I want to be "that guy" with one CCW weapon...

golden said:

The COLT made 1911 was the gold standard when I started shooting handguns, a long, long time ago, but the world has moved one.

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Ol slab sides can be had as a different beast now-a-days. The reality is its still dominating the competition. "Winning on Sunday and selling on Monday" as the saying goes.

For what it's worth, I never recommend any specific gun. I instruct newbies to rent as many as they can, of all types, then decide what works for them..

Mosin77 said:

Still more true of a lot of folks who have grown up on Glocks?

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Poly Striker handguns are 51 years old now. There are a whole lot of people who grew up with nothing but.

Teaching anything to my wife is a job nobody wants. She is not going to learn a system like a semi auto. Shoots them fine if the trigger pull length is long enough and someone else gets it in battery.

She started shooting when our relationship started. Felt perfectly at home with my revolver out of the gate and produced nice groups. She's a revolver lady and will always be.

On safeties - it's all I've known, though I've shot plenty different gun types and usually shoot them well. I don't know yet (hope I never), perhaps I may fumble disengaging in stressful situations. If so, I submit I may just as well have a ND with all that fumbling. Yes, there are videos.

Flying got me interested in firearms (ballistics, actually - guns followed). When I managed a small airport I'd fly anything allowed. New deliveries, I was the second behind the yoke doing shakedown flights. It's the one thing in my life I excelled doing. But on a hard IFR flight I wanted to be at the ship's controls where I could touch everything blindfolded.

There's a very familiar sidearm on my hip right now. Yes, it has a safety that been hitting my thumb at the same spot for 11 years.

As we are prone to say...YMMV.

No way. Maybe one gun for CCW but when we venture off pavement, not only can the needs vary greatly, sometimes preferences do as well. I have 128 handguns. Only five of those are used for concealed carry, one of those over 90% of the time. The rest of the time, nearly all of the remaining 123 guns could be considered but it's usually a revolver of some kind.

toivo said:

I like the way you think, but I'm wondering about the inclusion of the 42 and the LCP in the same class. The LCP is easy to pocket carry, but the 42 is on the edge of too large, IMO -- it's closer in size to the SIG P365.

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I know a guy who pocket carries a S&W N Frame. Your definition of “Large” is incorrect

tomrkba said:

I know a guy who pocket carries a S&W N Frame. Your definition of “Large” is incorrect

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Does he wear pants like this?

Trey Veston said:

That 1911 is going to have a failure if the magazine is inserted HK-style...

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That's cause you carry a Glock. My H&Ks and STIs eat it and keep on chugging.

Edc is almost always a Glock 26. But I’ll admit there are times when I’ll stuff a 642 in the pocket or grab the 1911.

Rare, but it has/does happen.

"Does he wear pants like this?"

Overalls.

I have my pruned concealed carry arsenal down to only a few:
1) XD mod 2 3.3" .45acp on the large end of the scale
2) XDS .45acp 3.3"
3) Diamondback DB9
4) LCP
5) P32
6) Very occasionally a NAA .22wmr mini revolver

The first 5 have the same manual of arms... point then pull the trigger. So changing between them is seamless for me. My hand knows what to do when the NAA .22wmr hits it so cocking before firing hasn't been an issue for many years now. 15+ years ago I would only carry pistols with a safety. But the plastic chunks w/o safeties won out a LONG time ago as much as I tried to resist this trend.

This might seem like a lot of carry pieces but I ALWAYS have a pistol on me when ever I leave the house, no matter what I am wearing or where I am going. Around town I usually carry the DB9. When I go to the big city I like to have one of the .45acp's on me but which one depends on the clothes I am wearing so it varies with the season of the year. I usually carry the LCP around town in the summer. I used to carry the P32 at work every day where flashing wasn't an option. But we work from home since the pandemic started so the P32 doesn't get much, if any, carry time.

toivo said:

Does he wear pants like this?

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No, this is his usual wardrobe:

MikeInOr said:

No, this is his usual get up:

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I'm never going to be able to unsee that ...

Do people actual practice everyday? Do they do so with all action types?

I know I do but I am likely the exception.

tomrkba said:

Do people actual practice everyday? Do they do so with all action types?

I know I do but I am likely the exception.

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LOL!! I wish! If I make it to the range a couple times a month I feel lucky. I have been an avid collector/shooter for over 30 years. I feel comfortable with my skills in a pressure situation.

