"I Feel Comfortable with..."

I "feel comfortable" with at least a Glock 23 + spare mag wherever, whenever.
Area of "greater anticipated threat" or walking the dogs in my "excellent area" same minimum, Glock 23 + spare mag.
I'm even more comfortable with a Glock 20SF or 35 + spare mag, but comfort begins at Glock 23 (19/32).
What about threat assessment? Oh I've got that covered.
I assess that if I had to defend against a threat I'd be comfortable (prefer) with at least a Glock 23 in hand regardless of where.

Anywhere I'd be more (or equally) comfortable defending my life with a pocket 32 or 380 rather than a Glock 23? No. Nope. Negative.

I don't "feel comfortable with...", I know I am comfortable with what I have chosen to carry. I also rarely feel the need to justify it to someone else.

ETA: I strongly agree with and think Kleanbore's final point is his best. Training is important and with the right mind set enjoyable.

Comfortable would not be the term for me, comforted is better.

To me, this would mean I have confidence that I can do the job with the tools I have with me.

"A gun should be comforting not comfortable." Paraphrased but I don't remember who said it. I have recently gone from my old Don Hume JIT Slides to more modern Versacarry Commanders. They have a extra mag pouch, which negates the pocket gun I carried as BUG. Both my normal carry options are extremely comforting, but now, they are comfortable as well. The BUG is no longer a lump on my butt, and it no longer puts holes in my jeans. The VCom is quite comfortable as well, the way it molds around my side. I'm finding the older I get the more "comfortable" becomes almost as important as "comforting." As I type this, the S&W M&P2 9mm @ 3:30 is indeed quite comfortable. In fact I hardly notice a difference when sitting down.

Kleanbore said:

Perhaps it is something along the lines of "I really don't expect to encounter trouble today, so I should be fine with five shots--I likely won't fire the thing anyway".

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This sort of statement comes up all the time on gun forums. I still don't get this sort of thinking. Then why carry a firearm at all? And if one end up actually needing to use a firearm, why handicap one's self with a difficult-to-shoot platform with limited capacity? Amazingly enough, the bad people don't commit all their criminal activity in the bad part of town, too.

Was over at a buddy's house recently and we were working in his shop. Literally tons of combustible and flammable items inside, but hey, he had one of those little red household fire extinguishers on a shelf.

At any rate, as the OP notes, it's not the tool itself that should make one feel comfortable. But one should feel comfortable with one's decision-making capabilities (for a start, staying away from stupid people doing stupid things in stupid places at stupid times, i.e., downtown nightclub parking lots at 3:00 a.m., etc.) and one's level of awareness and one's level of training (self-awareness is always good too, as the man said, a man's gotta know his limitations).

Of course, in the real world, we do have to compromise some times. Thankfully, our resourceful firearms companies have stepped up and provided us with such tools as the SA Hellcat and SIG P-365 -- modest little tools, eminently concealable and so lightweight, of quite reasonable capacity yet complete with excellent sights, triggers, ergonomics and shoot like much bigger handguns. We are getting to the point where we can compromise a bit and still be comfortable.

Kleanbore said:

And that puts us right back to the first and third possibilities mentioned in the OP

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So I'm a little dense, can you explain to me what issue you have with what I said?

CDW4ME said:

I "feel comfortable" with at least a Glock 23 + spare mag wherever, whenever.
Area of "greater anticipated threat" or walking the dogs in my "excellent area" same minimum, Glock 23 + spare mag.
I'm even more comfortable with a Glock 20SF or 35 + spare mag, but comfort begins at Glock 23 (19/32).
What about threat assessment? Oh I've got that covered.
I assess that if I had to defend against a threat I'd be comfortable (prefer) with at least a Glock 23 in hand regardless of where.

Anywhere I'd be more (or equally) comfortable defending my life with a pocket 32 or 380 rather than a Glock 23? No. Nope. Negative.

