First, our apologies for taking so long between posts. We have been extremely busy, and we have been dealing with the loss of some family and some friends. Then there are the many chores, plus training time… You get the idea, we get busy just like everyone. Life happens.
Anyway, with the release of series, The Terminal List, we have been hearing all sorts of people saying that press checks are stupid and that anyone performing them doesn’t know any better.
Another apology, the guns shown in these pictures came right out of their holsters and were not cleaned just to take these pictures. If you see dust, oh well, we are sorry, but we aren’t sorry enough to actually clean up every speck of dust.
What is a Press Check?
Simply, when you load your gun, and you chamber a round, how do you know that the round 
chambered? The answer, you can perform a press check to make sure. A press check is done by slightly pulling back on the slide of a pistol enough to see into the chamber and see if there is a round in the chamber. For example, this picture shows the slide being pulled back enough to see the silver of the nickel plated defense round in the chamber. When done, make sure that the slide is all of the way forward and in battery.
Alternatives
There are always alternatives to doing a press check.
Trust
You can trust that you chambered the round properly. Here is where the problem comes in. Many people get too casual about chambering a round and they will often short stroke the slide when chambering the round before it goes into the holster. It happens. Result? No problem, unless you actually need to use your defensive firearm, and when you pull the trigger, you just hear the loudest 
sound in the world, which is the click of a Type 1 Malfunction. Does anyone want to start a gun battle with a malfunction? Not us, that is for sure.
Peep Hole
Some guns have a small peep hole where you can peer into it and see if there is a round in the chamber. The picture to the right shows and example of a peep hole that is available on some guns. If it is there, you will see the round, like in this image. You may need to look closely, but you should see the nickel plated defense round in there.
Loaded Chamber Indicator (LCI)
The LCI is a common feature on many pistols. It pops up to show that there is a round in the chamber. What is really nice about this feature is that you can feel the LCI in the dark. The last picture shows the bump of the LCI on the extractor.
Summary
Please make sure you have a round chambered in your gun, and please don’t just trust that it is in there. Everyone makes mistakes, but the Press Check allows you to make sure you didn’t make one of the most common mistakes made by people that carry guns.
