Presumably as a LEO, if there's a combative situation, you'd be going into it to neutralize or arrest an attacker or attackers. A civilian would be looking for immediate self defense leading to disengaging and escaping the situation. I think this would go to how much endurance in a gunfight is necessary. It also might go to how much you'd be willing to modify your clothing / manner of dress to accommodate a bigger gun and/or more spare ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
How exactly are my issues/needs different when it comes to concealed carry?

The old statistical gunfighter argument gets old. Why bother to carry a gun if you are going to base what’s important on statistical data that also tells you your chance of ever using a firearm is small?

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
How exactly are my issues/needs different when it comes to concealed carry?

The old statistical gunfighter argument gets old. Why bother to carry a gun if you are going to base what’s important on statistical data that also tells you your chance of ever using a firearm is small?

Statistics are cold comfort for the man who just got struck by lightning, right?

For every story of statistics, you will find plenty of outliers. I would question whether there really, truly are enough shootings documented well enough to truly have a picture of what is "enough." I think people also make a big mistake when they say stuff like "well I'm not a cop, so..." If anything a cop is going to be much more likely to have help, have armor, and have access to long guns. The difference between the civilian guy carrying a gun and the cop is how and why they might find themselves in a fight, not what it's going to take to finish it.

Anecdotal, but look at Jared Reston's well-known shoplifter shooting in Florida. Jared fired 14 rounds of .40 and the suspect fired like 11 rounds of .45 in very close range in a very short time. Both of them achieved pretty decent hit rates and very effective hits (relative to known statistics on police shootings). That same gunfight can just as easily be some asshole trying to rob you since Jared ran up on the guy and grabbed him and the guy started shooting. When you look at the nature of that gunfight and strip away the context that brought those two guys together, does a J frame seem like enough? Or an LCP or similar .380? Or even something like a Glock 43 or 26?

Carrying a gun is a risk management proposition. You look at what you think you might encounter, factor in the need or desire to keep it concealed, the wear and tear of carrying it all day, and the funds available and make your decisions. I know a lot of people (that own guns) that don't carry them or only carry them when it's convenient. I know others that are happy to carry a J frame.

My personal choice is to never carry anything less than a 9mm pistol and to always carry a reload. That's as much or more for magazine-related issues as it is capacity. The average shooter has probably seen a lot more magazine-related issues in their guns than they have seen gunfights, yet they're all too comfortable carrying the gun for the extremely remote chance of needing it and don't consider the spare magazine that they are much more likely to need. The same is true for a handheld flashlight. You probably need or could use a handheld light several times a day, but most people are not carrying one.

Just one guy's rambling thoughts.

You will never know until it’s time. Then you may change.

General, pick a gun you shoot well and carry regularly. Then what’s in the gun and spare mag or speed strip/speed loader may be enough.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
Then what’s in the gun and spare mag or speed strip/speed loader may be enough.

I'm going to guess most people overdo it when they select/pick their carry gun. They watch a few detective shows and then double the number of rounds they see a TV actor use. Most real gunfights are over in 1 or 2 shots. But I know you'll need 25 or 30.

So go back and figure how many rounds you've had to fire in a confrontation. OK, include folks you know personally. The number is probably still zero.

I don't think I'll ever figure out any sort of 'right' answer for that question. I carry my gun + one mag, whether it's my regular G23 or if it's going to be my secondary Shield Plus. But it beats me if that's "enough", but I'm good with that.