Too pretty to carry?

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Has anyone ever bought a really nice high end or custom pistol and not wanted to carry it after that for fear of messing it up or getting it dinged up.

I recently bought a Kimber CDP, which cost a chunk of change, and I love it at the range. However, I recently was looking at my choice of carry one day and was planning on carrying the CDP, I still went with the glock for fear of getting my shiny new pistol all dirty and dinged up. (I was going off into the woods for a day hike and I tend to get dirty running and climbing all over the place.)

I don't doubt that my Kimber is tough enough to function well for this type of use, but I just couldn't bring myself to carry it that day for some reason.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? Had one gun for rugged carry and another for range and casual carry?
 
If I had an H&H double rifle that was engraved, gold inlaid, and with AAA claro walnut stocks, I would carry it and use it in the field. I would do my best to take care of it and not ding it up because of abuse or neglect, but I wouldn't leave it in the safe to look at.
 
I don't think there is anything wrong choosing the Glock if you know you would get dirty/sweaty that day, and doing rough activities that might get it banged up. I often choose my weapon based on what I expect to be doing that day. I have been on the lookout for a used Glock to be a beater gun, plus glocks are easy to fix if you do manage to break something.

Now if you refuse to wear it to the formal dinner for fear of getting it scratched/dirty you have problems.
 
I'll carry and then just groan and think about getting it refinished/fixed up at some future date. I don't have enough in the way of handguns to play swap-about. Of course, I seem cursed with this strange ability to put scratches on everything--I can't even tell you why the hell they're all over the grip safety and frontstrap of my 1911, or on my CDs. I know I sure haven't been doing anything to put them there, but, arrgh, they're still there regardless!
 
In another century, the LEO duty weapon was the S&W Model 10 in blue. I ordered a Colt Trooper MKIII in 357 Magnum, TT, TH, adjustable sights, fat walnut target grips, checkered and nickle plated. It served me well as a duty weapon. I currently CCW a BHP MKIII in 9MM. I still have my Colt 80 series 45 ACP also. I like "pretty". Dependable is what counts.
 
Even if you are attending a Texas BBQ your gun is a tool first and a work of art second.

I don't own any safe queens.
 
Sorry, if its mine, it gets used.

If its so pretty I wont carry it, or so collectable that I wont shoot it, I dont buy it.
 
I used to didn't carry my Les Baer Concept III. Not so much out of a special reverence for it, but because it has adjustable sights, a full-length guide rod, a honkin' wide gas pedal thumb safety, and (most importantly at the time) pretty-but-fragile blueing. It's not like I never used the thing; I shot the bejabbers out of it at the range. I just figured that I had enough 1911s that I could rotate through carry duty; enough that I could afford one range toy.

Sure enough, it started to gnaw at me. :uhoh:

One evening, I noticed I had a spare stubby GI guide rod in my parts box. Before I could change my mind, I swapped it for the full length unit in the Baer. I took the gun into work the next morning and asked the 'smith if he had any spare sets of Ed Brown ambis lying about that he could let me have for cheap. When he responded in the negative, I handed him the Baer and asked him if he wouldn't mind hitting the left-side thumb safety a lick on the grinder and narrowing it down to something more practical.

Five minutes later, I had a gun whose bluing could get holster-worn with pride, just like all the rest. :)
 
Using a "pretty gun" for the wrong application is sort of like mowing your yard in wingtips and a 3 piece suit. It may get the job done, but there are better ways of doing it. That's the reason we need more guns in our collections.
 
All my guns are working guns so, no, I just carry what I have that suits the wardrobe of the day.

Greg
 
Having a gun that's too pretty to carry is like being married to Miss America and having seperate bedrooms. Why bother?:D
 
Maybe I'm just a little bit odd.... (the peanut gallery can just shut up on that one now)

... but I have a CDP that I carry regularly. I also have a blued CZ75 pre-b that's just so pretty I can't even shoot it. (I thought it was the enameled version when I committed to buying it)
 
I had the same thought when I bought my lightly-used Compact CDP I. But these guns are meant to be used and it's been my carry gun since September. It holds up very well to wear, much better than blueing.
 
It would be easier to put the CDP in a display case if it didn't shoot so darn'd well.... ;-)

Alloy & stainless - a pretty low-maintenance combo for a working gun. I like it.
 
I try to buy ugly guns(flat black). My favorite color is shinny and I am afraid if I had a pretty gun I would never fire it and I really wouldn't put the gun in a holster.
 
Dont get me wrong I shoot the CDP probably more than any thing else I have right now. I have been carrying it ever since that day I left it home in favor of the glock. i just was worried it would become a trend and was wondering if anyone else had run into that thought process.
 
If I know I'll be doing something with a high "Scrape & Such" factor, I'll back down to something a little more beat up.
 
Unless I know absolutely nothing about modern guns--a point I'm willing to concede at least to a degree--I see the situation this way. I can buy the model XYZ-19, which is a plain-looking 1911 for about $600 or so. I can get the XYZ-20, which has a two-tone finish and target sights, for about $200 more. I can buy the XYZ-21, which has said two-tone finish and target sights, plus Cocabola grips and the word "Tactical" roll-stamped on the slide for yet another $200 or so.

All three are built on the same platform, and generally use the same parts. I'm meticulous about my toys--bikes, guns, computers--and want to keep them in the best possible condition, in large part because I know I can't afford to replace them. Each is an investment of my time, and thus my life.

So, if I'm going to subject a pistol to a holster wearing the finish down to bare metal, why would I do that to the XYZ-21, when I can get the same pistol without the dress-ups for $400 less?
 
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