>Upon reflection, I can see a case for some LCIs. Some service
>pistols (the Walther P38 comes to mind) have tactile ones, so you can
>tell if your sidearm is ready to fire without having to look at it,
>which I guess could come in handy in some field situations.

I bought some dummy 9mm ammunition, which means I could get a couple photos of this without loading the gun in the house...

It's that little pin above the hammer. In the first photo, the chamber is empty; in the second, there's a (fake) round loaded. My camera angle wasn't the best; when loaded, the indicator is slightly proud of the surface, so that you'd be able to feel it with a thumb.

>The chamber on newer Hi-Powers is notched:
>
>
>
>so that if the chamber is loaded, you can see a bit of the cartridge
>rim there.

Got a pic of this, too.

It's subtle, particularly as my dummy cartridges are nickel-plated rather than brass, but you can definitely see when there's one in there. Now, how much good that will do you in and of itself, that's another question.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
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