Tami Keel talks about the trend in carry guns that she’s witnessed over the years:
The first [competition] I attended, at DARC in Arkansas back in 2017, was largely after the “Caliber Wars” were over. I’m sure there were a few .40s and .45s in attendance, but 9mm was the overwhelmingly most common chambering and it wasn’t even close. I’d feel pretty comfortable stating that probably half everybody was shooting a Glock of one variant or another, with M&Ps being the second most common, and the remainder a mishmash of Sig Sauers, HKs, and Berettas, mostly
Next year TacCon was at DARC again. Glocks were still the most common gun, but probably only a plurality at this point. Sig P320s were already vying with M&Ps as the second most commonly seen pistol. There were a handful of people using red dot optics in 2018, and John Johnston made it into the man-on-man shootoff with one.
At 2019, down in Louisiana at NOLATAC, there were more red dots, and Rick Remington won the shootoff with an RMR atop a 9mm Wilson. Glock alternatives continued to grow in popularity.
After a one-year hiatus during the Plague Year of 2020, TacCon was held at Dallas Pistol Club in 2021. That’s when I first started seeing significant numbers of the smaller pistols, like Glock 48s and Sig P365s. Red dots were commonly spotted in every class and were no longer limited to hardcore dot proponents who’d had pistol slides custom milled for RMRs.
2022 was back at DPC again. Red dots and smaller pistols were everywhere, even in the shootoffs.
2023? More of the same.
For 2024, the biggest difference I noticed was that there was a greater number of people who were willing to talk openly about living “the snubby lifestyle” à la Darryl Bolke. Gear-wise, dots had become downright prevalent. Walthers had become more common. I don’t know how Walther’s doing in terms of overall market share, but they’ve certainly penetrated the serious training hobbyist demographic. The majority of optics were now Holosuns.
All very interesting. I couldn’t help thinking how my personal carry choices have changed over the same period of time.
2017:
2018:
2019:
2020:
(briefly, then back to the usual)
2021:
2022:
2023:
2024:
I know, this is carry as opposed to competition, but still. One assumes that the competitive shooters were carrying the same as, or at least copies of the ones they were shooting. (If not… LOL.)
The only changes I can foresee in my carry choice would be substituting one 1911 for another.
Occasionally, if I’m in the mood, I may carry my bedside S&W Model 65 instead of a 1911, because that’s the holster belted onto a different pair of jeans and I’m too lazy to swap it out:
So you see, I can be flexible.
I’m just not interested in carrying a little gun like a SIG or Walther in 9mm Europellet, unless one day I decide to substitute it for my backup Model 637.
Don’t hold yer breath.
By the way, I typically carry two or four backup 1911 Chip McCormick mags (depending on whether or not I’m wearing a gilet), and a couple of 5-round speedloaders for the 637. That should be enough ammo to get me back to the car rifle, after which I can really bring down the thunder.
Update: Several people have written to me, speaking of their preference for hi-cap mags. One asked me whether the 8-round Chip McCormick 1911 mags would be sufficient in a BLM-type encounter.
I have two responses to this: firstly, three CMC mags = 24 rounds, five mags = 40 rounds, and three .38 Spec loads = 15 rounds. If I wanted to get serious, and with a little foreknowledge, I could just swap out the 8-round mags for 10-round CMC mags, of which I have a half-dozen or so on hand. Should be enough.
Any more than the above, and I probably would avoid going out to where there’s a chance I may be heavily outnumbered — OR I could just turn the trunk gun into a front-seat gun (with several backup mags), if you get my drift. I venture to suggest that this combination of weaponry would be adequate for any group of scraggly scrotes.
Your 1911 with the smooth grip was a delight to hold, and I much enjoyed shooting it – and your other guns – despite my lack of ability. It’s a pity that I won’t have the opportunity to practice more over here.
(For the benefit of other Readers)
Reader Quentin had occasion to visit Dallas recently, and of course said visit did include a trip to the range, so that he (as a disarmed Brit) could bring back memories of what it was like to shoot a handgun again.
