Carry - and a gun's ''preciousness''

[P95Carry]

Noticed on my P95 how the signs of carry useage are on the increase. Not severe but ..... front of trigger guard is slightly marred thru the Fobus retention grip .... and there is a bit of shine on slide just forward of eject port on right.

Also, my M85 snub has more than serious holster wear ... and I only use that for summer carry. The bluing is well worn on cylinder and other areas.

Of course, S/S answers some of these problems but .... how concerned is everyone else with regard to how much their piece (pieces) suffers from continued carry. Do you carry your most precious piece? Don't think I would.

Personally, I have consigned my carry pieces to be, just that ...... carry - and am not too concerned with cosmetics any more. I accept that resale value will be reduced ...... that being a necessary consequence of their useage. All that matters to me is a reliable and mechanically sound [piece that I can depend on........ so marks matter little.

I do wonder tho with some carry pieces .... things like Kimber custom for example .... how much the owners may be concerned for the slight degredation that can occur cosmetically over time. I daresay top quality holsters will make quite a difference but ... from my experience, I'd be very surprised if prolongued carry useage of any piece did not ultimately cause some marring of finish.

Over to you guys ............ your take ......

 

[Shaughn Leayme]

I have a custom built 1911 and after it was completed it was nice, then I found this old guy who did the old style Colt blueing and had him do the pistol up right (it looked exquisite) and I have carried this pistol constantly and since that time it has aged gracefully. It cost me a case of Scotch (Glennfiddich, I think

I know a shooter who owns only one pistol, a Renaisance HI-Power, and he carries it. It is a very beautiful pistol, but it too has scatches, scrapes and wear from carrying.

I bought the pistol to shoot and to carry, not to become a Gun locker Queen. The finish is worn and it has it's share of knicks, but, if I am really concerned I can always have it refinished.

I use leather holsters and practice/train as much as I can in my spare time, so blueing/finish wear is a fact of life.

 

[Tamara]

The teflon finish on my Springfield Pro is scuffed, but hey, I didn't buy it to look at.

 

[LiquidTension]

I carry my most precious pistol every day. But I only have two, and one of them is a MkII. My FIST holster (POS, will never buy from them again) caused my slide to rust. It also somehow ate away the finish on the frame in a few places...I would get the pistol refinished, but I'm afraid that the holster will just ruin it again. The rusting hasn't gotten any worse in the past few months. I guess whatever was wrong with the holster was worn away or something. When I have money, I'll get the gun NP3ed and order a Watch Six from Milt Sparks.

I don't really care that the gun is showing holster wear, I expected that to happen. I DO care that the POS holster caused rust and minor pitting on the slide. I paid a lot of money for that holster, and all it did was mess up my gun. Oh yeah, one of the belt loop screws broke the SECOND DAY I had the holster

I'm not concerned with the finish wear too much, as it only affects cosmetics and resale value. Since I don't plan on selling it, and for me function is more important than beauty (in a firearm anyway), I can live with it getting uglied up.

 

[El Tejon]

I don't cry over scratches on my wrenches or hammers either. Besides if I do something really, really stupid, such as use it, I may never see it again even if I am still walking around free.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

My carry guns were purchased for carry and show the signs of being used. Guns I buy for their collectability or specific shooting needs don't get treated the same.

 

[tobeat1]

To my mind there is nothing more beautiful than a well worn gun. It has character. I guess I just have a soft spot for old things. My Glock (has a face only Gaston could love) is actually worn, which takes some doing. My M19 has been my carry peice for over seven years. My other gun (Kimber 1911 stainless target) has a similar amount of usage albeit less holster wear. I think it just looks cool. If you are really concerned about holster wear just get it hard chromed and only use leather holsters. My buds father who is a retired peace officer showed my his 38 one time. It was an old Colt agent that had been chromed. He carried it for almost twenty years and it still looked good.

 

[Kurt]

Side note.... Brushed or satin stainless is probably the easiest to pretty up again.

 

[10-Ring]

I'm w/ you, I have just accepted the fact that the guns I carry will show it after a while. I kinda like that look on those guns now.

 

[Gerald McDonald]

Normal wear isnt too much of an issue to me. If I wear in a situation that I consider abusive ( salt water fishing or hiking ) I use a beater. In my case a Rossi 68S or the stainless version even tho as of recent the beater is getting more use than the hi power I normally carry. Thinking of a KelTec 9mm for a beater auto.
Gerald

 

[Coronach]

my precioussssssssss.....*gollum!*

Mike

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

I don't really give a crap what my pistol looks like as long as it goes bang every time.

neither does my dad. his piece is two tone- half the slide is shiny from holster wear.

 

[Doc]

IMHO

There are collectors
and there are shooters.

ALL GUNS ARE TOOLS

Like other tools some are pretty, some are not
If you are into wood working,
there are some BEAUTIFUL planes,
some woodworkers use them, some don't.
But those who do, are not concerned with wear.

