This pocket dump features a Wilson Combat we’ve seen appear in past EDC photos. So, moving right on to the point of discussion: should you spend your money on your gun or on your training? Do you need a high-end handgun for your daily carry?
Just last week I had a talk with a friend about the subset of the gun industry who believe you must have a Wilson Combat or Nighthawk. If you don’t, you must not take your safety seriously. Now, don’t get me wrong – these are truly awesome guns and it’s nice having one – but is it a must? Can your GLOCK or Ruger perform to the same as a high-end brand?
Thoughts. Discuss.
As is the answer to many questions: It depends on the application and if you subscribe to common sense weekly.
If you may need to dispose of your edc, a glock/ruger make more sense.
If your edc needs to stop schrapnel (ala Chris Kyle), a more expensive all billet steel framed gun may make sense.
If you are a regular Joe like me, a regularly priced pistol may just fit the bill.
I don’t have any experience with 1911s. After researching em I’m under the impression that high end 1911s like Wilsons are tightly fitted to give give you an accuracy standard small group at 25 yards (I think).
I’m also under the impression that this tight fitting for accuracy can cause reliability issues.
So is a high end 1911 reliable for carry?
“Hand over your wallet- hey is that a Wilson Combat you are pointing in my face? Dude its nice, so many of these mutherfuckers just aint got style. I am just going to lay down over here until the police arrive.”
Nah. Dollar bill Hydro dipped hi point.
This made me chuckle.
When the police seize the gun as evidence after an incident/DGU…..might have been better to have a less expensive gun…but to each their own.
Yup, they ain’t givin’ your Wilson Combat back even if no charges are filed. You’ll spend more on an attorney than the 1911 cost. I have had experience with police “misplacing” and then pretending it was unclaimed property for much less valuable property. Just carry a Hi Point for self defense and see how fast they return it.
My 1911’s are for range and competitive use. I can’t afford a donation to the Police “Benevolent” Assn.
I carry a Glock 19, but own an original CZ75 (no letter) imported in early 1990s. ‘Made in Czechoslovakia’ marked.
Would rather a Glock be taken by police if it came down to that..
P.S., I was lucky, my attorney was just itching to take on the police on a property case and did it pro-bono.
But the satisfaction you will savor at all of the subtle nods of approval in your discerning taste as the jury examines your WC 1911 will be worth it.
I own a custom Cabot Vintage Classic . Better and more beautiful than ANY Wilson Combat OR Nighthawk Custom.
I am on the waiting list to GET on the waiting list for a Stan Chin.
I carry a G43 or G32 every day depending upon mode of dress.
Funny, I was just seriously considering getting a Wilson Combat 9mm 1911. It is indeed crazy expensive, but I think of it like this: Expensive stuff like that is subject to the law of diminishing returns at some point, and I don’t NEED a super premium 1911. I do, however, have enough experience and training with pistols in general and 1911’s in particular to be able to appreciate the differences between my current Kimber 1911 and my (future) Wilson Combat. Is it four times better than my Kimber? Probably not, but that’s how much it costs and I’m fortunate enough to be able to kind of afford it, so why the hell not get myself a little somethin’ special?
Everyone has to work out what they can afford to buy and to practice with. If money is not a concern, buy the best guns and the best ammo and no worries.
That’s not my budget, so it’s not what I do.
“Is a high-end gun better for EDC than a more affordable one?”
Whatever a woman (or man) chooses to carry is their business, and not mine; it is their skin they are protecting, and really their choice.
Train with what you carry, or choose Train / Defend ammo that operates identically to save cost and extend your training. Become proficient at the range. Practice. Know the limits of range and accuracy of your choice of gun and ammunition. Make sure your carry ammo functions flawlessly in your gun. Rotate (fire) your carry ammo at the range from time to time and load new. Human sweat is hard on metal things – including ammo. Consider tactical training that involves speed and stress. In a DGU, there will be stress before and after.
If you carry with your spouse, let them know what to do (where to be) if you break leather.
If you have the jack to buy high end, then good on ya.
3 figure price tag is for pistols
4 figure price tag is for rifles
High end pistols are not really cost effective for carry and high end 1911s are probably less reliable then mid level ones but heah, some people use their Maserati as daily commuter even though a Camry is more reliable.
My most expensive carry guns are my now retired BHP and it’s replacement a EMP/4″ at just over $1k. I won’t shoot the $3k pistol any better.
I’ve never felt gun deprived, but I can’t let myself forget that it’s the musician, not the musical instrument. I can’t remember the name, but he was a virtuoso, …If I miss practice one day, I know, if I miss practice two days, everybody knows…-30-
Seriously?
