A majority of Americans love guns, and a majority of them really love THEIR GUN. Owning a firearm is often a lot like our human relationships. Some relationships are solely based on looks, some based on their consistency and reliability, and some settle on anything they can get. Now that doesn’t mean we can’t fall in love with a beautiful and elegant firearm which later turns out to be the most reliable and trustworthy firearm we have ever had. On the other hand, we can have relationships with firearms that we thought weren’t based on physical appearance, but instead based on a mutually beneficial partnership and yet still things just go horribly wrong. Some amongst us will advise those new to the experience to only seek out 1911′s because that was what dad and grand dad had and look how long they have been together. Others will say that you don’t want one so old fashioned and need a more modern relationship. Even some will say that we shouldn’t just have one firearm in our lives as variety is the spice of life, right? So, what do we do? How do we choose? Most of us can’t afford to have them all! Firearms today come in a multitude of calibers, sizes, barrel lengths, weights, and options, so how do we pick the right one for us?
Well, as most things in our lives to give someone advice on how to pick anything usually starts with how we started our own journey:
From the time I was a young child, I loved guns. My father wasn’t a hunter and we didn’t go shooting often, but we did have firearms in the house and I was taught about safety at a young age. I had adventures visiting my family’s ranch in Oregon where we did some target shooting in the mountains behind the pastures. My love affair had a laser like focus on anything 1911. I don’t remember why the 1911 captured my attention the way it did, but there was no doubt that my heart was set on having one. While a lot of other children where building castles with their legos, I built guns. While other children were drawing pictures of their family, I was drawing 1911′s. I am very thankful that I grew up before the current level of political correctness or I probably would have been kicked out of school for drawing a gun and spent my childhood with therapists. I wasn’t crazy though, I just enjoyed shooting, reading about shooting, watching shooting, and everything related to shooting.
Fast forward through the years and I became focused on the more standard affairs of being young, but eventually I came of age and could purchase my first firearm. The first firearm I ever purchased was a Winchester model 94. I know it wasn’t a 1911, but it was $200 so I really couldn’t pass it up. A couple months later, I was able to convince my dad that “he” needed a 1911. Since I was only 18, my dad purchased the firearm and I was in heaven. The Springfield 1911 Mil-spec model was used and in pretty bad shape in it’s appearance, but it shot well and shot reliably. I didn’t care about the way it looked! It was my first pistol and it never quit on me. As with a lot of early relationships though, I became eventually became bored and looked to something new and exciting. Through the years working at a shooting range, I saw many firearm relationships come and go. There were 1911′s, Glocks, Smith and Wessons, Beretta’s, CZ’s, Rugers, Colt’s, custom pistols and rifles, production models, and the list could go on and on. I had periods of horrible luck in my firearm relationships where it seemed like I always picked the wrong one. I’ve seen $500 1911′s fail, $3000 1911′s fail, Glock’s fail, Revolvers fails, rifles fail, just about anything that could possibly break did, and everything that could fail did as well. These bad relationships made me stop and think about what is really important in my relationships with guns.
We all learn as we go, and I did as well. Looks and trophy models seem to matter a little less over time and a deeper love was found in a harder working, always faithful partner. So, who is this partner that I now fondle and fuss over? I’m sure some of you are thinking that I made my way from a young child in love with John Browning’s beautiful creation and finally, through many tough lessons, found my way to a reliable subtle beauty like a Glock or other polymer pistol? Well, that actually isn’t the case here. My life partner pistol is still a 1911 that I have had for many years now. It hasn’t skipped a beat through the many thousands of rounds I’ve put through it. It has had some cosmetic work done over the years to keep it looking new and youthful like when we first met. My Springfield Custom 1911 has been carried and shot for years. It is a quality piece of workmanship from the benches of Dave Williams at Springfield Custom. It is one of the few guns that I will never part with and will always have it at my side. It may not be the most concealable, or lightest, or rust resistant, but it goes bang every time it is needed. If one could marry a pistol, I’d buy her a diamond front sight and get down on one knee at the range.
So, what is the right pistol for you? It may be a Glock, 1911, M&P, Beretta, Kahr, Ruger, or one of the many other firearms on the market. There isn’t a need to confine yourself to one narrow group or make or model. In the end, good looks won’t make a gun reliable, nor will blocky guns necessarily be reliable because they lack good looks. Spend some time at your local shooting range that rents firearms. Take a few models or all of the models out on a Range date and get to know each one as well as you can. And don’t forget, as much as we may love a gun and want to keep it at our side forever, if it doesn’t work reliably then it may be time the two of you sat down and talked. A gunsmith counselor may be able to repair the broken relationship a untrustworthy gun can create, but if he can’t then it’s time you part ways for your own good. It will be difficult, there will be fits of anger and depression, but know that you will find love again with a new firearm and hopefully it will be the trustworthy one to last a life time.
