What Guns Do the Authors Use? – EDC

I recently did a survey of the other authors of the blog & I, plus some close friends, to see what all we use for home defense, EDC, etc.

Without further ado, here’s the results:

EDC

Results

The guns carried daily are as follows:

Glock 17 w/ TLR 1
M&P 4.25″ 9mm w/ TLR 7 & Holosun 507c
Sig P365
Glock 19 w/ TLR 1, Holosun 507c, & upgraded trigger
Beretta 85F w/ replaced main spring & 2 reloads

Everyone polled carried a different gun on occasion. I’ve listed them here in the same order of owners as the daily guns, for comparison.

M&P Shield w/ spare mag
Ruger LCR in .327 Mag w/ reload
Bond Arms derringer
Glock 43 w/ reload
CZ P-07 w/ modded internals

Analysis

Everyone asked carries a pistol. No real surprise there. All but one daily carried gun is a striker fired, polymer framed 9mm, no real surprise there either. The one oddball is a .380. What is interesting about the Beretta 85F, aka Cheetah, is that it’s a metal framed DA/SA .380. The guy also runs a DA/SA for home defense, but that’s getting into next week’s post.

Less interesting, but worthy of note is that two guns carry a red dot sight. The Holosun 507c is an excellent optic, that has a track record as good as the RMR type II, if not even better than (which I believe). The only real downside of the 507c is that it’s made in China. I really used to not care, but this whole coronavirus situation has made me consider a product’s country of origin more. I still recommend the 507c, though. No backup guns carry an optic.

Three of the main guns have lights on them, and all three lights are from Streamlight. Two of them (myself included) have replaced Inforce APLs with Streamlights. No backup guns had lights mentioned.

Finally, three of the guns have modified internals. One is a G19 running an Overwatch Precision trigger (previously reviewed here). The other is the Beretta 85 Cheetah. The Beretta has a Ruger GP100 mainspring in place of its stock spring. I’ll let Red Menace give his reasoning on that one, as that kind of parts swapping is above my paygrade. Ol’ Red is also running the modded P-07, meaning that he’s got 2/3 of the modified guns. Typical gamer.

The alternate guns carried were almost all tiny, with one duty sized. The duty sized P-07 was one of two alternative options not carried with a reload. The derringer isn’t carried with a reload either, but that’s because reloading one of those in a fight is pure fantasy.

The guy with the derringer also keeps an M&P Shield as a truck gun with 2 spare mags. He’s the only one of the five that mentioned a car-specific gun. Make of that what you will.

Conclusion

Of the five of us polled, I have the least formal training. Two of them have formal classes under their belt, one was taught by a Dept. of Corrections gunsmith and instructor, and the fourth is an accredited law enforcement instructor in his state. My education consists of basically a safety course and a lot of time spent in the YouTube School of Gunfighting.

I’m bringing that up so that you know this isn’t a handpicked set of dudes who all have the same experiences. This is a relatively diverse collection of gun guys, so keep that in mind. If something has widespread appeal, it is not likely just a fluke.

The most common caliber, by far, is 9mm. The lower recoil, the higher capacity, the excellent terminal performance with modern bullet design, all combine to form the most optimal choice for a carry gun with the current legal structures. Also well represented was semiautomatic firearms, all but one of which was polymer framed and striker fired. Adding in the backups only further cements the dominantion of the type.

If you’re looking for ideas on what to carry, look into striker fired, polymer framed semi-autos in 9mm. If you’re not looking at that, you need to have a good reason why.

Final Thoughts

Next week I’ll share the results of the survey when it comes to home defense guns. As you can imagine, things get a little more interesting there. Be sure to check back in on Friday and see what’s in store.

Speaking of future posts, I’m working on a follow up to a previous little experiment that I’ve been very excited about! I can’t wait to hit the range and get some data. You guys will just have to sit tight and see what happens. I’ll give you a clue though…