I wish that I knew then…

What I know now.  A common theme on Tam’s blog is that if she knew what she knows now back when she first got in to guns, she would have bought 3 Glock 19s and a whole mess of mags and never worried about her carry gun again.  I often have the same thought, but from the perspective of that it would have kept me from wasting a lot of money on guns that were kind of silly and pointless.  Like my deeply regrettable Taurus phase; or the 10mm Glock, or any number of guns that I bought where that money could have been better spent on taking a class or buying ammo for my guns.

But at the same time, that whole “stupid phase” helped me get to where I am right now.  If I hadn’t bought crappy guns, and done some silly things, I never would have learned the lessons that were necessary to get me here.  Which is part of why Gun Nuts even exists – because by sharing my learning process externally I hope that other people can avoid some of the pitfalls that I hit and accelerate new shooters through their learning process.  A perfect example of this is the whole “revolver thing” that I do now.  I shoot revolvers in competition and carry a revolver for self defense.  I don’t do this because the revolver is the best tool for the job – I probably should just buy a couple of M&Ps in 9mm and carry those, but I carry and shoot revolvers because they’re fun.  I know that a flat-black people-popper like a Glock, M&P, or Ruger SR9 would be a better choice for concealed carry, but I’m also not worried about the zombie apocalypse any time soon.  At this juncture, I carry wheelguns because I like them.  If I ever want something with more bullets, there are a pair of Ruger SR9cs here that I really enjoy shooting, and I’ll just grab one of those.

12 Comments

  1. The number of rounds fired in the 53 incidents involving Rangemaster students (Tom Givens’ school) ranges from 1-10. None of those people were worried about the zombie apocalypse either, yet some of them needed more than 6 rounds to survive their actual incidents.

    Even though I have Master rankings in multiple divisions in IPSC and had several in IDPA when I was an IDPA member years ago, I’m not cocky enough to deliberately want to handicap myself in a gunfight by limiting my available rounds or carrying a gun that’s harder to shoot “just for fun”.

  2. Well, there is also a logical thought process behind that. I shoot revolvers almost exclusively in competition. The manual of arms is exactly the same from my competition revolver to my carry revolver – they reload the same, I carry similar gear, and it’s even carried in similar body positions. So by keeping my carry and competition gear consistent, I limit the opportunities for mental malfunctions in an actual dynamic critical incident. That being said, shooting the Ruger SR9c as much as I have has really got me thinking about switching back over to semi-autos – 17 rounds of 147gr Rangers is a rather comforting feeling.

  3. EVERYONE should be worried about the Zombie Apocalypse.

    “If I am prepared for the zombie apocalypse I am prepared for anything” – Peter Palma

    I may be mis-remembering what he said exactly but you get the idea. If you’re ready for that then you’re pretty much ready for just about anything nature or otherwise could throw at you. Just saying. -_^

  4. I shot an IDPA night match on 10/26 with a group of friends.

    The asked me what I was shooting and I said my Glock 19.

    They said they had never seen me shoot a Glock, just a Kimber in CDP and a M&P Pro 9 in SSP.

    I said I shoot the other 2 for fun but I carry the Glock every day and I wanted to practice with a flashlight using the pistol I normally carry.

    Ugly but reliable.

  5. The number of rounds fired in the 53 incidents involving Rangemaster students (Tom Givens’ school) ranges from 1-10.

    …and what percentage of those were resolved with less than six? Further, what percentage of the ones that took more than six did not offer time for a reload, or involved extra shots because once someone stomps on the gas, it can be hard to hit the brake again? I believe we both know that often the reason someone expends 15 rounds is because that’s how many were in the gun.

    Are more rounds generally better? Heck, yes. I doubt anyone’s ever been on a two-way range and though “Gee, I have way too much ammo…”

  6. Caleb,

    …and in addition to all those guns you can add the boxes of holsters bought and tried and discarded and tried again…

    1. Oh my god, I know! I have a serious stack of holsters that I’ve tried and dumped. I wish that someone had told me to just buy Comp-Tac holsters 3 years ago.

  7. Box o’ holsters? Check.
    Mags … ammo … manuals for guns I don’t got? Yup.
    Gun Nuts are Us.

  8. Personally I’m a little light on mags……
    Only 4 that are worthless, 6 others are for a gun I no longer have.
    And yes, it’s been mostly by luck, wish I could say I’m just that smart to hardly ever buy junk but still have a Llama IX-C that won’t feed anything reliably.

    Holsters, yeah, especially shoulder holsters, I like the idea of them being easier to draw from especially since I spend alot of time seated both at the computer and in a car or truck (if I ever need my gun while in my daughter’s little car I am soooooo screwed, 6′ 1″ and 350 pounds, I feel like a sardine trying to get back in the can when I go anywhere in that thing) has anyone found one that is comfortable for all day wear, preferably for a 1911? I haven’t. I save one that is OK for my 380 Star but it’s actually a hybrid of 2 holsters I put together, Straps are from a 45 holster I bought and the actual holster off of a shoulder rig I had bought for the 380 but never liked the straps on.

    Ammo, yup still have several hundred rounds for the mags which have no gun………

    Actually no extra manuals, guess I gotta work on that……

  9. From someone that has been shooting revolvers for lots of years, shoot what you are comfortable with. Your training and mental attitude have a lot more to do with surviving than which gun you shoot. As a rookie policeman I saw a feared fighter stopped with 5 rounds from a 25 ACP. We used to joke that being shot by one would only get someone mad. That guy died in the doorway where he was shot.
    Get a good gun that always works and learn to shoot it.

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