Why Don't People?

Because I open carry and I've been told that I am going to get shot first in a robbery, or the bad guy is going to sneak behind me and take my gun from the holster. Therefore, I will only carry a cheap gun that is not guaranteed to work all the time so the bad guy doesn't get to use a really nice gun to commit their crimes with.

M2 Carbine said:

I figure if the gun serves me well in a defense shooting then it has paid for itself. If I get the gun back, good, if I don't get it back, that's OK to. The gun did it's job and I'm still alive. It was a bargain.


So I carry whatever gun I think will do the best job and give little thought about what it costs.

Click to expand...

yes, if used to save a life the gun has been paid for. Sitting in a closet is the waste of money

why risk losing your good gun to the police if you DO need to use it

Click to expand...

My life, and the life of my loved ones, is worth far more than several hundred dollars difference between two firearms.

And I know better than to think that a "better" gun being held by police will be a legitimate concern if I ever find myself in that situation.

I opine that somebody who makes a statement such as the above is out of touch with reality.

I'm a college student in the PRMD who had to give up all his guns. Now, I just wear a rough pair of leather gloves and I have resumed Tae Kwon Do practicing. I also have a really solid textbook. All manner of arms are prohibited to me. I can't wait till I go home next week. BANG! BANG!

in response to jerkface11

the springfield is by all means the better gun he is talking about RIA is not a gun to put your life on IMO you might as well just carry a knife you know its going to do what its suppose to

Well I must be the oddball outstanding from this category. All my guns have a purpose and they all get carried or are home defense guns; they all get used and I practice with the routinely. I do not own any guns that are for "show" or as novelty items. Guns are tools and I only use the best. (In terms of quality and application)

To me, this is pretty simple. Carry something you trust, can hit with and have trained with. Cost is irrelevant compared to your hide.

If you don't want to risk up your favorite piece, don't carry it. Go buy something else that meets the above criteria that you won't mind scratching.

This really is all about priorities.

I can't speak for carry guns, although I do have a couple that I wouldn't mind carrying when I get my chl. I can however speak on truck guns, I have bought a couple but can't bring myself to putting them to this use. They're in great condition and I just can't bring myself to abuse them like that.

I guess it boils down to not wanting to tear up your good stuff.

the OP question presumes one is a "good" gun and the other is "unreliable and/or untested" crap - not hardly

nobody with half a brain carries unreliable crap
never carry a gun you haven't proven to yourself the old fashioned way

But extreme few shooters I have ever known, who own more than 2 or 3 handguns, carry their most difficult and priciest to replace gun. They all tend to own multiple very reliable, very functional, and plenty accurate handguns.. some prettier and pricier than others.

Race guns and carry guns may be one and the same, but they do not have to be.
Even "beater" truck guns need not be throwaways. LEOs manage to struggle on by somehow or other with highly reliable std model non-custom "service" pistols. Some of us civilians can do same, and some of us cannot. Ain't anything pretty about a Glock, but they do tend to function.

There are a lot of old "beater" Colts and "police trade-in" S&Ws that are almighty reliable and deadly accurate. Why exactly should I carry my extra nice purchased NIB way-back-when S&W 66 vs. my "used" musta' been a cop gun carried a lot but not shot a lot k-66, (some nicks, stains, etc. but functionally flawless), when I have run well over a thousand rounds thru both of 'em and cannot tell the difference between 'em in hand, looking at the sight picture, and punching groups ???

or that Rossi sixgun that throws 'em thru the same holes and goes bang every time, even if it do get knocked around a little whilst riding with me in truck, vs. them that don't ride along "just because".

Service guns need not be match guns or race guns, that's merely optional.
Race guns are quick, match guns are accurate, but not all are as 100% reliable as service guns. Good service guns are always reliable, that is the prime definition of 'service'. Anybody who admires and understands the flexibility of the 1911 platform ought need no explanation of that.

If you carry only Les Baer and Hamilton Bowen, color me envious.

Maybe I am misunderstanding the OP's premise. I can see using a more utilitarian handgun for carry/self defense vs. a collectible. I disagree that your handgun would necessarily suffer abuse while in police custody, with one exception which I will get to in a bit. About 15 years ago I had a stolen handgun returned to me by the San Bernardino County (CA) Sheriff's Dept. It was not molested or damaged in any way; even the three magazines were returned. Now, if the handgun gets blood on it - hopefully not yours - that is a different story. Because it is evidence, it must be preserved, therefore cannot be washed off. Blood - a large component of which is salt - will absolutely wreak havoc on blued steel and even etch stainless steels.

A final point: if you're involved in a shooting and your gun held as evidence, even for a short time, you should have a replacement. It need not be a matched or identical gun, although there is nothing wrong with that. The point is to have something to use. There are a number of reasons why the aftermath of a shooting is a very bad time to have to be unarmed.

