HD: Is It Foolish To Own A Light Colored Weapon?

[ripcurlksm]

Lets think about a life and death situations where stealth would be to your advantage: I.E.,- Home Defense, etc. Do you think a light colored weapon would be foolish to own, as it might stand out/give you away easier

(lets pretend your ass isn't hanging out from behind the couch already here)

Has anyone ever thought about this? Please no shotgun jokes!

 

[Cosmoline]

All I know is I never lost track of any sidearm with bright mother of pearl stocks. These all-black numbers, though, are real easy to lose track of when you wake up at three AM.

 

[salvador31c]

i wouldnt think that the color of you handgun would have a real inpact in the home defence area its more likely you would be seen and then your handgun

i would think that if i'm in a home defence situation that i'm worried about my handgun being spotted with reflections and such i'm going to need some reinforcments and i'm heading to the rifle safe

 

[HorseSoldier]

There tends to be a lot of light colored stuff (like walls) in the average American home, not as much black colored stuff. I'd think that a light colored weapon would actually blend in more with the background in dim light than a dark colored one in the average residential setting. I also think it's sort of a moot point, as the original poster suggested, since a light/dark pistol or long gun, even, stands out a whole lot less than the adult human being it's attached to.

 

[psyopspec]

All I know is I never lost track of any sidearm with bright mother of pearl stocks. These all-black numbers, though, are real easy to lose track of when you wake up at three AM.

Not if they have night sights.

I wouldn't go so far as to claim that the finish on your gun will never matter in HD, but in the end it'll probably not make a difference. If you prefer stainless, or colored plastic, or some other exotic finish, go for it. How you use it will matter far more than what it looks like.

 

[Eleven Mike]

I never lost track of any sidearm with bright mother of pearl stocks

Is that what they're for? I thought they were just there to look good when you carry in your garter.

 

[Marshall]

I didn't see the "it doesn't matter" option?

 

[MrAcheson]

Is that what they're for? I thought they were just there to look good when you carry in your garter.

Yeah we all know that only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol.

 

[mp510]

All I know is I never lost track of any sidearm with bright mother of pearl stocks.

In the old days, and to a lesser externt today, the advice was to put light colored scales on pocket knives, especially those used in the woods for the same purpose.

 

[ZeSpectre]

We're jumping back a bit in time now to my LEO days when I carried a S&W 686 with a 4" barrel. My first one was blued with walnut grips and I liked it a lot but eventually bought a second one in stainless steel/pachmayr (mostly for ease of care).

Nobody ever commented on the blued gun when I carried it, but every now and then folks would see the stainless steel version and comment along the genral lines of "damn that's a big gun". Once got a perp out of a closet where he was hiding and his statement was "I saw that shiny cannon and I didn't want to argue no more".

So I think there can be a definite psychological advantage to a gun that is seen because a seen gun may even remove the need to actually discharge a firearm inside your own dwelling by causing the perp to re-think the whole situation and then run.

Disclaimer: Of course you shouldn't depend on that reaction to a "seen" gun (coke heads and the like won't care) but in a home defense situation I'll try for every psychological advantage I can.

 

[vanfunk]

I would think that it would be advantageous in "most" home defense scenarios to have a firearm that is as visible as possible. Stainless guns tend to look "larger" than their blued counterparts. My blued 1911A1 with a stainless bushing appears to have a larger bore when viewed from the business end than when the the blued bushing is installed. Anything that makes my gun look bigger is OK with me if I'm facing an adversary in my home. I'm not suggesting that a fully pimped-out BBQ-bright-nickel job is needed, just that a stainless/chrome gun tends to look bigger and that may lend a certain psycological advantage to the home defender.

vanfunk

 

[ozwyn]

I would think the lightness of color on the weapon is the last of your worries.

shot placement, ammo selection, mental preparedness, etc make this fairly low on the list of things to consider.

I wouldn't lose sleep on it if the gun is reliable, accurate and in hand when needed.

 

[kokapelli]

I could not vote because there is no option to vote "NO I don't think a light colored pistol is a disadvantige"?

 

[ripcurlksm]

..

Very interesting thoughts guys. I dont have many answers, so I like to ask questions - and I thought this question might spark some good discussion.

 

[ugaarguy]

Ripcurl, here's some other food for thought. A sidearm is generally regarded as what you use to shoot back with while you retrieve a longarm. In a HD situation a long gun is usually close at hand.

Now as for lighter colored handguns, I think in the SD carry gun role they have their place. There was a thread a while back where someone asked if it wouldbe wise to get a stainless or hardchromed gun with lighter stocks for carry as it would blend into white under shirts, lighter dress shirts, and like clothing common to his business dress requirements. One of the members here, Old Fuff if I remember correctly, said the British had done just that for intel types. They had hardchromed or nickled pistols with mother of pearl stocks and white leather holsters to conceal better aganst a white shirt under a tuxedo or business jacket. It makes sense to me.

 

[the naked prophet]

All my guns are finished in a pretty blue/mauve floral wallpaper

 

[kokapelli]

All my guns are finished in a pretty blue/mauve floral wallpaper

A camouflaged gun! Good idea.

 

[1557]

If you're in military combat,or a military stealth operation,yes,a light colored weapon would be a drawback. In any other scenario it would make not one whit of difference.Let the flames begin.

 

[Geronimo45]

I don't think an HD situation would be any more difficult with a light-colored gun. If you're ambushing people on a dark night... maybe. Again, most walls are light-colored, and a black gun stands out against that background in some cases.

Don't worry about colors - the muzzle blast will be brighter than any finish.

 

[wolf]

light colored guns...they would be the ones that tommy lee jones would call a.."sissy gun"...

wolf

 

[RNB65]

Bad, bad, bad...

I think this one may get a lifetime achievement award for the most poorly worded poll in the history of THR!

 

[Black Majik]

For HD, the color of the weapon isn't going to matter.

First of all, you shouldn't be clearing your house. Let the police do that with 2 or more people, plus they're trained for it.

If someone breaks in the day time, would the pistol really matter if it was tactical black or flaming wussy chrome? Either way the intruder would spot you before the gun. No tactical advantage or disadvantage there.

If its at night, the house is most likely going to be pitch black. Your gun isn't going to show whether its blued, hardchromed, or pink.

So my answer is.... well since I have no idea what to even pick on the poll. It'll just be NO.

 

[kir_kenix]

i totally agree w/ black majik...i cant see a single reason that having a lightly colored weapon for HD would make a lick of diff. i had trouble understanding the poll questions...i met to vote for IT MAKES NO DAMN DIFFERENCE...but i couldnt figure out which one that was. i could see maybe for a police officer or swat or something, but for the average person inside their own home it wouldnt make a bit of difference.

 

[Cosmoline]

Is that what they're for? I thought they were just there to look good when you carry in your garter.

No, they're for when I'm pimpin'

 

[ugaarguy]

Before a Moderator has to step in...

...allow me to make a few suggestions.

Let's not bash each other's choice of weapon/finish/accessories as being more or less manly than anothers; be it direct or insinuated (sp?).

Let's also not bash the OP's grammar or syntax in the poll. If you can't decide which option to select don't vote, but give a polite and thoughtful response that adresses the question.

Please bear in mind that our OP, ripcurlksm, is a newer member here. He's trying to learn and is asking serious questions. We were all new to shooting, new to handguns, and new to strategies and tactics ourselves at some point in the past. Let's take the high road by being supportive and encouraging to a new shooter.

Thanks in advance folks.