Term

Condition 3

Magazine loaded, chamber empty, hammer down — known as Israeli carry.

Also: Israeli carry

Condition 3 is magazine loaded, chamber empty. To fire, the shooter must rack the slide — a two-handed, deliberate action. The condition is associated with Israeli military doctrine of the 1950s–60s, when the IDF carried a hodgepodge of small arms and standardized on chamber-empty carry as a safety hedge. Condition 3 trades first-shot speed for an extra layer of safety; modern defensive doctrine in the US generally rejects it for civilian carry.

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