One vs. Many

[CAGLS]

I have found that with the proper grip, stance, trigger control and sight picture you should be able to be proficient with most platforms. I just found my main "one" as you can tell in my signature although I do like 1911s too, but that doesn't mean I won't pick up other platforms in the future to try out. I just like the behavior of the platform I decided to stay with. I may choose a different platform in the future for a specific job.

[Sunday]

Swapping platforms is a hard thing to do.

[dyson]

Im not LE nor can I CCW, so more interested in being able to pick up any platform and use it.

[Saym14]

My thoughts: You need to be proficient with anything, everything, strong hand, weak hand, hot, cold, wet, dry, and what not.

Just my thoughts.....Then again I don't compete.

Good points but also be proficient under the stress of a timer...

[afteractionreport]

So far ive stuck to 9mm because i can share ammo with my gf's guns but i would like to start shooting .45acp because i want a1911...
so i she will probably get some .45 too...

[thbat]

They make 1911 in 9mm.
Very fun to shoot.
Most are off roster so get them before the year ends.

[hambam105]

It is just like driving an automobile.
You drive your Toyota better than a rented Honda, you may even like your Toyota better. But you still know how to drive, right?
Leave your ego at the curb and use good equipment. The rest will follow. Enjoy the ride.

[Squidward]

There is a saying, "Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!" But I think there is validity in being familiar with many platforms.

I think shooting is a perishable skill, so it depends upon your use of the handgun. Mastery of recreational shooting is (obviously) less important than mastery for SD purposes.

[madoka]

There is a saying, "Beware the man who only has one gun. He probably knows how to use it!" But I think there is validity in being familiar with many platforms.

There's millions of recreational shooters with only one gun, because that's all they think they'll need. I'd be more concerned with the guy with dozens of guns because he'd be really into guns and more likely trained in their usage.

[A-J]

I'm "funcitonally proficient" with all of my handguns. I certainly have my "favorite" that I've had for nearly 20 years, which is also the one that I happen to shoot the best. However, I feel confident that I could put plenty of rounds in the "kill zone" (God forbid it comes to that) with any of my guns.

[tacticalcity]

What most people consider to be "proficient" is actually woefully inadequate. They are blissfully ignorant of how much they just don't know and just how badly they suck. Sounds pretty cocky. Sounds like I am saying I am better than them. Well in one sense I am. Because I am actually aware of just how much room there is for improvement in my shooting. I know that despite years of practice, and being pretty darn good by most people's standards - compared to where i want to be I suck big time. There is no such thing as good enough. The amount of work it takes to actually remain "proficient" with a handgun is staggering. Gunfights occur in fractions of a second, and Murphy is a *****! Reaction times need to be darn near superhuman, with zero room for error. Making things even harder, the bad guys don't care about the law or consequences...and you do. So you are WAY behind the curve just by the nature of not being a monster.

I've been scary good at different points in my life. Reached a skill level I didn't think possible. However, maintaining that level of proficiency just wasn't possible and I am now back to level just below what I consider to be truly proficient...and like I said I set the bar pretty high. Handgun skills are perishable. Life gets in the way. Unless you live on a range, and spend all your time off the range doing dryfire drills, you are never gonna get to a level I would consider truly "proficient". As far as mastery level, you could spend all day every day on the range and every second of your life doing dryfire drills and still not get there. So few ever truly have.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying everybody needs to have a "combat master" certificate hanging on their wall...or be able to shoot as well as one. In order to reach that skill level those guys had to ignore everything else in life, and odds are after they passed that test their skill level because to drop significantly because in real life you can't spend every second of the day training. We all have jobs, family...lives! I am simply saying most of us are kidding ourselves about our level of competence because we have not been exposed to somebody who truly knows what they are doing...so we don't know just how much we don't know. Too many shooters adopt a "good enough" attitude, and then blow off the advice of their betters because they think they know what they are doing. Since statistically they are not likely to get into a gunfight, that's OK. They are enjoying collecting guns and enjoying their shooting and that is good thing.