I've gotten to the point in my life where I have been able to upgrade most of my guns to Custom. I'll carry one that is relative to my location. This usually a 1911 customized by Chad Kandros. When I'm going to the farm It's an N frame (yes you can comfortably carry concealed an N frame) C&S or Bowen. My road gun is usually a Coonan or N frame.
Most of these guns are in the $2000 plus price range. They are the guns I can shoot to the best of my limited ability and trust to always work as flawless as any man made machine. No I am not rich but place a high value on life and the protection of others.

Cheers,

ts

Why don't people want to use/carry their "good guns" for situations when they might truly need them for something?

In other words, that alot of people don't want to carry their "better guns" instead of a gun that is "just okay" to defend their lives? ...

Click to expand...

That brings to mind the story (IIRC) of the British officer at Waterloo who decided to not ride his favorite fast & powerful horse into battle lest it get hurt electing, rather, to just ride one of the available army mounts.

According to witnesses, he was chased down by a French Lancer on a faster mount and killed.

I carry what I shoot best and what shoots my cheapo reloaded ammo in the Oregon rain.
Ironically that is a RIA Officer's model.

As someone said ... If you carry a 3k+ gun I envy you. Not because I wouldn't ... But because I can not afford to.

I don't see why people would think a $3k gun is more reliable than a $350 gun. You see way fewer threads with people complaining about their RIA than you do about their SA loaded.

Just carry a gun worth whatever you think you and your family is worth..

I'm dating myself by mentioning this, but...
When I started riding motorcycles, Bell helmets' advertising campaign ws "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10 helmet." I paid $79 for my first Bell Star in 1977 or so. That was a fair chunk of change at the time.

These days I'm still alive, and still riding, every day. I have gone through a number of helmets in the interceding years, replacing them every 3-ish years and have "gotten my money's worth" out of a few of them. These days I spend $600-800 on a helmet I will wear for 3 years or so, and then it will sit on the shelf and remind me of good rides...

So spending good money on a good handgun that I shoot well and have utter confidence in is a natural. I don't have a huge collection, but I value each of my 1911s and S&W revolvers. I don't relish seeing any of them damaged by daily carry or (God forbid) sitting in an evidence locker, but I do not hesitate to carry any of them.

I carry the ones I shoot best, which is also the ones I shoot most frequently. That would be a steel framed 4" Kimber Eclipse (summer) and a 4" S&W M25-13 in .45 LC (winter). One of these days, when I can afford a Scandium Commander-sized bobtail S&W Elite Series 1911, I will buy one. And if it is utterly reliable and I shoot it as well as the Kimber, it's eight-ounce lighter weight will make that choice a no-brainer.

Truth is my carry gun(s) get used so much in practice/training that they are beat to heck. 100% functional....but scratched up, finish is wore, etc.

My safe queens I shoot but treat differently.

langenc said:

Just carry a gun worth whatever you think you and your family is worth..

Click to expand...

That's a great line.


I carry 1911's handbuilt by Jim Garthwaite. I had them built to be carry guns. I shoot them in training classes and IDPA matches.

They're probably worth $2-$3k to replace.


But if I had to use one to defend myself or someone I loved, it's value in my hands at that moment in my life is priceless. And that's really all that matters.

That's a great line.

Click to expand...

But in the end, it's just a line. We mention over and over that it's about the shooter, not the gun. If the gun has proven itself to be reliable and accurate and the shooter is comfortable with it, not much else matters.

The idea that someone values their family less because they carry a $500 handgun instead of a $1500 handgun is asinine.

Beware of the man who has only one gun. He might be proficient with it.

No Jorg, you missed the point.

The idea that someone would leave a perfectly good $1500 gun that they have trained on and shoot well back in the safe at home and carry a $500 compromise because "its a gun he doesn't mind parting with if he uses it" actually is asinine.

If all someone has is a $250 police trade in Model 10, use it. But if someone's going to carry something simply because of its low monetary value when he's got something better, someone's priorities are screwed up.


The value of the gun secured into evidence will be the least among our worries if we have to use it. At least it ought to be. Any injuries, to us or someone we love . . . using force on another human being . . . the cost of the upcoming legal battle . . . our very freedom if charges are brought . . .

Those things will consume our waking thoughts. At least they should. If after all those things, you can find the mental energy to worry about being without your gun for a while . . . I'm not sure what to say about that.

Let's not discount the fact that a lot of $500 Glocks are more reliable than $1500 1911s. *cough* kimber *cough*

I was specifically addressing the comment that the worth of a gun one carries is at all related to the worth of one's family.

Beyond that, I think that most CCWers worry far too much about the trivial matters ("Will my gun get scratched when the police tell me drop it, will it be stuck away in an evidence locker for years, etc.") and neglect much more important issues.