Which is the Best CCW Gun?

As a CCW instructor, the question I most often hear among applicants for original-issue CCW permits, is “what gun should I buy?”  Magazine editors, other instructors, and a multitude of websites all chime in on this issue, and they all seem to have their favorite CCW guns, but I approach this from a purely practical standpoint.

You see, if you are like most CCW permit licensees, you are not an expert marksman, pistol competitor, or rangemaster.  You’re probably just interested in carrying a firearm for protection, with the understanding that it is unlikely a life or death situation will occur any time soon.  In other words, you probably won’t be out at the range practicing every day.

CCW permit licensees carry semi-automatics or revolvers.  Semi-autos are sexy, they can carry more ammo, they can be very accurate, and you might even be able to squeeze the trigger faster than on a double action revolver, but that doesn’t necessarily make them the best choice for everyone, and for several important reasons.

In a real-world life or death situation, where a bad guy is about to kill you, and you have no other option but to draw and shoot, several things will happen very quickly.  First, because of adrenaline, you will likely experience physiological changes to your body that you can’t control, like shaking hands, or loss of fine motor skills. You may have only a few seconds to identify the threat, decide on a course of action, draw your firearm, aim, and squeeze off a round or two.

Now, all that extra ammo in a semi-auto is great, but it’s most likely that the threat will end with only one or two shots.   And in a crisis situation there won’t be time to remember if a round has already been chambered, or if the safety is on or off, if your semiauto has a safety.

And semi-autos can be finicky.  They almost all require a rock solid grip to insure the next round gets chambered properly. A limp wrist or bent arm may result in a stovepipe malfunction once the first shot has been fired.  Can you clear a stovepipe malfunction while a bad guy is about to split you in two with a hatchet?

Because of that adrenaline that I talked about earlier, and because the assailant may be too close for the CCW holder to fully extend their arms to shoot, or to develop that necessary solid platform, a stovepipe, failure to feed, or other malfunction is a real possibility.

And then there is ammo.  Now, I love my 1911 style semi-auto, but it does not love every kind of ammo I put in it, especially defense loads.  Some semi-autos may not reliably feed hollow-nose or other defense-type rounds.  For this reason it’s a good idea to test every type of ammo to be used in a semiauto before it is carried on the street.

On the other hand, every well-made revolver will pretty much always go bang when the trigger is pulled.  Even when limpwristed or held improperly, a revolver will fire.  I know, it’s old-school, but on a revolver there is no safety to worry about, and those common malfunctions of semiautos don’t happen with revolvers. Yes, you might be limited to five or six rounds, but in most situations, that’s plenty.

Short-barreled revolvers are not known for their accuracy, but self-defense situations are mostly close-quarters affairs.  And if you want better accuracy, look for a revolver with a longer barrel, like 3 inches, or one with an exposed hammer.   That will let you shoot single action, with a very short trigger pull.

There’s a lot more to choosing a firearm for concealed carry than I can include in a short blog article. In my CCW classes, we take a deep dive into choosing firearms, calibers, ammo types, holsters, and even clothing.  These classes offers a ton of information that can help stack the odds in your favor in the event of a life or death situation.