A gun for every occasion ???

I have a number of pistols and revolvers.
I only carry my G-26.
I have carried it for many years, every day.
I have shot many thousands of rounds through it in IDPA, GSSF, formal training, range practice ...
I've practiced malfunction drills.
I've drawn it several times a day (practice) everyday for years.
That gun is like a part of my body, it's operation is a reflex.
That level of automatism took a lot of time ... and money.

When I see people here who carry different guns depending how they are dressed, or the season, or going to work,or other external circumstances, I really wonder how they can get the training with each of the guns especially considering the many different systems, SA, DA, DAO, manual safety, decocker, carrying sometimes in condition 3 and sometimes in condition 1.

As a pilot, I have to get recurrent training every year; we don't train to fly the airplane, we are supposed to know that :wink:
We train for emergencies and it can get your adrenaline going !!!
During this training we perform actions useless on this model of aircraft, but mandatory in others, for the sake of consistency.

If I ever have to use my gun (I sure hope I never will) it will be quite probably in a very critical situation, maybe already wounded or about to be, and the last thing I want is to have to "think" about the operation of the gun. I will have many other things going through my head - hopefully not lead :image035:

As I am getting older, and the Glock is getting heavier :wink: I thought a few times of getting something lighter, slimmer, shorter.
And I have always refused to give up the training I have with the G-26, like if my life depended on it --- and it might.

I have been in a few violent confrontations in my life, not to the point of having to shoot, and also in a few emergencies, and I can assure you that what you learned is true:
your thinking process is distorted for a few minutes,
your fine motor skills don't work that well,
tunnel vision, I've not experienced it,
the surge of adrenaline makes you shake ...
Not a good time to think you have the Glock and you happen to have the 1911 with the safety engaged :wave: :wave:

Your feedback, please !

I carry almost exclusively a 1911...all the controls are the same. At the same time, I've been riding motorcycles for over 40 years. I have Harleys (my favorites), Triumphs, and dirt bikes. The controls, while similar, are far from universal. Yet, I've never slammed the left side brake on my Triumph nor banged the gear shift on my left side shifting Harley. I know my equipment intimately and the same is with my firearms. If I were stuck riding one bike so I'd really know it's manual of arms, it would be a boring motorcycle hobby. Same goes with feeling necessary to carry one particular gun.

Excellent post! :wink:

I've sold off a lot of guns, I can't afford to have them just sitting in the safe. I'm down to three, all 4 1/4" 1911s. That's the platform I've come to love and there's no sense confusing my aging mind and muscles with different handguns.

Simple appeals to me these days. :yup:

You're absolutely correct in your assumption. In your message are many facets to be considered, and I have been exploring those over the last few years, and in greater detail during these last 6 months. Thank you for your comments.

Excellent post and makes a great deal of sense. I carry an M&P 9c during warmer weather and will carry an M&P 45 as soon as I can decide on a holster. The other ones I just play with at the range. However, I may get like Thumper one of these days because keeping ammo for all the platforms is getting expensive. Still got a couple of kids to get through college yet.

You make a good point, however...........

What about carrying a BUG? MANY people, especially LEO's, carry backups and many times they are not the same type of weapon with the same controls.

I have numerous guns with very different controls. You make a good point, but a big part of my hobby is having many different weapons.

For you, if you want something smaller, isn't there a mini-Glock that you can get? (I'm not familiar with Glock Model numbers, maybe your m26 is the smallest?)

Okay, here’s my attempt at a reply;
In the context of your question, not wanting to wander too far from your ingrained training, (I too am a pilot and understand the emergency drills are for a time you hope to NEVER find your self facing, when you do without thinking, what must be done.)
I am a 1911 dude, and thereby know very little of the Glock platform.
Is there a smaller version of a gun, (perhaps Glock makes it,) that would perform in the manner you require?
I’m thinking of how many “variations” of 1911’s there are, from 6” barrels down to the mighty 3.5” Kimber Ultra Carry II that I carry.
As much as I would like (love) to have a gun for every occasion, I will probably only, always have my Ultra Carry on my hip for self defense.

I know there are experts here that can better answer, (but I hope to learn a little too, as I read the posts.)

That's why all most all my guns, even my pocket pieces that get carried are the C&L variety, with the exception of my P7 which I just have to squeeze a little more.

By primarily training with the C&L variants with a thumb safety, I can use any other safety-less guns with zero issues, my thumb swipes off a safety that isn't there.

as the saying goes " be careful of the man with only one gun, he probably knows how to use it." My first pistol was the 92FS; I love this pistol. It was issued to me when I was in the service. I shoot it pretty well and its manual of arms is pretty ingrained in me. Muscle memory if you will.

It is good to have a tool that you are used to and familiar with its smell, heft, balance, and peculiarities. I have emergencies in my job all the time and I have certain tools that I use every day to bail me out when lives are on the line. yup, when your adrenaline is going, the patient's vital signs are in the toilet, a lot of fine motor movement is loss. it is good to know that I have reliable equipment to use that i am very familiar with. i also rely on practiced movements. as I grow old, I find that my hands shake after some of these events after the epi dump in the system. However, I do find it useful to practice these procedures in non-emergency settings.

in terms of firearms, i rely on glocks now. I have trained myself in its use. I do have other pistols; mainly of the striker fired, glock like variety. there is not to many variations in its manual of arms and so far have been fairly reliable. I also like trying on different things.

