Grab And Go Gun

I’m running with this term mentioned by A Girl and Her Gun over here.

Now first up I’ll say I urge everybody to work to carry the most guns and ammo on them as is comfortable and convenient. Nobody has ever wish they had brought LESS guns or ammo to a gun fight, and its certainly possible to have too little gun to get the job done.

That being said read Nancy’s GRAND SLAM post on “Better than Nothing”. If you decide that you only have “enough gun” by carrying a Glock 17, 3 33 round G18 mags, and two backup guns, unless you dress in a unique way there are going to be LOTS of times when you will NOT be able to carry that way.

Also there will be times when you will have to leave your home unexpectedly or quickly.

My daily carry is a 1911 in a shoulder holster with two spare mags. Still if that rig was my ONLY carry option there would be a LOT of times I just wouldn’t carry.

I still like the analogy of “getting a pack of smokes”. If you’re a non-smoker think hitting the all-night pharmacy for some medicine for a late-night illness, or maybe a friend or child needing a late-night ride home. But there is an instance when somebody might have to leave their home when they thought they might be bedded down for the night. Think of where you might be going to. A Convenient store (AKA Stop-and-Rob) or a Drug Store (Were they sell prescription meds that have a high street value), or driving somewhere (cars do break down).

These are LOUSY situations to not have a gun.

Another thing popped into my mind. Who hasn’t overslept when they needed to get to work? If you leave fast without grabbing your gun it’ll be ALL DAY before you’re home again.

All of these instances don’t leave you a ton of time, or desire for that matter, to gun up with your gun, your spare ammo, holster, belts, concealment garments, etc etc.

If you don’t have a Grab-and-Go gun and holster combo, you may leave without a gun, and if you encounter danger you won’t have a gun when you need one. You’re SOL.

The old saying has a LOT of weight, a .22 or .25 in your pocket beats a .44 or .45 back home in your gun safe. There’s something to be said about small pocket guns, they aren’t great guns, they aren’t very powerful, but you can quickly load and pocket a gun. One of these with you is better than you with nothing at all!

And of course while we say “Better than Nothing” its fun to come up with ways to maximize your “better than nothing”.

I went from a 5-shot .38 Special as my primary pocket gun to a 5+1 .45 ACP, and now I’m planning on seeing how often I can incorporate the Remora double mag carrier filled with 7-round magazines (the biggest .45 mags Kahr makes…if they make 8s I’ll buy those too!) so rather than just having 5 rounds of .38 Sp, I’ll have 20 rounds of .45 ACP.

Maybe you can stick a Glock 26 into a pocket or a Remora holster, and a G19 or G17 mag in a pocket. That would be 26 or 29 rounds of 9×19 with just one subcompact gun and ONE spare magazine!

If a rig isn’t comfortable and convenient you just won’t carry all the time, and having just one carry method is going to impose limitations. Still see how much gun you can make comfortable and convenient.

Isn’t your life, and the lives of your loved ones worth it?

This phrase came up with the review of the Remora Holster which requires no belt, no adjusting clips or loops, just tuck it into your waistband and pull your shirt over it and you’re done.

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0 Responses to Grab And Go Gun

  1. Greg Camp says:

    I broke my left wrist several months ago (I’m a lefty), and I’m still getting back all the functioning, so having a handgun that fits in either pocket has been a great help. I have a pocket .38 and a Radom P-64, but these days, I go about with a Kel-Tec P-11. It holds ten plus one rounds of 9mm, and it takes a fifteen round S & W Model 59 magazine. Since I don’t do a job that requires me to load up like a SWAT officer, and since I’m usually dressed in business casual–no untucked shirts, for example–a pocket rocket does what it needs to do.

    • Weerd Beard says:

      AWESOME comment! This is EXACTLY the mindset I’m trying to convey.

      You’re not packing a 17 shot full-size auto because it just isn’t convenient, but rather than a 5-shot .38, or a 6+1 shot Radom (which as far as I know they don’t make extended magazines for) you went with the P-11 which is the same size as the radom, twice the power, and half the weight AND you have the option of extended magazines. A P11 with a 15 round mag in your pocket is 26 rounds of 9×19. That is a SERIOUS loadout for what is often considered a “Backup Gun”.

      You’re doing well! Hopefully it’ll never come down to needing it all, but if it does you’ll have it!

  2. bluesun says:

    I don’t even have a “full size” gun–the XD9 Sub Compact (still 14 rds of 9mm) or the J-frame in a Nemesis with a speed strip do just fine for me. It’s even possible to carry the XD in a pocket if you try at it (holstered of course).

  3. ZerCool says:

    Always have at least the 642 or the PM9 with me. Occasionally both.

