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The Three “C”s of Handgun Selection

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As a man involved in “gunning” for all of my adult life (plus a few more years pre-18) and having worn a uniform as part of my day-to-day work for the past 33+ years, I think I can say I have a little bit of experience with firearms.  As a writer who has provided test & evaluation reports for the past 15+ years, I think I can say I have a bit of experience with what works and what doesn’t.  As a firearms instructor for the past 20+ years, I think I can say I know a little bit about what new shooters need to learn and experience if they want to become good, practical, experienced shooters over time.  All that said, I recently read an article about “How To Select Your Concealed Carry Gun” and it was all about caliber and capacity.  It had nothing to do with all of the subjective or abstract pieces that go into selecting a concealed carry weapon.  So I thought I’d go into some of that here.

It’s really as simple as this:

  • What are you comfortable carrying?
  • What are you competent with?
  • What are you confident in?
Many criticize the .380ACP as a daily carry caliber. But if it meets the three C's, go for it.

Many criticize the .380ACP as a daily carry caliber. But if it meets the three C’s, go for it.

Yes, I put comfortable first.  Why? Because if you aren’t comfortable carrying it, then you won’t.  What’s the point of having a concealed carry weapon that you don’t carry because it’s too uncomfortable to either carry or shoot?  As a good friend of mine likes to say, “When you need a gun RIGHT NOW, the .25ACP in your pocket is better than the 1911 .45ACP you left in your glove compartment.”  So, yes… you have to be comfortable with the weapon. It has to fit your hands comfortably. You have to be able to manage the recoil comfortably.  The controls on the weapon have to be easily reached and manipulated comfortably.  You have to be able to wear or carry it comfortably.  You have to be comfortable with the gun.

Next you have to be competent with the gun.  I know plenty of gun gurus who lecture people that if the caliber doesn’t start with a “4” then you’re not carrying enough gun.  I challenge every one of them to stand unprotected at 25 yards and let me shoot at them with the caliber of my choice.  Not a single one of them will even if I choose a .177 caliber air gun.  Why not?  Because EVERY caliber, if fired accurately and with skill, can kill someone.  You’d have to be stupid to stand still and let someone shoot at you WITH ANYTHING.  So while I agree that making big holes in bad people ends fights faster, shooting and missing with big caliber bullets is completely useless (unless it scares them away).

Some .45s and 9mms are about the same size. You trade off capacity but if you gain comfort and are competent, then you're on the right track.

Some .45s and 9mms are about the same size. You trade off capacity but if you gain comfort and are competent, then you’re on the right track.

Competency means that you can accurately shoot the weapon. It means you can reload in a timely fashion for follow on shots. It means you can manipulate the controls of the weapon without having to consciously think about it (because in a gun fight you won’t be thinking much; you’ll be reacting as you’ve trained yourself to in training while you try to avoid panic, seek cover, check your backstop, etc.). Competency means that you can do all of those things with one hand, either hand, under stress.  So if you’re not comfortable with the caliber you’re shooting, there’s simply no way you can be competent with it.  Be comfortable. Get competent.  STAY competent.  Shooting is a perishable skill.  If you don’t use it, you lose it.  Practice, practice, practice.  This means more than shooting immobile paper on a fixed range where you experience no stress or threat.  Seek out training challenges.  Move and shoot.  Reload under duress and while simulating an injury.  Get competent!

Finally, evaluate your confidence with the weapon of choice.  If you are not comfortable with it and you are not competent with it, then how can you have any confidence in it and yourself when the feces hits the oscillating rotator?  When the time comes – and we hope it never does – but if it does, are you confident that…

  • You can draw and present the firearm and get rounds on target in a timely fashion?
  • You can shoot accurately, reload quickly, and do both while seeking cover and shouting commands?
  • You can stay in the fight until the bad guy is defeated and you emerge victorious?

If you’re not confident in those things, then you need to work on it more.  That might mean selecting a different weapon.  It might mean staying with the same type of weapon but switching to a different caliber. It might mean seeking out better training and investing in more range time.  Whatever it takes, if you’re going to carry a firearm day to day, you need to be comfortable doing so, competent in all applicable skills and confident that if the time comes, you can use it safely and effectively.

 


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