Does anyone carry the least expensive gun?

So for the sake of conversation, you shoot them equally. Would you carry the lesser firearm in terms of appearance and price?
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I would carry (what I believed to be) the best tool I had available for the job.

If it has to go away, then carry something else.
 
I shot an armed robber one night and the police returned my gun a few hours later after I gave a statement at the station. But there was no need to hold it as evidence as there would be no trial.
 
inexpensive carry

You carry what you trust and shoot well. If it's a Python then get yourself a Ruger or S&W. Both are totally reliable and 1/5th. to 1/4th. the cost.
My Python is in a safe place and as everyone here knows i just became the proud owner of a brand new GP 100 4" 357. This shoots like a dream and if I have to , and I can, replace this easily. The Python, NO!!!!!!!!!.
Hope this helps.
Doc
 
If I ever have to shoot someone, the few hundred I spent on a gun is going to be pretty low on my list of concerns.
If memory serves, your sigs are certainly very nice, but not exactly "investment grade" collectors items.

The difference in cost between a Glock and a Sig is what?
Like 1 hour of a decent lawyer's time? A few dinners out? The difference between making your own coffee and stopping at Starbucks for a few months?

Money gets spent. Why own something you're not going to use?
 
With a couple of exceptions, I carry what I want to carry, irrespective of price. The most expensive gun I've carried retails at about $2,700. On the other end, I've carried a couple of pistols that retail for less than $300. The only exceptions are a couple of unfired (outside the factory) handguns with collectible value.

Question -- if you owned a Ferrari, would you never drive it because you might have an accident and the car might be destroyed or impounded?
 
I own a shield .40 and a Taurus pt111. I shoot both pretty good, the Taurus better at longer range. they are about the same size. I carry the Taurus everyday due to better capacity, it was only 200$:eek:
 
My general rule of thumb is not to carry anything I can't replace. While I suppose a handgun could be so expensive that I couldn't afford to replace it, none of the guns I currently own are that valuable (that's not to say that they're necessarily inexpensive either). The guns I own that I won't carry are all either discontinued models that are uncommon enough that a replacement would be difficult to find or guns which have sentimental value which cannot be replaced at any price.

A perfect example of this is my S&W 1911 which is the one handgun I would never carry. The reason I won't carry that gun is not that it's unreliable or unsuitable for the task (quite the opposite) nor that it's too expensive (I could buy two more tomorrow if I really wanted to) but rather that it was a gift from my dad and that can never be replaced.

As to the difference between carrying a Sig and a Glock, unless the Sig has sentimental value, is an exceedingly rare model, or you cannot afford to replace it if you lose it, I see no reason to carry the Glock instead if you like the Sig better for whatever reason.
 
A gun is a inanimate tool which can be used to save your bacon. It is an insurance policy. I would not fret about loose ANY firearm if it served its purpose. It can be replaced. Get a GOOD gun, get proficient with it, carry it. If it gets too scuffed up- have it refinished- but by all means, USE your guns. Buy a second one as a back up. If you ever have to use a firearm in a social situation, a couple hundred bucks will be the least of your worries. Don't sweat the small stuff.
 
Constantine said:
So for the sake of conversation, you shoot them equally. Would you carry the lesser firearm in terms of appearance and price?
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I not only would, I do.

My view is that I carry a sidearm so that I'll have a sidearm if I am ever in need of a weapon for self defense. In the event I should ever have to use it for the intended purpose, I have to assume that my sidearm will be taken as evidence and will be in police custody for a number of weeks at an absolute minimum, and possibly several years if I am charged and tried.

If I am tried and exonerated, by the time I get my gun back the police, the prosecutors, and my own defense attorneys will have been handling it and moving it from place to place over an extended period of time. They are not going to be concerned about maintaining it in the condition I would, so I would expect to get back a rusty, scratched, dinged-up firearm. I wouldn't want to see that happen to a nice Colt Mark IV Officers ACP, so I choose to carry an M1991A1 Compact.
 
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Cost isn't even on my mind. I've spent more tuning my EDC than my other guns.

I'm protecting myself and others, we are all priceless.

You know we got to the moon on the lowest bidders, but I'm not spending tax money.
 
OK, I'll fess up. My EDC's are Kel Tec's because they are inexpensive - they are the Bic pens of the handgun world. In my pocket and in my vehicle they get scratched up and bumped around, and I don't care if they do. The EDC's are maintained and shot regularly to ensure reliability, though.

I'll also admit I'm a cheapskate. I have a bunch of firearms, over 30, but none are safe queens; they're all shooters. My most expensive ones may have a value of $800. Even so, an EDC is a tool. It has to be reliable, but I don't carry it to impress anyone. Therefore I use tools for EDC that I don't mind wearing out, or breaking, or - if ever used in self defense- surrendering to LE during the legal process.
 
KYJIM... the Ferrari example isn't quite the same... as the OP is not talking about not shooting it at all & leaving it unfired in the safe... a better comparison would be if you had a Ferrari would you take it to a road race track & race it, or be content to drive it more "normally"

I don't have a Ferrari, but if I did, I might race it once in a while, just because I'm competitive... but not everyday or every weekend ( daily carry )... to me this seems a better comparison... I have BBQ guns I carry once in a while... but my "daily racer" is not a Ferrari of guns :)
 
I carry what I feel confident carrying. For me, when not carrying my duty weapon, it's Glock and Sig.
However I never think about cost when it comes to what I'm carrying. Usually first thought in my head is which to carry based on what I'm wearing or what to wear based on what I'm carrying.. :D
Yesterday I had to travel the majority of the day on personal business to another state and back alone. I carried my G19 OWB with a lightweight blazer over it.
 
I carry a "cheap" gun. Diamondback DB9. I could opt to carry my Boberg XR9-S, and occasionally I do. I just don't like scuffing up my expensive guns. I don't worry about scuffing up a $300 gun. As long as it does what I want it to do I will carry it. The DB9 does what I want it to do. Now, if someday I find a really cheap, scuffed up XR9-s, I might swap it out for my DB9....maybe.

Some people think of guns only as tools. Something to be used, and any scars and scratches they accumulate from use are nothing more than "cherished memories" from days gone by. Well, I'm not one of those people. I like guns; like how they look; like pretty finishes; like nice designs; appreciate workmanship and good fit and finish. A nice gun is like a nice watch, and I really like nice watches. A cheap reliable gun is like a cheap reliable watch - gets the job done, but doesn't give me any joy in wearing it.
 
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My opinion, is yes, I would carry the cheaper handgun assuming I could use it effectively.

In the event that a person does have fire their weapon to defend themselves, what happens to your handgun? It is quite likely to be taken as evidence by the police and who know when you are going to get it back. Maybe sooner, but it could also be much later.

So the question is, do you want your Glock bagged on a shelf in some evidence room, or you pretty stainless 1911?
Your choice, but my more expensive guns are staying secured at home unless I am going to the range.
 
I picked up a nice S&W snub Model 12 for $250.00 that has a case# scratched into the front grip strap with an electric pencil.
I put on some Pachmyr grips that covered them up, so now only the shadow knows lol:D
 
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