Like many I was all gung-hoe when I was younger but like many I mellowed with age.

MCB,

Again, we will have to agree to disagree.

You say that a semi-auto is easier to learn and more effective.

I say, you shoot what you have and not what you might buy in the future, if ever. Yes, that person is at a minimum level of skill with a handgun, but they are far more advanced than they were when she had not fired the gun. Is she better off with a handgun? Would you rather have a revolver or a baseball bat or kitchen knife to defend yourself. I know what her answer will be.

It is what they have at the time they need it that counts, not what they will buy for training or competition, which assumes they will invest that money. People wanting to learn USPSA competition probably will spend the money. Non-gun people who just want to know what to do when they hear glass breaking in another room, will probably be very happy with that model 66 loaded with +P.

Jim

golden said:

MCB,

Again, we will have to agree to disagree.

You say that a semi-auto is easier to learn and more effective.

I say, you shoot what you have and not what you might buy in the future, if ever. Yes, that person is at a minimum level of skill with a handgun, but they are far more advanced than they were when she had not fired the gun. Is she better off with a handgun? Would you rather have a revolver or a baseball bat or kitchen knife to defend yourself. I know what her answer will be.

It is what they have at the time they need it that counts, not what they will buy for training or competition, which assumes they will invest that money. People wanting to learn USPSA competition probably will spend the money. Non-gun people who just want to know what to do when they hear glass breaking in another room, will probably be very happy with that model 66 loaded with +P.

Jim

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I think we are somewhat talking past each other. If they have spent time with a revolver and no time with a semi-auto then they would be better off with the revolver.

My point was if you have a relatively new shooter that has a limited time and money to invest in acquiring the tools and skills for self defense they will get more out of a semi-auto than a revolver for the same time and money invested. At the end of an intense weekend of self defense training the new shooter with a Glock will be more capable at self-defense than the new shooter that did the same training with a revolver. This is true far more often than not in the years I have taught new shooter at the club I was a member of (there are always exception and I have taught one or two myself). I am not talking about standing in a booth at an indoor range shooting a bullseye target. That is not self-defense training IMHO, just basic safe gun handling. I am talking about taking the next small step up in their defense skills, drawing, moving, shooting in difficult positions, reloading etc.

If they are only ever willing to take one short class in basic safety and marksmanship and never do anything else with the gun but keep it as a security blanket then I would argue it does not matter what the gun is as its likely a greater liability than an asset independent of the revolver vs semi-auto discussion.

mcb said:

I am not talking about standing in a booth at an indoor range shooting a bullseye target. That is not self-defense training IMHO, just basic safe gun handling. I am talking about talking the next small step up in their defense skills, drawing, moving, shooting in difficult positions, reloading etc.

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I agree with you on the advantages of a semi-auto pistol, and that's what I would choose, but I happened on a podcast with Darryl Bolke the other day where he was talking about the transition period when LE moved from revolvers to semi-auto pistols.

One of his points was range shooting with the semi-auto's was fairly easy, and in general, improved on what they were doing with revolvers. However, on the street, when shooting at odd angles, with less than perfect grips, often one handed, and perhaps in a car, they ended up a lot of malfunctions with the semi-autos that they weren't having on the range with their semi-autos where they could get their perfect two handed grip. They hadn't had these problems with revolvers on the street.

I think his points were probably pretty valid, but I'm probably going to stick with a semi-auto.

I think it is in this podcast

mcb said:

If they are only ever willing to take one short class in basic safety and marksmanship and never do anything else with the gun but keep it as a security blanket then I would argue it does not matter what the gun is as its likely a greater liability than an asset independent of the revolver vs semi-auto discussion.

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At last we can agree!
As I pointed out, a lot of people just want to know how to use what they have. They are not willing or interested in getting the best or even the best bang for the dollar, they just want to know how to use what they have.

When I was younger, I would have advised someone to obtain a better weapon, but as I have seen an awful lot of training, mostly successful, but sometimes not, I have become more pragmatic. In the end, if that is what you have, you need to learn how to shoot.

