[aspen1964]

..used so much...seems such a term is suitable for a law enforcement person but what the heck does it have to do with 'joe blow' ordinary citizen????..unless you think yourself a high risk victim of an attack...(rich?...prominent?)..a carry gun is a carry gun...whether large or small...

[Geronimo45]

Primary - the one you usually carry. Different events often mean different clothes, making some types of gun harder to carry. A lot of people move to bigger guns come wintertime, too.
Let's say you usually go around in jeans and an untucked t-shirt - but you've got to go to khakis and polos for some event. That might entail pocket carry of a smaller piece than usual.

[erict]

I didn't think "primary" had anything to do with being big or small????

I think it's meant as your "main gun" or "first choice" other than a back up gun.

You know...... the one you primarily would tend to use.

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Speaking only for myself, it is the one I am most likely to be carrying.

Best.

[10-Ring]

It may also apply to that gun or few guns you've listed on your carry permit. If you had to list them, you probably had to come up w/ some kind of priorities list and thus ranked them

[MachIVshooter]

As others said, the one that is with you most often. My primary is a Witness compact 10mm. Occasionally, my attire doesn't allow this somewhat large pistol to be concealed, so I switch to a smaller pistol.

[jibjab]

Would you perfer "Master carrie and Slave carrie" :confused:

[Geronimo45]

If people want to differentiate big carry gun from little, they can call them Cary Grant or Carrie Fisher.

[tegemu]

I only carry one gun yet the phrase applies. I own several but only one of them is the one that I carry, except for pocket carry and then there is only one of many carried. All the rest are not 'Primary" carries.

[rbernie]

Two usages that I've seen:

The gun that you most often carry
The carry gun that you first turn to in extremis (as opposed to your last ditch firearm, aka your backup gun (BUG), which is usually a pocket pistol of some kind)

Neither has anything to do with caliber or relative wealth.

[Trisha]

It's just a concise phrase, aspen. Maybe it speaks to mindset, too, as CCW is not a casual, carefree act (obviously, mental focus is a given with any activity involving firearms - no offense implied).

Magnum Tanto, primary carry knife (whenever I'm wearing a broomstick skirt. . .) - check!

;)

[DFW1911]

Would you perfer "Master carrie and Slave carrie" :confused: ROTFL!!!

Whew, okay, now I'm more composed: I change the firearm I carry depending on any number of variables: where I'm going, how I'll be dressed, weather, etc. I normally carry a larger-framed handgun during the winter and a smaller one during the Texas summer.

To me it means the firearm I'm most likely to carry, but as I mention above context is, at least to me, important.

So I have primaries as opposed to a primary :)

[Jorg]

What is your defination of the word primary, aspen1964? To me, the first defination in the dictionary works just fine: "First or highest in rank, quality, or importance; principal."

A primary carry gun is just the main one I carry. It's like saying my truck is my primary mode of transportation and my wife's car is the secondary mode of transportation. It doesn't mean that my wife's car is a less vehicle than my truck, it just means the truck is my "go-to" vehicle.

Think of primary as the first choice of your options.

Most folks here like to carry the most effective weapon they can conceal. Thus, their primary (read: first choice) carry piece is a larger handgun. The small guns are secondary choices as they may not be as effective, but they are easy to conceal.