Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about carrying in questionable areas that could get you in trouble. This week, I wanted to take a look at a topic we all debate whether it’s when we first start carrying a concealed firearm or whenever we purchase a new firearm to carry. Whether it’s a new model to hit the market or just a new gun to you, it’s sometimes rather difficult to determine exactly when a gun is trustworthy to carry and depend on every day of your life. Let’s take a closer look at when to trust your carry gun.

What To Consider When Buying A New Carry Gun

One of the biggest choices you have when it comes to personal protection is picking the correct gun for self-defense. There are countless articles online about the “best concealed carry gun” but in all reality, that answer will depend on a number of factors based on the individual. Looking at a handgun’s weight, overall size, capacity, and ergonomics are just the beginning. Recoil impulse and how the gun carries also come into play when you’re looking for the right carry gun for you.

Everyone wants to walk into their local gun store and immediately find the perfect handgun but that simply doesn’t happen right away. Sometimes it takes researching and trips to the indoor range to rent options and really decide on what you think is the best option for you. The perfect handgun will be different for everyone because we all have preferences and priorities in what makes a great carry gun. When it comes to reviews, there are countless YouTube, print and other forms of media giving opinions on various models of guns. TFB is a great option, but there are countless choices each giving its perspective. Look for not only good reviews but also bad reviews to see what the bigger picture looks like for these new firearms.

First Generation Guns

The age of a firearm on the market is another very important factor to take into consideration. When guns first come out, everyone makes a mad dash into their local gun shop for a chance to own the latest and greatest. This can backfire fairly quickly on someone since those guns haven’t been extensively tested on an industry-wide level before. No manufacturer is safe from this plague whether it’s SIG, Springfield Armory, KelTec, or even our beloved Glock.

Everyone has had one or more models roll out with issues, but over time they become fixed and eventually are incredibly reliable. A great comparison is staying away from the first year of new car models. Typically the second year of production is sorted out in comparison to the first year and this is parallel with gun manufacturers. It doesn’t happen with every new model, but waiting just a few months will give the manufacturer’s a little more time to fix the bugs or minor issues that may be present.

Testing Reliability

One of the most important parts of your new carry gun purchase is taking the time to test it out. Whenever I start talking about minimum round counts for testing new firearms, people start to get bent out of shape about how much ammo I typically recommend. I fully understand it’s not in everyone’s budget or schedule to go out and put 500 rounds of ammo through their carry guns before they start carrying it on their body every day. In an ideal world, I like to put roughly 300-500 rounds through my new gun before carrying it daily. It’s never bad to put a 20-round box of your choice of self-defense ammo through the gun to ensure it’s 100% reliable with that particular ammo.

If you are working with a limited budget, I would lessen the round count down so you can buy another box of self-defense ammo to test. Knowing how the ammo feeds in your new gun is more important than ensuring your gun is broken in with rounds. Testing a fair bit of ammo through your gun not only gives it the opportunity to break in but also allows you to make sure the magazines and ammo are all reliable and working well together. Typically everything works perfectly but occasionally you will see the gun either needs more of a break-in to become reliable or struggles with certain ammo. Testing your gun may be another chunk of cash but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.

Find The Right Accessories

Probably the most frustrating thing about picking up a brand new handgun is the lack of initial support for the particular firearm. If you have a favorite holster manufacturer, there’s a good chance there will be a slight lag between the gun coming out and aftermarket support catching up to fill orders. As exciting as it is to have a new gun, it’s important to wait for the right accessories rather than try to make do with subpar fitment. Adding a light or attachment of any kind will make finding a proper holster even more difficult. Having a properly fitting holster with minimal accessories is the best way to go with a new pistol. Get used to how it carries first and then if you want to add on accessories later down the road it will be a simple transition.

Overall Thoughts

Trusting a new handgun is slightly more complicated than just heading to your local gun shop and buying the latest and greatest carry pistol. If you can hold off even a couple months after an initial release, it will help the manufacturers make slight changes that sometimes happen. Once you decide to pick up a new carry gun, it’s incredibly important to put a decent amount of rounds through it to ensure you have a reliable gun. Testing out your self-defense ammo through your new carry gun is most important to make sure everything works well together.

It seems simple, but it’s crazy how many people skip out the testing portion and just carry guns they never took out before carrying it. The biggest takeaway is just to have patience and not rush into a firearm because of your excitement. Do you guys agree with taking time to research and test your new carry gun before carrying it? Let me know in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week.

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