Oh, I disagree with the target statement. Virtually all my shooting including when I went through the academy and whenever I train is against a full size silhouette targets which is what I was trained on. If you can put your "five" or "six" into at least the 9 ring, at 10 yards with your chosen round, you are good enough, at least to start. Most attacks will be at this range or less. If they want to learn another gun or learn other tactics as well as shoot/don't shoot, that is all good. I can highly recommend "realistic" training, whether on a simulator or even just using staged scenes to learn more and become more skilled at defense.

Jim

tomrkba said:

Do people actual practice everyday? Do they do so with all action types?

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Too me safety type is the biggest hurdle rather than DAO/DASA/SAO, etc.

MikeInOr said:

LOL!! I wish! If I make it to the range a couple times a month I feel lucky. I have been an avid collector/shooter for over 30 years. I feel comfortable with my skills in a pressure situation.

Like many I was all gung-hoe when I was younger but like many I mellowed with age.

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It only costs a little bit of time to practice drawing and dry firing.

Especially since I have not won the lottery nor found the river that flows with primers.

MikeInOr said:

LOL!! I wish! If I make it to the range a couple times a month I feel lucky. I have been an avid collector/shooter for over 30 years. I feel comfortable with my skills in a pressure situation.

Like many I was all gung-hoe when I was younger but like many I mellowed with age.

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Dry fire! I like Mantis X10.

Trey Veston said:

I wholeheartedly endorse the concept of having one pistol for CCW. No matter if it's in the woods, in town, during the summer, or middle of winter. One pistol, one load, and complete familiarity and mastery of that weapon platform.

But... I love guns! I love shooting everything from my P365 to my G29. I usually rock a G23 or my P365 for CCW. Two completely different platforms and feels. G23 has no safety and is huge compared to the P365, which has a safety.

I KNOW I need to settle on one weapon in order to be the most competent and effective I can be, but it is truly hard to decide.

Love my G29, but it is just a bit too thick. Thinking about trying the SA new compact 10mm and seeing if I could adopt it as my ultimate CCW platform.

Anyone else struggling with the concept of one pistol to master and carry?

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Nope. Though I did switch up the gun that was. For a long time I only carried an mp9 shield. Sold it for a Glock 48. I have others but they don’t get carried or shot as much.

Now for me it’s less about carrying one pistol and more about only one system/platform. With Glock for example, it doesn’t really matter if it’s a 48, a 43x etc. they’re all the same in trigger, sights, slide stop and mag release (I’m in a state that limits mag capacity to 10 so that’s not a factor).

I don't have very many guns ... one is my concealed carry J-Frame 38 Special .
Going hunting or fishing ... A 22 LR S&W Kit Gun goes on a belt holster .
After wild hogs with a handgun ... S&W model 58 in 41 Magnum .
A day plinking ...tin can and target shooting ... A S&W model 64 in 38 Special takes care of that job along with any of the above .
It seems simple ... maybe you are overthinking the whole situation !
Gary

I would have a hard time going down to only one CCW carry. The closest I could come to would be a j frame size 357 like my Taurus 605.

Would a single stack 10mm like a shield, xds, G43 , .... pistol be an option???
Like many of you much of my time is spent hiking and enjoying nature, but it still needs to be compact.

I've tried but can't.

Too many situations for one tool to cover.

I have four guns I carry now depending on circumstances.

One DA/SA revolver, one DAO revolver, and two DA/SA auto's.

I only have two concealed carry modes...one for each hand.

Dominant hand: XD45 compact IWB at 3:30, Ranger JHP, normally closed-front shirt or jacket. Typically shot with two hands.

Non-dominant hand: airweight J-frame in a pocket holster, concealed in a pants, hoodie, or jacket pocket on non-dominant side. Typically shot NDH only.

The snubbie is for NPEs, maybe 2% of the days I carry. The XD45 is for the rest. Rarely do I carry both at the same time.

I practice presentations a lot with both.



Two things I've learned for sure:

1) I shoot the XD45 MUCH more quickly and accurately.

2) Unconscious competence is a thing.

In practice, competition, or qualification, we've decided we're going to draw and shoot BEFORE the beep, fire command, etc.

I've had two circumstances where I quickly went from evaluating a situation, to deciding I had to GO!, to having gun in hand. Both times, "GO!" to "gun-in-hand" was automatic. Unconscious. And fumble-free.

The two thought processes are VERY different.

I can't imagine letting "I like lots of guns" negatively impact (even slightly) a quick, consistent, and automatic "GO!" to "gun-in-hand".