The FBI study did a lot to analyze the best gun for the law enforcement community. They did that by analyzing their needs and then selecting the best gun to meet those needs. But for Conceal Carry applications the “best gun” is a conversation that seems to have a lot of controversy. My experience in managing people for 25 years is that when they cannot agree on the solution it is often because they do not agree on the problem. I thought maybe it would help if we tried to analyze the needs of Conceal Carry similar to what the FBI did for their application. The following is my attempt at a “first pass” at this analysis. I am interested in your concepts for what you think the criteria are for a Conceal Carry gun in various situations. Hopefully this won’t turn into a discussion of what gun but rather what the needs are for various situations
The following is a look at the situations you might encounter and their various needs. I have naturally assumed you would carry the gun but few people I know actually carry extra magazines, etc. so I have not considered that possibility in the following. I also know that selecting a small size gun would be important to many but I think most would agree that size and weight priority comes after some basic needs. After all, if it doesn’t meet the basic need for a situation you might as well not carry it.
The first situation I considered is the mass shootings that, unfortunately, seem to be growing in frequency. I think in these situations the most important need is the capacity for a large number of rounds. Next most important is probably a bullet with as much energy as possible. I suppose, like the FBI study, some penetration capacity would likely be third on the list. I also believe this situation could occur at a slightly too significantly longer range than many conceal carry situations so that needs to be considered. Typical 9mm’s frequently have about a 17 shot capacity and 40 calibers frequently have about 13. However the 40 caliber also has more power. Thus I suppose it is a virtual tie as to whether the 9mm or 40 caliber would be best for this situation although I think I would probably select the 40 caliber. Typically a single action gun has less trigger travel and may require less force so I think that would be desirable to give more accuracy at the extended range this situation may require,
Next I considered the situation of a mugging or carjacking, which I assume is for more prevalent than the previous situation. Here it seems you might frequently recognize a potential situation developing, but cannot draw your gun, because most of the times these turn out to be false alarms. Bullet capacity is always important but in these situations I would put its priority considerably down the list. I believe these situations are mostly close range and I would anticipate that they frequently require a small number of shots. Quick access would seem to be the most important priority so a smooth gun with no points or edges to catch on clothing and a holster allowing you to draw the gun quickly should be a high priority. However, if you cannot draw your gun until your life is threatened, that means you probably have a gun pointing at you before you can start. Getting your gun from a concealed location and shooting someone while they have a gun pointed at you all along would seem highly unlikely, even with ideal equipment. And if you wait until they start to leave, your life is no longer in danger and you would be faulted for pulling a gun at that time. So under these conditions I would think a hammerless revolver might be best. It probably is no better in the summer months but in the spring, winter, and fall you frequently have a jacket where a hammerless revolver could be kept in the packet. Here you could put your hand on it when you saw the situation evolving and remove your hand if it was a false alarm. But if the threat was real you could go so far as to fire from within your jacket pocket. So it seems you have a lot of flexibility here but at least in some months of the year there is a slight preference for a hammerless revolver. I have not owned one but I understand many people think the 357 in this size revolver has to much recoil, so I think this would probably be a 38 Special +P hammerless revolver.
I know we started by discussing Conceal Carry but I thought I would discuss home protection as well. Most people with a Conceal Carry license have shot somewhat frequently but many people that have a gun for home protection rarely shoot their gun. Also, unless you are a professional law enforcement officer, I think if you ever get in a situation where you need your gun at home, you will likely be very nervous. I know I have been in this situation twice and things like safety just aren’t first in your mind. So hopefully the safeties the gun provides will be adequate. But I suspect many people will disengage any safety before starting through their house. I would even guess many people would have their finger on the trigger. So I think for most people a single action gun would be dangerous. Basically it is just waiting for a 4 lb. or less bump of the trigger in the conditions I have speculated above. Keeping in mind it could be your teen age son sneaking back into the house, I think safety in this situation would seem to be extremely important. I also doubt that this situation would likely require a large number of rounds although more is always better if available. Another thing to consider is that in a location with obstacles it may be difficult or undesirable to shoot with two hands on the gun. So a double action automatic could be used if it is not jam prone when shooting with one hand but this situation would seem to give an edge to a revolver since the double action is considerably harder to pull yet not so had as to make you miss an intruder at ten feet and jams of any sort are not an issue. I suppose this could be a 38 Special +P but since it is not necessarily a small gun a typical sized 357 handgun would probably most people’s best choice to meet these conditions.
