The fact is, if you are involved in a self-defense shooting, say goodbye to your pistol.
The police are just doing their job, and one of their tasks is to collect evidence; ergo, your gun ends up in an evidence bag. Typically, the police will hold your firearm for a specified period until the investigation is completed.
If you are cleared and no charges have been filed, you can expect to get your gun back. Maybe. There is no set timeframe for returning your gun to you. Every state is different. But your gun will be logged as evidence.
Since I started to conceal carry—about the time Glock Gen3 pistols were introduced—I decided to be on the throw-away side of the fence. Both my EDC and pickup truck guns are throw-away guns. Here’s why.
What’s A Throw-Away Gun?
I’m not advocating buying a cheap gun, unless that’s all you can afford, but do you really want your $3,000 custom 1911 tied up in red tape until the incident is resolved in the courts?
Don’t confuse a throw-away gun with a cheap gun with iffy reliability and performance. Those guns, you definitely want to throw away. My definition of a throw-away gun is any gun I could lose and easily replace with an exact copy. I also don’t want to be out a month’s pay because my gun was confiscated and now tied up in the court system, and I especially don’t want to be unarmed.
I want a gun I know I can buy at any gun shop and be confident the new one will work exactly like my old one. That’s why my EDC gun is a stock pistol. I don’t want to learn a new trigger pull, acclimate myself with different controls, and a new grip angle. I want the replacement to be the same.
I have a pal who at one time rotated a classic lineup of handguns into his EDC routine. He carried a Heckler & Koch P7M13 at times. HK P7’s were expensive when they were available 20 years ago. Try finding a replacement for that pistol.
You can’t touch an HK P7M13 for under $4,000 today. He also likes S&W wheel guns, needless to say, his HK P7 has been replaced with an IWI Masada, and the S&W with a Taurus. Both practical solutions address the potential consequences of a defensive shooting encounter.
There are a ton of handguns that fall into the “throw away” category—Glock, S&W M&P, Ruger, Canik, Springfield Armory XD, SIG P365, and even the PSA Dagger—name a polymer frame striker fire manufacturer, and they’re likely to have a product that qualifies as a throw away gun.
AR-15 rifles, too. There are too many AR-15 rifles that qualify as throw-away guns to create a list. All I know is I could replace my AR with another that costs around $400. I know it will work, I know it may not have the best trigger, have the best furniture, or be sub-MOA accurate, but I know I can rely on it to protect myself and my family.
Of course, you need to run the replacement gun to ensure it is reliable and performs to expectations. There may be minor tweaks to your EDC gun. Perhaps night sights are a must for your handgun. Add that to your replacement cost.
Carry What You Can Afford to Lose
You are more likely to lose your EDC to theft than be involved in a violent attack. Your vehicle is broken into, and your EDC gun is inside because you are in a no-carry zone, and you left it in the center console.
Perhaps you’re parked in another big box store and forget to lock it because you’re in a hurry. Even if you did lock it, no one responds to car alarms. Good bye truck gun.
Theft and confiscation are two situations in which you will lose your gun.
Carry What You’re Comfortable and Confident With
These off-the-shelf, throw-away guns may take a little more training on your part to become more efficient, because they don’t have the tuned trigger like your 1911, nor come with a 1-1/2 inch group at 50 yards guarantee.
But you have to ask yourself, do I really want to lose that unique gun? Do I really want to be out all that money? Y
You may insist on customizing your EDC, just remember you may lose the gun, and if the only thing you lose is a gun and not your life, the extra cost can be justified.
Where To Buy Your EDC
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