Has the pandemic affected your weapon choice?

[I_Like_Turtles]

So have any of you thought about changing over to a weapon that's easier to disinfect at the end of the day?

I am taking all this stuff pretty seriously, making the most of all the available info.

My .38 is nearly impossible to disinfect what with the CTC laser grips and the Desantis pocket holster having such an irregular surface.

My CW 45 is easier to wipe down but those grips are not. So......I was thinking my new-to-me K9 would be easier to Clorox wipe-down.

I'd still have to test fire it though.

The Mitch Rosen Express Line holster is easy to wipe down.....and bleach wipes do not seem to hurt the leather.

Anyone else put any thought into this?

[5.56x24]

It has affected my choice of carry weapon but not because of any need to disinfect it at the end of the day. If you're carrying a weapon concealed and not pulling out, waving it around, rubbing on people and allowing them to handle it, and expectorate onto it, the gun should not need disinfecting.
My altered choice is because this crisis has moved the clock hands just a bit closer to "midnight" as it were. In the short terms things are "ok" but if this goes on to the point where food supplies are interrupted, or electricity, water, even transportation, it's only a matter of time before the thugs start fanning out into the neighborhoods looking for easy pickings. I've already counseled my friends to not open the door to anyone they don't know - even a child, and to be very cautious before opening the door to go outside and get into the car, or check the mail. Thugs can and will position themselves so they catch the unwary out in the open and approach with some seemingly harmless story in order to get in close. Don't ride the tail of the car ahead, stop well back at lights and such and be ready to swing out and escape. What may seem like a harmless bum could easily become an armed robber. So with all that in mind my current "carry" choices begin inside the home where I have several rifles already locked and loaded in strategic locations with "some" spare mags also loaded. I place my FNH Five-seveN in my car with six spare magazines when heading out - 140 rounds. I carry my other Five-seveN inside my belt with two spare mags - 60 rounds. I still carry the small stuff like my P380 in a front pocket just because. If I'm traveling to work I will pop an AR in the trunk with a dozen spare mags - 390 rounds.
Since I'm not going to leave my car - or go very far when I am out, I keep my custom-fabricated, laminated Lexan "personal ballistic shield" beside me in easy reach for defense against a sudden gun rush.
And last but not least just in case I keep a bag in the trunk with a few survival odds and ends - dressings, disinfectant, staple pack, various clamps and forceps, and a couple of large combat knives, and a Cold Steel War Hammer.
Since I drive an electric car I never have to stop for gas, but for those who must I advise them to only gas-up when they can take another person to either act as "overwatch" or do the gassing up. The bad guys see this behavior and pass because it signals this won't be "easy pickings" but there is always the chance
We never "all" leave the house and when I'm at work my wife knows how to handle the "ready weapons" as do my two sons.

[DavidR]

No changes for me. I have carried a spare mag once or twice but since there have been no confirmed zombie sightings I've stopped doing that.

[dustnchips]

Istill just pocket carry my CW380.

[berettabone]

I just buff up the revolver with some Renaissance wax...……………………….

[I_Like_Turtles]

Everything you touch is potentially contaminated. Now, I doubt there is anyone infected at my ski condo, but since I have to touch the outside door handle to lock up when I exit, I expect my hand is infected. Since I have to reach into my pocket for the truck keys, that means the pepper spray may be infected (clipped into left side front pocket).

Sometimes my hands brush up against my OWB holster/top of slide. See what I mean?

When I come in, I put everything I have: belt, knife, firearm & holster, wallet, spare mag/speed loader and pouch, flashlight and pouch, pepper spray, keys, phone, glasses into a box by the door. Later I will wash the items that can survive being washed. Those that cannot are wiped down with a bleach wipe.

My father is 78 and I am no longer "young." I take no chances with this thing.

I wash hands. If I have been around just one person outside the house, clothes go into washer. I shower.

I am not sure the firearm really can be disinfected. My K9 has those rubber grips....just can't get good penetration/coverage with bleach on 1/3 a wipe. (I have been cutting up and rationing the wipes for weeks now).

The car handles, keys, anything I touched inside get wiped down too unless the car sits 3 days or more untouched.

***

Wow....it seems people problems are more of a concern there than the virus. My area of WV is pretty rural, people are still pretty friendly and their normal helpful shelves. That might change but it'll change where you are long before it changes where I am. I don't begrudge your armaments though....I'm libertarian and you are a better judge for your area than I am.

[340pd]

My carry gun is the same but,
I have found by covering my face with one of my wife's thongs, people move back far beyond the recommended 6' distance. In fact, many times it will clear an entire aisle.Thinking of taking this on Shark Tank.

