htwindsor
New member
It would be a short, economical life.
If you could only pick one gun as a carry gun for the rest of your life, what would it be?
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Ruger revolvers are so ridiculously overbuilt. They’re great guns. A 3” GP is a real fighting revolver.
Ultimately it always comes back to a Glock 19 or guns that are trying to be a G19.Although I have since gone to a Glock 17 with a light and an optic (I'm big enough that it is concealable in nearly every circumstance), I think the answer to the question as posed was, is and for the foreseeable future will be the Glock 19.
I wrote extensively about why in this piece from almost exactly fifteen years ago.
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The truth is that I don’t love guns. I appreciate guns. I am pleased to discuss guns. I enjoy competing and training with guns. Guns have a ...suburbansheepdog.blogspot.com
Some excerpts:
What makes a firearm beautiful to me, what I admire above all other qualities, is reliability – the weapon's ability to function as it is supposed to function tens of thousands of times in a row without a single failure. Certainly a firearm ought to fire a caliber useful to the task; and of course I need to be able to shoot that firearm accurately enough to put rounds into a useful part of the target. But if a gun will only do that 999 times out of thousand, it’s of no use to me. That weapon might belong in some collection, but it doesn’t belong in my holster.
Thus, my relationship to firearms is a utilitarian one. Their possession serves an essential, but narrow purpose. They exist to accomplish a task. They are the necessary tool for a job I hope not to have to do. One might as well speak of a pretty life insurance policy. For me, collecting guns would make the same sense as collecting hammers, or circular saws, or snow tires. Like some hoplophilic disciple of Louis Henry Sullivan, I demand that, and am pleased when, a gun’s form follows its function to the essential exclusion of all other aesthetics.
The function at issue is defense of life in gravest extreme. If such defense of your life and the lives of others is a God-given natural right -- and it is -- then your choice of the tools you employ in that exercise is necessarily a matter of great moment. To be clear, it's not even slightly as important as having the right mindset or sufficient training. But tools do matter, and among the tools I choose is the ugly black pistol pictured above, a Glock 19.
* * *
Robert’s Rule states that “Simplicity is Murphy’s only natural enemy.” At the core of what makes this pistol reliable (which is to say beautiful) is that it is about as simple as a pistol can be. It takes perhaps two minutes to learn how to “field strip” the Glock 19 – that is, to disassemble it into its major components for cleaning and maintenance. Each time after that initial tutorial, field stripping and reassembly take about 12 seconds each. No tool is necessary to accomplish this. Beyond that, the pistol can be completely disassembled into its only 35 parts with a simple punch in perhaps a minute.That's kind of lovable, too.
Another of Robert’s Rules holds that “Only a fool tries to say better what has already been said perfectly.” Better, like a good reporter, to quote with full attribution:
"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend" J.R.R. Tolkien, via Faramir, in The Two Towers.
I keep a USP9C in the center console of a German car. That gun will last forever. I just wish the mags allowed for a slightly higher capacity. Have you seen the X-Grip adapter that allows for P30/VP9 mags?
I love the guys at GunSite. A lot of them are switching over to polymer framed guns these days.
mteague90
New member
I have seen them, but I haven’t purchased one to try yet.
However, I did swap my USPc mag body with one from my VP9sk. So now I have a 15+1 round capacity in it. Which I’m fine with. Its very easy to do.
htwindsor
New member
I carried Glocks for years, mainly because I traveled a lot. Figured if something happened I could replace it with another $500 Glock that was [almost] identical. I only even changed out the crappy stock sights; left everything else as it came. I first went to Gunsite with my father. I had a 1911, a ParaOrdnance P12 to be exact. IYKYK. My gun crapped out frequently and required daily trips to the gunsmith. My dad was shooting a Glock G22. He didn't even clean that gun all week; it just worked. I bought a Glock after the class.
badgererickson
Member
The USP45T with it's Obsidian45. .45 ball up to 45Super, she just runs.
ellis51lee
New member
Semis- It would be a toss-up between my Hk45C (field use) or G26.5.
Wheelies- probably my LCR327 with 32 mags or MP340, edge to the LCR for accuracy.
It’ll get some hate, but my Kel Tec P-32 is just so stupid easy to always have around, so light and won’t pull down boardshorts. Justin Dyal and Simon Golob are mild fans. It’s not a looker but a good beater.
Wheelies- probably my LCR327 with 32 mags or MP340, edge to the LCR for accuracy.
It’ll get some hate, but my Kel Tec P-32 is just so stupid easy to always have around, so light and won’t pull down boardshorts. Justin Dyal and Simon Golob are mild fans. It’s not a looker but a good beater.
badgererickson
Member
No hate here, once these CMR and PMR-30s are broken in, I'm on the same page.
@Mike Schoby is a fan of the P32 if I remember correctly. I have a P32 and P3AT that run great and they were regular carry options for a long time.
When you say the LCR takes the 340 for accuracy, you’re saying that’s off of a bag/rest or just in your individual hands?
ellis51lee
New member
At the risk of imagination dominating reality, I feel like I’ve probably shot the 340 off a rest more than the LCR.
So more subjective, but I feel like the LCR and I get along more at 25yds on a B-8; solely for the trigger and OEM sights. Just easier to keep it in the 90s, whereas the S&W XS sight just requires more focus for a similar score.
Where the LCR pulls ahead, especially with the Lost River loads, is cold, on-demand hits on B/C at 35-50yds.
All that said, and preaching to the choir, the weight and svelte-ness of a scandium J frame is hard to beat.
thebuckhorton33
Member
It’s been hard to beat my Glock 48 Coa and it shoots lights out
dsbarb
Member
The answer to the question asked is my Glock 19. It is the KISS and Goldilocks of guns. Simple and reliable, big enough to have adequate capacity but small and light enough that it can easily be concealed.
That said, the gun I carry the most is my LCP Max as it just disappears yet still carries 10+1 freedom seeds. I have around 400 rounds through mine with both shit and quality ammo and have not had a single FTF
That said, the gun I carry the most is my LCP Max as it just disappears yet still carries 10+1 freedom seeds. I have around 400 rounds through mine with both shit and quality ammo and have not had a single FTF
Ultimately it comes down to whatever you shoot best. I love both the LCR and J-Frames.
@Jason Vincent has a COA 43X or 48 and he loves that thing. Really hard to beat the COA system in general.
spencer
New member
Love that slide
rigriffin91
New member
Probably my G43x
jaycobkelsey
New member
Glock 19 would be a great choice, but I'm partial towards my Glock 17 Gen 6. Big, yes, but still concealable for me at the 4 o'clock with my Tenicor.