I am not a fan of C3 carry for me, UNDER MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.
I do think that David Armstrong and the others have a point, so I apologize for belittling them. I am home sick for a few days and have gone back and reread the entire thread. Whew!
There are very few circumstances where I would carry C3, and they have been discussed already.
My argument against C3 was based on the performance difference, and that may have been the wrong tact.
I completely agree with Nyeti that a revolver may be the correct solution for many people who cannot or will not carry C1.
What it comes down to is that everything is a compromise and you cannot prepare for every possible scenario. That is why we train generally, instead of specifically.
My personal belief (since none of us can predict our next violent encounter), is that raw draw speed is not much of a factor in most defensive shootings. I have a personal example where raw draw speed prevented a shooting, but the BG didn't know if my chamber was loaded or unloaded.
Ultimately, I believe that history, even recent history, shows that you are prepared for most violent weapons encounters carrying C3. In some circumstances you may be MORE prepared carrying C1, in others, maybe less.
SA trumps all and a condition white guy with a 1.5 second, on demsnd draw (fast for most good shooters, IME) will likely fail, compared to the C3 guy who sees it even 1 or 2 seconds in advance. Successful fighters often see it sooner than that. Sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on the hardware, and not enough on the software. The splits that I am most concerned with are in the MUC phase, not the phew phew phew phase.
If a person makes a rational threat assessment and decides to carry C3, I believe that they are better of than the guy who doesn't carry.
Again, I apologize to Mr. Armstrong an the others who tried to get that point across.