[King Rat]

My carry gun is the same but,
I have found by covering my face with one of my wife's thongs, people move back far beyond the recommended 6' distance. In fact, many times it will clear an entire aisle.Thinking of taking this on Shark Tank.

Actually taking that to shark tank is a great idea. But then again patents etc take a while. I am surprised some Tee shirt and printing companies are not making mask as we speak. It will be interesting to see if someone pics up on this. Kids mask, adult mask, mask with slogans, and on and on.

[yqtszhj]

My carry gun is the same but,
I have found by covering my face with one of my wife's thongs, people move back far beyond the recommended 6' distance. In fact, many times it will clear an entire aisle.Thinking of taking this on Shark Tank.

Like :amflag:

[yqtszhj]

I don’t worry about disinfecting my gun as I appendix carry and figure as long as I know where my crotch has been lately I’m safe (and not just my firearm safe.:rolleyes:) I do wash the hands right after returning from anywhere before handling the firearm though.

Daughter works in an essential profession and lives with us so only so much can done there and it would just stress me to be paranoid about it. Can only take what precautions we can.

My carry gun hasn’t changed as I had stepped up to 16 rounds anytime I leave the house so I’m good to make a get away from trouble I figure.

But here is the real consideration... since they have started letting people out of jail and 10,000,000 have applied for unemployment in the last 2 weeks and how many weeks will it be before people run out of money, I have stepped up the HD plan significantly. All I’ll say is for those who know Barth’s line of thought he would be proud. More concerned about those of low moral character than the virus at the moment. I live in a nice place but I’m near the County Jail and several prisons are in my county. I Don’t mind sharing some if someone asked for something but it wouldn’t be good if someone tried to break in and take ALL my stuff. I got a family to feed too. I hope it never comes to that but we’re in different times now.

[I_Like_Turtles]

If one is paranoid but something is trying to kill him, is that even called "paranoid?" LOL

Right now is not a good time to live in a city.......if there ever was a "good time."

[Ken L]

I still carry my CW40, but I have a few others stashed around the house

Funny, my wife used to occasionally say "you need to take one day a week off from carrying", not that I listened to her. I might have swapped the CW40 IWB for a Taurus TCP in a wallet holster, but she didn't know or notice. But, since we've been sheltering in place now for what, 4 weeks, she hasn't said that once. :D

[I_Like_Turtles]

What is up with your wife? Seriously! Does she take one day a week off from wearing a seat belt? Glad you didn't listen to her.

I used to not tell girls I was dating I carried but I rethought that policy. Starting about 2011 I told them pre-date one I carried at all times. I cancelled at least one date due to the female not wanting me armed. I'd rather find out her true feelings before we fell in love rather than later.

[yqtszhj]

My wife has been on me that I’m not “wearing” a full size pistol around the house all the time now. I told her if my 43x ain’t on me it’s within arms reach of where I’m sitting but that wasn’t good enough. So I broke down and ordered me a nylon shoulder holster that should be good for a 5 inch barrel and 2 extra mags. Well see how that works out as had been thinking about that anyway. Should be here Friday.

[Bawanna]

All my wives and mistress's are trained from day one to stay on my left side, even my grandkids, if they want to hold hands hold the left one only. Keep my right hand free and clear at all times.
My wife carries her little 638 in her purse, I've tried to convince her to get one of those flash bang boulder holder holsters so I could help her put it on everyday but she's not having it.
In the purse is better than leaving it home but not by much.


Interesting note on the grand kids, I often wear my 1911 just open around the house when it's warm enough, the kids never inquire or try to play with it in anyway. At first they would occasionally try to touch it, which I was ok with, my sons or mom would give them the big no, after awhile they just act like it's not even there. My kids were the same. Leave a gun on the coffee table and they would drive their toy cars all around it and jump over it but never touch it.

[I_Like_Turtles]

Your wife wants you armed at home? SHE'S A KEEPER. I have kept loaded firearms spread about the house since I was on my own. My dad started the practice after an uncle got his door kicked in while he and my aunt were in bed. *It's OK, he had a gun and they ran off, trailing blood.

"All my wives and mistresses"......so many mens' fantasies.....

I take steps to keep my right hand clear also.

Off-body carry is dangerous! But we do what we can.

Things hidden excite the curious mind.....things in the open do not.

[Armybrat]

My LCP is either in my pocket, on the side table next to me, or on the bathroom countertop while I’m in there.

I see no reason to disinfect it, as it doesn’t get touched by hands that haven’t been washed thoroughly or wiped with a sanitizer. It does get wiped down with a silicone rag once in a while and field stripped for cleaning every so often.

