# Chasing Unicorns



## Cypher (May 17, 2017)

There's a discussion on another forum about who still carries a Glock 26. The implication of the question is that with the recent advancements in microcompact yet STANDARD capacity carry guns the Glock 26 is outdated and really not worthy of consideration as a carry gun.

Before I say anything else this discussion isn't about the Glock 26. It's about the need to have the latest, greatest new carry gun and the idea that the latest, greatest new carry gun is going to solve all my problems and it will be the perfect carry gun.

I did that for a long time and after a while I noticed that I was spending a lot of money getting tooled up for the next new perfect carry gun.

At some point I made a decision to stop "Chasing Unicorns" .

The gun I have now (which was the latest, greatest, whiz bang new thing at one point) is adequate. I have an ample supply of magazines for it and as many holsters as I will ever need.

I don't see a reason (and I can't afford to) keep reinventing the wheel.

Maybe we can get a good discussion out of this


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I have chased that for 30 years. I have owned 3 digits worth of guns over the past 30 years years because there is always something I want...

And, since 1996 when I first got my permit, I have had 28 carry guns. I just counted them.... That's not all the guns I have owned, but just the ones I have carried over the years. The 3rd 3.1" Shield Plus I just got a week ago was just added to that list.

You mentioned the Glock 26 - In the 1990s, I actually had a Glock 26 as a carry gun for many years. I never really liked the gun, though. At the time, it was the ONLY brand that had that rust proof finish (old Glocks had a different finish compared to what they put on Glocks now) The backstrap was just too short for my liking on the G26.

I will say that the 4" S&W Performance Center Shield Plus is as close to perfect of a carry gun as I can find. After all these years, THAT is the gun that shoots amazingly for me. It shoots about as well as my Glock CombatMaster, which is a $2500 gun. Yet, it's small enough to carry, and is just over $500.

I have even previously carried fullsize 1911s and Beretta 92s before. But this 4" Shield Plus shoots as well as those, and is much lighter, thinner and smaller. Plus, the trigger is the best factory striker fired trigger I have ever felt. The PC version has a little better trigger than the standard Shield Plus.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

I still carry a 1911a1 daily. Over the years I have had to carry different handguns due to regulations. I started with a 1911a1 in Dec. 1969 and have trusted ever since. There are a lot of different makes and models out there to chose from but for me I go with the tried and true. Everyone has to find what works best for them, chasing the unicorn is part of finding that out. I have spent my share and then some on different pistols and revolvers and have not found one better for me to rely on.


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## crc4 (2 mo ago)

I've actually had just a few carry guns over 50 years. S&W Model 67, S&W Bodyguard are the two I carried from 1973 until about 2000. Then I carried CZs and the occasional Makarov.

Except for the Model 67, I still carry the same guns with the CZ 75b, 97b, and now the P-01 as the primary and most likely the S&W Bodyguard as a second/BU gun. The CZ82 and Maks are carried under certain circumstances and occasionally as a BU gun in warmer weather.

I've had other handguns from 1911s to Browning High-Powers but never carried them on or off duty, didn't care for them, and sold them. I have other handguns for fun, from .22s to .45LC, but do not carry them.

I also only buy .38, 9mm, and .45 acp. No .40s, 357s, 10mm as I prefer to keep my ammo needs relatively simple and almost universally available. I try to be pragmatic.

I tend to get a gun and do my best to wring out the potential of that gun for my style. That's the reason I never hesitate buying CZs as they fit my style. That's the same reason I don't own Glocks,1911s, Sigs, H&Ks, and many other brands as they don't suit me. In perfect honesty, It's not that I believe those guns to be bad or inferior, it's that I know what I like and had rather spend the time honing my skills with the guns that I trust and enjoy than adopt a new gun.

I've also never owned an AR, but I do like AKs.

I still buy other guns with an eye to trade, but other than test firing they're gone as quickly as possible. I recently sold a very nice Russian Makarov as I have three others, a Bulgarian and two East Germans, and never carried or shot the Russian. Made some money to buy my P-01.

The first gun I've seen that I'd like to shoot and give a try is the new RIA 5.0 always with the thought that if it's not a carry gun, I don't need it.


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## SSGN_Doc (Mar 12, 2020)

When I started into handguns in the late 80s and early 90s the predominant “trending”handguns were the Beretta 92, Sig 226, and S&W 9mm handguns law enforcement had picked up when they moved away from revolvers. 

