[Noslrac]

If there is a thug in my house, I don't wanna be racking the slide to scare him... He can listen to the slide rack after he is shot the first time. I personally want the element of surprise if I can have it and to not be fumbling with loading the weapon.

[algol]

No, you're not racking the slide with the intent of scaring the thug, that's just a beneficial side effect of doing it anyway.

Why do you want the element of surprise? That only makes sense if you're expecting an assassin and want to get him before he gets you. Or do really want to kill some burglar instead of just scaring him off? (I admit there's a certain satisfaction in contemplating that, but in reality the paperwork probably isn't worth it.)

Oh, and if you're fumbling with loading the weapon, you haven't practised enough.