CHOOSING A FAITHFUL COMPANION

Last month Roy Huntington, His Illuminated Editorial Immenseness & Publishing Potentate of American Handgunner, asked his staff of professional gunwriters to crank out a couple of paragraphs naming their personal everyday carry handguns. For whatever reason, he asked me, too. The results are published in the March/April 2016 issue. I’ll be interested in reading that—perhaps you too—for two reasons:

First, because I’ve no idea what those folks carry, and I’m just curious how different or similar my choices are. Second, I’m wondering, within the word-count limits imposed, if they’ll explain why those guns are their daily-carry favorites. For me, this request was rather timely, because I had recently gone through the first really objective and methodical evaluation process I’d ever done for selecting my own carry-guns.

Previously, I admit, my choices in personal carry-guns had been dictated by pretty subjective factors. Ego, as in Wow, what a cool gun! My peers’ eyes will pop and they’ll be all peanut-butter-and-jealous when they see what I’m packin’! That was in my callow youth, when I was old enough to know better but stupid enough to ignore that. Self-image, as in I’m a big guy; I should pack a really big gun. The stupidity of that one needs no explanation. Habituation, as in This is what I’m used to, so despite any other factors, this is what I’ll carry. Sheer reliability is a wonderful attribute, although you can pick a gun that goes bang every time, but which fails in many other important regards.

This evaluation project was prompted by the realization that my personal circumstances and capabilities had undergone significant changes in recent years, but I was still making rough, unreasoned adjustments to those changes rather than making a thoughtful evolution.

I’m permanently out of the Traveling Action Hero business. My travels are limited to my truck and my Jeep, in low-crime but often lonely areas, which means trouble is rare, but when it happens it’s usually terminal-stupid, psychopathic, professionally violent, or all three. I used to make a living looking for trouble and finding it. Now it has to find me. I avoid trouble, but stand ready and willing to meet it with a skilled and spirited response.

The spin-offs from my spinal surgery saga include very limited mobility, so, I won’t be executing any Ranger Ricky tactical snap-rolls, fancy levitating-Ninja moves, or sprinting for cover. I just can’t get far or fast while hobbling, clutching a clumsy lunar-lander cane. Like a tank with its tracks blown off, my turret still swivels and my cannon fires, so wherever the fight kicks off, I’ll likely live or die right there, where the fight begins and ends. Too, I’m not an ordnance-mule anymore. I just can’t carry the weight of arms and ammo I used to. Even wearing a stiff belt with any weight on it gets painful fast. Is this ringin’ any bells for some of you?

Choose Wisely, Wizards

To clarify, by “daily carry gun,” I mean the one you carry concealed stepping out into public; not necessarily the pocket pistol you may casually pack out to the garage or barn. Comfort is important, due to the Dirty Little Secret of concealed carry: If it’s not comfortable, you’ll find excuses for not carrying it as an iron-clad rule. Mine is, no stepping out without a gun, a light, a knife and an attitude, ever. For me, that dictated a piece that’s relatively light, flat, smooth and simple; one that’s fast into action and agile for snap-shooting.

Speed Limit

I restricted calibers to .45 ACP and 9mm Parabellum. I don’t dismiss a .380 ACP fed with modern expanding slugs, but for me, the former two just made more sense. I didn’t include .40 S&W, first, because that would limit me to only one pistol I possess, and it is unsuitable for concealed carry. Second, I think there’s not enough payoff difference in terminal performance for the increased recoil, muzzle blast and pressure. That’s just me. The field was narrowed to four pistols.

Carefully dry-firing or using inert rounds, drawing and firing each candidate from a variety of carry rigs from under shirts, vests and jackets can be very instructive. After shedding yourself of any preconceived notions and preferences, you may even be surprised at the one which simply feels and points best. Even bigger surprises can occur when you hit the range with live ammo.

My drills included drawing and shooting singles and doubles—with priority given to the speed and accuracy of delivering that first critical shot—at single and multiple targets ranging from simulated “in-contact” push-pull distance with the pistol held close to the body, plus normally extended shooting position, on targets from 3 to 25 yards. Positions included sitting, rising from a chair, rising from seated position shooting over a table—the shooting counters—“walk-up” shooting, static standing and more.

I should mention the majority were fired 1-handed, either hand, and throughout, I kept in mind that most often, citizen gunfights are fast, close, violent and done in low light. The vast majority of all personal training I’d done in the past was based on my military, paramilitary and law enforcement orientation. To the extent possible, these new drills were styled to address my new life as a “challenged dude on a cane.” An armed and experienced one, but… You know.

Two valuable assets are a knowledgeable observer, who can spot potentially negative—even lethal—mistakes in movement and weapon-handling, and an electronic shot-timer, to measure your speed from the beep to your last round fired. In the final analysis, digital readouts and holes in targets don’t lie. The winner was a surprise. Of the four contestants, it was the only one I didn’t own—at the time.

Surprise, Surprise

I had a Kahr TP45 on hand—a T&E pistol I evaluated for an article in American Handgunner’s Jan-Feb 2016 issue. It compared very well in comfort-carry factors, and though it wasn’t the most comfortable to shoot in extended sessions, its edge in gunfighting performance was unquestionable. I bought it.

At 20.8 ounces, it’s a pound lighter than my 1911’s, with the same capacity: 7 rounds in the mag and 1 up the pipe. With one spare mag on me, that’s 15 doses of fight-stopper.

I also routinely carry an OTD (Out-The-Door) bag containing all the usual junk—checkbook, glasses, meds, a small trauma kit, tactical light, miscellaneous documents, a heavier-duty knife than my pocket folder—and in a compartment with an integral holster, a secondary pistol. I hang its shoulder strap over the headrest of the passenger seat; in front when I’m rolling alone and in back when someone’s riding shotgun. I may need it fast. But how many times had I really, repeatedly tested drawing it from either position? You guessed it: Not zero, but not enough, and not timed and analyzed.

My initial poor choice was simply too long in the snout. It tended to hang up, twist, and snag. I ran drills similar to the carry-gun protocol, including simulated shooting through the windows on either side. My SIG P250 Compact won that competition. Topped up and with two spare mags it provides sheer firepower—46 rounds of 9mm—in a compact, agile package. A big plus is both the SIG and the Kahr are double-actions with strikingly similar revolver-like trigger pulls and matching operating characteristics. To the old saying, “keep it simple” add “especially under stress.”

I could recommend both pistols to you, but I won’t. Your choices should be yours alone, dictated by you and your results. A pal of mine got interested and ran similar drills. He learned his long-neglected GLOCK 19, consigned to his safe for years, was his number-one dance partner. You could be surprised too. Then, no more surprises, OK? Connor OUT

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