Spent way too much money looking for the perfect self defense gun/caliber/holster?

R

Red Bull

New member
We all have a closet full of holsters that did not work out. Makes me wonder how much money the holster industry makes off of that?
Ever notice that holster companies don't offer refunds so you can try it and see if you like it, and then get your money back instead of throwing it in a box if it doesn't work for you? ;)

Anyway, I started with a Glock 19 many many years ago. Since then I have tried to find the perfect gun, and tried to find the perfect caliber, and the perfect holster etc. I have tried them all, going round and round, every carry method, every caliber, every gun in every brand. And...years later and thousands of dollars spent, and hundreds of hours figuring out ballistics charts and studies, it seems that I am basically back where I started.


After all of that, I am pretty much finding that my favorite and most trusted guns are my Glock 19 and a Glock 30. I still end up carrying my old style, beat up, reliable Glock 19 most of the time even though I like the Glock 30 a little better. The Glock 19 (the very first gun I ever bought) just works for me, and it always has.

Did anyone else pretty much get it right the first time and wonder why they have spent so much money, thought and time to persuing the perfect gun and caliber etc?

Don't you feel like you would have been so much better off if you had just stuck with your first choice of gun and caliber, and just spent more money on ammo and training and practice?

Do you wonder if the gun rags throw all this dust in the air about "caliber effectiveness", and that companies come out with all these "new" designs that really don't do anything more than what we already had (For example, is modern .40 defensive load really significantly more effective than the modern 9mm defensive load?....enough to go buy a whole new gun and ammo choice and everything if you are already happy with your 9mm?).

I mean, hey, I bought it all hook line and sinker...I have my share of .40's, 10mm's and I even have a couple guns in .357 Sig with multiple cases of ammo for it all so I can practice. I have tried it all, wanting bigger, better and faster...but in the end I really think I wasted my time and money. I really just like my .45 when I can have a big gun around, and I really think the modern 9mm is as good as anything else in a compact gun, and after all of this, I am perfectly happy and secure with my trusty Glock 19. I am not saying that maybe these newer rounds are not maybe a little teeny bit better bullet for bullet (with some drawbacks like less capacity and harder recoil and more expensive ammo etc), but in the whole scheme of things, I really don't think the difference is worth buying a whole new gun over. Am I really any better off with the Glock 20 in 10mm that I just bought, when my Glock 21 in .45 was serving me just fine? Is the difference really that dramatic? Same with the .40 and .357 Sig...are they really worth going and buying a new gun and everything in the hope that they will make a stop when my skills don't place the bullet in the right area (because the gun rags tell me that the .40 is a "big bore fightstopper" and the "9mm is anemic" even though they are really no different when you look closely)? Do these rounds really do anything that the 9mm could not do already? These are questions I am asking myself, and frankly, I think I have wasted a lot of time, money and thought on all of this. What I had in the first place was working just fine.

Maybe instead of buying all these guns in the new "wonder calibers", I should have just stuck with my 9mm and my .45 and spent that money and time on improving myself with those.


I feel like I have wasted a lot of time and energy looking for "Excaliber", when I should have just stuck with what worked and spent that time and money improving myself instead of my gun.


Oh yeah, and one of my favorite holsters is pretty much the first one I bought out of a bargain bin (a used Galco belt slide with FBI cant). ;)




[This message has been edited by Red Bull (edited August 26, 2000).]
 
40 S&W - Oh, you mean the 38-40 RIMLESS! Yup, it's actually a 40 caliber slug. A hundred years running around in circles for the fbi to pick it's ballistic twin. Really modern, huh?
 
Great thread Red Bull. I am very fortunate to have found a carry method that I like (Thunderwear) without spending hundreds of dollars on stuff I don't. I am getting one of Gunslingers belly bands for an alternate form of carry when I don't want the gun in my waistband, but even with that purchase, I will have spent less than $100 total.
Yes, I agree that the gun rags are insidious, but... I kinda do need new "loaded Springfield. ;)
 
With nearly a dozen handguns in a half dozen calibers and a couple holsters at least for each gun, I'm finding that's it's like choosing a pair of shoes to wear for the day. (And I've been known to change shoes a couple times before the sun goes down.)

I really like the J-Frame in .357 because it's small, reliable, and powerful.
 
9mm, 38 Super, 45 ACP for auto's and 38/357, 44 mag/specials for revolvers.

the new cartridges haven't done anything yet that the "old" ones won't.

