Would/Do You Carry A "Pretty" Gun?

[Ritz]

As others have said, a gun is simply a tool. Tools are meant to perform a function. I have the same "issue" with folks that buy safe queens that I have with mid-life crisis guys who buy a Ferrari (or some other exotic car) to leave it in their garage and drool on it, talk about it, post pictures of it, etc...all while it stays mostly in the garage. They're meant to be driven.

Personally, I think my mill is a thing of beauty, but that doesn't stop me from covering it up with metal chips when I'm building a new receiver.

[DA/SA Fan]

Never buy an ugly gun when a pretty gun will do!

[WC145]

As others have said, a gun is simply a tool. Tools are meant to perform a function. I have the same "issue" with folks that buy safe queens that I have with mid-life crisis guys who buy a Ferrari (or some other exotic car) to leave it in their garage and drool on it, talk about it, post pictures of it, etc...all while it stays mostly in the garage. They're meant to be driven.

Well, some of us don't own safe queens, we own Ferraris and carry them daily.

Never buy an ugly gun when a pretty gun will do!

Ain't that the truth. Life is too short to carry ugly guns.


These guns get carried regularly-




This one was just finished a couple of weeks ago but it was built for carry, competition, and hunting. It has a long future of hard use ahead of it.

[Cheapshooter]

Never buy an ugly gun when a pretty gun will do!

Then how in the world do they sell Chiappa Rhinos?

[ritepath]

I had a collectors edition P229. I tried to treat it like a normal pistol, I carried it twice and shot it once for a total of 20 rounds. I kept it for 4 years....I finally traded it this spring for a p220. It gets a workout.

[WVsig]

Part of the reason I was curious is I read some posts where people are upset because their 642's (or whatever their gun is) finish is chipped or wearing off from carrying it. The finish on mine is wearing and I don't mind a bit. On the other hand, if I had a pristine no dash model 36 and it started getting beat up from carry I would be a bit sad since I can carry a 642 in its place.

You folks that carry Wilsons and Les Baers and such (very cool by the way) are made of tougher stuff than me because I would probably weep if I scratched my $3, 000 custom when I could carry a Rock Island for defense and not worry about it. And, yes, I realize the Rock Island is not in the same class, but is still a workable gun for self defense purposes.

I suppose most of the reason I think this way anymore is because money is tight (had to sell some other toys to get these) and I like to keep pretty guns pretty in case I have to sell them at some point. I didn't used to think that way but have had to start the last couple of years.
__________________

It is a 100% valid question. I have a few carry guns in the rotation. Some are utilitarian some are a little more refined.

In the end everyone should carry what they are comfortable with. If $$ was tighter I would not carry expensive guns. In the end any gun that is shot will end up with some wear. Scratches happen and in the end add character to even the prettiest guns. IMHO

[Joe_Pike]

WC145, I've seen that 1911 with the stag grips in other threads before and it is quite simply one of the best looking guns I've ever laid eyes on. It would be difficult for me to carry it.

[TunnelRat]

As a note the finish is really the only thing getting worn when carried. A number of firearm manufacturers provide a very durable finish and worst case there are excellent companies such as Robar for high quality finishing or could always do something more basic.

[WC145]

WC145, I've seen that 1911 with the stag grips in other threads before and it is quite simply one of the best looking guns I've ever laid eyes on. It would be difficult for me to carry it.

Thanks. The thing about it is that I carried it before it looked this good without any concerns. It looked like hell and needed to be refinished. It turned out great but underneath that polish and blue it's still the same gun.

As a note the finish is really the only thing getting worn when carried.

This^^^^.
If I do anything to really screw up the finish on this gun or just wear the bluing down from regular holstering, all it will take to restore the appearance is a little bit of polishing and a reblue. All of the hard work has already been done.

[Sevens]

I carry one of the ugliest handguns ever built & marketed and indeed -- part of my requirements for a carry gun 6 years ago when I decided I would start carrying concealed was to be carrying a gun that didn't bother me to get worn, dinged up, sweated upon, covered in filth & lint and etc.

I would carry a pretty gun for some sort of an open carry "function", and for me and my tastes, such a function would be entirely social and not political.

