Concealed Carry Corner: Range Guns Vs Carry Guns

Welcome back to another episode of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we discussed carrying in a system and prioritizing how you carry things in tiers. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to take a closer look at the differences when it comes to having a reliable range gun to practice with versus having a reliable carry gun. Both have their place but if you train a fair bit, they shouldn’t be used for the same role. Let’s take a closer look at some of the differences between rang guns vs carry guns.

Range Use Versus Carry Use

Going out and practicing your fundamentals at the range can be one of the best ways to hone your skills and reinforce good habits when it comes to shooting a handgun. Range guns should be your workhorses and take the majority of rounds fired when it comes to skill-building and practicing new drills. Anything from trigger manipulation, sight picture, target transition, and recoil mitigation can all be practiced on a slightly larger gun that would be considered as a range gun rather than a carry gun. Learning these skills on a larger platform and then applying them to your smaller carry gun can certainly be a great way to practice fundamentals without putting unwanted use on your carry firearm.

I have written a number of articles about the importance of training with your carry gun and I certainly think you should train specifically with your carry gun every 2-3 months to ensure you are comfortable with the actual firearm you carry. Some individuals fall into the trap of carrying a full or mid-size pistol and using it as both a range gun and a carry gun. In the short term, this isn’t much of a problem, but if you go years without changing out parts or doing regular maintenance on your guns, they will start to lose their reliability or run the risk of malfunctioning when you need them most.

Maintenance Of Carry Guns 

I have fallen into this trap with more than one gun that I own personally. With my tan Gen4 Glock 19 as well as my SIG Sauer P226 Elite. Both of these guns I have used extensively as range guns as well as keeping them in heavy rotation in my carry guns. My P226 especially has taken a beating with almost 24,000 rounds through the gun during my time with it. This can cause immense stress on the major internal parts such as the recoil spring, barrel, trigger springs, and hammer springs.

If you plan on heavily using your carry guns as primary range guns, it’s important to look up the recommended maintenance schedules and follow them religiously. The Glock line of pistols are incredibly easy to disassemble and replace parts which makes them a better candidate for long-term use if you want to have a range gun and carry gun all in one package. If you have heavy-use firearms and plan on carrying them, it's never a bad idea to have some extra parts like recoil springs and a repair kit if you go to the range and put a high volume of rounds through your gun. 

Finding Comparable Models 

One of the best things to do when looking at training with firearms you carry is to find comparable models that you can train with one and carry the other. Shooting something like a Glock 19 or 17 but carrying a Glock 43X or 48 would be a good example of finding comparable models. You can take the slightly larger handgun with the exact same controls out to the range and practice, then hook on your smaller carry gun with the same controls so there are training similarities.

Other options for models would be something like the SIG P320 and P365. The more modular options allow you to swap out larger or smaller grips to make a truly custom gun that you can build out for either the range or for carrying concealed. Having separate guns or having various modular designs will allow you to have a slightly more comfortable experience at the range and train roughly the same system as your carry gun. Keep in mind if you go with a modular pistol design like the P365, the fire control unit will still need to be maintained with replacing springs and consumable parts at appropriate round counts.

Balancing Practice with Carry Guns

The tricky part about training with your carry gun is having enough practice with your concealed carry pistol to be confident with it while not using it so much that the pistol becomes questionable in terms of reliability. I will take my carry gun out for a 200-round refresher every 3 months or so which is usually 800 rounds a year. For most, that will be a lot of shooting but the people who put 2,000-3,000 rounds a year through their guns will need to maintain their firearms.

Overall Thoughts

For some, having your carry gun share the role as your main range gun won’t necessarily be an issue since the majority of people only shoot 500-600 rounds yearly if that. That amount of shooting will mean years of reliable use along with adequate practice to be confident with your carry pistol. If you want to shoot more than that, it’s never a bad idea to get something comparable to shoot more at the range without putting excess stress on your carry gun. For the vast majority, it won’t be a problem to shoot your carry gun, but I’ve certainly seen people shoot their carry guns too much and need to send them in for servicing.

Let me know what your thoughts are about shooting your carry gun throughout the year and what the perfect round count is in your eyes. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below. If you have questions about carrying or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Concealed Carry Corner.

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