Concealed Carry Corner: Realities of Carrying Concealed
Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we discussed the benefits and potential issues of carrying customized pistols. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. A common consensus in the comment section is buying higher factory options of carry guns, so everything is sorted from the factory. While I completely agree with that train of thought, it's important to understand the realities of carrying concealed and what those potential drawbacks are in the world today.
Picking A Gun To Carry
For most of us, we have this step taken care of and it's all set. Those of you just beginning often have to take a number of factors into account, which could include your comfort level, budget and frequency you'll actually carry. A run-of-the-mill factory handgun won't have very many added features, but will be everything you need and nothing more. Also, the fact that your life depends on this tool means that money should not be the main factor.
In the past, I have seen a number of individuals argue with others about whether or not it is good to have basic practical handguns or go all out with more expensive handguns with more factory-based features. It's not an easy decision, but there are certainly benefits to each way of thinking.
Practical Guns Are The Safer Option
When it comes to the practical side of thinking, less really is more. Something like a Glock 43X or Glock 19 is reliable, easy to manage and simple to use. There are no compensators, upgraded triggers or magwells added on the gun, but it's a simple no-frills handgun. The biggest benefit to these handguns is the fact that you don't have to worry about constantly maintaining them since they are more rugged and reliable than other options on the market.
One of my close friends was just talking about carrying a documented government-issued World War II Remington 1911 that he recently purchased. The extractor was too tight and didn't allow the next round to reliably feed into the chamber. Now this classic 1911 was worth $2,500-3,000 and it wasn't reliable feeding rounds, so not only was it expensive, but it wasn't remotely reliable either. These classic handguns may be an incredibly cool piece to have and can even be fun to carry if you want to have an interesting talk with other concealed carriers, but as practical self-defense tools, they are often incredibly expensive and ineffective.
This is one of those moments where having a modern, reliable striker-fired handgun will take you way further than having something that is questionably reliable and roughly 5-6 times the price of a regular everyday carry gun. This isn't the first time I have seen someone carry a questionable handgun because it has an interesting history. Having something that's completely reliable is one of the best baseline items to start with for a solid concealed carry handgun. Practical carry guns don't have the fancy bells and whistles on them, but they are reliable and will always be ready when you need them, so it's hard to argue against that.
Carrying Expensive Handguns
The other view on this topic is the old saying to “buy once and cry once.” Having an upgraded factory handgun does allow you to have the extra bells and whistles. It's never a good idea to start swapping internal parts on your carry gun with aftermarket parts. When you start swapping parts like that, then you trade performance for reliability. Instead, spend a little extra money to get a factory-upgraded pistol.
Not only do you get the upgraded parts you want, but you also get a factory warranty. When you carry every single day, it's important to understand that your carry gun is the number one tool when it comes to your safety in a self-defense situation. That's one of the few things in my book that shouldn't be put under a budget.
Overall Thoughts
With the amount of carry guns in the market at every price point, it's important to find what you like and go from there. If you want a factory-upgraded gun and think it's worth the extra money, it's certainly the safer way to go in terms of getting a reliable option. So many people want to have add-ons but don't realize that the handgun's reliability will be drastically affected if you start swapping parts. If it seems completely unnecessary, it's important to stick with a basic, practical gun to protect yourself rather than something with extra features you may not necessarily need. Both are solid options with benefits depending on your preferences.
What do you guys prefer? Let me know in the comments below. If you have questions on carrying guns or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.
TFB’s Concealed Carry Corner is brought to you by GLOCK
I'm an avid shooter and love educating whether it's at my job or in the shooting community. I'm an average joe that really loves talking with other people about firearms and other passions.I'm active on Instagram on @fridgeoperator.
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Completely agree. While I understand the appeal of carrying some high-end status handgun, I'd choose reliability and shot control over shiney.
Many factory handguns are coming out with upgrades out of the box, even Glock with the COA optic. The Echelon is another excellent example, it can be had for just a little more than the Glock but has superior ergonomics, it's optic ready, has a magwell and more capacity even in the compact format. Not to mention it has one of the best triggers in a stock polymer framed gun. Walther makes the best trigger in my opinion, as well as ergos, but they are rare or harder to find in some states and gun stores.
Canik also has the new prime coming out with a factory ramjet, and it's basically a carbon copy of the Walther for ergos, trigger, and chamber indicator. Plus a magwell and high capacity. All that for what, $899 MSRP vs a Glock 19 at $649 now? 30% more money for a substantially upgraded factory gun while still remaining in the affordable grouping of carry handguns for the average American.
The only thing you didn't touch on is the legal crap that comes with aftermarket upgrades. You do anything to a firearm from the factory, and you're forced to use it in self defense, the district attorneys will tear you a new one in front of the court. Especially triggers, magwells, and muzzle devices. Factory guns with those upgrades? The DA has no case to make you look like a bad guy because you wanted a high quality firearm.
"You do anything to a firearm from the factory, and you're forced to use it in self defense, the district attorneys will tear you a new one in front of the court. Especially triggers, magwells, and muzzle devices. "
Pure fudd BS lore. And I say that as a 17 year defense attorney. Reliability matters most, certainly, but all that other stuff is irrelevant. Either it's a good shoot under the law, or it's not. Whether the shoot was with a budget .38 revolver or a custom race gun makes no difference; the issue is - was there an eminent threat to life or great bodily harm justifying the use of deadly force? Did the shooter retreat as available, if required by that state's law? That's the issue, not whether the gun was gucci or not. Character is not at issue in a criminal case.
I recommend leaving the expensive guns at home or for the range for a more practical reason: if you are involved in a shoot, your gun will be in a cop's evidence locker, where it will likely not be take care of, or may get lost (I've seen it happen). Carry a practical, reliable pistol that can be replaced, not some historical piece or fancy gun that you may not get back.
If the worst case scenario happens and you have to use you conceal carry pistol, there will be questions that have to be answered. If you have to talk about your carry pistol in court, how well can you articulate why you changed the factory trigger, barrel etc to a judge and a jury that will most likely have jurors that don't understand firearms and may be anti gun in general. When the prosecutor says the gun was modified to have a less trigger pull than the factor trigger. It sounds like you modified the pistol to be more deadly than when it come from the factory. They wont understand that the trigger modification was for a smoother trigger pull and to help with trigger jerking or any other accessory put on the gun. If it came from the factory it will be easier to articulate. Just my opinion.
Glocks suck! The slide release is really hard to use as is the drop button for the clip. Glock is great in one thing, advertising. Get a Smith & Wesson or anything else.
When I saw the title I thought this was more than a hardware discussion. I was wrong.