Is your CCW your best gun?

[Joe13]

is there any truth to not wanting to use a modified firearm, such as a glock with a trigger kit, for an edc for legal reasons in the case that it needs to be used. such as in court would it come up as a negative that the weapon was modified from original?

thats what i was always told so i keep my edc stock.

Same info I recieved.

I can not confirm or deny it BUT if a prosecuter got his head stuffed further up somewhere and tried to make a name for himself with your case, do you really want any extra doubt about you forming in the jurys mind?

I can shoot any factory stock pistol just fine at 10-30' without mods.

 

[Deebow]

Reliable and easy to carry. If you don't have it with you because it don't work; it's no good to you. If it ain't easy to carry, you won't.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

There are no "best tools", some do a lot of things well but not everything.
Some do one thing very well, but nothing else.

I only carry what I shoot moderately well with. Far from my best firearm.. But it fills the roll of a CC pistol I can crawl around with while on the job.

 

[The B]

I don't own any "precious" stuff.... so my "nicest" stuff is for using.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

I guess I'm a little odd. My carry guns are tools but I like they're looks too! It's like that old song, "Every Gun Is Beautiful" ............" in its own way!

 

[hker71]

I'm with DeeBow. If you don't trust it you won't carry it and if you don't carry it isn't going to do any good. I rotate between a Glock 27 (fall and winter) and a Ruger LC9s Pro (spring and summer). I have fired both a lot (the Glock more) and they are reliable and easy to carry so I carry one or the other every day.

I am glad I bought my wife a LC9S Pro because she carries hers a lot as well. She had an XDS 45 and couldn't stand it so she did not like carrying it. It was just a simple change of guns that got her to carry more often which makes me feel a lot better. Killed two birds at the same time.

It is nice when we are both carrying the LC9's because I carry several extra magazines so she has access to mine for reloading as well. I'm just trying to instill the need for her to carry more than just the magazine in the gun. Baby steps. My wife was a person who had no experience with firearms before she met me. Our second date was to my father's home to shoot. She has come a long was and has attended two classes at the Oregon Firearms Academy.

All that to say, my Glock 27 and my Ruger LC9S Pro aren't my best (prized) guns, but they are the guns I trust to use to protect my life and my family's lives.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Nope, A carry gun is a tool.

I have several sets of Snap On wrenches, I dont carry them around in my truck. I got a Craftsman set that work just fine and I dont have to worry about a $700 set of wrenches getting stolen out of my work rig.

In my opinion a carry gun is your daily driver, Not the hot rod you keep covered in the garage 95% of the time.

I carry either a M&P Compact or a Shield depending. I have several of each. It might seem boring that I have three identical stock Shields but they are simply tools. I have more than one 12" Crescent wrench too. I have probably 15 magazines for the Shields. There are always loaded spares in each of my rigs. Its also what I would use as a home defense handgun. Its what I practice with because its what I carry.

I have a M&P Pro series with a Trigicon RMR and a pile of aftermarket bits, Its worth more than all three of the Shields put together. Not a chance you will catch me with it on my hip.

LOL about 95% all of my tools at work are snap on. 100% of my home tools are harbor freight or craftsman.

i prefer a glock 23 for carry. bone stock.

my very expensive highly modified AR is in the safe.

just kidding. i lost all of my guns in a tragic cross country dog sledding accident. only gun i have is an old k-mart single shot 22 with a rusty barrel and a broken firing pin.

 

[The B]

Yea... my best tools are in my truck. But I work in the field. I'm sure Ironmonster does most of his work in his shop - therefor that's where his best tools are.

 

[mjbskwim]

I have heard folks say that they carry a cheapo Keltec or something...Do you want your Kimber to be taken from you if you have to shoot someone?
Well I'll carry the best carry gun I have.I want my defensive weapon to go BANG when I need it the most

So it isn't subjective,it's the most reliable gun that YOU shoot perfect most of the time

 

[Member 5605]

Is my best my day:

No.

I should start but that GP100 is heavy. Ok not really, but all I have is an OWB for it.

I carry the lightest, most compact firearm I have with the most capacity.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

I carry the LCP
I love my Stx and Annaconda
I trust my many glocks the most

 

[Joe13]

I also consider this:

Reliability of any gun you carry being a given:

Would you rather have $350 in the evidence locker or $900?

 

[Kruel J]

I've shaped my collection into exactly what I wanted. So technically ALL of my guns are my "best" guns. And I carry one of them so I guess the answer would be yes.

 

[Hawaiian]

Best for the purpose of carry for self defense, yes. That is different than best for the range or for plinking. Some may have a 'best' gun for their collection, but I don't collect guns, I shoot them all.

 

[mjbskwim]

I also consider this:

Reliability of any gun you carry being a given:

Would you rather have $350 in the evidence locker or $900?