I also find it amusing that the 32 acp which almost died because it was too weak after being a popular choice for a long time...is now finding favor again with Seecamp and Kel Tec 32's.
 
I new here but I wanted to say I know how you feel, I tried numerous systems for carry. I finally found an IWB holster from Sidearmor that I really like. They are great people and will do everything possible to make you satisfied.
 
If only I'd been smart enough to follow the avice of wiser folks I'd have my
hmc-sIII-mil-109.sr.jpg
instead of having spent my money on the elusive ideal defense tool. Tried a whole bunch and nearly came right back where I started, except caliber changed, in place of a G19 it's now a G23.

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"Get yourself a Lorcin and lose that nickel plated sissy pistol."
 
Red Bull, you are NOT the only one who is experiencing this. I am a perfect example of a former "gun rag" addict. I don't even buy them anymore, since truthful information on specific guns can be found so easily here. At this point in my life, I am beginning to realize that there is no gun that fits my hand like a glove 100%. I even developed a maxim: "There is no perfect gun - only the one you practice with." A good example is my 4506 - because of its super-reliability, I am taking the time to learn to shoot it well, despite if feeling like holding a two-by-four.
As for calibers, you guys are dead on, there is nothing new under the sun, with the 9mm or .45 ACP covering the spectrum of everything I'd ever want in an automatic. Here are the truths about myself I've learned from wasting money on gun stuff:

1. Shoulder holster don't work for me, period.
2. I will never shoot a semi-auto as well as I do a revolver, period.
3. I will never have enough confidence in the 9mm for defense, no matter how many shots I have and despite shooting them way better than any .45.
4. Pocket guns are a waste of time, there are none that are comfy enough and still maintain an adequate level of power. I decided to stick with my trusty Beretta .22 instead of falling for the .32 trend.
5. If I ever have to draw down on someone, I'm going to want a full-sized, HEAVY pistol for the utmost in shootability/control. Also, I may want to pummel someone with it instead of shoot them (enter the 4506).
6. 25 yards is unneccesarily far for defensive shooting practice, or any other pistol shooting for that matter. The older I get, the closer the target gets. About 21 feet and UNDER seems right for defense, 15-20 yards for anything else.
7. If you are carrying a gun, you had best also carry pepper-spray/mace/etc. It seems to come in handy during those far more numerous situations when spilling blood would be too much, but you need someone to leave you alone.
8. Your wardrobe will need to change if you want to carry CCW.
9. I'm happiest when the gun is behind my right hip in a belt holster.
10. Thumbsnaps suck. I know they are safer for many reasons, but I will never be able to get my gun out quick enough with one, period. I used to worry about someone snatching my weapon, but if they are determined, a thumbsnap won't stop 'em. What will is me being in better shape in the first place ...
11. If you're gonna carry, ya better be in good enough shape to a) run away, b)struggle to keep your own gun, and c) do a little hand-to-hand when a gun is too much. Don't know if being in shape makes a real difference, just makes me feel way more confident, so now I lift weights.
12. My favorite guns are usually the ones I can still shoot well with if I haven't touched them in a year.
13. Calibers - "Less mouths to feed = more shooting practice"

Hope this ain't too long, guys!
 
i started my shooting and carry history with my uncle's .22 Ruger Bearcat and his war surplus Colt .45 Auot 1911. thinking i need my own hardware, many many moons ago i bought a Ruger Speed Six, a used police trade in. i carried it in a Kramer belt scabbard. then believing i had to have a one my first(purchased) semiauto exclusive for carry was a .40 Firestar i carried in a Galco belt slide. i sold both guns in pursuit of the "PERFECT CARRY WEAPON"

now almost two decades later i carry another Ruger Speed Six some days and a Kahr K40 the rest of the time both in Kramer belt scabbards. looking at the weapons i have in the safe that i purchased during those two decades and at the weapons sold and traded in that process, i really dont see that much progress. just a lot of money down the tube.
an old gunsmith/store owner i used to deal with told me long ago to stop reading all those f**k books. i was supprised and told him i did not read pornography. he responded by saying it was all those gun magazines he was talking about. you see they were f**king up my mind. LOL

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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what is for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the outcome of the vote.
Let he that hath no sword sell his garment and buy one. Luke 22-36
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. Song of Solomon 3-8
The man that can keep his head and aims carefully when the situation has gone bad and lead is flying usually wins the fight.
 
sorry, forgot one:
14. I can break a revolver WAY easier than I can an automatic. They can fail, jam, hiccup too. Maybe more so, since most of us don't look in their innards too often.
 
