“It depends.” One of the greatest answers of all time. Admittedly, sometimes it’s used as a cop-out to avoid any commitment or taking a stand. More often than not, though, “It depends” reflects that the person answering understands that context often means everything.
So, small guns suck, right? Well, it depends. Let’s do a quick comparison of two different guns: The venerable Glock 17, and the not-so-venerable Kel-Tec P-3AT.
The Glock 17 is chambered in 9×19, holds 17+1 rounds, and weighs 25 oz. unloaded. It is the most common service pistol in the US, and maybe even the world. As far as polymer striker-fired pistols go, it’s not amazing, but it’s very shootable.
The Kel-Tec P-3AT, on the other hand, is chambered in .380 ACP, holds only 6+1 rounds, and weighs 8.5 oz. unloaded. As far as polymer pistols go, it’s atrocious to shoot.
So, on one side, we have one pistol that is relatively easy to shoot, has servicable sights, a mediocre trigger, is chambered in a very capable caliber, and has excellent capacity; on the other, a pistol that is very difficult to shoot, has horrible sights, a long, heavy trigger, is chambered in a weaker caliber, and has limited capacity. The choice is obvious, right? Well, if you’re looking for a service or home defense pistol, yes, the Glock wins.
So why would anyone choose the P-3AT over the Glock 17? Let’s look at one more thing, using handgunhero.com as a comparison tool.
Why would anyone choose the P-3AT over the Glock 17? It depends on the context. It’s pretty easy to see from the visual comparison that the P-3AT is significantly smaller and, as mentioned earlier, weighs about 1/3 what the Glock does. Would you choose the KelTec for a home-defense pistol? Only if you hate yourself and those with you in your house. But would you choose the KelTec if you work at the local Shop-n-Rob, your boss doesn’t allow employees to carry, you’ll lose your job if he sees you with one, but you’re not interested in being the next victim of a violent “customer?” Yeah, you just might.
Context is key with pretty much everything. With concealed carry, there’s way more to consider than just “how well does it shoot?” There’s a reason it’s called CONCEALED carry, not SHOOTABLE carry. I carry the most concealable pistol that I can shoot well. I carry that pistol on me in the most concealable location that I can easily access. It’s largely a balancing act, and different contexts can have different priorities on what balance we strike. Sitting in your house alone probably means balancing closer to shootable; at work, with a risk of being fired, probably means balancing much more for concealment.
YOUR context should drive YOUR gear choices. Consider the advice and experiences of others, but be sure to filter them through your context. Should you choose a difficult-to-shoot pistol carried in a difficult-to-access location? If the context demands either that or no gun at all, I would say, “Yes.”
Whatever you choose, train for YOUR context.
