A few things are treated as gospel in the gun world: 9mm Luger is the king of all defensive calibers, capacity matters for self-defense, and you’d better follow the four golden gun safety rules. Also, you’re supposed to carry the same gun in the same position every day. Are you really, though? Is it the end of the world if you alternate your carry guns or don’t carry in the exact same spot on your body every single time? We’ll examine both sides and then take a look at a realistic combination of thoughts.
Position 1: You must carry the same gun every day.
The idea that you should carry the same handgun day in and day out is a reasonable one. When you’re proficient with your carry gun and familiar with its setup, you’re typically going to be a more effective defensive shooter. Your draw stroke can be honed to a fine point, and running the gun itself can go more reliably, resulting in greater accuracy under stress.
Frankly, this is a logical thought for many gun owners. Not everyone has a wide variety of carry guns available, but some certainly do. If you have one gun that covers your carry and home defense needs, great. It’s entirely true that training with one handgun is a stellar way to build proficiency (with that gun). It’s also true that having that gun holstered in the same place on your body can develop muscle memory of reaching and drawing, even under significant stress.
Position 2: You can carry any gun, anytime.
The first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. According to this argument, having a gun is all that matters. This line of thinking suggests that you can carry whichever gun you prefer without consequences—or at least only minor ones. Whether you’re changing the gun out because you felt more SIG-like today or due to a desire to give your Cabot some time out of the safe, it doesn’t matter. As long as you carry a gun in the same location on your body, you’ll build muscle memory. It’s not impossible to master more than one handgun or platform with enough trigger time.
An Alternative: It is reasonable to rotate your carry gun—within reason.
Realistically, you can rotate your daily carry safely and effectively by taking certain measures to ensure proficiency and consistency. In a perfect world, we’d all have the same daily carry without changing it up, but the world ain’t perfect. When we put unrealistic expectations in place, we discourage otherwise qualified gun owners from taking steps to protect themselves and their loved ones.
As someone whose career and lifestyle revolve around firearms, I can state with absolute certainty that it is possible to be proficient with many different guns. Whether we’re talking about a vast array of handguns or a lot of different platforms, it’s doable. It does require time and patience to shoot those various guns regularly. If you plan to just grab a gun and go without spending time shooting it, you’re probably going to have a bad time. But, if you put the work into it on the range and in class, you can pull off a carry gun rotation.
Firearm size
Because it’s not realistic to expect everyone to dress the same and go to the same places daily, it’s reasonable to understand people might have a few different carry guns. I’m not suggesting a dozen or more, but two or three? That’s reasonable. Options might include a compact for frequent carry, a sub-compact for deeper concealment situations, and maybe even a true micro for non-permissive environments (remembering many manufacturers use sub-compact and micro sizes interchangeably). Or maybe they’re all technically one size, but the real dimensions vary, making a different gun preferable for certain situations.
Carry Location
If you find yourself needing to rotate your carry gun, it does help to always carry your handgun in the same location. That might be AIWB or immediately behind your strong-side hip. The location depends on your needs and preferences. No matter where you’re carrying, you need to spend time practicing that way at the range. If all your range time involves open carry or zero holster work at all, you’re not adequately prepared for self-defense situations.
Practice, Practice, Practice
As for the guns themselves, you should be spending time shooting them all. While your mastery level is unlikely to reach what it would if you only shot one gun all the time, it can still be excellent. It all depends on the time you invest and how consistently you train. Are there shooters capable of running a ridiculous number of guns with exceptional precision? Yes, when it comes to masters, such as Massad Ayoob. But that takes a stunning amount of time and experience far beyond what most of us can manage. If you want to rotate your carry gun, expect to train enough to be proficient with each gun you carry.
Why not just one?
Here’s why it’s a good idea to be capable of accurately shooting more than one gun. First of all, you can’t predict how a fight for your life will go. What if you end up needing to run a gun that isn’t yours? What if you’re injured and find yourself unable to operate your gun as you normally would?
Second, having greater proficiency with a larger number of platforms and handgun sizes makes you a better shooter overall.
There’s nothing predictable about a gunfight for your life. There have been cases where a private citizen stepped in when a law enforcement officer was under attack and used the officer’s firearm to defend their life. And yes, there have been situations where a victim dropped their gun, and someone else picked it up to do the life saving. While these might not be the norm, these things do happen, and there’s nothing wrong with being a well-rounded enough gun owner to be capable of handling whatever may come.
Final Thoughts
You’re more likely to keep a gun on you if you give yourself some grace with carry gun rotation. Here in Texas, the weather swings from below freezing to 100+ degree heat and everything in between. That could mean rain, hail, or high winds. It’s helpful to have gun options you’re familiar with when you change between wearing bulky winter wear and lighter clothing. The key is, as always, regular training.
It’s worth noting you can use a setup like the PHLster Enigma for consistent AIWB carry, even if you change out your gun. With an Enigma, you might not need to swap guns, and that’s a big plus. However, if you find yourself needing to do some carry gun rotation, go back and remember the first rule of gunfighting: have a gun. In a perfect world, we’d all carry the same handgun every single day of our lives in the same holster, at the same spot on our body—but nothing’s perfect. Learning to deal with reality as a gun owner is a good way to go, and that way, you’re far more likely to be prepared if the moment comes when your self-defense skills are required.
