Most expensive CCW

[tarosean]

Me thinks if you have to use it, getting the gun back is the least of your concerns.
Exactly.

I have never understood the concept of carrying a cheap(er) handgun solely for the reasons that (1) it might get "be rough on it but especially (2) "you might not get it back."

+1

Personally I could care less if the pistol cost a 20 grand... If it saved my rear.. It did its job, period.

 

[bigger hammer]

Original Semmerling LM-4, Carried it off duty and as a back up for a couple of years.

 

[rswartsell]

Sharp Dressed Man,

If you are ever unfortunate enough to be the shooter in a homicide (justified or not) investigation and it is found that you spirited away the weapon for your planned "controlled surrender", I can foresee you having some pretty serious complications.

I think you are envisioning a set of circumstances not too well grounded in reality. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Rexster]

I sometimes carry my Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special. It was my usual concealed carry gun from about 2000 to 2002. I brought it out of semi-retirement in 2012, when my SIG duty pistol's .40 recoil started to hurt my right hand. I was glad to find my residual 1911 skills were still quite decent.

I occasionally carried my stainless Colt Python when I owned it, in the early 1990s. I would have been more likely to carry my similar-sized GP100.

I am much more likely to be carrying my G17 as "primary" these days, with an X300 mounted. The Glock is a better fit in my healthier left hand, and the light is a tactical asset under some conditions. If a pistol were to be collected as evidence, after an incident, I would rather it be a Glock than my Baer, but that is not an overriding concern. My personal safety has no price.

 

[Pointshoot]

Well gun prices have gone up quite a bit over the years. I have sidearms that I carry that now run more than $1k today. 1911s, H&K, and Sigs.

But I would not pay that much money for them new today. (Thankfully, I bought the guns I mentioned years ago when prices were lower. I'm not getting rid of any of them.) My philosophy changed after I got my first Glock, a 10mm to use when up in the mountains hunting/fishing etc. Now I have several Glocks in various chamberings. They are an excellent tool that gets the job done for half the money of some of the other handguns I mentioned earlier.
More power to the guys who buy custom 1911s going for thousands of dollars. Those guns are works of art. But the handgun is a limited range weapon whose main virtue is that it can be carried with you everywhere. I need to get 'the most bang for the buck'. Once the price gets past $1k to $1500 + I'll be buying a semi auto rifle rather than a handgun. Hitting a target at 100 yds with a good rifle is child's play - - - with a self defensive type handgun . . . not so much.

 

[royal barnes]

I carry Colt 1911's or Colt D Frame revolvers for personal defense and will choose one or the other depending on my back pain and my mode of dress. They are both reliable and accurate but expensive compared to some. If I have to use one of them to defend my life and the police take it I just go to the safe and pull out another pretty much like the one I just lost. I wouldn't hesitate to carry a Wilson under the same circumstances but my Colts just work for me.

 

[JDR]

I carry what works for me regardless of what I paid for it, what works for me is what I practice with the most, and what I can hit the targets with the best. Lately that is my Gen 3 G-17, and my Gen 4 G-21 & G-22. My 22 has had a reliability tune done on it by a really good gunsmith who is a friend of mine so that would be my first choice. When it comes to carry guns I think people get carried away by the cost of the firearm. Condition & maintenance habits, holster & ammo selection, training and practice are so much more important than the price of the firearm.

 

[C0untZer0]

The Rohrbaugh R9 was around $1150.00 after transfer fee.

 

[WC145]

What's the most expensive CCW gun you've carried, or have seen carried? I've always heard not to carry expensive guns. Carrying is rough on them, and if you ever are forced to use it, you might not get it back.

Still, I once met someone who used a stainless Kimber Compact 1911 as their CCW. Talk about pricey...

Well, I don't think that concealed carry is rough on a handgun in any way. As a general rule CC guns are holstered and covered, protected from the elements (except maybe sweat). So, except for range use and the small percentage of them that are also used in competition, I don't see where the life of a concealed carry piece is too tough.

As far as expensive carry guns, expensive is a matter of perception and it's all relative, one man's cheap is anothers outrageous. I have $1500+ into my duty gun, an FNP45 Tactical with a Trijicon red dot, and $1200 or so in my BUG, a custom S&W snubby. My usual off duty carry is a Novak Colt Commander that I got a great deal on at $1200 with a slew of extras like mags, ammo, and holsters but I also have a custom Colt 1991A1 Compact that gets carried regularly that would probably cost $3000+ to replicate.

Those sound expensive and, based on averages, I suppose they are, but I know an older gentleman who carries a fully engraved, ivory gripped Dan Burns custom 1927 Colt 1911A1 every day. I know this because I shoot action pistol with him occasionally and he competes with it as well. The cost of the most expensive of my guns pales in comparison to that one of his, which happens to be half of a matched set.

