Handgun Choice in Power Outages

Was talking to a classmate/friend from high school & who also went into the AF as a cop but he did 4 and got out…We just connected on Facebook

He lives in Georgia & was a Sheriff deputy & then retired as a Federal Air Marshal….

His town in Georgia lost power for several days after the hurricane, no real damage other than trees down all over & trapped in his area

He has a backup generator that runs his freezers/fridge but not his electric stove & such, the generator is maxed out with his 2 chest freezers & such

They finally cut the way out & he was venturing forth with his wife, daughter & grand baby 

He was debating what handgun to carry & ended up with a old school Sig 229 in 357Sig in a concealed leather holster with 3 extra mags 

People were very polite and helpful, saw some shotguns, rifles and handguns openly carried 

We chatted about his choice of handgun & it was his favorite handgun as an Air Marshal & he was extremely accurate with it….and concealed cuz why advertise 

Got me thinking, what one handgun would I carry in that scenario & how

Really don’t know, more than likely a concealed G19 as it’s light & bombproof 

Thoughts???

Simple. Carry the one you're sure you can hit with under stress. Power or no power, same advice.

My gen 2 Glock 19 I bought 29 years ago and sits sits in a cubbyhole in my bed's headboard.

Terry

[The Shooters Apprentice]

2 is one and 1 is none. If I was going into a area where a gunfight was a serious possibly and it had to be a handgun, it would be a double stack 10mm like my M&P, with a glock 19 on the offside, an maybe even a J frame in my pocket,

Simple. Carry the one you're sure you can hit with under stress. Power or no power, same advice.

While I agree, I also disagree🤪🤪

My new bedroom gun (just went over 500rds + 50 carry ammo and I don’t have a holster yet…..it’s a fricking flat shooting lazer but as expensive as it was it had better be…..

Thing is as new as it is & being a 2011 with very tight tolerances, I would also expect it to have malfunctions if it’s exposed to crappy weather/mud 

Don’t know if I’d even want to abuse it 🤣🤣

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Funny you should mention tight tolerances


When I was a kid I remember my dad getting a Freedom Arms Premier grade 454 revolver. He was pretty proud of it at first but quickly found out that the gun was way to tight, and even the smallest amount of dirt in the gun would render it useless. he sold it and to this day will tell you that Freedom arms is over priced junk and you're better off with a Ruger.

Funny you should mention tight tolerances


When I was a kid I remember my dad getting a Freedom Arms Premier grade 454 revolver. He was pretty proud of it at first but quickly found out that the gun was way to tight, and even the smallest amount of dirt in the gun would render it useless. he sold it and to this day will tell you that Freedom arms is over priced junk and you're better off with a Ruger.

I have a 788 in 223 improved with a hart bbl that's my most accurate rifle. When I'm having a good day it shoots in the high .1s. It's great at the bench but is so tight that if I screw up with seating depth and pull a bullet it has to be cleaned as a couple of granules of 335 will prevent the action from closing.  I've used it in the field for coyotes and gophers but I had to be prepared to deal with cleaning. With the 1:14 twist I'm limited to 52- 53gr bullets and accuracy fell apart past 400 yards but out to there it's pretty much a sure thing on gophers as long as I doped the wind properly.
For a carry handgun I wouldn't want anything that tight. In that role reliability trumps accuracy.

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Yep. I usually carry a 1911 and this is one of those guns where id they are too right, they don’t run when they get dirty, and of course living in Alaska and rolling around in the mud and the snow all day they get dirty. I’ve actually gotten my Glock 19 dirty enough in a single day that it started to have failures, which is why I usually carry a J frame in my pocket as well no matter what I carry on the belt.

The original Colt 1911s were actually pretty sloppy which is why they worked as good as they did. I’ve got a pretty good handful of 1911s right now. All of the ones I have with bushingless barrels do not like to be dirty. My Ruger commander has been 100% reliable in the 8 years or so I have had it. Actually, all of my commanders have been reliable. I’ve really only had issues with the full size “target” guns and the little baby 3”.

Funny you should mention tight tolerances


When I was a kid I remember my dad getting a Freedom Arms Premier grade 454 revolver. He was pretty proud of it at first but quickly found out that the gun was way to tight, and even the smallest amount of dirt in the gun would render it useless. he sold it and to this day will tell you that Freedom arms is over priced junk and you're better off with a Ruger.

I know a real life rancher/cowboy in northern Wyoming who swears by his Freedom Arms 44 Mag & has really sweet Western leather belt/holster he wears everywhere, on horseback, on ATV, all over the ranch in every possible weather condition 

was in Mint Bar in Sheridan Wyoming talking to him about it, open carry is legal in WY bars where concealed carry is illegal 

No idea when he got it or where 🤷‍♂️

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Freedom arms has their field grade model guns that are not quite as tight as the premier grade. Im also thinking that any gun that tght will need a break in period, even a revovler, and I'm not sure how much he actually shot that gun before taking it out guiding.