Price shouldn't be an issue as much as reliability.If it comes to that and my $300 gun goes bang when it needs to fine. But I'll be sure that's the case before I trust my life on it
The extra $600 isn't going to bother you very much given how much you will probably spend on you court costs
And after just taking a life

 

[IronMonster]

I look at it different. The biggest reason why I carry a $400 gun and not a $2000 gun is not because of extra upfront cost or because I am worried about losing a big ticket item. I carry a $400 gun because a $400 gun I can subject to life and it takes no thought or concern. If I ruined one, Id just buy another. Its a tool. I can leave it in my truck and not be worried about it while I am doing my thing. I can scrape it on the floor when I got to crawl around. I can do what ever I need to do and I dont have to freak out. I couldn't do that with a $2000 firearm. Mentally I just couldn't, I would have to care more and I dont want to. I want it to work, be there and not take up any more mental energy than is absolutely necessary.

Thats why I would not carry my "best" gun, because I actually care about my "best" gun. Its important to me, I would be pissed if something happened to it. Its a totally unnecessary worry and I dont want it.

I trust my carry firearms to work and I can subject them to my dirty and damaging life. They are not a status symbol. They are not for show. When I want to show off how cool my "other" gun is I'll carry my snazzy piece out in a rug to the range and you will never know about the one that matters.

 

[MountainBear]

Short answer is yes and no, but mostly no.

Long answer is as follows. I generally carry two guns. I carry a S&W M&P9 full size and a Glock 42. In terms of reliability and carryability (look ma, I'm inventing words!), they are probably the best in my collection.
In terms of the M&P, it is the gun, or at least the pistol, that I am most proficient with.
In terms of the ease of which it could be replace, they also rate high. God forbid any of us are ever forced to use our firearms to defend our lives or the live of those around us. But if you do, you can be assured that you will likely lose your gun, at least for a time. And speaking from first hand knowledge, PD evidence rooms are not as nice a place for your gun to live as your safe. They are often in metal drawers with little to no padding and no dehumidifier. The guns I have had returned to me have had rust (although that may have been from when the thief had possesion of it) and dings and dents. You will be lucky to get your gun back in the same condition it went in. If necessary, I can go to any gun shop (or in my case, my distributor) and have replacements for either of my carry guns by tomorrow.

None of my carry guns are heavily upgraded. My M&P has factory night sights and my Glock has a factory rear with a fiber optic front. I have not upgraded nor polished the internals. I feel like that is just one more thing I would have to defend myself from if I was taken to court. I feel very confident that I could delineate my credentials as a gunsmith and I'm certain I could explain why I felt it necessary to upgrade or polish internals, if the judge and/or jury were gun owners. But since that cannot be guaranteed, I have simply learned to become as proficient as possible with the guns in the stock configurations. Spend enough time with the factory trigger pull on either gun and if you cannot hit your target, then its you, not the gun.

Neither of my carry guns are the most valuable I own, either monetarily or sentimentally. Again, I fully expect to lost them for a time if I am forced to use them, and I would hate to lost a $2000 custom 1911 that I probably couldn't afford to replace. I would also hate to lose a gun with high sentimental value that flat out couldn't be replaced. And as has been mentioned above, my carry guns are exposed to the rigors of being carried every day. Subject to rain, sweat, holster wear, etc. Easier to do that with stock guns.


There is no easy answer to whether or not you should carry your "best" gun. What you should do is become the most proficient you can be with any gun you decide to carry.

 

[Hook686]

Yup. It will be a S&W 3913, M&P 340, or 329PD.

 

[pioneer461]

The question I have for you all is, "is your concealed carry/daily carry weapon your best gun?"

Whether or not you CC a pistol, or have a rifle in the trunk, ect, the gun you carry outside your home, is it what you would call your best gun. By best I mean a few things, is it the most upgraded or setup with the best possible parts you can afford.....is it the weapon you are most proficient with?

I ask this more for the discussion than anything, but I know a lot of people that daily a stock glock, yet have an AR-15 with thousands of dollars of upgrades that will never see use outside a range, now I totally understand being proficient with a rifle in case SHTF, ect, but in reality your daily carry piece is what you have every single day. How many people would take that same glock and put the best barrel, sights, scope, ect that they can afford? I know that scopes on pistols are becoming more popular, stippling, there are a million sights, lasers, lights, ect.

Again this is semi hypothetical as I can see reasonings for both sides, would just like to hear others thoughts on it.

My firearms, all of them, are 100% reliable and dependable and I remain proficient with them all. Otherwise I would not own them. Buying gadgets and add-ons do not necessarily make a firearm more reliable than a plain jane, OTB gun. Many accessories may aid tactics, but the bottom line is that it has to work 100%, no matter what it looks like.

 

[bakersman345]

My regular ccw isn't even close to my nicest gun. It's definitely the cheapest. If I have to go somewhere (like work, or the bank) I have to leave it in my car. If it gets stolen I wont be out a grand. If I have to use it and it sits in a evidence locker I'm not out a grand. Reliable and easily replaced