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How Much Should You Customize Your Carry Gun?
Or some would ask, should you customize your carry gun? And my answer would be, “Of course.”
Customizing your carry gun is an inevitable phase that gun owners will experience, especially when you look at your firearm and get bored like I did. No matter what, we all want a firearm that also looks cool.
But how much should you customize your firearm? That’s a great question.
What Are Customizations?
By definition, we know what they are, but what do you consider customizations? Do lights and red dots count? Or are we talking more in-depth?
A light is a must on your carry gun, and it doesn’t come on a pistol from the factory, so it would be considered a customization. So would a red dot optic.
Pictured: Staccato pistols with Surefire weapon lights. Courtesy of Miklo87 on Reddit.
Customizations can also be made to every part of the firearm. You can change your trigger, slide, frame, recoil spring, barrel, you name it.
We’re going to start with a customization that can trigger some shooters — you guessed it — the trigger.
Should You Customize Your Trigger?
This is a constant debate that I see on Reddit. The question is — how light is too light of a trigger pull for a concealed carry gun? And does modifying your trigger make it less safe?
It doesn’t make it less safe (as long as done correctly), and the correct trigger pull weight for a concealed carry firearm is up to the shooter. It’s one of the most opinionated subjects in the community.
Most stock triggers come with a pull of about 5.5 – 6.5 pounds, which isn’t too much if you ask me, but the trigger itself can be terrible. For example, I have a trigger kit from Armory Craft because I hate the feel of my Sig Sauer P320 trigger.
Pictured: SIG P320 with Armory Cract trigger. Courtesy of BingBongstrong on Reddit.
So much so that I almost got rid of the gun altogether.
But trigger kits help change how you feel when you interface with your firearm. So shooters tend to alter their triggers around in hopes that it will increase their accuracy (since heavier triggers tend to affect this)
A lighter trigger will make it easier to be accurate. But too light of a trigger pull can be more of a liability than an asset. Sure, you never point your gun at what you don’t intend to destroy, but sometimes, you don’t have to destroy it.
I pulled my firearm on a would-be attacker in Seattle, but we both went home that day. I had my finger on the trigger and aimed center mass before he realized a gun was trained on him.
Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if my pull was too light. So I keep it at 4.5 pounds. If you’re just getting into carrying, I would recommend keeping it above that. 6 pounds should do.
Custom Slides On Carry Guns?
Let’s face the facts. Custom slides look cooler than stock slides. And sometimes, the build you’re after necessitates the need for a custom slide.
Pictured: Glock 34 pistol with Taran Tactical slide. Courtesy of WiskStick34 on Reddit.
The same way my M18 slide made it impossible to have a rear sight without an adapter plate. Wanting to co-witness a Trijicon RMR, I had to buy an aftermarket slide. Not to mention the quick-wearing PVD coating on Sig Sauer slides.
Some shooters believe that custom slides on carry guns, especially slides with cuts in them, are a liability due to how much dirt can get into the firearm. And that is a valid concern. But if you have a firearm worth anything, some dead skin cells and loose hairs won’t be an issue.
Slide cuts make the slide lighter for easier cycling, and lighter recoil due to less weight moving against the shooter. So it has its perks, with the only drawback being some debris getting inside.
Custom slides on carry guns are just fine. Just take it apart every once in a while and give it a quick wipe and all should be good.
Benefits Of Customizing Your Carry Gun
No matter how much we love a firearm when we pick it up for the first time, there is bound to be a moment when we look at it and say, “It’s time for a change.”
I loved my M18 when I first got it, but after a while, I grew bored of it. It got to a point where I wanted to sell it and get a different firearm altogether. So I decided to change it around, and when I was done, I was in love with it all over again.
Shooters customize their carry guns for a variety of reasons, but most want a gun that’s easier to shoot and fun to look at. If any of this sounds like you, then this is your sign to customize your carry gun.
Conclusion
As I said before, customizing your carry gun is something that almost every shooter will do at some point or another. It’s human nature for us to tinker and see what we can achieve.
So, should you customize or modify your carry gun? Yes. Just make sure you know what you’re doing.
Be good and take care.
