Trunk Monkey
member
This thread is a combination of a thread Kleanbore started called My Handgun History and a comment Old Dog made in the I'm Comfortable With My... thread. A list of random handguns I've carried is only part of the story. It's meaningless without the "why" of how I (we) got from point A to wherever we are now.
My main point is going to be that I started out not even knowing what I didn't know and I didn't even know that I didn't know it until I got some training.
The first handgun I ever bought was a S&W Model 915. Before I bought it I had no idea that such a thing as a Third Generation S&W even existed. I literally thought I was going to walk into the gun shop and choose between a 1911, an M9 and some kind of revolver.
I had no concept of concealed carry and certainly no concept of a holster. (I'm thinking of the movie "Lethal Weapon" where Danny Glover carried his S&W revolver in a Galco Summer Comfort IWB holster cross draw hanging off the OUTSIDE of his belt and Riggs didn't use any holster at all. Same with Beverly Hills Cop). When I thought I might need a gun I carried it in my jacket pocket in condition 3 because that's what the army taught me.
When I got around to buying a holster I bought something called an Ambi Holster. It was maybe a step above an Uncle Mike's but it wasn't anything like a quality holster. I never carried a reload because I didn't even know that was a thing.
In 1998 right before I got married I got rid of all my guns. The only gun we had was a .22 caliber NEF revolver that lived in a box in the garage.
In 2007 my wife was involved in a road rage incident that scared the Hell out of her. She decided she wanted a gun and her permit. I agreed so she signed us up for a "Donuts and Coffee" class in someone's basement. I don't remember learning anything in the class but the instructor gave everyone a CD/Rom with all of the course materials and every statute in the Colorado Revised Code that had to do with concealed carry, guns in general and self defense.
I do remember that the guy had a bunch of photos by Oleg Volk hanging on his walls and I'm pretty sure that's what lead me here.
I lurked for a long time and I still didn't know enough to know good advice from bad but I did pick up on the necessity for good quality equipment.
When I started carrying the only belt I even owned was my BDU belt (that skinny little nylon belt the Army issued). When I became a security guard I used the "Law Pro" belt my company issued, until I went to tighten it up one day and it literally split in two.
Then I went out and bought a Tony Lama belt that I thought would be good because my local gun shop sold them (they also sold Uncle Mike's holsters).
At some point I heard of Wilderness Tactical and I bought one. There are other belts as good or better but they work and they are an approved uniform substitute for my employer's cheap Chinese issue belt. So, that's what I use.
I spent a lot of money on cheap nylon holsters before I talked my wife in letting me lay out 60 bucks for a Galco holster. Again, there are several options as good or better than Galco but Galco works and I know to just buy a Galco CM whenever I buy a new gun, which I haven't done since 2018 or so. That was kind of the story of my life until I got some training. I got by on cheap equipment until I got tired of replacing it and bought adequate equipment.
In 2012 I joined my church's security team. The reason that's relevant is it was my first opportunity to attend real training taught by a professional instructor.
The first lesson I learned was how much I didn't know. I actually remember thinking that all my internet gun knowledge (mostly from THR) was going to put me waaay ahead of the curve.... until I failed my first qualification because I freaked out and started point shooting. I passed on the second time because I slowed down and aimed.
I also learned a lot about what did and didn't work with my equipment from that training. The first class I attended I kept trying to shove my Multitool into the magazine well of my 6906. After that I separated my magazines from my Multitool.
In one class the instructor had us practice "Tactical Reloads" and I found out what a pain it was to try to reinsert a magazine in a carrier with the damn flaps in the way. Now I carry my magazines in a horizontal carrier with no covers.
Say what you want about rotating guns, I consistently scored higher on my qualifications and performed better in class when I carried the same gun and since I was carrying the same model at work my scores were higher there too.
When I became an armed guard my employer's training consisted of the NRA Basic Handgun Safety Course and a day on how to handcuff people. No instruction on WHY I would be handcuffing anyone or the legal ramifications of handcuffing someone. Just the mechanics of how handcuffs worked (I decided then and there that God Himself would have to direct me to handcuff someone before those handcuffs came out of my pocket).
We also got a half day on OC spray which was good training in and of itself but again no instruction on what constituted legal use of OC spray. I only ever pulled it out once, when some old wino threatened me with an axe.
Because of my prior REAL training I knew enough to go look for information on how I should set up my duty belt (company issue I had to use what they gave me). I found an article on Police One(?) that said you should set up your belt with left hand things and right hand things. (Your gun, your OC and handcuffs are right hand things so you put them where you can get them all with your right hand (or in the case of the handcuffs NO hands because I had no intention of using them on ANYONE) Your radio, flashlight, reloads, cellphone, notebook and such were all Lefthand things and they go on the belt (or your pockets) accordingly.)
NOTHING goes on your back in case you get knocked down. I still carry my equipment split into Left and Right hand things even when I'm not at work and I'm not wearing a bat belt.
So in closing it was a long time and a lot of training and a lot of experience (and screwups like the time I was walking around a substation and one of my reloads came out of the carrier and bounced off my foot before landing in a mud puddle) before I learned to carry my equipment one way, in one place and to buy good quality equipment.
In my experience, almost all folks who embark on a lifetime of concealed carry do not start with high quality holsters and belts. It's almost a stereotype that new gun owners/gun carriers will spend hundreds of dollars on a quality ndgun, only to turn around and attempt to pack it in a flimsy $29 Uncle Mike's nylon holster on a flimsy one-inch belt.
I've seen it so often over the years, it's almost tragically comical. I have been a small arms instructor and law enforcement firearms instructor for much of my adult life, and I can count on two hands the number of guys (or gals) I've seen invest in a top-quality holster and belt combination right off the bat.
