CCW question about gun...

[The Lone Haranguer]

Your most carried pistol should be the one you qualify with. It's not like you will be firing a lot of rounds. IIRC, when I got my AZ permit I fired maybe 10 rounds.

 

[bigfatdave]

So do the proponents of "qualifying" with your carry pistol go get a new permit for every new handgun?

Qualify with whatever gets you the most broadly useful permit for the least cost. The 50-100 rounds for a qual shoot aren't practice, they are a demonstration of safe gun handling and could be done with airsoft for all it matters.

Get the qualification done and do real training with your carry, nobody cares what you used for an afternoon to get a card issued.

For the record, I got my Ohio qual done with my .22 target pistol and 55 rounds of CCI mini-mags, and the next week I probably ran 300 rounds through my EDC at the range doing ball&dummy drills and working from a holster ... anyone want to guess which one of those mattered more for defensive training?
Now, let us consider the gomer in the next stall at that qual range for a moment, he brought an unfired .45 and kept rambling about how shooting a "little twenty two" was a waste of time. He needed three runs on the target and the last two were with a rented .22 (identical to mine, HA!) because he couldn't get his wonder-caliber pistol to shoot reliably.

 

[Deanimator]

OK, I'm new here and to CCW. My question is when I take the "qualification" at the range for my CCW permit what gun do I use?

In OK if you qualify with a semiautomatic you can carry either a semiauto or revolver. This isn't my question.

Question is specifically, do I qualify with the gun I plan on carrying (9mm) OR do I use my little .22 Buckmark camper. Is it better, in the event I have to use it one day, to qualify with the caliber I carry or not?

That one time qualification isn't indicative of much beyond you meeting a state requirement.

Hopefully, you will practice regularly with whatever firearm(s) you plan to use. I carry a variety of handguns. The Ohio CCW class is really just the NRA Basic Pistol course with Ohio laws thrown in, so the state has no idea what gun I used, nor do they care.

1. Shoot the firearm(s) you plan to use, with the ammunition you plan to use, to make sure they're reliable.

2. Practice enough that you can hit a man sized target at seven yards.

 

[altitude_19]

Does your CCW course document the weapon you qualify with? Only if it's recorded, can it be an issue (good or bad) later on. If they don't document it, shoot whatever is convenient that day (your 22 if you're out of ammo for your 45, for example).

Upsides: If you qualify with your carry weapon, that's a few more hours practice (NEVER a bad thing).
Other shooters (some of them experienced) can weigh in on your choice. You might hear from someone who has your rig and knows of better grips.

Downside: Well, honestly there really isn't one. Unless you can't take it for some reason (ammo, no holster, at the smith). If that's the case, don't delay your qualification just so you can do it with your EDC.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I don't know about OK, but some states require you to qualify with each gun that you list on your permit, and said gun is registered right down to the physical description and serial number. (NV is one.)

 

[mustang_steve]

The question was : did the caliber used matter.

My answer is: ask the instructor if there is a minimum caliber size dictated by law. If not, then use whatever caliber you feel like.

Honestly, I wouldn't care what the peanut gallery says...shoot what you like, carry what you think is best and most importantly of all keep your wits on you as that's the best protective tool of them all.

 

[woad_yurt]

If you don't have to qualify with the gun you want to carry, bring the one you shoot best.

 

[Elmar66]

Chemist, check your local laws depending on where you are. .32 is the smalles here in TX. Also check where you are going to shoot. I took my class at Bass Pro Shop. In order to use their range you have to use their ammo. I HIGHLY recommend something like 9mm or .40 instead of the $22+ box I bought (Pre-Prompter Reader Election)

Still it's best to use what you will carry. .22 just won't get it done......

 

[bigfatdave]

Still it's best to use what you will carry

For fifty rounds?
Really? That represents a significant fraction of your training?
Do you re-take the class when you buy a new carry gun, Elmar66?

The course of fire at any CC class I have heard of is a joke as far as training goes, mine was so easy only the absolute worst shooters needed a second try at it (most of the first time shooters made it through, the failures were those who brought guns they weren't familiar with). I've since trained to the point I could probably do that course left-handed only, and I keep improving on my own, because my CC course is not a significant fraction of my handgun training.

Now, if the only time that handgun is going to go "bang" is at the class, then by all means pretend the CC course is real training and shoot what you intend to carry, remember to blow the dust-bunnies out of it and make sure your ammo still works first!

 

[NavyLCDR]

Chemist, check your local laws depending on where you are. .32 is the smalles here in TX. Also check where you are going to shoot.

She has already completed the class.

 

[DNS]

Carry what your comfortable with - very important. If your wanting 22lr as your defense weapon I'd carry a hot round in it like CCI Velocitors. Very good performance and dependable ammo for a rimfire. I carried these in an SA revolver for years and never felt under-gunned.
If your like the rest of us you'll eventually change your carry piece over the years anyhow.

Mike

 

[SleazyRider]

New York

Wow! I'm impressed by all this talk of qualifying. Strange as this may seem, in the Empire State one doesn't even have to demonstrate proficiency with a firearm for a ccw. One only has to take a course, which is purely academic---no guns are ever touched!