With all that said, being as hard as it is to truly master the handgun (or any weapon system)...you are gonna have better luck sticking with one manual of arms. Being a Glock guy, I like that pretty much all Glocks operate alike. The break, and reset on my Glock 17 is fortunately exactly the same as my Glock 26. So while they are radically different sizes, and do feel slightly different in the hand, all the muscle memory I built up over the years will work exactly the same on both...at least when it comes to trigger pull. The amount of adjustments in how I do things between them is minimal, if even noticeable at all. That makes life easier.

This could also be said of many different manufacturers guns. Many brands make Full, Compact, and Sub-Compact guns in a given product line where the triggers and controls will remain consistent between them (thought sometimes you draw a dud that is different enough to be noticeable and blows the muscle memory advantage so that will need to be addressed).

So if you find a gun that works for you, for the sake of mastery and proficiency I highly recommend sticking with that product line when looking for backup guns, concealment options, etc. At least when it comes to where you dedicate the vast majority of your training and when it comes to what you carry.

That is not to say you can't collect and appreciate other guns. I just recommend putting the hardcore training time on one platform, and then using that platform for your SD purposes and the others more as toys. Trying to master 10 different guns to the point where every aspect is hardwired as muscle memory is just gonna confuse ya. But there is nothing wrong with collecting a bunch a different weapon systems because you respect them. And there is nothing wrong with having a familiarity with how all those different weapon systems work. But reaching a true mastery level with each, probably not gonna happen.

If you are going to switch things up, going as radically different as possible helps. That way the moment you pick it up, your body and mind know to use a different set of muscle memories without having to consciously think about it. A Glock and 1911 are very, very different. No way you'll get those mixed up even subconsciously. Not once you have one of them down pretty well. But a Glock and an XD are very similar. And you may find yourself constantly getting confused about where the reset is, or getting some other particular quirk slightly off, and that can cause serious problems. The again, maybe you won't. We are all different. Enough of us have struggled with it, however, to be cautious about it.

Just my very long winded $0.02.

[Justintoxicated]

I'm no pro, and I do not compete but the problem I see is that one gun usually can't do everything well.
I mean there are some guns designed to do just that, but they still are not perfect.

For competition's you usually don't see people shooting with subcompacts like shields, or pocket pistols chambered in .380 which also may not be the most fun range toys. However with some of those competition guns you won't see people carrying them because they are too large, bulky, or simply not ideal for that purpose. Your HD pistol may well be different than your favorite range toy, or carry gun too. Maybe your HD gun has a worse trigger but is potentially more reliable, different caliber, easier to shoot, or maybe it is just higher capacity, or has different / no safety's on it depending on your preferences.

I mean what about buying 22's? Are they kind of pointless because you would never hope / plan to use them to defend yourself? Or are they great guns that enable you to get out and shoot, and practice for cheap?

[hambam105]

When someone tells me they are proficient enough with a gun I believe them.

Mr. Jones's shooting skills have absolutely nothing to do with you winning a gun battle.

In civil society situational awareness is 1,000 times more relevant than skill at arms.

It doesn't matter how much they paid for it, ''A Gunfighter From Hell' Certificate is ridiculous.

[bombadillo]

I'd rather have the right gun for the job. My 1911 will do most of my work for me honestly, be it in 9mm or .45acp. A Ruger MkIII does quite a bit of my target work, offhand shooting, and otherwise. A Kahr, Smith J frame .38sp, and Kel-Tec P3AT does my CCW work. My 6" python is most of my revolver fun, but I don't like to use it much because of the rarity so I'm looking at a GP100 for that next. A Ruger KP345D with a Streamlight TLR does my living room work, and the 870 does my bedroom work (figured I'd throw that in for the sake of not having pistols do it all)

Anyway, you get the idea.

[Shenaniguns]

Collecting guns is one thing, but if you're continually moving from platform to platform you'll never "master" them.

Picking one quality gun and buying 2-3 duplicates (one to CCW if you can, one for training, one as a backup in the safe should the first two be unavailable - either evidence or parts breakage) is the best way to becoming proficient.

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