Just like the original art work I own, my guns MAY
have some residual value when I am done
enjoying them, all the better.
But I would rather re-blue than baby them.

If a gun were truly PRECIOUS,
and I wanted to enjoy it as a work of art,
then it would be in a glass case in my house, not on my hip.

 

[Tamara]

I'll admit to this. I recently acquired a pretty Colt Series 80 .38 Super with an absolutely gorgeous glossy blue finish.

I installed all the bits I wanted to make it a good carry gun: flat checkered mainspring housing, Novak rear sight, gorgeous checkered Ahrend's grips, extended thumb safety, ditched the Series 80 bits, et cetera.

Last Sunday, when I returned home from brunch, I decided to stuff it in my IWB holster instead of the grungy teflon-coated Pro that usually lives there. I went downstairs with a book, a pack of smokes, and an ale to settle into my favorite reading chair on the porch. As I got into the book, I slouched back in the chair to get more comfortable. *Clunk!* went the pistol against the back of the chair. *Cringe!* went me.

Back upstairs I went, to take the Colt off and replace it with the more expensive, yet less "pretty" Springfield. Reckon I'll save the Colt as a "dress gun" for parties and such.

 

[El Tejon]

You're not wearing THOSE shoes with THAT pistol?!?!

 

[Soap]

Any production, custom, or semi-custom is fair game to carry. It is a tool, use it! If I spent 6K on a top of the line full blown custom 1911, I would still carry it everyday. If it is an irreplacable historical artifact, buy a tool and use that instead.

 

[cool45auto]

My Vertec's slide release lever and part of the frame are shiny now from everyday wear. No biggie.

 

[Lyle Wyatt]

For the last 20 plus years my primary ccw weapon has been a Colt LW Commander in .45 acp. It has so little finish left on it that people have ask me if it's stainless steel.

 

[Edward429451]

I bought one of those gorgeous glossy blue Series 80 45's back in 84 and it was precious for sure. 19 years later, the finish is gone from the bottom of the triggerguard, the mainspring is patina, rear of frame/ gripsafety area ia approaching 'in the white', rear of slide has a circle of no finish where lined holster rivet has rode, grey hair at front of slide both sides, and a few small scratches here & there...its more precious now than before. I thought about getting it re-finished, but...that's my holster wear. Its aging with me and gives it character.

 

[P95Carry]

Strikes me we are pretty much all of a mind here .... good to know.

I reckon I'll make the distinction, in as much as ... the mechanics of a carry piece are what is ''precious'' and thus reliability and functionality ... esthetics is what can be tolerably allowed to lapse!!

Its aging with me and gives it character

Edward ...... well put Sir!

 

[Standing Wolf]

I don't mind whether my carry guns look a little worn here and there; the match pistols and Pythons, however, remain well oiled in soft cotton in gun rugs in bank boxes.

 

[Pendragon]

I see it as a matter of attitude.

I am not a rich man, but I fancy trying to think like one at least sometimes.

Seems to me that if you got a real nice gun suitable for carry/defense and you are afraid to "use" it - then you don't really own it - it owns you.

My Valtro is my pride and joy and the only gun I have left now - but when I get a CCW, I will carry it with me and if it gets a little wear - no big deal. The gun exists for my pleasure and utility, I do not exist to maintain the gun in a pristine condition.

edit:

If I had a priceless bottle of wine, I would drink it, if I had a Bugatti, I would use it to commute. I refuse to be owned by a thing.

 

[Tamara]

If I had a priceless bottle of wine, I would drink it, if I had a Bugatti, I would use it to commute. I refuse to be owned by a thing.

...and if I had dress shoes, I'd wear them to a construction site instead of Red Wings?

If my Colt or Baer were my only 1911's, I'd tote 'em with no regrets; but since I have a gun that I can scuff up with a clean conscience, why mar their fragile bluing? (I probably will tote the Colt sooner or later; the "shiny" just hasn't worn off for me yet...)

 

[Smoke]

Guns are more than "tools"; but; I'm not going to own any gun that I won't carry/shoot.

I don't have any high end guns. Maybe if I did I would think a little differently. All my handguns are carried. All show some wear, doesn't really bother me.

This question does bring up an interesting conversation I had with my brother-in-law.

While discussing carrying weapons for defense he made a good argument as to why his Kimber Pro Carry CDP was the perfect weapon for him. He then did a 180 by saying he doesn't carry it because if it was stolen from him or he had to use it and lost it in the obligatory trial he would be heartbroken. His argument was he should carry a cheap foreign revolver because he wouldn't care if anything happened to it.

I used his own argument that the Kimber was better and he should carry it, but he has a sentimental attachment to it. My logic is: Use the gun you shoot best and have the most confidence in, if you lose it it will still be the cheapest part of the legal defense that will result from a use of force. Don't worry about it.

 

[Doc]

"Got a gun you like like?
buy another just like it."