Strive to carry the handgun you would want anywhere, everywhere.

[Trunk Monkey]

My philosophy is to carry the highest capacity handgun I can reasonably conceal.
That will never be more than 15 rounds. And to always carry at least one reload.

Within those parameters

Sometimes I carry a Glock 19

Most times I carry a Glock 26

Sometimes I carry a Ruger LC9.

The LC9 is not the gun preferred in hand (honestly the gun preferred in hand would be an M1 Carbine) but if that's the best I can do that's what I do.

All that said and with all due respect, the problem with this topic is that the OP posts the same post over and over and over and over again.

It gets old after a while.

I really don't care what "you" carry.

I really don't care how much training "you" get.

The odds of "you" throwing down on a crackhead in the Produce Aisle in Walmart while I'm there are low enough that I'm confident it's not going to happen without literal Divine intervention.

You do you

 

[mcb]

Sometimes I choose not to carry at all.

 

[Ernie Bass]

The whole point here, is to be as realistic as possible in your choice, and as proficient as possible with whatever that is, and keep as current as possible with it as you can.

If youre doing that with one of the back up guns, and you understand, and are comfortable with their short comings, great, more power to you. Youre way ahead of the curve and what Id say is the norm.

Id be willing to bet, most really dont do it, no matter what the size of the gun is.

To each his own. When it comes down to it, most importantly, we all need to be as honest as possible with ourselves as to what our skills really are, as we are the ones who will have to deal with it, should something unfortunate happen.

Know your guns limitations and know it's advantages. What appear to be short coming to some can be a big mistake, when those perceived short coming, actually come alive with surprise and rain down on their foe. Wise men become skilled with the advantages of the perceived short coming. They Become one with the gun.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Sometimes I choose not to carry at all.

Clearly you are the coolest kid on the block

 

[Dibbs]

How do you define the threat matrix?

This. Also, I would have to agree that most of us would like to carry a Beretta 92, 1911, or S&W 629, [enter your favorite full size handgun here]
and what we usually are carrying is a compromise, like it or not. For example, a Radom P-64 carries fairly easily, doesn't cost the ranch, and shoots Makarov, which is .010 wider than 9mm Luger. By no means perfect, but a nice compromise, which can be said of many carry size pistols.

 

[CDW4ME]

Sometimes I choose not to carry at all.

 

[Speedo66]

Something like that Gunsite course is what Im referring to, but Im not seeing someone whos buying a Ruger LCP or Taurus paying $1200 plus a case of ammo, signing up for that.

I think shooting a case of ammo rapidly through a LCP would require physical therapy fairly quickly to repair the nerve damage. lol

 

[AK103K]

I think shooting a case of ammo rapidly through a LCP would require physical therapy fairly quickly to repair the nerve damage. lol

LOL. Try it with an Airweight J frame with just standard power loads! My hand hates me after a box of 50.

 

[CDW4ME]

All that said and with all due respect, the problem with this topic is that the OP posts the same post over and over and over and over again.

It gets old after a while.

There are plenty of people that post support for "better than nothing" over and over again.
There are plenty of people that post carrying ____ in a "good" area but _____ elsewhere over and over again.
OP post encouragement to do better than that and is one of the few that do so.

 

[Pudge]

There was a shootout around the corner from where I lived, two drug dealers settling a dispute. This was a while back, but what I remember is that they buried the one with the high capacity 9mm, and arrested the one with the little .380.

It isn't the tool, it's the craftsman. Don't carry big thinking it'll remedy your operational deficiencies.

 

[AK103K]

There was a shootout around the corner from where I lived, two drug dealers settling a dispute. This was a while back, but what I remember is that they buried the one with the high capacity 9mm, and arrested the one with the little .380.

It isn't the tool, it's the craftsman. Don't carry big thinking it'll remedy your operational deficiencies.

I think you need to be somewhat realistic in what you choose too. Dont think just because someone with a 22 or 380 won out, that thats always going to be the case. Luck and Murphy always play a big role.

If you want to get a better understanding of things, and a lot of what Im getting at, go look at the clip of that last big church shooting that was going around, and watch the second security guy (to die) when he "tried" to draw. It looks like he had a proper gun, in a proper holster, and then, it looks like he didnt have the proper mindset and predetermined response, and he hesitated and screwed the pooch and himself.

Now put yourself in his shoes in that situation and using your gun of choice, from how you carry it, are you prepared to do better? Think you can do it quickly, smoothly, and without hesitation? Have you tried, and better yet, regulalrly do it in practice?

We all need as much luck as we can get. The more skills and reasonable tools you have, helps reduce that need and increase your chances exponentionally.

 

[Pudge]

I think you need to be somewhat realistic in what you choose too. Dont think just because someone with a 22 or 380 won out, that thats always going to be the case. Luck and Murphy always play a big role.

