Purchase, Practice, Carry
After you have decided to take control of your personal protection the first thing to decide is what method of protection you want to use. Any good protection program will include multiple strategies for protection. Just carrying a knife will not be enough, just carrying a handgun will not be enough, just knowing a martial art will not be enough. A combination of several of the above skills or strategies will help you to properly defend yourself. We will address all of the possibilities suggested above in future articles, but today let’s focus on carrying a handgun.
Selecting the proper handgun for concealed carry is a very important consideration. If you select a handgun that is too big or that you don’t like, guess what, you WON’T carry it. The best handgun for concealed carry is the one that you WILL carry with you! You don’t get to decide the day that a Wacko shows up at the Piggly Wiggly and starts shooting. You need to make a commitment to yourself that you will protect yourself and you will always be prepared. I can make many recommendations on what to carry, but in the end it comes down to personal preference. There is no substitute for going to your local gun store and trying every option until you find the one that suits you the best.
For the sake of this article we will discuss the two major categories of handguns, revolvers and semi-automatics.
Revolvers:
Revolvers typically hold 6 rounds in a revolving cylinder with each chamber holding one round. Revolvers are cheaper and easier to operate than semi-automatics which makes them a strong choice for personal protection. Some of the benefits of revolvers are:
- Easy to use and operate
- Easy to learn
- Very reliable
- Very accurate right out of the box
- Less cleaning and maintenance
Revolvers are very appealing as a home defense/personal defense weapon as they are pretty much just pull out and use. There are no safeties to worry about, no slides to rack, no magazines to seat. For a person that doesn’t want to train regularly and stay proficient on their skills, the revolver is the natural choice.
Semi-Automatics:
Semi-automatics are more complicated to own and operate, but have a lot of advantages over a revolver. Semi-automatics hold their rounds in a removable magazine and have round capacities varying from 6 to 19 rounds. The high round capacity of the semi-automatic is clearly an advantage over the revolver. Long after the revolver is out of rounds, the semi-automatic can still engage the target. The ability to drop a magazine and reload quickly is another huge advantage in favor of the semi-automatic. Some of the advantages are:
- Large carrying capacity
- Multiple chamber sizes available
- Ability to carry multiple magazines
- Large number of accessory items
- Easier to conceal
It is not all roses with semi-automatics, however. They are much more complex than a revolver and require a higher level of training and regular use to maintain proficiency. Dropping a magazine, racking the slide, moving the safety and reloading the magazine are all skills that need to be practiced and maintained. Some of the problems associated with semi-automatics are:
- Complex to operate
- More training required to become proficient
- Jamming, fail to load, fail to eject are all possible
- Tough to operate slide with weaker operators
Summary:
In the end it comes down to what YOU are comfortable with. We can make recommendations all day long, but you would end up with a gun we are happy with and not a gun that suits you. Revolvers are easy to use, easy to operate and work right out of the box, but are limited in their ability to be concealed easily and by their capacity. Semi-automatics reign supreme in round count and concealability, but are more difficult to learn and operate.