Handguns have long been a visceral experience for me, a total package which includes they way they look. I have chased some guns weighed heavily upon they way they look to me and I've avoided some others simply because I believe they are ugly. I have made exceptions and I've fallen in love with a couple ugly ones, but for every day carry use, I'm happiest with a gun that's either already well-worn or began life ugly as hell to begin with.

[Hunter0924]

I used to carry a pretty gun, a nice Colt M1991A1 but after a few years it looked pretty rough. Mechanically, it is still sound but I felt a little guilty scratching up a Colt like that so I now carry a Glock 20.
Over the past few years it has also become scratched up and worn, but that don't bother me a bit.
I still do carry the Colt from time to time as I truly like it better than the Glock,

[codefour]

In the end everyone should carry what they are comfortable with. If $$ was tighter I would not carry expensive guns. In the end any gun that is shot will end up with some wear. Scratches happen and in the end add character to even the prettiest guns. IMHO

I am a recently retired LEO from the inner cities of No. California. Previously, I would never admit my profession because smart officers like anonymity.

Everyone is talking about CCW weapons I noticed. A CCW weapon will rarely get drawn. Duty weapons will sustain much more wear and tear. I had to bail out of my car once. The seat belt wrapped around the Kydex style holster I was carrying. I saw my Sig 220 go flying as I was about to running on a foot pursuit. It happens. the Kydex paddle separated to from the actual holster. I never carried a Kydex holster again to this day.

I knew quite a few officers that carried Wilson, Les Baer, Valtro ($6,000 1911), etc. These guns had moderate to massive duty/holster wear. I also knew officers that would not spend a dime and carry the issued Glock 22. All my duty guns are retired but do have wear and tear. They function internally flawlessly, but they have bluing missing and scratches.

For years, I carried a Sig P220 as my duty weapon. It was drawn and holstered several times in a week or night. I worked for a very busy department. My Sig showed minimal holster wear. My Kimber 1911 that I had completely customized by a local smith had all sorts of wear marks in the bluing. The magwell, trigger guard, and beavertail/grip safety had the bluing completely worn off to the "in the white" phase.

Pretty guns are going to get wear. The holster, amount of use and draws will wear on them. It is up to you.

[Dragline45]

Originally Posted by codefour

Everyone is talking about CCW weapons I noticed. A CCW weapon will rarely get drawn. Duty weapons will sustain much more wear and tear.

While that might be true, in warmer climates your carry guns will get covered in sweat since they are carried inside your waistband and much closer to your body which can wreak havoc on a guns finish.

Originally Posted by codefour

I had to bail out of my car once. The seat belt wrapped around the Kydex style holster I was carrying. I saw my Sig 220 go flying as I was about to running on a foot pursuit. It happens. the Kydex paddle separated to from the actual holster. I never carried a Kydex holster again to this day.

That's more of a testament to paddle holsters than kydex holsters. What happened to you is a reason that many including myself will not use a paddle holster.

Check out this video to see just how easy they can snap, which you already know I am sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDeKtgkZKmQ

[LockedBreech]

Heck yeah I'll carry/use a pretty gun. It's still a gun. My 92FS, which I bought sparkly new and perfect last year, already has a bunch of scuffs and wear marks because I take it everywhere.

I think having wear makes a pretty gun even more pretty, almost always, unless we're talking about guns that were always meant to be artwork (super intricate engravings, etc.) which aren't my think anyway.

[KyJim]

My sig line over at a 1911 forum is: "Why carry a 1911? Because life's too short to carry an ugly gun." So, to me, "pretty" is as much about the design and lines of a gun as to flash.

That said, I sometimes carry high end 1911s and, every once in a great while, I'll put my nickel Python in a shoulder holster. I don't abuse my guns but if they get wear or even some nicks and scratches, so be it.

[hoss1969]

Sorry codefour but my ccw gun clears the holster weekly to or ever other week for range time( draw n shoot re-holster.) Plus it gets pulled out every night and put in every day, so im sorry but your wrong on that. Also concealed carry people shoot and practice more than Police do. In 30-45 days I shoot more than a LEO does in a year to ensure that should I ever have to shoot I can hit what I need to.

Before you get all I'm anti law enforcement, be advised My family is and has a long history in law enforcement with one lost in the line of duty. I understand better than most the truth,lies along with the good and ugly of what can be behind the badge.

