I was talking to someone that is very firearm knowledgeable and I was surprised to hear him say that he carries his backup (a J-frame revolver) on an empty chamber.

I know that this was common in older revolvers, however most modern brand name revolvers have some sort of firing pin block. In fact, most of them are based on the Charter Arms design back in (I believe) the 60's. A lot of folks do not realize that Charter Arms released their design to the rest of the gun manufacturers - royalty free!

There are several variations of the revolver firing pin block system: S&W (tm - owned by its respective company) previously used a pivoting firing pin on its hammer and its more recent firing pin block and Ruger uses a transfer-bar safety.

In a nutshell, I have no hesitation carrying a modern quality revolver all chambers loaded. A J-frame only has 5-shots to begin with! Strange that a person would carry a J-frame with the hammer on an empty chamber, but have no problem carrying a striker-fired pistol chambered. But you need to do what you feel comfortable with.

In fact, I think I will also buy a couple of Charter Arms revolvers. I saw a southpaw lightweight at my LGS and the quality was very good, although a little rougher than the other two brands. I think it would smooth out nicely.

If you have recent experience with Charter Arms, please drop me a line. I am interested to know how it has worked out. Their new moon-clipless revolvers intrigue me.