I recently taught a Concealed Carry Skills class where we briefly touched on some of the considerations when choosing a carry gun.  In this and coming months Instructor’s Corner I will delve into that topic and offer some things to consider.

• Choosing the right tool for the mission.  What type of engagement am I training for? 
• How much ammo is enough?
• Clothing considerations and concealment.  It’s hot in NC in the summer.
• Caliber size.  Is bigger always better?
• Reliability; if it doesn’t go bang it’s a club.

The first assumption is that you have or are in the process of acquiring your NC Concealed Carry Permit.  (If not, check out the class schedule for dates and times at www.wakefirearmstraining.com.  The second assumption is that you have decided to pick up the mantel of The Protector of self and others.  This is a mindset topic which I will explore in a later article. 

The first consideration to my way of thinking regards the purpose of the tool.  In other words, what is the situation in which you may choose to use a pistol to defend self and others?  Since there are a myriad of encounters, we need to decide if our target engagement is easy, average, or difficult; easy being a single person who shows deadly force but not the intent of using it, average being one person with deadly intent or multiple people without deadly intent, and difficult being multiple assailants all with deadly intent.  My personal choice is to prepare and train for the worst-case scenario.  In this way I know I will be prepared for anything less.

Let’s assume that you want to train for the worst and want a pistol to accommodate such.  This qualification is based on the expected number of rounds that you may need to stop the threat.  Looking at FBI statistics, we know that officers place rounds on their target approximately 15% of the time.  Looking at forensic analysis of shootings, we know that it typically takes multiple shots to disable the assailant.  Also, looking at analysis of lethal force attacks on civilians, we know that multiple assailants are common.  So, let’s build what might be a worst-case scenario; three assailants that have a history of violent attacks require a minimum of three rounds each to stop the threats.  We will also assume that you have taken extensive stress inoculation training and only miss one half of your shots.  Do the math; 3 assailants x 3 rounds per assailant divided by .5 = 18 rounds.  That’s 18 rounds minimum if you have trained hard!  If on the other hand, if you are like a lot of armed citizens and you go to the range maybe once every 3 months and shoot 100 rounds at a paper target that is not moving and not trying to kill you, your round requirements are going to be much higher.

So now let’s think about the carry gun.  Is a revolver going to get the job done?  How about a 6 shot pocket pistol?  Maybe one of the new Sig P365’s with 10 rounds?  That means carrying extra ammo.  How fast are you in changing a mag?

Are you now starting to see the issue?  Choosing a carry gun should be foremost predicated on what the mission is and your ability to prosecute the fight.  To say it another way, if you run out of ammo you have a very poor little club to fight with.

That’s all for now.  If you have questions, drop me an email at wakefirearmstraining@mindspring.com

Train Hard!  Stay Frosty!  Never Give Up!

John