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mcb said:

I don't "feel comfortable with...", I know I am comfortable with what I have chosen to carry. I also rarely feel the need to justify it to someone else.

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Me either, except make rarely never.

My reply addresses things I frequently see posted, "good area" (location) and "anticipated threat" are commonly used to rationalize "less" gun.
My elaboration (in this thread or others) is not justification of what I do, rather a futile (but not naïve) offering of a different perspective.
Someone might read my perspective and decide apply it to themself; now, I'm being naïve.
Regardless, my initial reply was too long. Six sentences is TL/DR territory for most; IME, couple of succinct sentences at best.

Kleanbore said:

... But the firearm on my hip is not what makes me comfortable.

If there is some place in which I would not want to go without a gun, I don't want to got here with one.

I strongly recommend training--real defensive training, and not shooting slowly at a square range. That's a whole lot more important than the kind of firearm.

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These last 3 nuggets are worth repeating.

I don't feel comforted or comfortable by having a handgun on me.

Back when I was driving marked and unmarked cars, "comforted" began (not fully realized) by being able to reach for the 870. Not by me carrying a .357MAG, 9mm, .40 S&W or .45ACP and any number of speedloaders or spare magazines. Besides, who the hell feels "comforted" or "comfortable" facing a shooting incident??

Off-duty, and now retired? Still not comforted or comfortable just because I can carry a handgun. Any handgun. Feeling somewhat better equipped and prepared to handle exigent threats and many circumstances because I'm armed? Yes.

After having invested a fair number of years involved in frequent range sessions, drills and training (as an instructor) I have some degree of comfort in hoping my skills and experience will help me more effectively utilize whatever handgun I'm carrying if some dire situation finds me. The nature of the handgun (type, caliber & capacity) significantly affecting my confidence? Not so much as some other folks seem to express. Granted, I do consider myself better equipped/prepared when carrying a centerfire revolver or pistol, than when/if only carrying one of my "Onion Field hideout" NAA derringers.

That said, carrying a concealed weapon that better conforms to my daily and nightly activities, meaning also including physical comfort, is more important to me than it was 30-odd years ago. No more desire to IWB a large frame .44MAG revolver, and needlessly aggravate those lingering hot spots left behind my years of IWB carry of "Full-size Fighting Handguns" (a term left over from the late 60's and 70's).

A friend of mine, also retired from LE, and who is a shooter, has observed that carrying a concealed weapon IWB throughout the years of a career leaves most cops with sore spots on their back and hips, meaning spots easily aggravated by carrying a weapon. His response to it? Man-up and deal with the pain. He does, so far. Well, he's only in his 50's, so he's got another decade to go before some of the physical bills may really start coming due from all the abuse he's suffered. He's already feeling it in his knees and feet, but then he was a track runner in college and his early police days. He simply tolerates the back pain ... for now.

There are many days when I really yearn for the oblivious comfort I experienced when carrying a large and heavy concealed weapon as a cop in my late 20's, and throughout my 30's and 40's.

Substitute "comfortable" for "confident", and what exactly is the issue?

"I feel confident carrying my...."

Everyone draws the line somewhere.

I never will feel comfortable or confident in a fight. Too many things could go wrong. To the gist of this thread. A J frame may be sufficient for one opponent if things go your way. Have folks used them for more, yes - destroyers have sunk battleships also.

The semi and an extra mag is a reasonable carry for all but the most extreme civilian cases. The snubby alone is not but only a compromise due to circumstance.

I would like to echo the thought that saying you shoot as the square range for practice and training is insufficient for the ideal. Do folks win the day without training, sure, but to argue against it is foolish.

It may simply be semantics. Perhaps "comfortable" is a stand-in for "Adequately prepared for reasonably foreseeable events".

I am "comfortable", in that sense, with a six shot K frame, six spare rounds, and extensive training in multiple types of combat.

Other folks feel differently, and that's fine.

Kleanbore said:

Well, my firearm does and cannot make me feel confident, any more them it makes me feel comfortable..

