CCW gets beat up?

What might be one of the smoothest S&W model 15 that I have fired was a police turn-in years ago. The poor old pistol had maybe 50% finish left, the grips were worn smooth where they weren't dinged deeply, but it had a trigger that was so smooth it broke your heart and it had the bad habit of eating up the X-ring on paper. The owner carried it IWB in cross-draw and always said " Hell, I don't need pretty." Seems like he told the story.
 
Any handgun I own, I carry. If I don't carry it, I sell it and buy something I will carry.

As such, all my pistols, be they S&W revolvers or 1911s, are subject to honest carry wear. I have no safe queens.

The nicer ones may get carried less frequently...or they may get re-finished more frequently. Whatever it takes.
 
My carry guns were not going to win any beauty contest from the day that they were made. My most recent aquisition was a Glock 26 9mm. It has somone's awful kitchen table camo durakote job. It looks like someone puked on it. It shoots just fine, has had not one single problem in the 2500 rounds that I have put out of it. Next is My M&P 45 while ergonomic, it is not the prettiest thing made. It has a bit of holster wear after a little over a year of carrying it, and shooting the crap out of it at the range. Next after that is my P64 it already had some holster wear on it. I do not care it is reliable, durable, and fits in my pocket.
Quite frankly I do not care what my carry gun looks like, it has one purpose only to defend my life when all other options have been exausted.
I would however never carry my grampa's Colt Python it has that wonderful Colt Royal Blued finish that I want to keep that way. I have plenty of the not so pretty ones to carry anyway.:p
 
Any gun you use all the time is going to get more wear than one you use a few weekends a year to hunt with. you are touching it all the time, taking it off and on, might set it down on your keys and scratch it, bump it into something hard, general wear moving around in the holster, sweat, etc. honest use takes it's toll.
 
Once had the experience of shooting a old Colt .38 revolver that was issued to my brother when he did security work. Ugly, no shroud on ejector rod, grove rear sight, blade front sight you could have carved a turkey with. I think it first belonged to Dick Tracy. But that gun fit the hand just right and was sooooo accurate and smooth I had him ask the company to name there price. Of course their answer was against policy. At least I had a great experience that day and I started having a different outlook on those supposidly worn out ugly guns and no longer worry about how my carry gun looks.
 
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I hate getting my guns all scratched and dented also. But as others have said if they are a gun made for ccw (not target shooting or so on) it's going to get beat up. I have expensive guns that have been customized for competing and just looks. For carry it's usually a Glock, XD, or one of my Sigs. My 229R 9mm was a CPO gun. Bought it with night sights for $550.00 out the door. Since it was not a $900.00 or more investment if it's banged it doesn't matter. One of the reasons the polymer guns are so popular is with a finish on the slide like Tennifer and the polymer frame you can't hardly hurt then. They are not usually pretty or very expensive. But they can take alot of abuse and not show it. And still keep going.
 
I always felt that that statement more pertained to bluing or other similar finish... it gets worn off with time and some people don't want that to happen to some of there guns. IE have sentimental value, cannot be easily replaced/repaired or other reasons, myself included.

I mean the grips might get scuffed up from bumping it into things, but its not like CCs throw them down concrete stairs or anything.
 
My dream gun. 4" M19 S&W retired cop gun. Much of that "severely devaluing" holster wear & stock dings... and zero turn line on the cylinder.:D
 
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