydex holster. It’s best left for people who are serious and require to maintain a higher standard.
Yes, why it happens so infrequently they even bothered to give it a name: Glock Leg.
Untrue. Glocks have three independent safeties, including the trigger tongue. It is MUCH safer than carrying a cocked revolver, which has NO safeties (other than the heavy trigger itself, which is negated when cocked anyway). The holster, your booger hook and your brain are yet three other independent safeties.
And ask anyone who trains at the highest level and they’ll tell you that no round in the chamber is pants on head dumb. Condition 3 works when you’re not worried about getting your gun out quick, but keep defending it for no reason other than “the IDF does it!”
And guess what? The Rangers don’t. Who will I listen to?
The situation determines the method of carry. There are situations for all methods.
HLB
A small point, but the author (correctly) defines Condition 3 as Israeli Carry and then proceeds to refer to it as “Condition Two” for the remainder of the article.
The author was under the influence of a poorly-made food truck burrito when he wrote this article.
It’s been updated. 🙂
Those bad burritos can distract you!
😉
Your main contention is that manufacturers design guns to be carried condition 1 , but you bring absolutely no proof of that. The instruction manual of my gun says to keep unloaded until ready to shoot.
Here is a photo of page 15 of the manufacturer’s instruction manual for the Ruger Security 9 that I am currently reviewing. Note Section 5. That kinda looks like charging up the pistol to carry in Condition 1 to me, and considering the instructions state that’s the way it’s meant to be used, I think that counts as one example of proof.
If more are needed, I can provide you with links to other instruction manuals that show pretty much the same thing. Lots and lots and LOTS of links. Instruction manuals, I think you will find, can be very… instructive.
Umm… that’s obviously instructions for firing the pistol. Obviously, you need to load a round in the chamber before firing it! The discussion here is about carrying it. Why don’t you tell what it says in number 8?
Of course, gun companies have a liability problem, so every instruction manual basically tells you to carry in condition 5. No one is saying that’s what you should do. But still, if you’re going to claim gun’s are designed to be carried in condition 1, you should bring some proof of it. Emphasis on the word “carried.”
Gun manuals also don’t include instructions on how do draw a pistol from concealment or the best way to recover a sight picture after a draw, so yes, you are correct, there are no instructions about the best way to carry a concealed pistol in a gun instruction manual. Among other techniques.
It’s interesting to note what else is NOT in that instruction manual, such as “How to use your gun without a round in the chamber.” Nor is it in any other instruction manual i’ve ever read.
Therefore, given a) the clear instructions on how to charge up a gun, which are included in every instruction manual and b) the lack of a stopping point in the instructions between inserting the magazine and the charging of the gun (which demonstrates that they are a single action) and c) an utter and complete lack of instruction from the manufacturer about inserting a mag without chambering a round, most people are able to put 2 and 2 together and come up with an answer in the neighborhood of 4-ish…
If you need written proof that guns are designed to be carried loaded, you are an absolute fool and have no business owning firearms.
Only a low IQ thinks a hot round in a chamber is very safe because of a plastic holster. No gun is safe. Don’t rely on your manual safety nor a plastic holster.
I know this is a year old article but just let me say: you rambos out there are ridiculous.
This is civil society not war. I’ve lived 73 years without having to shoot anyone, with the exception of the 2 years in the army.
It takes about 1 second to draw and rack. If you’re that close to it you’re probably already shot.
The chances of an unintended discharge is remote but not zero. It happens several times every year and usually by trained cops. If you’re using an appendix carry you deserve what you get. Would you walk around with a cocked gun pointed at your head? Pointed at your femoral artery will have the same result. If not you could kill the child standing close to you.
Again, if you’re a second away from being shot, you’re already shot.
If you’re walking point, carry locked and loaded with safety off.
Furthermore, you’re encouraging new gun owners who may not be as smart or as careful or as well trained as you think you are, to carry a loaded deadly weapon cocked with a hammer or striker poised over a round in the chamber in their pants with nothing but a mechanical device holding it back on the very remote chance they might have a split second once in their lifetime to draw and fire to stop a bad guy.
Get real. I believe in constitutional carry but carrying anything with a round in the pipe with a cocked hammer hovering over it is asking for it.
Training and technology have drastically improved in the last 73 years. Walking around carrying appendix is far from walking around with a cocked gun pointed at your head. I appreciate your service old timer, but it’s obvious you haven’t stayed current with modern training and technology. I will agree that appendix carry is not for everyone. It is only for the serious concealed carry person. Someone who takes their training and fitness serious to the point where they train significantly more than the average gun owner.
Do you mean by improved technology the lack of a manual safety on your glock? You are one minor fumble away from an unintended discharge training or not.
Even in the “old west” a quick draw contest in the street at high noon was a myth and they weren’t carrying concealed.
No by improved technology I’m referring to holsters. A quality kydex holster is something that will not allow the gun to go off. In order for a Glock to fire, the trigger has to be pulled, period. There is no other way mechanically for the gun to fire. Most people have their incidents when reholstering or drawing. You know the first thing about manual safeties that is taught by instructors? It is to not rely on manual safeties. Trigger finger discipline is where it’s at. Carrying a gun concealed is not something for the undedicated. It requires constant practice. Just because you go to the range twice a year, set your target out to 9 feet and shoot a box of ammo all over your target does not mean you are proficient with your weapon. I’m not gonna try to change your mind about carrying a concealed Glock with one in the pipe. Some people are just set in their ways and no matter how much proof or evidence one can provide, they still refuse to even entertain the idea. Just know there ARE those of us out here that are trained to the level that carrying a Glock appendix with one in the pipe is not a safety issue.
JD = Ignorant
JD = Thinks he is a hero in a Hollywood movie.
JD = Thinks he would never pull the trigger while holstering his weapon… where a PLASTIC holster doesn’t protect him.
JD poster child for Glock leg.
Thanks for your service and wisdom. New gun owners listen to this guy. He knows what he is talking about.
Always 0 never a 1 when carrying a Glock.