Also, until you've availed yourself of quality training (not your half-day state-mandated class in order to get your state's CPL/CHL/CCW license), you don't know what you don't know about carrying a firearm daily -- and the sad fact is, most people do not get training beyond what's required for them to obtain a license to carry.
Also, are you aware of just how many folks carry a concealed handgun, yet don't keep a spare magazine or revolver reload (speed-loader or speed strip) on their person? You'd be amazed, and I'm pretty sure, very disheartened.
No, for most people, carrying a concealed handgun is an evolutionary process that goes way beyond "flitting from gun to gun." Your initial statement may be true for a very select (and lucky or prescient) few, but I submit it's the exception, rather than the rule.
My main point is going to be that I started out not even knowing what I didn't know and I didn't even know that I didn't know it until I got some training.
The first handgun I ever bought was a S&W Model 915. Before I bought it I had no idea that such a thing as a Third Generation S&W even existed. I literally thought I was going to walk into the gun shop and choose between a 1911, an M9 and some kind of revolver.
I had no concept of concealed carry and certainly no concept of a holster. (I'm thinking of the movie "Lethal Weapon" where Danny Glover carried his S&W revolver in a Galco Summer Comfort IWB holster cross draw hanging off the OUTSIDE of his belt and Riggs didn't use any holster at all. Same with Beverly Hills Cop). When I thought I might need a gun I carried it in my jacket pocket in condition 3 because that's what the army taught me.
When I got around to buying a holster I bought something called an Ambi Holster. It was maybe a step above an Uncle Mike's but it wasn't anything like a quality holster. I never carried a reload because I didn't even know that was a thing.
In 1998 right before I got married I got rid of all my guns. The only gun we had was a .22 caliber NEF revolver that lived in a box in the garage.
In 2007 my wife was involved in a road rage incident that scared the Hell out of her. She decided she wanted a gun and her permit. I agreed so she signed us up for a "Donuts and Coffee" class in someone's basement. I don't remember learning anything in the class but the instructor gave everyone a CD/Rom with all of the course materials and every statute in the Colorado Revised Code that had to do with concealed carry, guns in general and self defense.
I do remember that the guy had a bunch of photos by Oleg Volk hanging on his walls and I'm pretty sure that's what lead me here.
I lurked for a long time and I still didn't know enough to know good advice from bad but I did pick up on the necessity for good quality equipment.
When I started carrying the only belt I even owned was my BDU belt (that skinny little nylon belt the Army issued). When I became a security guard I used the "Law Pro" belt my company issued, until I went to tighten it up one day and it literally split in two.
Then I went out and bought a Tony Lama belt that I thought would be good because my local gun shop sold them (they also sold Uncle Mike's holsters).
At some point I heard of Wilderness Tactical and I bought one. There are other belts as good or better but they work and they are an approved uniform substitute for my employer's cheap Chinese issue belt. So, that's what I use.
I spent a lot of money on cheap nylon holsters before I talked my wife in letting me lay out 60 bucks for a Galco holster. Again, there are several options as good or better than Galco but Galco works and I know to just buy a Galco CM whenever I buy a new gun, which I haven't done since 2018 or so. That was kind of the story of my life until I got some training. I got by on cheap equipment until I got tired of replacing it and bought adequate equipment.
In 2012 I joined my church's security team. The reason that's relevant is it was my first opportunity to attend real training taught by a professional instructor.
The first lesson I learned was how much I didn't know. I actually remember thinking that all my internet gun knowledge (mostly from THR) was going to put me waaay ahead of the curve.... until I failed my first qualification because I freaked out and started point shooting. I passed on the second time because I slowed down and aimed.
I also learned a lot about what did and didn't work with my equipment from that training. The first class I attended I kept trying to shove my Multitool into the magazine well of my 6906. After that I separated my magazines from my Multitool.
In one class the instructor had us practice "Tactical Reloads" and I found out what a pain it was to try to reinsert a magazine in a carrier with the damn flaps in the way. Now I carry my magazines in a horizontal carrier with no covers.
Say what you want about rotating guns, I consistently scored higher on my qualifications and performed better in class when I carried the same gun and since I was carrying the same model at work my scores were higher there too.
When I became an armed guard my employer's training consisted of the NRA Basic Handgun Safety Course and a day on how to handcuff people. No instruction on WHY I would be handcuffing anyone or the legal ramifications of handcuffing someone. Just the mechanics of how handcuffs worked (I decided then and there that God Himself would have to direct me to handcuff someone before those handcuffs came out of my pocket).
We also got a half day on OC spray which was good training in and of itself but again no instruction on what constituted legal use of OC spray. I only ever pulled it out once, when some old wino threatened me with an axe.
Because of my prior REAL training I knew enough to go look for information on how I should set up my duty belt (company issue I had to use what they gave me). I found an article on Police One(?) that said you should set up your belt with left hand things and right hand things. (Your gun, your OC and handcuffs are right hand things so you put them where you can get them all with your right hand (or in the case of the handcuffs NO hands because I had no intention of using them on ANYONE) Your radio, flashlight, reloads, cellphone, notebook and such were all Lefthand things and they go on the belt (or your pockets) accordingly.)
NOTHING goes on your back in case you get knocked down. I still carry my equipment split into Left and Right hand things even when I'm not at work and I'm not wearing a bat belt.
So in closing it was a long time and a lot of training and a lot of experience (and screwups like the time I was walking around a substation and one of my reloads came out of the carrier and bounced off my foot before landing in a mud puddle) before I learned to carry my equipment one way, in one place and to buy good quality equipment.
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