On a related note, UPS just dropped off a cardboard box package at my front entry. Picked it up with one hand & carried it into the garage where it got sprayed on all sides with Lysol. It’ll sit there until it gets opened in a couple of days, then I will wipe the three boxes of AE 85 grain .327 Federal Magnum that were ordered Friday from GrabaGun.

[yqtszhj]

I like the LCP. It has seen more overall carry time than any other pistol over the years. Mine has been Uber reliable over the last 10 years.

[wyntrout]

I used to carry my P40 and an extra 7-round mag giving me 6+1+7, but my shorts got a bit tight and I switched to my P380... still in a MiniTuck IWB with a spare mag opposite side, but now I've added another spare mag giving me 6+1+7+7, or 21 rounds of Underwood +P 90-gr GD's.
I did buy a pair of Land's End shorts sized 35" and the P40 fits in those, but I have a BUNCH of size 34" shorts and hope that I don't have to go to my supply of old 36" or 38"s. If things get worse, I can always wear my loose 36"s and carry my P40 with a couple of spare mags, but I only go out for groceries about once a week and stick to Costco, Total Wine, Sam's, and our closest Super Walmart. There are a few other places, too, but I've had no bad feelings about those, yet.
Wifey likes to go shopping, but has barely ventured out to resupply herself in snacks and a few other things from Trader Joe's about 20 miles away. It's cheaper in her Subaru, even with sub-$1.50 gas.
We carry Wet Ones for disinfecting, and I go a bit further with Lysol spray, too. Typically, I leave the car with two Wet Ones in my hands and use them on the cart as needed and I take advantage of any provided sanitizer cloths or hand sanitizers available. When I get back to the car I put stuff away while standing outside the vehicle, then spray the bottom of my clogs well with Lysol before getting in and then use a Wet One to wipe my hands and anything else I might have touched.
I use gloves and anti-bacterial soap at home a lot when handling food, for cooking, too.
Mail I sanitize with Lysol and handle it with Lysol-drenched gloves, recycling directly most and opening the other for mail or medicine or supplements, whatever... trying to be safe.
I haven't felt the need to "sanitize" my pistol as I never touch it while I'm out and it stays under my untucked shirt until I switch to my "house shorts" and P380 carry in my old soft Uncle Mike's IWB holster. I've always had Glocks... G21, G23C, and G30S loaded and positioned with extra mags near wherever I sit in the house. And Wifey has her G43 plus extra mags at the head of her side of the bed, My G21 is at mine.
Depending on how things go, I might unlock my PA-10 and get it ready... loaded with extra mags at hand, but I don't see that being needed, though that could change.
We mainly just go out to get out of the house and top off our food supplies and not let those get low.
We're already ready for hurricane season with full tanks of gas, gas and oil for the generator, and plenty of food and water.
We do have a deep Artesian well with an unaided flow of 2 gallons a minute and I distill our tap water, keeping about 30 gallons of that on hand, as well as 6-8 cases of Dasani bottled water.
So, we're good. I keep the two wine coolers topped off, too, and just got Wifey another case of six 3-L boxes of her Cabernet for sipping... from 5 O'clock on. I wait until dinner... I'm the cook!
Y'all stay safe.

[Barth]

My LCP is either in my pocket, on the side table next to me, or on the bathroom countertop while I’m in there.

I see no reason to disinfect it, as it doesn’t get touched by hands that haven’t been washed thoroughly or wiped with a sanitizer. It does get wiped down with a silicone rag once in a while and field stripped for cleaning every so often.

On a related note, UPS just dropped off a cardboard box package at my front entry. Picked it up with one hand & carried it into the garage where it got sprayed on all sides with Lysol. It’ll sit there until it gets opened in a couple of days, then I will wipe the three boxes of AE 85 grain .327 Federal Magnum that were ordered Friday from GrabaGun.

+1
No one touches my guns but me.
No need to disinfect :)

[Bawanna]

Your wife wants you armed at home? SHE'S A KEEPER. I have kept loaded firearms spread about the house since I was on my own. My dad started the practice after an uncle got his door kicked in while he and my aunt were in bed. *It's OK, he had a gun and they ran off, trailing blood.

"All my wives and mistresses"......so many mens' fantasies.....

I take steps to keep my right hand clear also.

Off-body carry is dangerous! But we do what we can.

Things hidden excite the curious mind.....things in the open do not.

At one time I had 9 cyber brides and a couple on a waiting list. Actually I think I still do, never got no divorce papers or even memo's indicating they wanted to start seeing other people other than their real life husbands of course. I think I've found an issue, we don't got no women on this board lately.
We need to remedy that.

[I_Like_Turtles]

At one time I had 9 cyber brides and a couple on a waiting list. Actually I think I still do, never got no divorce papers or even memo's indicating they wanted to start seeing other people other than their real life husbands of course. I think I've found an issue, we don't got no women on this board lately.
We need to remedy that.