I do the same with all my Brit friends…
A .38 was my concealed carry forever, until the Mostly Peaceful Riots™ of recent vintage persuaded me to acquire a plastic fantastic with more than twice the firepower. KDT will no doubt roll his eyes that it spits europellets, and lots of ’em. It also turns out to be fun to shoot.
I’ve since taken to carrying another wheelgun, this time in .357. If I know I’ll be doing time in one of our sketchier metro areas, I’ll pack the 9mm with 13 rounds in the weapon & a 15 round mag in my pocket.
I made the same change that Slant did. A S&W 442 is a wonderful little revolver that slips into a pocket easily but the Mostily Peaceful fire brigade convinced me that these miscreant are often operating in concert now. They get to choose the time and place for their nastiness and I’d be a bad guest if I didn’t bring enough servings of vitamin Pb for everyone so I moved to an autoloader.
I can’t justify the red dot onto a pistol, yet.
Competitions have their own internal logic. That is fine but does not necessarily transfer to real life. I do not think it matters what you carry, bring a gun that you shoot well and the rest is details.
I am a weirdo carrying a 40 (Walther PPS M1). It is reliable, small enough to carry easily and I value the extra power over extra rounds (self defense cases with more than 3 rounds fired are extremely rare). I also carry at least one spare mag.
Now, I do have some higher capacity options if I need them, and a pocket pistol for times when I need something very stealthy. As they say, there are no solutions- only trade offs.
My carry gun has changed over the years. Started initially with a full-size 1911A1 Springfield Armory, but it was a little big for a small person like me. Found through CDNN a couple of Springer “MicroCompact V10″ pistols, basically Officer-size with slotted slides and ported barrels. Carried one of those for more than a decade until my hip and back started to hurt, since they were entirely stainless steel. I now carry a Sig C3, with an Officers-size frame mated to a Commander length (4-1/4”) barrel and slide. The frame is aluminum, and the whole thing weighs very little. It also shares magazines with the MicroCompact, but in that pistol the ONLY magazines that really functioned reliably were the Wilson Combat Officers (compact) 7-rounders. Oh, yeah, all in .45 ACP.
When I shot in the Sig for carry I rotated through all 2 dozen of my various compact magazines in 700 rounds fired. I only had three stoppages (failure to feed) and all were related to one particular magazine. That mag (a “Shooting Star”) didn’t make it home from the range after being flattened under a boot and tossed in the garbage.
I like the Chip McCormick 8-round “Power Mags” for my full-size 1911’s. I’ve got a few of the 10-round extended ones that are used on the Mec-Tec conversion carbine on a Rock Island (Phillipines) frame, which makes for a nice combination.
I love my little snubbie. But its a sad reality that it prints if I have it in my pocket, or the cylinder digs into my side when its holstered. Wife’s p365 is a joy to carry…..and I hate it. For some reason Sig’s mag drop button always gets jostled enough when I carry, so to draw it ends up with the mag damn near falling out. Maybe skinny people don’t have that problem.
But yeah when things got mostly peaceful, I decided to upgrade my capacity.
As already noted, trade-offs. I can attest that our host’s wardrobe is appropriate for his choice of armament. In Texas. In the summer. Stout lad.
I on the other hand, dress predominately in a pocket T-shirt and cargo shorts. My EDC is an FEG PA-63 carried in a “Sticky” brand pocket holster and loaded with Hornady FTX 9 X 18 Makarov. As much as I loves me some 1911, for a vehicle gun I have gone to the dark (well, FDE at least) side with my Canik TP9SF. It is my one (so far) and only plastic fantastic Tupperware pistol. IMHO, it is what Glock should have evolved to long ago. Yes, I acknowledge that all who came after stand on Glock’s shoulders.
Mean while, over at Gun Free Zone–
https://gunfreezone.net/californians-are-figuring-it-out-too/