I often see students who are renewing their concealed carry permit who have as many as five handguns on their CCW permit. Inevitably, they are accurate with some of their handguns and not so accurate with others. There are a number of reasons for this.
The most important reason is that the student’s subconscious mind has to remember which handgun he or she is shooting while qualifying. For example, the student shoots a revolver with a long relatively heavy trigger stroke, and then shoots a striker-fired semiautomatic with a short relatively light trigger. The tendency is to press the trigger of a subsequent handgun in the same manner as the previous handgun during qualifications. So in this example, the student presses that long heavier revolver trigger and then presses the short lighter semiauto trigger in the same manner as the revolver trigger, causing the semiauto to dip down because the trigger press was too strong. This results in hits on the target being below the bullseye for the semiautomatic.
This tendency has serious consequences if the student should ever need to defend himself or herself. When someone is running toward them waving a sword and they have to draw and shoot, how will their subconscious minds remember which handgun they are carrying at the moment? With the addition of adrenaline, that dipping of the barrel caused by the strong trigger press becomes a huge dip with the bullet hitting the ground instead of the attacker. This is because the subconscious mind cannot efficiently decide which handgun is in the hand. With a second or so to decide, the subconscious reverts to whatever trigger press is most familiar, which may be the last handgun the person fired .
Another problem that may occur is that the student will not remember to disengage the manual safety on a semiauto, for example a 1911 design handgun. The subconscious remembered a Glock or a revolver instead of the 1911. That results in no shots being fired until the conscious mind realizes the error. There may not be enough time for that realization.
My advice for students who want to have the choice of several handguns for carrying is to select handguns that have the same operating system and trigger. A good example would be owning a Glock 43, a Glock 26, and a Glock 19. All have the same caliber and the same locations for mag release and slide release, as well as the same trigger stroke. This continuity helps ensure the subconscious mind does not have to choose, which makes self defense more efficient.
I realize that some people put their hunting handguns on their CCW permits, never really intending to carry them concealed but wanting the flexibility “just in case”. In the previous example, how about adding a Glock 10mm caliber handgun? Same trigger and controls, with a caliber that is more than adequate for predators in the USA.
Carrying concealed with your CCW permit does not mean you cannot collect handguns. Just know which ones are better for carrying. I own a few World War 2 handguns that I would never carry. At the least, practice with and carry one handgun on your permit the majority of the time and rely on the familiarity you have with that particular design. Why make your response to someone attacking you more complicated than it has to be?
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