The following is a look at the situations you might encounter and their various needs. I have naturally assumed you would carry the gun but few people I know actually carry extra magazines, etc. so I have not considered that possibility in the following. I also know that selecting a small size gun would be important to many but I think most would agree that size and weight priority comes after some basic needs. After all, if it doesn’t meet the basic need for a situation you might as well not carry it.
The first situation I considered is the mass shootings that, unfortunately, seem to be growing in frequency. I think in these situations the most important need is the capacity for a large number of rounds. Next most important is probably a bullet with as much energy as possible. I suppose, like the FBI study, some penetration capacity would likely be third on the list. I also believe this situation could occur at a slightly too significantly longer range than many conceal carry situations so that needs to be considered. Typical 9mm’s frequently have about a 17 shot capacity and 40 calibers frequently have about 13. However the 40 caliber also has more power. Thus I suppose it is a virtual tie as to whether the 9mm or 40 caliber would be best for this situation although I think I would probably select the 40 caliber. Typically a single action gun has less trigger travel and may require less force so I think that would be desirable to give more accuracy at the extended range this situation may require,
Next I considered the situation of a mugging or carjacking, which I assume is for more prevalent than the previous situation. Here it seems you might frequently recognize a potential situation developing, but cannot draw your gun, because most of the times these turn out to be false alarms. Bullet capacity is always important but in these situations I would put its priority considerably down the list. I believe these situations are mostly close range and I would anticipate that they frequently require a small number of shots. Quick access would seem to be the most important priority so a smooth gun with no points or edges to catch on clothing and a holster allowing you to draw the gun quickly should be a high priority. However, if you cannot draw your gun until your life is threatened, that means you probably have a gun pointing at you before you can start. Getting your gun from a concealed location and shooting someone while they have a gun pointed at you all along would seem highly unlikely, even with ideal equipment. And if you wait until they start to leave, your life is no longer in danger and you would be faulted for pulling a gun at that time. So under these conditions I would think a hammerless revolver might be best. It probably is no better in the summer months but in the spring, winter, and fall you frequently have a jacket where a hammerless revolver could be kept in the packet. Here you could put your hand on it when you saw the situation evolving and remove your hand if it was a false alarm. But if the threat was real you could go so far as to fire from within your jacket pocket. So it seems you have a lot of flexibility here but at least in some months of the year there is a slight preference for a hammerless revolver. I have not owned one but I understand many people think the 357 in this size revolver has to much recoil, so I think this would probably be a 38 Special +P hammerless revolver.
I know we started by discussing Conceal Carry but I thought I would discuss home protection as well. Most people with a Conceal Carry license have shot somewhat frequently but many people that have a gun for home protection rarely shoot their gun. Also, unless you are a professional law enforcement officer, I think if you ever get in a situation where you need your gun at home, you will likely be very nervous. I know I have been in this situation twice and things like safety just aren’t first in your mind. So hopefully the safeties the gun provides will be adequate. But I suspect many people will disengage any safety before starting through their house. I would even guess many people would have their finger on the trigger. So I think for most people a single action gun would be dangerous. Basically it is just waiting for a 4 lb. or less bump of the trigger in the conditions I have speculated above. Keeping in mind it could be your teen age son sneaking back into the house, I think safety in this situation would seem to be extremely important. I also doubt that this situation would likely require a large number of rounds although more is always better if available. Another thing to consider is that in a location with obstacles it may be difficult or undesirable to shoot with two hands on the gun. So a double action automatic could be used if it is not jam prone when shooting with one hand but this situation would seem to give an edge to a revolver since the double action is considerably harder to pull yet not so had as to make you miss an intruder at ten feet and jams of any sort are not an issue. I suppose this could be a 38 Special +P but since it is not necessarily a small gun a typical sized 357 handgun would probably most people’s best choice to meet these conditions.
I thought it was all 