Glock was moving into the market but I wasn’t quite ready to go that route. I had a Beretta 92. I did ultimately find it large, bulky and heavy for carry. The Glock 26 had come out, and I bought one. And found it very easy to carry but not super easy to shoot and control well at first. A friend had found a deal on LE trade-in Glock 17sva d I bought one of those, then found a Glock 19 and discovered it was my Goldilocks sized handgun. Easy enough to conceal, easy to control and shoot well and pretty forgiving. So I carried double stack Glocks for over a decade. But the more I began to train and carry I decided I wanted to go back to a DA/SA triggered pistol and found 3 contenders is that Glock 19 size/weight range. CZP07, Beretta Px4 Compact, and Walther P99AS. 

Over the last year I have taken a deep dive into snub nosed revolvers as alternatives for carry when I need something smaller, so I retain the DA trigger. But I also broke out my Glock 26 And found I still can shoot it and probably handle and run it better than I did years ago.

I have picked up and held the P365 and Hellcats, they feel decent, but I have gotten used to a double stack mag thickness and as I considered getting one of the micro-nine pistols, my change to handguns with DA triggers and somewhat service sized grips just didn’t compute. My unicorn search was to find a size envelope I could carry and control well while being able to conceal it without a ton of effort, and have a trigger that I feel is conducive to use under stress while still being approachable.

I just haven’t found gaps in my carry needs that aren’t served with what I already have.


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## Cypher (May 17, 2017)

tony pasley said:


> Everyone has to find what works best for them, chasing the unicorn is part of finding that out.


There's a lot of Truth to that.

I think my perspective is a little different than most people's. I don't consider myself an Aficionado of guns. I carried a gun as part of my job for several years and that kinda took the "fun" out of it. 

My employer (G4S) made all my decisions for me. What I carried, what ammunition I used, the type of holster I carried it in the belt that I carried it on.

I was also employed by G4S at the time of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. They came under a lot of scrutiny because it was found that throughout the time that they existed as a company they've lost over 625 guns. They just vanished from the inventory. So they were calling us at random hours to verify that the gun that we carried was a gun that they issued us.

One night I walk out my front door on my way to work and and two guys tried to rob me. I was able to stop them because I was carrying my issue gun. 

I called the police I filed a report I contacted my supervisor immediately when I came to work I gave them the report number and they still almost fired me. Of course had I just submitted to the robber and lost the gun (assuming that the robbers didn't shoot me) I would have been fired for that too. 

I said all that to say that I don't consider guns a hobby. I don't get any particular enjoyment out of carrying a given gun.


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## Cypher (May 17, 2017)

When I first started buying guns I pissed away a lot of time and money chasing the latest greatest new gun on the market.

And in 2013 I sold off almost every gun I owned and started over. In reality I was still chasing the latest greatest I just sold off a bunch of guns that I decided weren't the latest greatest to fund it.

I went M&P and got a 9mm Shield and an M&PFS9. Then I sold the Shield to fund a first generation 9C because I wanted magazine compatibility with the FS and 4 more rounds.

After about 6 months I got tired of the 9C and I sold it to fund a Glock 19. My (somewhat valid) rationale was that the 19 essentially filled the same space as both the 9C and the FS. I kept the FS based on a review on another forum by Dr. Gary Roberts who I guess is considered the be all and end all of ballistic technology. He said that of all the plastic fantastic said he had reviewed the M&P seemed to be the best built so I kept mine.

I swear to God I'm almost in the end of the story.

A few years later I had an opportunity to add a Glock 26 to my accumulation. I chose the 26 for magazine compatibility with the 19 and because I could carry it in my pocket at work.

Maybe a year later I saw a P365 in a gun store and decided It was the next "Latest, Greatest".

That's when my wife put her foot down. That's when I got told that we're not pissing away anymore finances on new guns. I have absolutely no problem admitting that my wife has more common sense than I do, so I listened.

So I said all that to say this, I like my Glocks I am quite content to carry a Glock 19 and a Glock 26 for the rest of my life (Especially since the CFO is not going to release any more funds for me to buy a gun). I shoot them well. I have all the accessories I need for the three guns and I'm happy with them.

But the truth is Glock just happened to be where my cycle of chasing the next new gun stopped.

I bought my glock 26 in June of 2018 and I don't think I've set foot in a gun store since . I don't see any point. I know my wife's not going to release the funds so why go look


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

My wife is the same way about me and saddles, but the good part good saddles makes gun look cheap.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Cypher said:


> When I first started buying guns I pissed away a lot of time and money chasing the latest greatest new gun on the market.
> 
> And in 2013 I sold off almost every gun I owned and started over. In reality I was still chasing the latest greatest I just sold off a bunch of guns that I decided weren't the latest greatest to fund it.
> 
> ...


I still have my old G19. It is my favorite carry and it works every time.


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