The only argument I have in probably "learning" other pistols is that if you have to do a battlefield pickup and have to use a weapon that it is not familiar to you. learning to deal with DA then SA transition in some pistols is probably fairly useful if one is used to the consistent trigger pull of the striker fire pistols. I just reviewed PDTV's season 2 dvds where Clint Smith recommends trying different pistols in the range so that you have some familiarity with them. I actually did just that several years back.

I was trained by Uncle Sam to use 1911's, I carry 1911's, and my had, body and motor control know 1911's. I have a 44Mag Wheelgun for when I am hiking but my defensive weapon is and will be a version of a 1911.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AZ Husker

I carry almost exclusively a 1911...all the controls are the same. At the same time, I've been riding motorcycles for over 40 years. I have Harleys (my favorites), Triumphs, and dirt bikes. The controls, while similar, are far from universal. Yet, I've never slammed the left side brake on my Triumph nor banged the gear shift on my left side shifting Harley. I know my equipment intimately and the same is with my firearms. If I were stuck riding one bike so I'd really know it's manual of arms, it would be a boring motorcycle hobby. Same goes with feeling necessary to carry one particular gun.

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I ride an Ultra Classic several times a week; in the past I had Nortons, Triumph "Boneville", CB750; I agree with what you are saying.
However, I have thousands of hours riding in actual conditions;
I have zero hours fighting with my sidearm in actual condition.
To take another vehicle example, it had happened to me, switching from a stick-shift to an automatic to depress the left pedal as if it were the clutch ... fortunately nobody was behind me ( in my job I drive rentals or crew cars quite often).
Sometimes I tried to shift to 6th on the 2005 Harley; the only bad thing that happens is that I feel stupid.
All that are low stress level situations; not knowing how I would perform in a gun fight, I will try to stack all the odds (details) in my favor. I just hope it will stay "boring"; that's one excitment I can do without ...
Keep the rubber side down :smile:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Raider39a

The only argument I have in probably "learning" other pistols is that if you have to do a battlefield pickup and have to use a weapon that it is not familiar to you. learning to deal with DA then SA transition in some pistols is probably fairly useful if one is used to the consistent trigger pull of the striker fire pistols. I just reviewed PDTV's season 2 dvds where Clint Smith recommends trying different pistols in the range so that you have some familiarity with them. I actually did just that several years back.

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I don't know how to multiple quote, so I'm making another post
Totally agree; I shoot a lot of different guns and I have to maintain a good knowledge of many types -- I am an NRA instructor -- some older european design are tricky, especially the mag release can be anywhere. I can pick up anything from a french MAC-50 to a .50 BMG and use it efficiently -- but the process requires more CPU time.
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To the other posters, the Glock 26 and 27 are the smallest Glocks available in the US and they are not that heavy (~19 oz); the G-25 is a .380 not imported.

Thanks to all for your feedback, it is appreciated ... keep it coming :smile:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jfl

I have a number of pistols and revolvers.
I only carry my G-26.
I have carried it for many years, every day.
I have shot many thousands of rounds through it in IDPA, GSSF, formal training, range practice ...
I've practiced malfunction drills.
I've drawn it several times a day (practice) everyday for years.
That gun is like a part of my body, it's operation is a reflex.
That level of automatism took a lot of time ... and money.

When I see people here who carry different guns depending how they are dressed, or the season, or going to work,or other external circumstances, I really wonder how they can get the training with each of the guns especially considering the many different systems, SA, DA, DAO, manual safety, decocker, carrying sometimes in condition 3 and sometimes in condition 1.

As a pilot, I have to get recurrent training every year; we don't train to fly the airplane, we are supposed to know that :wink:
We train for emergencies and it can get your adrenaline going !!!
During this training we perform actions useless on this model of aircraft, but mandatory in others, for the sake of consistency.

If I ever have to use my gun (I sure hope I never will) it will be quite probably in a very critical situation, maybe already wounded or about to be, and the last thing I want is to have to "think" about the operation of the gun. I will have many other things going through my head - hopefully not lead :image035:

As I am getting older, and the Glock is getting heavier :wink: I thought a few times of getting something lighter, slimmer, shorter.
And I have always refused to give up the training I have with the G-26, like if my life depended on it --- and it might.

I have been in a few violent confrontations in my life, not to the point of having to shoot, and also in a few emergencies, and I can assure you that what you learned is true:
your thinking process is distorted for a few minutes,
your fine motor skills don't work that well,
tunnel vision, I've not experienced it,
the surge of adrenaline makes you shake ...
Not a good time to think you have the Glock and you happen to have the 1911 with the safety engaged :wave: :wave:

Your feedback, please !

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Very good post. You've pretty much told some of my story as well. That's number one reason I carry Glocks almost all of the time. G17, G19, G22, G27. My SIG P220 SAO is the only exception, and with the weight of that comparatively, I know I'm carrying that! It operates just like a 1911 with the exception of being able to chamber a round with the thumb safety engaged! I always carry one in the chamber with anything.

My carry guns both safety off by thumbing down on em. HK USP and 1911. I hava buddy who has so many different guns he carries I'm surprised he can figure out how many of them work. I find carrying more than 1 or 2 styles of gun to just be foolish .

I carry either my issued G21, my P345 or SP101. Only issue I might have would be in taking off the safety of the P345.