I may be able to use it effectively to defend myself, should the need arise.

Or not.

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But you're well aware that the phrase "I feel comfortable with my...." is regarding a particular types/make/model of handgun. It's not referring to any type of training they may or may not have. People make that statement when discussing the gun they choose to carry.

So if your point is that the gun is not nearly as important as the ability of the shooter, I think most everyone would agree. But it sounds to me now - just as it has in the past when you've brought it up on a number of occasions - that you're taking one thing and making it something else.

Please do correct me if I'm wrong, but what I see is you making a connection between a person carrying a snub nosed revolver, and them having no clue about how to defend themselves. Based largely on the idea that if they knew what it took to defend themselves with a firearm in a deadly encounter, they'd be carrying something else.

So is that the meat and potatoes of your issue? And if not, what is?

My feeling of safety has never has been due to my EDC regardless of capacity. I feel confident not safe. Safety is a hypothetical. No EDC will save you from the speeding car you did not see. My confidence comes first and foremost from a keen sense of situational awareness. I stay safe by not allowing myself to get into unsafe situations or actions. That coupled with a keen self defense skill gives me the confidence I need to assure I will prevail in the face of danger. Danger comes in many forms. And situational awareness I’d the best way to not become a victim. Self defense skills are the best way to avoid succumbing as a victim. One without the other leaves you exposed to danger.

I feel comfortable when my carry gun weighs 2lbs + - a few onces, that’s fully loaded with holster.

A lot of my issues or short comings can be cured through training and practice but if my gun is too heavy I don’t want to carry it so capacity or caliber really become irrelevant.

Kleanbore said:

Yes, of course.

As I said in the OP, it is not at all clear what one means by such a statement, or on what one has based one's conclusion, when one selected a firearm.

Is one thinking that the gun will not be fired anyway? Is one thinking terms of a one shot stop? Does one believe that in a real defensive encounter, one would have time to reload? Does one have in mind, subconsciously at least, an attack by a single individual? What is one's level for acceptable risk?

To understand, we would have to ask.

Beyond that, the knowledge base of toe person making the assertion is not obvious. Does he know anything about handgun wounding mechanics and effectiveness, and what that means in terms of the possibility of having to hit an attacker several times to effect a stop? Is he drawing conclusions based on his experience limited to firing at a stationary target that is directly in front of him? Can he hit an unplanned target four or five times in less than a second and a half? Has he ever tried FoF training?

With that in mind, we can see very clearly how the training that one has had or has not had can strongly influence one's conclusions regarding firearm type.

It will also affect the realism of one's subjective feeling of confidence.

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Okay. So you want to know why it is that they feel comfortable or confident carry a certain firearm. I'm sure we could all make assumptions as to why someone would feel comfortable carrying (let's say) an SP101 with 2.25" barrel and five rounds of Remington .357 Mag 158gr SJHP. But we'd just be assuming, wouldn't we?

There is a trick we sometimes play on ourselves, and I'm sure you're aware of it. We sometimes imagine a situation unfolding in a very specific way. That situation then somehow becomes the only possible reality to that event, should it occur. Your example of only having to face one assailant is a good one. This is a mental disposition that can work in both directions.

One extreme might be, "This is a very safe community, violence is rare, and so I don't need to protect myself from anything. Nothing will happen to me. I'll be fine."

The other extreme might be "If I'm attacked, it could be by multiple armed and determined assailants. They may approach from different directions to flank me, and they may move at speed in a coordinated attack. They will not stop their attack if one of them in shot. They will not stop there attack if they themselves are shot. I will need to use my firearm to incapacitate all of them before they do the same to me."

Of the two, the first is most likely. But should an attack occur that requires a response of deadly force, the chance are it will not be the second. It will most likely be something close to the 7 feet and 2-3 shots (or whatever the static is) of the average self defense shooting. I know, I know, it's not the odds it's the stakes. But most people are unlikely to feel there's justification for planning for an extreme version of an already very unlikely event. And I suppose the best way to convince people that they need FoF training and a higher capacity firearm than their snub nosed revolver, would be to present real world accounts of such shootings. Accounts where the intended victim was a law abiding citizen going about their daily low-risk life, was carrying a firearm, and either didn't have the skill to bring it to action, or didn't have the skill or the capacity to prevail.