    If I’ve got my tactical murse there’s likely something larger within.

  4. Knitebane says:

    My normal carry is a Rock Island SC (Officer’s Model 1911) in a Crossbreed Supertuck. This requires a bit of planning ahead as putting on the Supertuck basically involves taking your pants off.

    If I need to grab something and go, I grab a Ruger LCR in .357 Magnum. I keep it in a cheap but externally sticky pocket holster. The little 5 shooter vanishes into the pockets of anything I wear including shorts in the summer and jacket pockets in the winter.

    I also carry 10 extra rounds in speed strips in an old cell phone case on my belt. I can grab them both and be out the door in 30 seconds and with 15 rounds of Hornaday 125gr. Critical Defense .357 Magnum on me, I never feel undergunned.

    Now as soon as get my Coonan I’ll be all .357 Magnum all the time. 🙂

    • Weerd Beard says:

      How the .357 LCR treating you? Jay has one of the .38s and its a nice gun. I think I like my 642 a little better, but not a lot better. But I wouldn’t mind a .357 LCR (if Ruger ever gets them on the Massachusetts approved roster)

      I love Jays S&W360 but the price tag on that beast is more terrifying than its recoil!

      • Knitebane says:

        I’m a big Ruger revolver fan. I have a 6″ Security Six in .357 Mag and the wife carries a hammerless SP101 in .357 Mag so I was prepared to like the LCR.

        Our local gun range has a .38 Special LCR in the rental cabinet marked “Experienced Shooters Only.” I believe that’s pretty accurate. Not unshootable, but this isn’t something you want to get for someone that’s never shot a gun before.

        Recoil with .357 Mag out of a 17 oz. pistol is substantial. The gun is light enough that the torque of the bullets spinning down the barrel causes the gun to twist as well as flip upward. The frame design of LCR along with a grip that seems to absorb a lot of recoil make it shootable but it’s not for the recoil shy.

        The sights are adequate and it’s an accurate gun. I regularly put 5 rounds in a 2″ bull at 15 yards. I’ve noticed that people I let shoot it generally hit the bull on the first shot. The rest of the shots tend to scatter a bit. Recoil apprehension, no doubt.

        It’s not painful to shoot but the recoil will definitely get your attention. After 50 rounds through it shooting the .45 ACP is like shooting a .22.

        • Pyrotek85 says:

          Thanks for sharing about the LCR, I figured the recoil would be stout given the weight, though I may still get one eventually. Good to know though.

          I’d like to get a big 357 either way however, probably a GP-100.

  5. Bubblehead Les says:

    Well, a little cash arrived, and guess what found a new home? I just got a Kel-Tec p-11 also. It’s not my Grab and Go gun yet, but after I’ve put a few hundred rounds of Ball through it to break it in, it should be my 24/7 Gun. But as for my Current “Grab and Go”, I have split the roles. Due to some of us up North having to shovel Global Warming in the Winter, I put the 2″ barrel on my Dan Wesson, and it is my “Parka Gun.” It fits nicely in my Field Jacket, and it STAYS there with some Speed Loaders on the other side. However, when I have to take it off, or I’m in a suit and tie, etc. then I use the Baby Browning. So, right now, the Baby Browning is on my Body most of the day. But if the Kel-Tec holds up, I’m pretty sure that the Dan Wesson can stay home in the Winter. I’ll send you pictures. Oh, I understand that the Kel-Tec 12 rounder is the same size as the 10 rounder, but you also have to order it separately, because of those Damn VolksRepubliks and their Magazine restrictions. But I also got some 15 rounders from Mec-Gar, who make the Factory Mags, and S+W 59 Mags are cheap up in my neck of the woods, so spare ammo should not be a problem.

  6. Larry says:

    G36 in a Galco Tuck N Go, cause that’s all I got…

  7. Critter says:

    S&W 642, all stainless steel in a horse hide pocket holster and a speed loader. i grew up shooting revolvers and using speed loaders so i just drop it in a pocket and hit the road.

    just a thought on the LCR: i love Ruger revolvers (just bought an old Speed Six that needed a little TLC and a good home) but the LCR in .38 and .357 is just a bone headed idea. the recoil is savage and with heavy loads is almost uncontrollable. however, Ruger is soon to sell this platform in a 9 or 10 shot .22, which make all sorts of good sense. as a “grab and go” gun or, if you will, a “some is better than no gun” it would meet the criteria and actually be shootable. i’m saving my shekels even now.

  8. Pingback: Normal People | Weer'd World

  9. Jay G. says:

    I’m hoping to be wrapping up testing of the LCR in the next few weeks and getting a review out sometime next month. It’s a neat little gun at a great price, and the .357 Magnum version looks even nicer…

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