[AustinTX]

I would carry whatever gun I felt was optimal for my needs, "pretty" or not. That gun happens to be the Walther PPS, which most (myself included) wouldn't regard as pretty. But aesthetic considerations played absolutely no role in my decision to choose it as my primary CCW. If I thought a more expensive and attractive gun better fit my needs, I'd buy one and carry it.

As far as mass-produced and widely available small guns like the P938, I don't really understand the point of owning them if not to carry them. It's not like you're contemplating carrying a flawless and unfired 1903 Pocket Hammerless or something.

[HisSoldier]

If you buy a gun as a safe queen, or as a carry gun, or as a hammer, what's that to me? The worst use of the three would be as a hammer, guns make lousy hammers, but you paid for it, why would it matter to me?

Gun collecting is as legitimate a reason for a gun purchase as any other. I have two safe queens, beautiful guns. It would really bother me to see even a tiny scratch on either of them. I can relate to people who value a certain rare gun too much to shoot it and throw away much of it's value.

My carry gun is one of those throw away plastic guns I don't care about. I don't show it off, and I pray it is never drawn in anger. I wouldn't even notice if it got a big scratch on it. Having a choice there is no way I'd carry a fine handgun, reliability being the same.

[AustinTX]

As others have said, a gun is simply a tool. Tools are meant to perform a function. I have the same "issue" with folks that buy safe queens that I have with mid-life crisis guys who buy a Ferrari (or some other exotic car) to leave it in their garage and drool on it, talk about it, post pictures of it, etc...all while it stays mostly in the garage. They're meant to be driven.

I think it's kind of bizarre/amusing that folks like you worry about the motivations of other people who don't share your one-dimensional and one-size-fits-all conception of the purpose of a gun enough to gin up this facile, self-justifying armchair psychology to "explain" those motivations. It's interesting that this insecurity is, as far as I can tell, entirely unidirectional: I've definitely never seen someone who does some degree of collecting worry about why the "a gun is only ever a tool!" types hold the view they do.

[AustinTX]

If you buy a gun as a safe queen, or as a carry gun, or as a hammer, what's that to me? The worst use of the three would be as a hammer, guns make lousy hammers, but you paid for it, why would it matter to me?

Gun collecting is as legitimate a reason for a gun purchase as any other. I have two safe queens, beautiful guns. It would really bother me to see even a tiny scratch on either of them. I can relate to people who value a certain rare gun too much to shoot it and throw away much of it's value.

Nailed it.

[RJay]

I would never, never carry a "pretty gun" ! However, a nice handsome gun, such as a Colt Gold Cup with MOP grips, why , that's OK. However, my oldest thought so also, and he is now the proud processor of it, a custom case and custom holster. On well, I'm getting older and giving my guns guns away { to family and no I will not adopt you }, I told him if he ever sold it I would haunt him and his forever.

[Sheikyourbootie]

I buy guns to shoot.

[LockedBreech]

HisSoldier and AustinTX inspired me to clarify my position with their posts.

I don't own or abide safe queens.

I don't abide them.

That does not mean folks who have safe queens use guns "less legitimately" than me or use guns in a "dumb" way.

Guns can be works of art. Just because I don't collect them as such doesn't negate that.

[jimbob86]

The wear received by a carry gun is perceived, by me, as illustrative of a bond that exists between the gun and its operator. That bond is the highest trust that a human and an inanimate object can share.

WORD.



I see all these pretty, polished guns in like new holsters .... and they are tagged "EDC" ....... I'm callin' shenanigans.

My Carry gun was shiny, maybe "pretty" (subjective thing) when it was new.... after 6 years, it's worn and scratched, and my holsters for it are sweat-stained and have lost most of their blueing on the metal parts ..... but the gun knows the holster like the holster knows the gun .... just like my hip knows it ..... like my hand knows the grip, my thumb the safety, and my eye the front sight ..... the blueing from the gun has bled into the leather in places......

......... but pretty is as pretty does: I'm more proficient, confident, and comfortable with it than when it as new ..... "New" as in "new to me" is a bug, not a feature.

[Skans]

No, I don't carry a pretty gun - well, not most of the time. I will occasionally carry my Boberg XR9-S. But, most of the time I carry my Ruger LC9 - ugly as a Glock and works about as well too!

I've dropped my LC9 several times - it happens. Whereas I don't give it much thought more than picking the LC9 up and putting it back in the holster, I might cry if that happens to my Boberg.