Rule #1 of a gun fight is to have a gun, isn't it? Rule #2 may not be "know how to shoot it well", but it probably should be.

But anyway. As I can't speak with authority to the motives of anyone else, I'll just tell you about my comfort level.

I feel comfortable/confident with that SP101 I mentioned earlier. (That not what I carry, but that doesn't change how I feel). I feel this way because I live in not just a neighborhood with a low rate of violent crime, but in a County with a low rate of violent crime. Most of that is domestics, between people who know each other, or very likely through escalations best avoided. I actually cannot recall ever seeing violence in any public place here. I live a low-risk life as far as two-legged threats are concerned. I don't spend much time in or near crowds, don't go to gas stations or grocery stores after dark, and keep my head up when out and about. Based on my previous experiences, I'm more likely to be attacked by an aggressive dog than a person.

Could I be attacked by multiple assailants? Sure. But I'm young enough and fit enough to run away if I find my gun is empty. Could they pursue? Possibly. Depending on how much interest they had after being shot or atleast shot at. Am I under the impression that I can out draw armed assailants who have the jump on me? No. Do I believe a higher capacity firearm and FoF training would prevent multiple determined attackers - striking in a coordinated attack from a position of social camouflage - from getting the better of me? No. Do I wear body armor when I leave the house because I believe I may get shot if an armed group decides to prey on me? No.

We've all got to draw the line somewhere. So that's why I feel comfortable with a snub nosed 5 shot revolver. Though I should say, I feel more comfortable with a P224 in .357 Sig carrying twice the capacity and wearing tritium/FO sights. I'd feel even more comfortable with a full sized Glock, but that's a bit much for me to care to conceal in Spring/Summer.

Carrying a handgun actually adds a bit of physical discomfort to me. Maybe not in one day or several weeks, but on some days that part of my body that a gun is pressing on rebels a bit.That's all cumulative, because if I'm awake I'm going to have a gun on me (when legal, of course).

Honestly, it's not the gun that makes me feel more comfortable. What makes me more comfortable is when I get to choose the people that are around me. And that's something that I don't have much control of when out in public.

Kleanbore said:

It sure seems that you are triyng to justify a preconception, rather than to try to think through a serious issue.

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It seems like you're doing the same.

I tell you what, if I were going to spend hundreds of dollars getting training to improve my ability to effectively respond to a life threatening situation, it would be with a Wilderness EMT course before a defensive pistol course.

Your questions are all very leading. They're leading in the direction of how if I don't do what you do, I'm not well enough prepared. But I'll answer them anyway.

Kleanbore said:

Hoe many rounds do you train to shoot wen the attack occurs?

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I don't pre-plan how many rounds of ammunition I'm going to shoot someone with.

Kleanbore said:

Why would the crime rate have anything at all to do with what you would need to defend yourself should the need arise?

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The likelihood and the type of violent crime have a great deal to do with threat level assessment. And the nature of the violence one may encounter.

Kleanbore said:

Is that why you carry?

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It's certainly part of the reason.

Kleanbore said:

That's getting ridiculous.

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Sure. Anything less than what you feel is adequate isn't good enough. But any scenario you haven't planned for is, predictably, ridiculous. It just isn't possible that you'd get shot in a violent encounter, because you don't wear body armor. It just isn't possible that you'd need N+1 rounds of ammo in your gun, because you carry N.

What is the purpose of this thread? You bring a different flavor of this same topic up every month or so. I thought maybe this time was different, and you were actually trying to understand the mindset and situation of others that carry "less" than you do. But it looks like that's not the case.

Are you trying to help people understand their short comings, or lord your superiority over them?