Would You Carry a Gun You Have Never Practiced With?

[retsupt99]

Something that just goes bang is better than nothing. Without a choice, I would take an unfamiliar firearm for SD, but I would certainly prefer to have practiced with, and reassured myself that my sidearm is in good working order.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Theman9mm]

I used to carry my Taurua PT140 but just got my Taurua PT145 a few week ago and now that is my CC but have not shot it yet.My 45 can be much diffrent then the 40 but I will get to the range soon to shoot the 45. Soon as I have some free time.

[ron8903]

Give me the gun, would you drive a car your not familiar with?

After 40+ years handling and shooting many forms of firearms
Im pretty confidant I could figure it out.

[mkh]

Carry something I haven't personally seen go "BANG"? I think not.

That is my thinking too.

Some would be willing to carry a gun they hadn't tested and I admit it would be tempting. However I think having the gun on you could give you a false sense of safety. You could be more inclined to rely on the gun in a bad situation rather than walk away. Relying on the gun then having your lack of familiarity (yes they are all similar) or the fact that it may not work just seems dangerous to me. I think not having the gun will cause you to handle the situation differently - such as walk away.

This answers all seem to be "I can fire any gun made with no training". Probably true in most cases.

I see this as "the gun is untested and may not go bang". Not sure I want to bet my life on this.

[archer51]

I wouldn't carry a gun I had not shot and was not sure was reliable. There is ammo available if they are willing to search for it, they might have to search the internet to find it, but it is available. Yes I know it will take time for it to be shipped to them, but it is available.

Unless this was a spur of the moment purchase they should have considered ammo before hand and made sure they had it available. That or spend the money and shoot a couple of boxes of SD ammo through the gun, since they managed to come up with that.

[archer51]

I used to carry my Taurua PT140 but just got my Taurua PT145 a few week ago and now that is my CC but have not shot it yet.My 45 can be much diffrent then the 40 but I will get to the range soon to shoot the 45. Soon as I have some free time.

It has nothing to do with the gun being similar to something you already have. Until you shoot it, how do you know it will function and feed properly? To shelve a weapon you know works, just to carry a new gun that you haven't function checked is irresponsible (nicest way to say it) IMO.

[ouch]

I would never carry a gun I havn't practiced with. You think your going to jump up and try to protect your self with a guy holding a gun at you and your not positive you can hit him.?? For instance I am way more than comfortable with hitting CM with out using sights on either of the guns I carry, I took my new gun out to practice to see if its going to be my EDC, with sights and taking my time, I was way to far off to even think about carrying the gun until i spend some serius time at the range

[Simms65]

Unless it is an emergency situation ala SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, Zombie Apocalypse, etc....

No thank you. Too many variables. At the range last weekend I saw several (3 semis and a revolver) high quality well known brand new firearms that didn't function properly or had poorly regulated sights. to be specific without mentioning makes/models, one of the semis was malfunctioning because of poor form, one was jamming for an unknown reason, and the sights on the revolver and last semi I saw weren't adjusted properly.

However, in an emergency if I am not heeled, well... beggars can't be choosers, right?

[Elk Hunter]

I am sure there are many reading DC who are familiar enough with weapons they can pick up most anything check the action and make it go bang. I would not carry something I had not shot, but in an emergancy I would be willing to pick up just about anything clear it and get it back into action if possible. If I did not have time to check it I would try to make it go bang and hope for the best.

Semper Fi

[Janq]

Aside from living in the state of MA or being in DC, there is no teeth to the I can't find ammo claim.
Ammunition can be mail ordered and lawfully shipped right to your door, with exception of the above two locations.
Further in MA one can do this and ship it to their local FFL for acceptance to go their and pick it up and drive home.

As thin as ammo supplies are right now they are not that thin.
Further carrying a firearm that has not been function tested and verified for accuracy to a given load, has not been trained with by the carrier, and thus very likely has not been properly maintained either by way of lubrication and cleaning...that is completely irresponsible.
Irresponsible to ones self, their family they might wish to protect, and irresponsible to society amongst which they walk and carry this firearm. And it's irresponsible toward us all who are working hard to maintain and retain our 2A rights against the thoughts of others as based on the actions of criminals and unlawful acting morons who bear firearms in specific.

Why anyone would carry or keep a firearm for protection that they have not trained with is a mystery to me, even as clearly very many people do exactly this.