Of course not. The bullet doesn’t care about the launcher.
If you wanna carry elite iron, live like you wanna live.
If you wanna rock a SCCY , a 9 will get it done.
Where do y’all come up with your gun being confiscated as evidence? That’s not how that’s supposed to work. And if your gun is taken as evidence you better already have an attorney. It’s silly to pick a cheap gun because of this. Honestly if that is how you think then you shouldn’t carry a firearm.
So much this. People on here are facebook warriors.
Say some SF dude carries a Wilson Combat and posts it, the first thing these idiots here would do is question why and if he has the proper training, when 90% of them only go to indoor ranged a couple times a year.
..”Where do y’all come up with your gun being confiscated as evidence? That’s not how that’s supposed to work. …”
Depending on the State/City/Area, even a police officers weapon is usually placed into evidence after it’s used to shoot someone. They get it back after investigation is over. Not to say they don’t have another to use while on paid admin leave.
Yes, if you are involved in a DGU, more than likely your firearm will be taken into evidence.
Because in most states if your gun discharges and the bullet hits someone your gun is going to the evidence lockup. Period.
If you’re cleared you’re supposed to get it back. With a really nice gun the chances that you get it back are smaller than if it’s not a really nice gun.
In a state such as Ohio if your firearm kills someone, legally or not, its destroyed after the investigation as per the law.
I know because I’ve been down this road. Took over six months to get the piece back.
“In a state such as Ohio if your firearm kills someone, legally or not, its destroyed after the investigation as per the law.
I know because I’ve been down this road. Took over six months to get the piece back.”
… you know they’re destroyed because yours wasn’t destroyed?
So are you saying that Ohio treats guns like vicious dogs: if they’ve killed once, they’ll certainly kill again?
There are so many highly-reliable, accurate, reasonably-priced handguns available for concealed carry. The Wilson Combat is buying you literally nothing. That said, it’s your money, carry what you like.
I mean, it’s your money and all. But the truth is a $400 gun will do just as well at conceivable carry scenarios as the $2,000 one.
Training is good but the other truth is that most of it won’t help you much in those same scenarios. I know we all want to be operators operating operationally but you’d probably be better off training in wound response and first aid before getting all tacticool with gunning.
Why not both?
These articles need to have less of a “description”.
I am not going to judge one way or the other what someone wants to carry as it is their money and their life. If you want to carry a Korth then go for it. As someone else said why does it have to be either or? Maybe we should all own Hi Points so we can have more money to train?
If I am ever involved in a SD shooting my last concern is when I will get my weapon back. The police instructor told us that if we are involved in a SD shooting expect to spend possibly 50K or more to defend yourself from criminal charges even if in the end it is declared a good shooting. Then there is potential civil liability after that.
My CCW instructor said basically the same thing. He also included medical bills. I’m glad he did because some mall ninjas in the room obviously hadn’t seriously thought about how life altering even a “successful” DGU could be.
Spend what you want to on your gun/car/rolex/bling. Just remember, every dime you waste trying to impress those around you is a dime you will not have for decent lawyers if you ever have to use your edc.
I drive a Toyota and recently moved up to a G19.
“Just remember, every dime you waste trying to impress those around you is a dime you will not have for decent lawyers..”
Or retirement.
My life is worth far more than all the guns I own or could ever desire to own. If some awful day I have to defend myself and my gun is taken by the police pending some court decision, well that’s fine. Since I am not dead, it is the least of my worries what the gun or guns cost me.
My belt gun is a Ruger SR9. Fits my hand, shoots well for me. Never a problem with it and yes I do practice.
My pocket gun is a Kel-Tec P3AT. Just like with the SR9, never a problem with it and I do punish my hand practicing with that tiny thing too.
Like most people I’m on a budget, forced upon me by rude reality. Perhaps if I had the cash piled up and laying lazily about, I’d buy more expensive stuff. More expensive ammo too. And toss in building a shooting range on my private estate in the mountains.
The one I fly into in my personal bush plane.
Need to work on these daydreams some more, much for fun than real life.
My low end RIA 1911s are 100 and 1% reliable. I do trust my life with them daily.
I spent the money on the training. Not needed to on the hardware.
I think I would carry the one that is 100% reliable and sell the one that is 1% reliable.
Just a suggestion.
I hate pocket dumps that are just made to show off their toys! No phone, wallet, or keys. 0/10
Also, so many of these have no signs of wear on the holster or weapon. The whole point of the charade is EVERYDAY carry, and any gun toted around every day will eventually start to look worn/smudgy/scratchy/less bluing/cheeto-remnants. What these posts really show is how few people really carry their guns around.
