Do you pack your Wilson Combat?

What's your life worth?

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I hate this saying. Apparently your life is worth way more than mine since I carry either a revolver that I paid $350.00 for a few years ago or a Glock that was given to me.

And yes, if I owned a Wilson, I would carry it. I absolutely do not need a $2500.00 safe queen/range toy.

What you do is go out and buy several $2500+ guns. Pretty soon they become nothing special, just another piece of steel.

You should always have a Glock level pistol along for the ride, keep it under your seat or in your trunk, this will be your junker level gun, not really worth worrying about if anything happens to it.

Then carry one of the real guns on your person as your CCW.

Who cares about how much your life is worth, it's more about the fact that life is too short to worry about $2500 that you can't take with you anyway.

In this day and age, $2500 is just another flatscreen TV, rims for the truck, season tickets, or dog food and cable TV for a year.

If i own it, I shoot it.
If i shoot it, I carry it.
If i could afford it, Id own a Wilson or DW.


Its a tool, But it can be art or a mechanical masterpiece. But in the end its just a chunk of metal made to do a job. And that job isnt sitting somewhere collecting dust imo.

But this is me and i dont have any right to tell someone else what to do with thier money or tools. But when it comes to defending my life and loved ones i want the best tool available. And no doubt these guns are pretty much just that, So imo its a waste to not use them as for the job they were designed to do.

Holding a gun gives me no satisfaction, Shooting it and then sticking it in my holster under my belt makes me feel i got my moneys worth.

If my life is saved, it will be money well spent, regardless of what it costs. If it is a justified shoot, you should be getting it back.

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With a year's worth a rust and corrosion and the evidence tech's initials and case number scratched into the slide.

Just a general question: does anyone here really think a $2500 pistol is more reliable in a self defense gunfight than a $500 pistol? Do you look at someone who carries a Glock 23 or a Sig P226 and think that they are risking their life on an unreliable and substandard gun because it didn't cost as much as yours? I'm really asking.

does anyone here really think a $2500 pistol is more reliable in a self defense gunfight than a $500 pistol?

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I sure don't, at least not if you're mildly competent in picking out a $500 pistol in the first place.

I don't have a Wilson, but I do have a Les Baer, Ed Brown, 70 Series by Mr. Yost, and a few others. I don't see having these very reliable weapons and not carry them. I carry to protect my family and myself, so I carry the best I can find. I'm not saying just because it cost alot it's reliable, it just happens that these are. JMHO....

I do think that there is a law of diminishing returns for guns, particularly for 1911s, but I put the line somewhere close to $1000. No you don't have to spend serious money to get a gun reliable enough to save your life.

Which begs the question, why carry that extra $1000 around on your hip? You're looking at 2 guns in your safe deciding which one to carry. A $2500 custom 1911, and say a $500 M&P, G23, or maybe a $700 Sig p226. You know that they are all reliable guns and the M&P, Glock and Sig are all used by police departments every day in real shooting and perform just fine. So we're not talking about reliability. You know that the $2500 gun is not more reliable than the $500 one. So why carry the extra money around?

Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Just a general question: does anyone here really think a $2500 pistol is more reliable in a self defense gunfight than a $500 pistol? Do you look at someone who carries a Glock 23 or a Sig P226 and think that they are risking their life on an unreliable and substandard gun because it didn't cause as much as yours? I'm really asking.

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The point of a semi-custom or full-custom handgun is not enhanced reliability.

It's in the enhanced utility.


There are things I want that don't come on a factory, mass-production model. Those things have nothing to do with reliability. They are features I can use to shoot faster, or with better control, or for a host of other reasons that have nothing to do with reliability.


The fact you cannot justify it in your mind has no bearing on it's value to me. You simply cannot appreciate the difference between a factory-production gun and ones made with custom, or even semi-custom features. I can, and I can take advantage of them.



I can't appreciate the difference between a dedicated racing motorcycle and a production sportsbike. With my riding skill, I'd be just happy with a standard model. I couldn't take advantage of a racebike's enhancements. But someone who has those skills can take advantage of them. He likely has preferences on all manner of things, like specific tires, braking systems, transmissions, etc and is willing to pay extra to have those preferences on his bike - because he can appreciate the difference and has the skills to use the bike past a production model's limitations.

Ken beat me to the punch.
It's not about reliability; it's what am I most comfortable with, what do I have the most confidence in, what do I shoot the best?

i carry this:


but i've also carried my Wilson a few time's just to do it.

Nothing wrong with driving a ferrari if you can afford it. I cant, so I stick to my Springfield 1911s, and drive an s-10. I am sure that there are people out there that carry an old .32 break open revolver that was found at a gun show for $100. I think its more what you can afford, but why spend the money for it if its just going to collect dust in a safe?

Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Which begs the question, why carry that extra $1000 around on your hip? You're looking at 2 guns in your safe deciding which one to carry. A $2500 custom 1911, and say a $500 M&P, G23, or maybe a $700 Sig p226. You know that they are all reliable guns and the M&P, Glock and Sig are all used by police departments every day in real shooting and perform just fine. So we're not talking about reliability. You know that the $2500 gun is not more reliable than the $500 one. So why carry the extra money around?

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Don't have any Glocks, M&Ps, or Sigs to carry. Don't have any revolvers suitable for carry (wouldn't carry one if I did). As Ken said, I reach for what I feel most confident with.

I have had guns from Rossi to my Wilson. Most have shot very well but I still want one that was made, from start to finish, by one master craftsman, who proudly signs his name to it. I want to have the best chance I can of having my self defense weapon fire the first time and every time I need it to. It has nothing to do with the cost, believe me I wish they were cheaper, but they are not and I am just going to have to deal with that. If my Wilson, the best tool for my personal self defense, is confiscated doing just that, so be it.....but I will replace it with another.....Wilson that is.
Ok lets see...why does most law enforcement carry Glocks, M&P's or Sigs....because they are given special pricing!!! Are they reliable guns....no and yes at the same time. I just prefer to have more yes than no, so I carry a gun that has been fitted together like a swiss watch.....and a Timex is a good watch as well. But chances of the swiss timepiece failing, when I really need to be on time, are much fewer.

If I own it, I carry it.
If I don't carry it, I sell it. Simplifies things somewhat.

I own several Kimbers, and I carry each. I own a Baer (bought used), and I carry it. I recently bought a DW 10mm CBOB (bought used), and if I can get it working right, I'll carry it...otherwise I'll sell it at a loss (with full disclosure) just like I did with four Kel-Tecs, several Colts, Springfields, etc.

Same with revolvers. I own several N-frames, one of which has had some custom work done, and is too pretty to carry. I carry it (occasionally) anyway.

If someone wants to buy it from me and rescue it from this fate, fine. Until that happens, refer to above....

Which begs the question, why carry that extra $1000 around on your hip? You're looking at 2 guns in your safe deciding which one to carry. A $2500 custom 1911, and say a $500 M&P, G23,

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Well, I know which one I shoot better, and that is why there is no longer a G23 on my hip or in my safe.

I would never carry an $1000+ gun. If you use it, you'll lose it.

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With all due respect, the first statement is an opinon.
The second statement is based on an opinion, and may be valid in your jusrisdiction, but is FAR FROM an accurate universal statement...and should be universally rejected as such.