Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at how to interact with police officers while carrying a concealed firearm. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I wanted to take a look at something I chat with close friends about often. In certain situations, there are certainly reasons to carry cool guns, but there are a few problems with carrying cool guns over practical firearms. Let’s look at cool versus capable firearms. 

Carrying Your Cool Guns

When I was catching up with one of my oldest buddies who lives out in San Diego, he was really excited to show me his brand new snub nose King Cobra that he picked up from a local gun shop. My buddy is a naval officer as well as a bodybuilder and hearing him say the gun is too heavy to carry was comical to say the least. He was asking what gun he should carry since the King Cobra is heavier than he would like. When I pressed him on why he bought the snubby King Cobra, he just said, “Because it’s gorgeous and I love it.” That’s a fair statement, but it’s always important to be realistic and have a gun you can comfortably carry on a daily basis.

So many people are excited to get into guns and start buying guns they want, rather than having something easy to carry that they need. The classic wants versus needs argument certainly comes into play here since it’s incredibly common for people to buy what they want or think is cool, but don’t prioritize what they actually need. When you are going to a social event with other people who are interested in firearms, that’s when it’s sometimes fun to carry an interesting handgun, almost as a conversation piece to chat about how you carry and admire each other’s handguns. That’s perfectly understandable and I know more than one person who believes in the idea that life is too short to carry a boring handgun. I certainly think there is a time and place for interesting and cool carry guns, but as an everyday choice, it can be less than ideal.

Practical Guns Always Win

Having something practical is never a bad option when carrying a concealed firearm. A firearm like a Glock 43 or 19 will offer more capabilities with less weight and bulk than a full-size metal-framed handgun. Practicality really does trump everything, even though it may not be as exciting or interesting as a high-polished stainless revolver or something flashy. As much as I like the fancy things in life, the concealed carry guns that will almost always get you home safely to your family are the practical ones that are lightweight and have higher capacity while keeping weight to a minimum. The vast majority of people just want something they can easily carry all day without feeling like they have a boat anchor on their hip.

In the last decade, there has been a massive leap forward not only in magazine technology but also in the overall size of handguns that can hold 12, 15 or even 21 rounds of ammo. There are a number of various models on the market that can hold the same capacity as a full-size handgun but are significantly more compact. The ability to easily find one of these models is what makes a difference with new people who carry a concealed handgun and allows them to carry confidently without feeling fatigued or overwhelmed.

Gun Culture Versus Self-Protection

I do think it’s appropriate to talk about the distinction between embracing gun culture, where you want to share your more interesting handgun choices, versus being able to have a reasonable choice when it comes to a lightweight carry gun for self-defense. If you’re going to an event where people will be carrying interesting handguns, that’s certainly a time to carry something unconventional, but it’s important to understand these guns aren’t supposed to be the norm when carrying every single day. Having something like a Glock 43X or 48 is much more manageable to carry in all weather compared to something like a snub-nose King Cobra revolver.

What do you guys think? Is it important to have both practical carry guns as well as carry guns you enjoy carrying for the fun of it? Leave your comments down in the dumpster fire below. If you have questions about carrying concealed or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram  @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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