Because you can’t share your NEW stuff?
Get a life.
It’s nice that you got your expensive pistol out of the safe and photographed it, but the whole purpose of EVERYDAY CARRY is to show equipment people are using in everyday life in the real world. Yes, you can get out your new holster and new gun and shiny new objects and show them off to the hipster masses, if that’s what you need, sweetie.
…would not bang.
Whoever believes you need to carry a Nighthawk/WilsonCombat must make a hell of a lot more money than I do, that’s for sure.. We all make the assumption they don’t train if they buy an expensive handgun which is wrong, they simply might just have a higher baseline.
Honestly, carry what you want and train at your own discretion. People have been highly successful in defending themselves with rusted HiPoints and/or no training. Is it the most efficient route? No. But I don’t read books on self-defense, firearms train, and exercise for combat everyday as if it were my life yet I still feel confident I could defend my family.
People are always passing judgment.. just stay in your lane.
It seems to me that spending thousands on an EDC gun is a misallocation of resources no matter how much money you have.
But hey, it’s your money. Do what you want with it.
If I had $2,000 to spend on a gun, I would be smarter to spend $1,000 on the gun and $1,000 for a good class.
If you have the money go for it. But, don’t kid yourself thinking you’re “better armed” for it. Money does not you better at anything other than having nicer stuff.
I can afford a Wilson, but I prefer to use my money for other things.
Why does ttag continue to recycle this tired irrelevant bs. Must be running out of steam. Time for ttag to go the way of the dodo.
The most expensive pistol I own cost me around $1,300. I shoot it regular and I would trust my life with it. However, the reason I don’t carry it is not because of potential seizure by police but because daily carry eventually (quickly) ravages the finish and value. For daily carry it’s either a well worn LCP or an even more well worn P228… which paradoxically makes them even more beautiful to MY eye.
My wife won a highly upgraded Republic Forge 1911 Patriot model (https://republicforge.com) at the Whittington Center breakfast last April after I put her name on the raffle ticket I bought. If paid in full the tag would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $5K and in speaking with the head of the company at the exhibits his intention was that the gun be an EDC. News for you all- It’s a wonderful gun in every respect but it’s too large and heavy for me to carry. Sometime back I tried to pack my old stainless Detonics .45- the original cut-down 1911 and it was too much weight for me as well if I intended to carry all day, everywhere. I love 1911s and .45 ACP but I can carry my Glock 43 all day, everyday and forget I have it on. It’s about the same for me as carrying my wallet. And while I’ve always considered 9 mm a mouse gun, so far it’s never failed me at murdering paper and has never failed to feed, extract nor eject. Probably 500 or more rounds through it by now.
Gucci carry is fine if you can back it up. Otherwise it’s just preening princess bullshit. Like seeing $2,000 skis perpendicular to the snow because their owner can’t even plow like a first timer or a $5,000 bike struggling to beat the sweeper. Just flair.
If you’ve ever been to a class at a place like Thunder Ranch you will quickly realize that most of these guys have the money for the Wilson pistol and the training to go along with it. If they have the money and want to carry the high end stuff who are we to judge? We are all about individual freedom in this country, are we not?
Not anonymous on the internet. You are free to be judged and criticized by keyboard warriors opinions, and yours is different from theirs, you are wrong and stupid. Nothing else matter.
My 1st year for concealed carry: $500 S&W Shield, $300 CCW class (classroom+simulator+range=16 hours), $200 CCW lic, $50 holster, $200 target and defensive ammo, $130 1 year of CCW Safe. The gun is almost 1/3 the cost of getting set up for concealed carry in CA. In the slim chance I am in a DGU and they do take away my gun for evidence, I have a 2nd Shield.
“In the slim chance I am in a DGU and they do take away my gun for evidence, I have a 2nd Shield”
IMO this is the way to go. I have a pair of identical Glock setups for this reason.
If somebody is willing to spend the money for a $4000 gun then more power to them, I’m sure they’re a true delight to own. For most of us it’s probably better to buy 2 that are more affordable though.
$4,000 gun that can’t outshoot a $1,000 gun (Sig Sauer, Kimber, Colt, Dan Wesson, hell . . . my old Rock Island Armory Tac Ultra for $500 was equally as accurate and reliable – though much heavier)
A some people like me have 10$ bills in my wallet, others 100$ bills, some 1$ bills. I use a bersa .380 to protect my bills. However if I was carrying a bunch of 100$ I would by all means carry a Wilson .
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