I'll ask my GF tonight if she'll join.

[Armybrat]

My temporary side table in the living room right now......

[Artie]

Might carry another reload.

[I_Like_Turtles]

Might carry another reload.

I went to a double mag pouch but mainly due to how a single would twist on the belt. I had belt room at 8 0'Clock for a double mag pouch, so went for it and I like it.

What are you carrying now Artie?

*So few guys carry a reload.....I don't really understand the thinking. Like a guy said online "what are you going to do----wait around for police with an empty weapon?"

[berettabone]

I think I may do the opposite of most folks...……………….I carry less ammo in the city, and more in the rural areas. In the city, most confrontations are going to be relatively close in distance, and unless your a damn good shot, you can't be having firefights in the city where there are innocent people around and other things in proximity that you don't want to be hitting with errant shots. Lawyers would have a field day if you needed more than a few shots. In the rural areas, and especially in the woods, I carry more ammo. Lot's of rifles in rural areas and if I don't have a rifle(which I probably wouldn't) I at least want to have enough ammo to have a chance of saving myself/others. Revolver in the city most times, semi in the country. I just don't like carrying a bunch of ammo around. I don't like stuffed pockets or things hanging off of a belt. I would rather be lighter and a bit more nimble so you can " Exit, stage left ".;)

[Bawanna]

Exit, stage left. Words to live by. I've been trying to figure out how to make a wheelchair go sideways, so I can improve my bobbing and weaving pattern.

[DavidR]

I think I may do the opposite of most folks...……………….I carry less ammo in the city, and more in the rural areas. In the city, most confrontations are going to be relatively close in distance, and unless your a damn good shot, you can't be having firefights in the city where there are innocent people around and other things in proximity that you don't want to be hitting with errant shots. Lawyers would have a field day if you needed more than a few shots. In the rural areas, and especially in the woods, I carry more ammo. Lot's of rifles in rural areas and if I don't have a rifle(which I probably wouldn't) I at least want to have enough ammo to have a chance of saving myself/others. Revolver in the city most times, semi in the country. I just don't like carrying a bunch of ammo around. I don't like stuffed pockets or things hanging off of a belt. I would rather be lighter and a bit more nimble so you can " Exit, stage left ".;)

This makes a lot of sense. [emoji106]

[I_Like_Turtles]

I'm not grasping the logic of "city, carry less, woods, carry more." Massad Ayoob hasn't touched on that, not in the two books of his I've read, and "Stop the Threat," ASP, and Paul Harrell (all on Youtube) haven't either. What they have all mentioned is that "every round launched has a potential lawsuit attached to it." I carry one or two reloads and that doesn't change no matter where I go. My one Monarch shoulder holster from Andrew Leather has three reloads but that's for balance. It's a fine rig and very comfortable.

One of the reasons I carry reloads is to help balance the weapon's weight but that only applies to semi-autos, my revolver reloads go at a right angle on the belt to the revolver which is exclusively pocket carry.

Most guys do not carry a reload at all and will go to some lengths to justify that.

I would think that one is more likely to be attacked by a gang in a city and in a large city that enables gang membership. Such large cities would be more likely to infringe self-defenders any way they could. Maybe that's the thinking.

Literally in "my neck of the woods," as in the woods themselves where I used to ride my ATV, a friend was riding alone and pulled to the side to pee. Two men on a motorcycle stopped, dismounted, and began to approach doing the classic "fan out move." He stood tall, brushed his button-up shirt back to show off his holstered .357 Taurus revolver, and both stopped their advance, backed up, remounted, and rode off. I don't recall him carrying a reload but back then (1999) I didn't carry a reload either.

I suspect they'd been following him for some time or riding along looking to hijack someone that day. Whenever I rode in the woods I did so open carry or in a shoulder holster under my jacket. My ATV would often get stuck in the big mud holes and I'd fire a shot or too into the water as signal for that friend to come back and pull me out.

That got some shocked reactions once when my brother-in-law went riding with us. They got through, I got stuck, and I fired off my signal. According to my friend, the brother-in-law (he was scared of most everything anyway) heard the shots and "looked terrified." My friend told him "either Turtle just killed two desperados or he's stuck in the mud." They came back and pulled me out.

I think, in general (but not always) when shooting of any kind starts the cockroaches being to flee. However, this is always the exception and no one has ever said "gosh I wish I hadn't brought so much ammo" to any battle they won.

*I wonder what would have happened had my friend not been armed.....would he had a long walk or would a hunter had found his body in the fall? We used to go so far out there that I'll bet no one would find a body. I wonder how many men those two have killed....