If you want to get a better understanding of things, and a lot of what Im getting at, go look at the clip of that last big church shooting that was going around, and watch the second security guy (to die) when he "tried" to draw. It looks like he had a proper gun, in a proper holster, and then, it looks like he didnt have the proper mindset and predetermined response, and he hesitated and screwed the pooch and himself.

Now put yourself in his shoes in that situation and using your gun of choice, from how you carry it, are you prepared to do better? Think you can do it quickly, smoothly, and without hesitation? Have you tried, and better yet, regulalrly do it in practice?

We all need as much luck as we can get. The more skills and reasonable tools you have, helps reduce that need and increase your chances exponentionally.

I agree. But there's been lots of criticism about how nobody sees people with lower capacity guns drawing from concealment and shooting, or moving and shooting and soforth. Reasonable criticisms, but delivered as if everyone with duty sized guns is seen engaging in such practice, or that somehow a 15 round magazine is proof that the shooter is serious enough.

The concept of seriously considering what and why you carry is great for critical self-evaluation. The idea that just because someone has come to a different conclusion than you, they are thoughtless, is less valid.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

There are plenty of people that post support for "better than nothing" over and over again.
There are plenty of people that post carrying ____ in a "good" area but _____ elsewhere over and over again.
OP post encouragement to do better than that and is one of the few that do so.

But those folks (none of who's mind you're changing BTW) aren't starting multiple discussions on multiple forums multiple times saying the exact same thing.

The majority of people on the Internet aren't there to get good advice, they're there to brag about how cool their (grammar Nazis take note) idea is.

I agree with your concept but I'm not going to waste my time tying to convince other people.

 

[CDW4ME]

But those folks (none of who's mind you're changing BTW) aren't starting multiple discussions on multiple forums multiple times saying the exact same thing.

The majority of people on the Internet aren't there to get good advice, they're there to brag about how cool their (grammar Nazis take note) idea is.

I agree with your concept but I'm not going to waste my time tying to convince other people.

1. I agree. Unlikely that anyone that is content with a pocket 380 in a "good" area but a 9mm elsewhere is going to change.
2. I agree. Most on forums are use to responding to a question, rather than the thread being a suggestion. How dare I.
3. Not sure if its a waste of time, about as productive as posting on the internet gets. @AK103K has made good points that I didn't.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

How dare I.

You do you man.

Watching people blow a gasket is entertaining (Not that I'm saying YOU are blowing a gasket. I'm talking about other people's reactions to these posts)

 

[Rexster]

Unfortunately, "better than nothing" is a compromise that people in realistic scenarios must contend with on a daily basis. Not everyone gets to dictate the environments and social constraints with which they are engaged.

There is more to life than always carrying the "best" defensive gun. When I took my daughter to the "Father Daughter Dance" at church, I was wearing a tucked-in shirt, slacks and a tie. That was not an environment where thing to conceal some high-cap autoloader was appropriate- I pocket carried a compact revolver.

I am not denying myself or my family from quality life experiences just because I can't participate with a 15+1 9mm and two extra mags.

Remember, it's Boulder, so we are doing good to not have the church turned into a 24/7 vagrant sanctuary. If some of the people in attendance even SUSPECTED there was a firearm present, they would have an epic emotional meltdown.

The following is using the newer testament of a religious book as a HISTORIC reference.

Your event was at a church building? See what some guy named “Luke” wrote, Chapter 22. Carry your sword. The sword that you financed by selling your cloak.

Today’s sword, arguably, is a service/duty handgun, if not a rifle.

Yeah, I know, preachers like to say “sword” is a metaphor for “Bible,” but nothing in this newer testament was canon, until more than 300 years later than the events in the gospels. So, sword means weapon. IMHO.

TO BE CLEAR, I am not bringing “religion” into this thread, but strictly the historic context, of the location mentioned by the quoted THR member. I tend to mention this whenever I see a reference to a house of worship frowning upon weapons.

On the original topic, every weapon is adequate, until it isn’t. I cannot carry “enough gun” for every possible scenario. I do believe in carrying a weapon that has a big enough grip/handle, to use accurately and well, and a business end that can do the necessary damage to an adversary, be it dagger, sword, hand gonne, handgun, or rifle.

 

[fastbolt]

But those folks (none of who's mind you're changing BTW) aren't starting multiple discussions on multiple forums multiple times saying the exact same thing.

The majority of people on the Internet aren't there to get good advice, they're there to brag about how cool their (grammar Nazis take note) idea is.

I agree with your concept but I'm not going to waste my time tying to convince other people.

This is something that can be seen (and tested) in firearms training. You simply take all the folks (and their opinions) downrange and introduce them to increasingly demanding training drills and scenarios, and then let them discover the consequences of their beliefs and actual skills for themselves.