As far as losing the gun to evidence if I'm involved in a shooting, so be it, as long as I'm alive to complain about it it's all good. I'm not afraid of my guns getting scratched or the finishes worn. I carry what I like and shoot well, I see no point in carrying a gun that I don't enjoy owning simply because it meets a certain price point, is more utilitarian than another, or easier to replace.

 

[JTQ]

WC145 wrote,
As far as losing the gun to evidence if I'm involved in a shooting, so be it, as long as I'm alive to complain about it it's all good. I'm not afraid of my guns getting scratched or the finishes worn. I carry what I like and shoot well, I see no point in carrying a gun that I don't enjoy owning simply because it meets a certain price point, is more utilitarian than another, or easier to replace.

Excellent points, though it may hit home more with "the fella's" if you showed them a picture of that Clark "Meltdown".

 

[camsdaddy]

The most expensive CCW that I own would be a 3" S&W Model 65. The reason I don't carry it is due to weight not value. I carry a Glock 19 not because its cheap but because it carries lots of bullets in a lightweight package I shoot well.

 

[bannockburn]

Probably the most expensive carry gun that I use right now would be my Kahr PM9. In second place would be a CZ P-01, and after that a SIG P238 with night sights.

 

[ritepath]

I have a special edition sig 229 that I've carried several times. I don't carry it anymore, and I'd love to find it a collectors home so I could upgrade to a p227.

 

[WC145]

Excellent points, though it may hit home more with "the fella's" if you showed them a picture of that Clark "Meltdown".

If you insist.

 

[JTQ]

Now isn't that nice? Much nicer than some cheap old...

stainless Kimber Compact 1911 as their CCW. Talk about pricey...

 

[torqem]

I don't spend a dime more than I have to, but I'd much rather live in an non-functional van, ride an old bicycle and wear thrift store clothes than have a less than optimal pistol. I just happen to know that skill, real nerve-control, and an optimal bullet/load mean 100x as much as the gun being used. I'll pay $10,000 for my pistol if I must, but right now, I can do just fine with $700, ( $400 used gun, to include luminous sights and custom work, parts)

 

[32_d3gr33s]

I don't think a gun is expensive until you're up in the thousands of dollars. I carry a m&p with crimson trace ($700) and a ruger lcr ($500) majority of the time.

 

[tarosean]

most expensive Ive seen carried is a WC Supergrade by an acquaintance. Most expensive I carry is a WC Professional.

A couple months ago I purchased a NHC T3 SS to replace the WC to try the smaller officers grip. The T3 hasn't passed my personal proving so far. It still needs quite a few more rounds to go and I have been traveling too much for work since acquiring it. So I cannot claim that as my most expensive CCW for now...

 

[Nickb45]

I carry a Ruger CMD, it was $650 or something, then buying parts (not including my labor to fit said parts, and machine on a 3 week old pistol) I am into it around $1000. I shoot at least 200 rounds a week from it, as much as 5-600/week in the summer. The price of the pistol and parts are not thought of too much, I know it's reliable and the bullet hits where I want it to.


I have a buddy who has more money than he knows what to do with, he has a whole selection of Wilson's/Browns/Bears that he carries depending on his mood.

To me a carry pistol is a tool (all guns are tools) and as said above if it works when you need it to then it did it's job. Besides, holster wear gives a pistol character.

I will have a Springfield Professional someday and I will carry it and shoot the heck out of it.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

$650.

Cost has nothing to do with my choice. I carry what works, and what I shoot well.

 

[USAF_Vet]

If I chose to carry a $1000+ CCW, I can always buy another one if it is confiscated by police. Its just money. Money can not replace my life, or the lives of those I choose to protect.

The price tag has no correlation to the value of my guns. I have carry guns with less than $300 invested, not including ammo. I am in no way less protected, or view my life as worth less than if I carried a $1000+ gun.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I suppose the most expensive gun I ever carry is an HK USP45 Tactical. Along with the Surefire X300 Ultra on it I've got maybe $1400 in it.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Once I got the replacement gun (long story for another topic), a $900 SIG 1911.

I've always heard not to carry expensive guns. Carrying is rough on them, and if you ever are forced to use it, you might not get it back.

That is of utterly no concern to me.

 

[barnbwt]

Look at it this way; if you punch a guy in the face, won't the police seize your wedding ring? Not to mention, legal lawyer fees if the police feel the need to take the weapon (and probably you) will far, far out weigh any gun purchase other than maybe a high-end Korth or Blaser rifle.

I also wonder if a Clark Meltdown like that pictured would have a sympathizing effect on a jury, the opposite of how black/scary rifles have an antagonizing effect on juries

TCB

 

[JohnBT]

I carried my surplus P-210 for one day. $2495.


"The Rohrbaugh R9 was around $1150.00 after transfer fee."

Mine was only $850 plus tax in 2007, but it was slightly used. That's 33 cents a day so far for a carry pistol that's probably still worth $850.