Is it silly to carry a fake handgun?

[Sylvain]

In my quest to find the perfect carry handgun for me I thought about that.
What do you think of carrying a fake gun (like an inert training gun or airsoft gun) to find what gun and holster work the best for you?

If you are not sure of the size of the gun you can easily carry concealed and cant just buy a bunch of firearms to try them and carry them for a few days would it be a good idea to carry a fake gun?

I know they dont have the weight of a real gun but it could be a good start to find the right size of gun and a good holster and way to carry it.

I just want to know what you guys think.
Is it a good idea, a silly idea?
Have you ever done that or thought about it?





Also since it wouldnt be a real firearm I guess you can carry it legally even without a LTCH.

 

[gunman41mag]

In my quest to find the perfect carry handgun for me I thought about that.
What do you think of carrying a fake gun (like an inert training gun or airsoft gun) to find what gun and holster work the best for you?

If you are not sure of the size of the gun you can easily carry concealed and cant just buy a bunch of firearms to try them and carry them for a few days would it be a good idea to carry a fake gun?

I know they dont have the weight of a real gun but it could be a good start to find the right size of gun and a good holster and way to carry it.

I just want to know what you guys think.
Is it a good idea, a silly idea?
Have you ever done that or thought about it?





Also since it wouldnt be a real firearm I guess you can carry it legally even without a LTCH.

Have some fun, OC in front of the cops

 

[esrice]

Silly? Not really, given your above reasons.

However it does seem rather costly, as you'll have the cost of the gun plus the cost of a holster wrapped up into something you may discard.

I would recommend borrowing an actual gun/holster from a friend and carry that for a while.

 

[Armed-N-Ready]

Silly?

Silly, no dangerous, yes. Around home would be fine but you may get some odd stares out and about.

 

[Que]

I see no problem with doing this around the house, but I wouldn't suggest anyone do it outside of their home. Do you have access to various Airsoft guns? I'm not sure of the price, but if you had to purchase a few of those for your experiment, couldn't that get pretty expensive?

 

[Que]

Did we all hit "Post Quick Reply" at the same time?

 

[eldirector]

Silly? Not really, given your above reasons.

However it does seem rather costly, as you'll have the cost of the gun plus the cost of a holster wrapped up into something you may discard.

I would recommend borrowing an actual gun/holster from a friend and carry that for a while.

^ this

While comfort is part of the equation, I worried about how it felt in my hand, how it shot, how the safeties worked, etc... first. With the right holster, I'd guess most common small handguns could be concealed pretty easily.

Besides, I don't even know if they make "blue guns" for all of the CCW-type pistols?

 

[Brandon]

I find it the perfect excuse to buy another gun and give it a good home

 

[Sylvain]

Silly, no dangerous, yes. Around home would be fine but you may get some odd stares out and about.

If I carry it concealed I wouldnt have any weird looks from people.
And I agree with you a airsoft gun may be dangerous but I dont think it would be dangerous to have a bright colored training gun (blue, red or yellow gun) that would be concealed anyway.

 

[Sylvain]

^ this

While comfort is part of the equation, I worried about how it felt in my hand, how it shot, how the safeties worked, etc... first. With the right holster, I'd guess most common small handguns could be concealed pretty easily.

Besides, I don't even know if they make "blue guns" for all of the CCW-type pistols?

I already shot a couple of models that I like.
I just cant buy them all and carry them for a while to see if I like a full size, compact or subcompact best.
You would be surprised to see how many "blue guns" they have!
I checked their website and they have so many, even models with different kind of lights and lasers.

 

[eldirector]

Huh, well, there you go! Grab some and report back. You might start a new trend....

 

[ATM]

Buy a compact and then, after you've carried it for a while, decide if you want something bigger or smaller.

Trade, sell or keep the original.

Then buy a blue gun for training.

 

[KCJarman]

The one time that you carried a training gun in a holster out in public may be the only time that you need to have the real thing in a emergency situation. I agree with some of the others. Keep the training gun at home.

 

[Rey B]

Last time I checked the "Blue Training Guns" weren't all that cheap and a holster and belt combo is $60+ and that is low end. Not saying that they aren't a good training investment but I don't see it as being very cost effective. I just did a search and I guess I was too quick. Found a site selling them for less than $40. http://www.botachtactical.com/blgusigsasi21.html I had been told that they ran over a $100 the last time I asked.

 

[OiRadio47]

Dang, they dont sell a Desert Eagle 50 blue gun! always wanted to try carrying a 50cal IWB!

 

[youngda9]

I stopped carrying toys around years ago...YMMV.

 

[IndyGunSafety]

Esrice is right. At $38 a piece the blue guns are rather costly. You did mention weight, and that is a huge consideration when selecting a holster. You may find it a bit uncomfortable or saggy on your belt when the holster you select has full weight in it.

 

[dead2rights]

Anyone remember the good old dangerous days when K-mart sold real looking cheap toy guns by the masses?

 

[LP1]

Silly? Not really, given your above reasons.

However it does seem rather costly, as you'll have the cost of the gun plus the cost of a holster wrapped up into something you may discard.

I would recommend borrowing an actual gun/holster from a friend and carry that for a while.

Good ideas, but but maybe not for leather holsters.

Not sure that I'd want to borrow someone else's IWB leather holster, and not sure that I'd want someone else to borrow mine. Anything made of leather will conform to the wearer's body, which has a tremendous effect on comfort. Also, leather absorbs sweat.

Did you ever try to wear someone else's shoes, or use their baseball glove?

 

[jd42k]

Perhaps around the house.
Don't be shy in making several trips to your local gun shop to find the right one.
JD