Pretty much.Originally Posted by JTMcC
Pretty much.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
@Clusterfrack and the P07, I went through the same thing but with a P01 set up semi-similarly to my CO Shadow 2.
I eventually switched off for a couple of reasons that you may or may not find interesting.
- The slight difference to my competition gear actually threw me off a little because autopilot.
- It was too large for my comfort
- I eventually went to a TSO with manual safety for competition so I went for a thumb safety carry gun.
- I decided that I actually wanted to train and map a completely different carry gun versus competition gun in my head because the cadence, draw and reload positions were all very different than my competition gun so I thought better to make them different and separate in my mind.
So I’ve been dry firing my P365 more and have been able to do the FAST consistently.
Working on “Finding your level” suggested earlier in the thread by @BehindBlueI's at Level 4. If I can do that reliably with this gun, I’ll be satisfied and call it good.
That is a good list, and I get it.
I’ll add one thing that’s totally personal. I hate switching guns—either for competition or carry. It’s a giant pain in the ass, expensive, and a time suck. It would take a massive advantage/disadvantage for me to switch. And I’ve come to feel like the gun doesn’t matter that much, performance-wise. It’s 95% familiarity and practice.
Last edited by Clusterfrack; 01-01-2021 at 09:19 PM.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
That really covers it all. I would add that most things in live involve compromise and different people will choose to make different compromises. Longer slide length and sight radius is easier to hit with, but for me, slower to draw and harder to conceal, so I go with shorter barrel guns. For reasons I won't bother with now, I carry DA guns and reserve SFA guns for play time. Single stack guns are easier to conceal for my body type and preferred mode of carry, and spare mags are easier to conceal and I don't believe I will ever need a high capacity gun for private defensive purposes, so I carry a single stack. When circumstances warrant, however, the gun and mode of carry may change, as my perception of acceptable compromise shifts. On duty cop work is a different set of priorities and acceptable compromises for most people, which is why many (but by no means all) cops carry a different gun off duty and on.
But yeah, my main priorities are summed up above.
We all like to talk about gear... but the above is really the meat and potatoes of all this.
Same, same here.
I wish I had more than one like to give for those last couple of lines.
To the original point of the thread:
I want something with a hammer I can put my thumb on when I reholster. I will make an exception for DAO snub revolvers but that’s pretty much the only one. I don’t want a manual safety on a carry gun. Range toys it doesn’t matter, but carry guns, no manual safety. I want a weight I can manage for extended periods without feeling like I need to visit a back doctor afterword.
I want a trigger that’s relatively smooth. It doesn’t have to have a full on marvelous action job, and I don’t have any hard pull weights in mind. Mainly, if it doesn’t feel like I’m dragging a 30 pound steel pipe down a gravel road with my trigger finger I’m good.
For objective shooting standards, my current requirement is that if I’m going to carry it I need to be able to get out of the truck and shoot a passing score in the HiTS Super Test cold. I have other drills/tests/standards I use but that one is my benchmark for “good enough to carry.”
I am carrying a Lightweight Government 1911. The criteria for my decision are:
* It has proven totally reliable.
* It conceals nicely in an AIWB holster. The length is not an issue.
* The relatively light weight makes it more comfortable to carry than an all steel 1911.
* I prefer a gun with a hammer for AIWB carry.
* I like the redundant safeties, especially with the Colt Series 80 system.
The most important quality of a pistol is it's presence.
The theoretical advantages of name your poison are moot if it's not within reach when the wreck starts.
We are blessed with a cornucopia of small, reliable and durable pistols. We have ammo that performs acceptably in 9mm, and okay in .38spl and .380.
I think we all need the option of a deep carry pistol, and being able to deliver on demand with it. That's actually kinda difficult. The little blasters are are so limited in
so many ways that serious training with them is a chore.
My list: small enough to be carried in an NPE, reliable, reliable, reliable, durable enough to practice with, At least .380.
My desired shootability echoes Claude Werner's: 5 shots, 5 yards, 5 inch circle, 5 seconds, 5 times.
My thoughts are largely based on a very recent switch, mentioned and described elsewhere, from a Walther P99 to an Ed Brown EVO KC9 (9mm 1911), so they’re subject to change as I learn more. A lot of them really aren’t objective, but I think that’s normal for a decision that’s almost entirely based on unique personal factors.
Concealability and comfort matter for something I’m sticking in my pants every day. Carrying a double stack service pistol was great, except I eventually got pretty fed up with all the bulge in my belt line, both because of comfort and because even when I got the gun itself hidden, there was a potentially noticeable difference between the shape of my body and where my belt was. For me, single stack just works better. Also, the back of the slide was just hard to conceal. A 1911 lets me torque the grip in as much as I need to without causing the slide to print - not so with the P99. At all.
As far as shooting goes, I want a gun that’s intuitive so I can focus on other tasks/problems/information. Among other things, this means a full-handed grip and sight radius. Fortunately, with a thin gun, grip and slide length largely don’t matter for me as far as concealment, so a full size single stack is ideal. A 1911 specifically is something approaching second nature for me - it takes far less focus for me to accomplish the same shooting tasks compared to other guns. That’s a plus because it frees up band width and improves on demand performance. To put it in terms of objective standards, I can currently do mid 280s on an advanced super test with either gun. Doing it with the 1911 just takes so much less active focus on running the gun.
Safety matters but I can live with multiple different approaches. SA with a good thumb safety works. DA and TDA work. Strikers with Gadgets or Gadget equivalents work. A 1911 with its two safeties just happens to work very well. I also use a Craig Douglas style ejection port finger register, which in addition to other techniques and hardware features (exe thumb safety management) means I’m personally comfortable with an SA trigger. So, it checks this box, though most things that aren’t safety-less fully tensioned SFAs also would.
Finally, shooting is a hobby and I need a gun that I can get motivated to shoot and dry fire with. The 1911 brings this in spades, since I’ve loved shooting them ever since I first picked up a pistol. Now, my fun gun and carry gun are the same thing. Kindof like Clusterfrack’s point, this makes my life simpler.
ETA - yes, I would use my EDC setup for a class, or a .45 1911 in an identical setup if that made more sense given what I had for ammo.
Last edited by Elwin; 01-03-2021 at 11:18 AM.
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