OK...Let's be real.....Carry Nice or Carry Disposable?

Zebulon

Zebulon

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There was a time in my life when I had a lot of guns. Now I have very few guns. I've wanted to carry for nearly 25 years and was forbidden by law to do so. Now I can.
All those years, and actually now, I want to carry my coolest guns, but God forbid, if I ever have to pull it, I'll probably lose it to a Police evidence locker until I'm dead, if the shooting is justified. That's just reality.
The problem is this...do I want to carry something I love, or a piece of dependable kit that I can afford to write off? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Zebulon
 
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I understand. Been carrying for 27 years, and every time I carry one of my really nice revolvers, or one with a family history, it makes me nervous. I still do it, but not that often.
I carry Glocks a lot. Mostly because you can sweat on 'em all day and they don't rust. Plus, if they get dinged up I don't care. They are merely tools. Very GOOD tools, I must say.
My every-day-carry, mostly as a backup, is my S&W M340PD. It is already looking scarred up after only two years. Again, I don't care. I can always buy another one.
The nice guns get taken care of. The working guns get dinged around, and if I ever need to use them for real, I'm confidant in my ability to do so. If the cops take these guns for a year, I've got plenty to back them up.
Jim
 
Do you have something in between? Are you carried concealed or iwb? If so does it matter how pretty the gun is?

I dont know which guns you have but i think the first question should be "what is reliable and practical " not pretty. A polished 6in m29 is very pretty but try to draw that fast.
 
Carry what you fight with best. The cost of even a $4,000 gun will be nothing compared to your legal bills if you are charged with a crime. Even if the shoot is justified, they will confiscate the gun and you may not get it back. However, if it's your favorite weapon, then use it. It's better to shoot straight than to miss because you're not as confident with the gun you have.

I do not carry heirlooms, but I do carry nice guns when I'm not carrying a Glock. Keep at least two such guns with identical setups (and spare gear--don't wait 9 months for another Sparks holster). I know it's twice the price, but you'll have a gun to carry when you get home. The side effect is that if the primary gun breaks or goes in for modification, you have a spare available. I once went without a gun for three months while waiting for my only pistol to come back from the gunsmith.
 
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I have a shooter grade S&W #58 that is capable of stopping most anything that could bother me here in Georgia. But it would be difficult to replace, so I carry a Glock. Glocks are accurate, reliable, dependable, affordable, and easily replaceable. I have bought or traded for ten Glocks in three years. My first, a Glock 31, was stolen & recovered and now sits in a LE evidence room one county over. It has been there since Thanksgiving 2011. One of my Glock 26's is a former evidence gun from a sheriff office in Florida.

My beloved #58. My son has no use for this gun, thinks it looks too much like a #10.
01116.JPG


My Glock 26, formerly a LE captive. You can see where the serial number was scratched through on the slide, and the case number is visible on the frame.
007242.JPG
 
Kanewpadle said:
For me it's a secondary concern. If the gun saved my life, I'd gladly do without it and carry another.
Click to expand...

yup it served its purpose at that point.
I wouldn't carry something like a P08 Lugar, thats for sure.
it comes down to that balance of effectiveness and expendability in the sense that you can replace it later.
 
I'm not concerned about cost, but I wouldn't carry a collectible. I'm concerned with dependability, ease of carry, effectiveness,accuracy and simplicity. In the summer it's usually a bodyguard in a pocket holster. In cooler weather it might be a 469, 457 or 4566.
 
The first and primary consideration for choosing a defensive firearm should be functional reliability. Everything else is of secondary importance to that primary consideration, including how "pretty" the gun is or whether or not it may be held as evidence for a length of time in the case that you would ever have to use it to defend yourself with.
 
I carry what I'm most comfortable with AND most proficient with. If I do my job with training and practice, the revolver will do its job if/when called upon, irrespective of the value I place on it. If I had a pistol so valuable that I was reluctant to carry it (or even shoot it) then it would not be not suitable for my self defense needs.
 
I don't have any engraved pistols with real Ivory or Pearl grips but all my guns are S&W or Colt. To put it in perspective I think of the price of a car that cost many times more than a pistol and we drive them everyday and take a chance of wrecking. Pay thousands for them and drive them a few years and they are worth nothing. Why worry about the cost of a pistol. When I am found dead I don't want to be found carrying a piece of junk. I may be poor but I am proud. Larry
 
Zeb,

That's my 5-year-old's name (Zebadiah). I don't worry about the cost of the weapon. Any and all can be replaced if confiscated by the boys in blue. I can't replace my beautiful wife or precious kids.

$700 1911? Take it. $400 J-frame? Take it. $500 Glock? Take it. $900 Sig? Take it. Wife and kids? Don't even think about it.
 
Only 2 considerations are taken by myself when
choosing my primary carry weapon.
1. Will it do what it is supposed to do if i do my part?
2. Is it reliable?
Like others have stated, i'm not gonna carry a family
heirloom for SD purposes so i don't care if it sits in a
police vault for a year.
Everything else can be replaced in time.

Chuck
 
Zebulon said:
There was a time in my life when I had a lot of guns. Now I have very few guns. I've wanted to carry for nearly 25 years and was forbidden by law to do so. Now I can.
All those years, and actually now, I want to carry my coolest guns, but God forbid, if I ever have to pull it, I'll probably lose it to a Police evidence locker until I'm dead, if the shooting is justified. That's just reality.
The problem is this...do I want to carry something I love, or a piece of dependable kit that I can afford to write off? I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Zebulon
Click to expand...


Sir,
This is why for over 40 years I have had working/carry handguns....

And keep the fancy engraved favorites for carry on the ranch for social events and BBQs.

Oh, I might wear sumthing nice to Court now and again.

In most jurisdictions, if involved in a use of deadly force, one's firearm will be logged into evidence till a
hearing on the matter or grand jury no true bills the matter.

It's sad to say, nice guns get 'lost' while held as evidence sumtimes.

I carry something that works all the time, every time and one that I won't grieve over if lost.


Su Amigo,
Dave
 
To me, this is a rather simple solution.
Whatever is most comfortable and affords accuracy and reliability to some day (hope it never comes) save my life and/or that of others.
What that costs, don't care as no price can be put on it.
Should it be taken for evidence, damaged or lost, will just have to treat myself to another.:)

I presently use a 9mm Shield for this purpose.
 
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