The use of timers, scoring of threat/shoot targets, judgment assessment/no-shoot targets and other controlled training/qual conditions can be stark and unforgiving when it comes to the collision of cherished beliefs & opinions ... versus holes appearing where they need to appear.

Of course, if a properly supervised force-on-force session is available to someone, it can also help speak to the abilities of the person, sans the confidence in some real or perceived nuances of the gear.

People can be ritual-loving beings, though, and can often emotionally imbue their possessions with characteristics that they use to help offset their (unspoken?) concerns about themselves and their innate or acquired abilities.

Some folks seem to have looked at their choices in defensive handguns and ammunition selection the same way folks used to look at a lucky rabbit's foot. It is their prerogative to do so, of course, and sometimes they may unconsciously seek the approval and validation of others to support their confidence and belief. No biggie. The "confidence of belief" may be its own pursuit, after all.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

Good grief...who gives a "F" what someone halfway across the country carries.
Pick a gun...train with it...that simple.

 

[Kleanbore]

Pick a gun...train with it...that simple

Add "based on an informed judgment".

 

[fastbolt]

Good grief...who gives a "F" what someone halfway across the country carries.
Pick a gun...train with it...that simple.

Yep. However ...

If it were kept to that simple of a context, imagine all of the firearm magazine articles, training videos/DVD's and internet gun forums that would suddenly fade away.

 

[fastbolt]

Add "based on an informed judgment".

You could fly a cargo carrier plane through the hole created by that caveat, though ...

 

[Ernie Bass]

Good grief...who gives a "F" what someone halfway across the country carries.
Pick a gun...train with it...that simple.

Lol, seems they are trying to convince themselves.

 

[AK103K]

Lol, seems they are trying to convince themselves.

Not really. Just pointing out some things to those who might not have gone as far down the rabbit hole yet.

And just an FYI, somebody needs to get down here and help sweep up some of this empty brass!

 

[fastbolt]

If it's something that relies upon faith and belief, then it's not unusual for folks to deny the need for anything resembling proof. They go with the comfort of their beliefs. (Not a problem if they don't ever have to suffer any real world consequences.)

It's when some supposed advantage of gear fails to mitigate a gear-user problem that can rankle some folks.

Train and practice as if your life may depend on it.

Train and practice with all of your gear, even if some of it may be less-than-optimal for all conditions and situations ... because it just might be the only gear you have at hand if a time not of your choosing decides to choose you.

Sure, if something "convenient" can't be made to work for you, then comes the risk of experiencing the discomfort of making an informed decision not to use it at all.

Choices, choices and more choices.

FWIW, one of the things I didn't enjoy seeing in my time as an instructor was another instructor who extolled gear over the importance of skillset, and who was unable to demonstrate any particular skill and ability being discussed and required of students. The least such an instructor could do was allow more skilled instructors to teach the instructor lacking the skill to better develop and maintain the skill.

It's not just the "average shooter" who may be satisfied with mediocrity. I've seen an occasional instructor be satisfied with it, too. Some may consistently come up with reasons not to be available for additional training, or risk performing practice drills in front of the other instructors, let alone students.

Hell, I remember when some of our newly minted firearms instructors started coming back from outside basic firearm instructor classes, and say how they'd been told to never shoot in front of their "students", so their "students" wouldn't lose confidence in what they were teaching if the instructors couldn't do it. WHAT?!?

I preferred the training classes where instructors (whether new, or going for updated training) were required to demonstrate at least above average (if not superior) abilities to do what they were teaching, and not just be able to "teach it" (parrot it back in front of students) ... or they wouldn't pass the instructor class.

It used to be that a bullseye shooting qual had to be done on the first day of training for a firearms instructor class, but in more recent years it seems that some training venues have allowed the student instructors to demonstrate meeting that standard by the end of the training class.

Of course, that also happened to overlap with the period in which it seemed that some agencies were sending their people to become firearms instructors to teach them how to shoot, at the same time they were learning how to teach.

Time marches on ... but whether people are marching forward or backward, or just standing still, is sometimes a bit harder to determine.

 

[Ernie Bass]

Not really. Just pointing out some things to those who might not have gone as far down the rabbit hole yet.

And just an FYI, somebody needs to get down here and help sweep up some of this empty brass!

Any time you are down my way AK, you are kindly invited down into our rabbit hole to try your hand out at our game. I promise you a good time. We can start off with the 380's. Like this standard session below of 200 rds before we move on to the Micro 9's or your choice of maybe a snubbie. Want to shoot bigger guns? We love to do that as well.
380 Brass-200 rds standard weekly training session. (Pocket gun)

PS Bring Plenty of ammo.