3 Great Reasons to EDC a Full Size Pistol

I couldn't agree more (regarding Blend in or High-Visibility?) , some things 

that make sense in one place might not make sense in another place.

You always advocated carrying a full size pistol. I wonder if your

opinion has changed now that you live in a less dangerous place.

I lived in a very bad neighborhood about a year ago, and I would carry

my glock 17 with a 33 round magazine for backup. The danger was very

real and having to use it was very high. I would never carry any gun

that I didn't feel absolutely confident in.

Now I live in a much nicer neighborhood, and I carry a Ruger lcp. It's

definitely low firepower, and I would never put it in the same

category as a glock for reliability. Just the same, my chances of

needing it are pretty low in this neighborhood. The chances of needing

18 + 33 rounds are also very very low.

This is my thinking and feelings on the matter. What do you think?

Cheers,

Alvern

Hi, thanks for your email.

Consider the following.

1)No one ever wished for a smaller gun in a gun fight. No one wanted less ammo, a less powerful cartridge or a gun that was harder to shoot fast an accurate with a smaller than full size grip. A handgun is already underpowered as it is. Besides, when carried as a defensive auto is supposed to be carried, as we learn during training, it will ride on a proper holster anyway. I haven’t met a single person that could keep up with a class of intermediate or advanced defensive shooting training with a fanny bag and a pocket gun.  Sooner rather than later you see how slow reloading is, how slow holstering and drawing becomes and unless you’re a true expert shooter you will find it hard to keep shots on targets too with such small sight radius as the ones found in most subcompact guns (Glocks and similar guns being in some cases the only exception at some point) If you cant keep up with it at training with that firearm, then you sure don’t want to count on it when the chips are down.

About living in a safer place, unfortunately there’s not always a correlation between how much gun you’ll need to how bad a neighborhood is. You just never know what life has planned for you. A junky may try to mug you for drug money in the bad part of town and producing any gun at all may be enough to send him looking for easier pray, while if you live in a nice part of town you may be specifically targeted for kidnapping or home invasion precisely because you live in the good part of town. Many of the dedicated defensive shooters that I knew back in Argentina were of an upper middle class or downright rich status. They happen to be the ones that have the most to take from. Remember the Petit family in Connecticut. Upper class neighborhood and a home invasion still ended up in rape and murder of all but one surviving family member.

2)You should carry what you train with. You can take a subcompact or pocket gun to try out at some class, draw from a pocket or bag, but as the going gets tough a better suited gun is needed and that’s why 90% of people in serious defensive shooting classes have a Glock 17, Glock 19 or some other similar service high capacity auto. Parts and accessories are easier to find, ammo is usually of the more common variety and if you ever have to use someone else’s gun or get by with a loaned gun because of whatever reason, chances are you’ll get handed over a Glock pretty much anywhere in the world.

3) For me it’s a matter of principle. If you have the right to keep and bear arms use it to its full extent. I know it sounds silly but to me it feels as if going with a pocket gun of some sort is either not taking full advantage of your rights, like going half way in honoring the sacrifice made by others to ensure such right.  Besides, why would I want to have the compact, limited version of anything when I can carry the real thing? I understand that when living in a very safe place any gun may seem unnecessary, but you just never know when that day will come when you do need it.

I would carry a full size gun, and whenever I notice its there because of the weight or bulk, I would just remember how lucky I am that I live in a country where I still have such a right, something that isn’t at all common around the world. And if I never have to use that gun for self defense I would just count my blessings.