What compromises do you make with you choice of a handgun?

[phylodog]

I can throw a rock and hit my target much further than 21 feet.

Can you do that while that target is throwing rocks back at you? What if they've got a head start?

Do the stats indicate how many rounds are fired in the vast majority of gun fights, how many of those rounds fired hit their target or how many hits on target it typically takes to end the situation?

Not criticizing your choice, I've walked out of my front door many a day with nothing but a J frame .357. Just suggesting that distance doesn't tell the whole story or even the most important part of the story.

 

[Bigtanker]

What was that saying? Nobody ever said " I wish I hadn't had all this extra ammo." I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[HamYankee]

Capacity mostly to reduce both weight and size. I carry 9mm, but don't see it as a compromise to .45.

 

[Mgderf]

..Just suggesting that distance doesn't tell the whole story or even the most important part of the story.

Care to enlighten us?
What IS the "most important" part of the story?
I always figured it was going home alive...

 

[phylodog]

Care to enlighten us?
What IS the "most important" part of the story?
I always figured it was going home alive...

I don't claim to have all of the answers, wasn't suggesting that yours was wrong. I am suggesting that there are many things which come in to play, not just distance. I don't have the FBI statistics but I can tell you that it is not difficult to miss your target at 7 yards with a handgun when your life is in danger. My personal knowledge on the subject comes from talking with a lot of police officers who have experienced this along with my own experiences.

Lots of bad things happen when our brain realizes that we are in danger of being killed. Things which once seemed easy become very difficult, if not impossible. Things like finding the sights on your gun, let alone "seeing" them. Maintaining proper trigger control, reloading or even getting a support hand to the gun.

There is no perfect handgun or perfect caliber. There will always be compromises based on expectations. Mine are different than a lot of people on here, I haven't criticized anyone for theirs.

 

[2A_Tom]

Phly, I gotta disagree, I carry a 1911A1 with one in the tube and no magazine. If i ever get in a gunfight with less than 6 guys the concussion will kill the souls of the bad guys and selectively miss any innocents.

 

[phylodog]

Phly, I gotta disagree, I carry a 1911A1 with one in the tube and no magazine. If i ever get in a gunfight with less than 6 guys the concussion will kill the souls of the bad guys and selectively miss any innocents.

Well, there is always that. Plus the spirit of John Browning & Col Jeff Cooper who would show up to help!

 

[7.62asprin]

I think its best to have a couple different setups depending on how your dress.

My normal dress is kinda "country" or "cowboy": plaid buttondown shirt, jeans, cowboy boots. With that I'll usually carry my G17 or my 1911 if I'm feeling the call of St.Browning

Sometimes I'm lazy and go as Ivan Tracksuit. In this case I'll just wear a belly band and my S&W 642 and I'm good to go.

I'm planning to get a PPS for shorts+t-shirt weather because rocking the belly band when its hot out kinda sucks and makes sweat too much.


The main thing to be concerned about is if you have trained yourself with your weapons and be able to use them proficiently. Practice drawing with your different setups and get plenty of range time to know the characteristics of all your carry guns.

 

[6mm Shoot]

It has been stated many times that a hand gun is a compromise. If we knew we were going to be in a gun fight we would carry a rifle for it or just not show up. I like the idea of just not showing up for the fight. That not being possible I want to have the gun that I am the most accurate with. I want it to be second nature to pull it out and fire.

Now where I live I don't have to concern my self with having to hold off a half dozen hoods with a hand gun. Yes I go to places where I might have to protect my self and love ones. It seems like they kill someone every other day in Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky is just about as bad. I have to deal with them on a regular bases because of family. When I go their I carry a Browning High Power. I prefer to carry a 45 and do most of the time. Still the Browning has more rounds and I can hit with it. I have shot it for more years than I care to think about.

If I am in the woods any woods I carry a 4" barrelled S&W 44 mag. I have shot and owned it longer than the Browning. Around the house and in the barn I carry a Glock 36. It is the newest and has been of late the one I shoot the most.

I am of the school that one gun does not fit all situations. We need to be capable with the guns we carry and carry the correct gun for the situation you will be put in. With that said anything is better than nothing when things come apart you have to use what you have. May you never have to use the skills you have learned to protect you and yours.

 

[warren5421]

For any that think they won't miss at 7 yards go to a SASS shoot. Roy Huntington (think that is spelled right) wrote about his first match. He had shot pistol for years so was going to show the cowboys how it was done. He finished at the bottom.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

FBI statistics show that the vast majority of gunfights happen in the 7 yard range. That's 21 feet for those of you in Rio Linda.

My own stats, which strip out criminal on criminal shootings, domestic shootings, and the like, drop even that range considerably. People don't try to rob you from 7y away, and they don't try to rape you from 7y away. Most truly random violence is a very close up affair.

My carry gun is usually my P226. I suppose the trade off is price, ease of dressing around the gun, and concealability. When I go to the gym (shut up, I do too go to the gym) I carry my P245. Reduced size and capacity, but much easier to carry unobtrusively in gym-appropriate clothing. I also carry the P245 on out of state trips. LCR is my usual backup.

 

[Tbag]

I think caliber is what matters when considering a handgun. Its my own opinion though !!!!