This idea occurred to me when a good friend recently said, “you know, if I could only have one handgun it would probably be ___†.” I immediately thought, I already own mine – the one gun I would have if I could only have one gun. It is the one with the most utility, the one with which I have the most familiarity and skill, and the last one I would ever part with. If I could only have one, it would certainly be my EDC handgun.
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†That friend is Jason. He’s a career cop, but don’t let that fool you. We met at the Cognitive Conclave. He’s a very well-trained dude and has some deep thoughts on handguns. I am trying to convince him to write an article about his “only one” gun.
The “If I Could Only Have x Gun(s)” Series
Welcome to the “If I could only have _ gun(s)” series! I know this type of article has been done to death, but I really enjoy discussing it! It’s a fun problem to solve: getting yourself down to the bare minimum hardware, while still covering all the bases.
My series will proceed up to at least five guns. Each article will cover only one gun, and build on the articles behind it. It may go beyond five, but currently the plan is to cover my “core 5” firearms that I don’t want to try and live without. All of these articles will follow basically the same format, first explaining the “why” behind that general category then explaining my particular choice to fill that category. Due to the complex explanations behind these choices, these will be lengthy articles.
If I Could Only Have One Gun: EDC Handgun
If I could only have one gun, it would be the EDC handgun. Why a handgun and not a rifle? This is reasonable question, considering that carry handguns typically make some fairly big compromises in regards to size and capacity. Added is the fact that when you need a long-gun, little else will do. Versus a long gun, a handgun is seriously handicapped.
Simply put, though, the EDC handgun is the gun that can do the most good. It is the firearm that you can have about your person 99% of the time. The EDC handgun is the gun that most of us can live with, most of the time. It also addresses the threats that most of us are most likely to face. Let’s be honest: the reality is that you will almost never need a long gun to solve a defensive problem. And only the tiniest few of us are going to participate in active combat, or need to stop a charging grizzly. Most of us do, however, need a small, lightweight, concealable handgun that can almost always be carried discretely (yes, that “almost” is foreshadowing). It can be used to stop the attacks we are most likely to face: the close-range, opportunistic criminal attack.
