Modifications You Can Make to Your Carry Pistol
Ron Gunner 04.17.17
In today’s world of hundreds of pistol offerings you can pretty much pick what you want to have and carry, provided you have the money to buy one with all the options. The more bells and whistles, the more the price tag goes up. As example, the HK VP9 when it first came out a few years ago came out in two options. One had the luminescent sights that needed charged by some form of light before they would glow in the dark. That model also came with 2 magazines. This is the model I bought and still have, the other model that was released at the same time had true night sights that did not need charged by any light at all to work, plus you got 3 magazines with it.
The price was the difference. As with all “just out” guns, they were hard to find, and when you did the price was more than it should have been. That held true between these two offerings with a difference being between $100.00 to $140.00 price differences. And just because the more expensive one had true night sights does not mean they may be the right ones for your eyes. The 3rd mag, well that’s something everyone should have! Let’s just go with the sights for now, there are many different companies making much different types of sights in true night, fiber optics, hybrid luminescent/tritium combo, etc.
You have a choice to make: do you spend the extra money for the gun that has some of the extra options that may or may not work for you, or do you buy the “plain” model and buy aftermarket products to build your gun that really is right for you? By going this way you may end up spending more than the gun that came with at least some of the upper options, but at least you can have what works for you and take a little time to save up to get what you want. My advice is do some research in stores, at the range, and online. Read reviews to see what you might work or not work for you.
Now many gun companies have offerings that let you mount red dot optics even. Red dots they hope will be the way of the future. The only problem with the ad’s you see are a lot of LEO with the red dots on their pistols, and that’s great for them. They get to carry their pistol “open” it will be much harder for concealed carry people carry inside the waist with a red dot. And moving your cover garment my get tangled just at the right time you need it to protect yourself! But for competition and LEO they are great to have! I’m not saying you can’t carry with a red dot, I’m just saying it may be a little harder then without one. Concealed carry is not supposed to be comfortable, it is supposed to be comforting.
You can also add a light or laser or even a light/laser combo. These are great items to have, they really are, but remember “Murphy’s Law.” If it can go wrong, it will. Both these products take batteries. Do yourself a favor and replace them often if you go with one of these. Then also understand holsters made for gun with lights and or lasers or light/laser combos most times cost more and will be bigger and possibly more uncomfortable to carry certain ways.
Another problem I personally have with lasers is, once people add one to their carry gun, they tend to forget that they need to use the sights and just rely on the laser itself. Things that can go wrong with that: dead battery or laser knocked out of alignment, meaning you could miss your one and only shot before your opponent returns fire. I see it all the time at the indoor range. Some people having to sight their gun and laser in almost weekly because it gets knocked around depending on how they carry it, and some I don’t even want to know how it happens!
A light is always another great thing to have.You HAVE to identify your target before you shoot, and at night the light is great thing. So have a gun mounted light or at least a very good flashlight with a high lumen count. (You do have your EDC right?) Now some people don’t like a gun mounted light because in order to turn it on the threat you are pointing the gun at them. Meaning if it’s a person in your home late at night and you have children that may be up or coming in late, you will have your gun pointed at a family member. So there is a valid point and worry there, but that is something you will have to work out on your own and train for.
The biggest “No-No” many people will tell you that you never ever touch or mess with your factory trigger, EVER! I have done my own research on this, and I was unable to find one case that enhancing a trigger had to do with anything in a self-defense case. I’m not saying there might not be any, I was just not able to find one. But still this is a very STRONG warning in the self-defense world. I have had a few of mine done and, compared with what came factory, they improve your aim. If ever needed, in court I could prove the gritty and sometimes a factory bad trigger can cause bad shooting, which could mean that you miss your threat and hit an innocent bystander.
Then there is always a magwell that will help you insert your mag’s in a stressful situation. They have models that are made from polymer to stainless steel and everything in between. There are big deep ones to the smaller thinner ones. Most times a magwell will also help you with your grip.
For the smaller pistols that hold 5 to 8 rounds, you can always get mag extension to add two or more rounds to each mag. The issue here is this will make the mag longer and sometimes harder to keep hidden under a light shirt. But on the plus side it gives you more rounds for the fight if needed.
What you see here in this article is there are good and bad with each choice made. Get something here, lose something there. This is why it’s said, “Concealed carry is not meant to be comfortable it’s meant to be comforting.”
Stay safe, stay aware, and hope to see you out there!