I'll jump in on this one. Makes me sick when I actually think about it. Started out with a Glock 19 (seems like almost everybody did) and a Glock belt slide. Tried sigs, smiths, HKs, and a Kimber. I have worn holsters from Blade-tech, Kramer, Galco, and Don Hume. Today as I type this, I am wearing a (you guessed it) Glock 19 in a Glock belt slide. I cringe at the money I have wasted, but not at the knowledge I have gained. After all, the only sure way of learning is by doing.

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"peace, love, joy, and happiness..."
 
Absolutely right. 90% of the guns that I have owned (and still own) are redundant. I am not about to unload them, being just a bit retentive--but I know full well that all but a couple are just toys. If they all went up in a fire I wouldn't bother replacing them. Might even be better off.

I could get along very well with my first pickup (a very nice 1953 Chevy half-ton) and the DCM .45 I got in 1959.

I remember when a guy with four guns was considered quite a gun nut and collector...maybe that was the level to quit at.

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Red Bull,
Remember it's not reaching the destination, it's the journey which makes you appreciate what you have attained....sorry about the Zen-Eastern Philosophy...part of the heritage...

Boy, howdy, wasn't it fun getting there,though? :D; :D; ;)
 
But isn't that kinda the point. Having guns is a hobby. Trying new stuff is kinda part of the hobby. My 2 favorite and also the 2 guns I shoot the best are a S&W model 13 and my trusty little Charter Arms .44 Bulldog. All the others were just fun guns that I wanted to try out. I knew in my heart that the 13 and the Bulldog were the top guns in my collection. Besides if you hadn't tried out these other guns and holsters you would always have had this naggy feeling that you were missing something. Yes I grant you that you spent a good deal of money trying this and that gun and holster. But wasn't it fun. Even though ya found out that a previous gun was the one ya decided was the best of the lot, didn't ya have fun trying out the other ones. Wasn't there a little excitement there that maybe this gun might be a better manstopper or that holster might be a tad faster or conceal better. That's what a hobby is guys. Experimenting and trying new things and enjoying it. Hey hind sight is 20/20. Besides you've already done what you've done. No sense of cryin' over spilt milk or something like that. Hey have fun with what ya got. Besides if it wasn't guns you woulda found something else ta piddle it away on anyway. There's worse things ya coulda done. That's the way I see it anyway. Just my 2 cents on the subject.

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***Torpedo***
It's a good life if you can survive it!
 
I like guns and like reading about guns, but when it comes to buying guns, I hate them. I cannot honestly see the need for another weapon when I alread own guns I've never shot and probably won't shoot.

There is a lot to be said for having and using one particluar weapon instead of spreading yourself out over a hundred or so. It took me years to decide on what type of gun I should get and then, after all the research and deliberations, I bought the 1911A1. Now it's up to me to learn how to use it well.

My only problem is that those damn Ruger MkII's and 22/45's look so good. And those stinking Makarov's shouldn't be so cheap when they are so reliable!

Buy one gun and one holster.

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When Reason Fails.....
 
The only handgun I almost never shoot and will NEVER carry is the first gun I ever bought (and shot) - a Glock 17. When I purchased this gun, I knew absolutely NOTHING about guns, and went with the recommendation of the gun store owner. However, I don't regret it as it was the only defense gun I had for years and helped me to gain confidence in shooting and safety skills. Since then I have acquired a small collection of handguns that each have a unique purpose and I like them all. My two carry guns are a Airweight 38+P and G23. For holsters, I have three - an Uncle Mike's, a Galco, and Thunderware. The only one I consistently wear is the Thunderwear with my Airweight. My G23 seems to get stuck in the Galco, so I usually just carry it in my waistband sans holster. Can someone recommend a quality, relatively concealable, and comfortable holster for the G23?

rock
 
Allen,

Nope, it's not mine. Someday I'll have one.

Rock,

"My G23 seems to get stuck in the Galco, so I usually just carry it in my waistband sans holster. Can someone recommend a quality, relatively concealable, and comfortable holster for the G23?"

For IWB nothing has worked as well for me as an Alessi Talon Plus. It's thinner than most Kydex holsters, it has a stiff mouth to make reholstering easier, it's contoured to the body, and the clip is rock solid. Check them out at www.rfholsters.com/rfholsters/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=10 BTW when ordering for a Glock you need to specify whether you've got the old style of new style frame. Alessi is among the few holster makers that makes different holsters for the different frame styles.

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"Get yourself a Lorcin and lose that nickel plated sissy pistol."
 
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