- Janq gets in trigger time weekly and dry fire practices at least a half hour every day if even just to draw, fire on a snap cap, reholster, and repeat X 100

[GunnyBunny]

Aside from living in the state of MA or being in DC, there is no teeth to the I can't find ammo claim.
Ammunition can be mail ordered and lawfully shipped right to your door, with exception of the above two locations.
Further in MA one can do this and ship it to their local FFL for acceptance to go their and pick it up and drive home.

As thin as ammo supplies are right now they are not that thin.
Further carrying a firearm that has not been function tested and verified for accuracy to a given load, has not been trained with by the carrier, and thus very likely has not been properly maintained either by way of lubrication and cleaning...that is completely irresponsible.
Irresponsible to ones self, their family they might wish to protect, and irresponsible to society amongst which they walk and carry this firearm. And it's irresponsible toward us all who are working hard to maintain and retain our 2A rights against the thoughts of others as based on the actions of criminals and unlawful acting morons who bear firearms in specific.

Why anyone would carry or keep a firearm for protection that they have not trained with is a mystery to me, even as clearly very many people do exactly this.

- Janq gets in trigger time weekly and dry fire practices at least a half hour every day if even just to draw, fire on a snap cap, reholster, and repeat X 100

Janq, one of these days I'm going to disagree with you on something, but it ain't today!!

[Paco]

I would not prefer it, but all handguns operate with the same principal (point and shoot) so having an unfamiliar one still puts distance between me and a BG more so than not having one at all.

[McPatrickClan]

The OP said something about "new gun owners"

Honestly, I believe there are a number of lurkers who may believe that there is no good way to get ammo. Think about this scenario: a person lives in a rough area of town, crime has been increasing due to a worsening job market, etc. and they decide to finally use that CCW License they have had for six months. They borrowed a friends gun to pass the semi-auto test and have hunted about a dozen times in their life.

Sadly, they are not NRA members, are not activists, they are just regular people who believe that it makes sense to carry a gun for self-defense. They go to their local big box store and see... absolutely no 9mm ammo. Absolutely no .40 S&W ammo. A handful of $2 a cartridge .45 ammo... and that's it. They go on to their local Wal-Mart and the clerk tells them they are 100% sold-out. They only have .357 Sig ammo. So here is Regular Joe, with a moderate understanding of firearms, passed the basic test for CCW in his state, concerned about the safety in his lower middle-class neighborhood and he can't buy ammo locally at all. He can get guns. He can get holsters. But he can't find 100 rounds of ammo for under $100, if he can find it at all. Remember, he's lower middle-class. $100 is a lot of money.

Yes, I know you can have it shipped to your house and with a little hunting, you can find a decent price (in most cases). But there are a lot of people who are not aware of this and when they find that Wal-Mart and the big box stores are all sold out, they will be faced with the choice I put in the original poll. I don't like it either but it's a reality with the cost of ammo being what it is & the supplies being amazingly low, even in a place like Texas (where I live).

[archer51]

Honestly, I believe there are a number of lurkers who may believe that there is no good way to get ammo. Think about this scenario: a person lives in a rough area of town, crime has been increasing due to a worsening job market, etc. and they decide to finally use that CCW License they have had for six months. They borrowed a friends gun to pass the semi-auto test and have hunted about a dozen times in their life.

Sadly, they are not NRA members, are not activists, they are just regular people who believe that it makes sense to carry a gun for self-defense. They go to their local big box store and see... absolutely no 9mm ammo. Absolutely no .40 S&W ammo. A handful of $2 a cartridge .45 ammo... and that's it. They go on to their local Wal-Mart and the clerk tells them they are 100% sold-out. They only have .357 Sig ammo. So here is Regular Joe, with a moderate understanding of firearms, passed the basic test for CCW in his state, concerned about the safety in his lower middle-class neighborhood and he can't buy ammo locally at all. He can get guns. He can get holsters. But he can't find 100 rounds of ammo for under $100, if he can find it at all. Remember, he's lower middle-class. $100 is a lot of money.

Yes, I know you can have it shipped to your house and with a little hunting, you can find a decent price (in most cases). But there are a lot of people who are not aware of this and when they find that Wal-Mart and the big box stores are all sold out, they will be faced with the choice I put in the original poll. I don't like it either but it's a reality with the cost of ammo being what it is & the supplies being amazingly low, even in a place like Texas (where I live).

I still come up with the same answer. There is ammo out there. It may be hard to find, you may have to search for it, but there is ammo available.
You don't spend the time and money to get a permit and then all of a sudden wake up one morning and say, "Wow....the world is a dangerous place! I need to get a gun.".

[community]

I waited one month before going to the range and shooting me new xd9sc. Did not carry until after. it is called gun safety.