6 Concealed Carry Gun Myths Busted

Don't Believe These Concealed Carry Gun Myths

There are a number of concealed carry gun myths that have been floating around for some time, which some people still go around believing. Some have a basis in reality, some don't.

Some have to do with common and others about certain gun attributes. Don't believe them. It's like when someone tells you that you have to carry far more gear than just your gun, holster and maybe a besides: there's a little something to it, but not that much.

Let's have a look at some gun myths that have made the rounds at times, and why they're totally false.

Dry Firing Will Ruin Your Gun

This gun myth actually has a little something to it, but a lot less than you think. For almost all pistols, is no problem at all. In fact, it's the best concealed carry practice you can do outside of getting a shooting day in at the range.

How did this myth get started? In times gone by, there was actually something to it. Firing pins on all pistols were not necessarily made that well and dry firing could damage them. A firing pin transfers energy into the case with the impact of the firing pin irrespective of whether the round is discharged or not. In older guns with poor quality parts (or new guns with poor quality parts!) that energy could snap or otherwise damage weak, brittle firing pins. Thus, dry firing could damage a firing pin made of weak materials since the mechanical energy had nowhere to go.

Modern guns don't have this issue as better materials and parts have become the norm. However, the thin, weak firing pin of a rimfire pistol can still be damaged by dry firing, so make sure to use a snap cap for rimfire pistols.

Heat Damage In The Car

The problem with this gun myth - your gun will be damaged if left in a hot car - is down to the numbers. To weaken steel, you need to generate temperatures around 1,000 degrees or hotter (weaken, not melt or otherwise seriously damage) and to damage most polymers that are used to make pistol frames, you need to generate temperatures in excess of 400 degrees.

The hottest your car will get, except in the most extreme circumstances, is about 150 degrees in most areas. If stashed under or around the seat - with, say a mount - then it won't get the brunt of it.

A Trigger Safety Is Not Enough

Some insist that a gun with only a trigger safety, like a Glock 19 or similar pistol, is prone to accidental discharge. It will just get pulled by something, the refrain goes, so you need a manual safety or grip safety for a pistol to be truly safe.

Not at all. Accidental/negligent discharges (some insist any discharge that isn't intentional is negligent, but that's for another time) have happened with every type of pistol under the sun. Yes, this includes with 1911 pattern pistols.

They're also easily preventable. First by observing the rules of gun safety (keep yer booger hook off the bang switch!) and second by making sure you carry in a holster that adequately protects the trigger guard.

Anything About Handgun Ballistics

Another type of gun myth that just won't go away is that of handgun ballistics, and the truth is that almost every single thing you've heard is wrong. Handguns are good for self-protection, and a few are good for hunting (at close range) but beyond that it's all what you find on the ground in a horse stall.

There is no such thing as stopping power in a handgun, except maybe for .460 or .500 S&W Magnum, or those hunting handguns chambered in .45-70. Yes, a 9mm bullet of good design that is well-placed (key idea there) can stop an attacker. So can a bullet. However, the rest is almost all hype.

A .416 Remington Magnum? Now THAT has stopping power, but then again that's an elephant gun. Your pusillanimous .40 S&W? Get out of my office. Handgun rounds are good for self-protection, but they just will never run with the big boys.

Subcompact Pistols Aren't Accurate

This gun myth is just wrong. Anyone who has ever shot a gun from a Ransom Rest or similar device that removes the user from the equation knows compact and subcompact pistols are capable of accurate, precise fire. It's the user that gets in the way.

Guns are inherently more accurate than the people who shoot them in almost all cases. A derringer or zip gun? Okay, you have something there. Outside of that...barrel length and sight radius can make an impact, but even small pistols are plenty accurate. It just takes a lot of hard work to get you there too.

Myth 3: Water And Sweat Will Ruin A Gun

Clean, desalinated water, on its own, exhibits very little oxidizing power along the protected and lubricated metal parts of a firearm. Obviously, you should never store your firearm in water or wet environments. And if it's been submerged in water, dry it and lubricate. The polymer portions of your gun could care less.

Will sweat and water eventually destroy a gun? Yes.

Where this myth begins to find basis in fact is sweat. Sweat isn't desalinated water - it's salt water and certain mixtures of oil.

For daily carriers in hot weather environments, your firearms will be exposed to a decent amount of sweat. That sweat does have the capacity to corrode and rust the metal components of your gun over time. If you're looking to avoid this mess, remember to dry and clean your firearm every couple days. A modern firearm isn't going to give up its ghost because it was pressed up against your sweat-drenched hip for a week. If you pour a lot of sweat on your firearm, always remember to dry it off, clean it and lubricate the exposed parts. To avoid this get a with neoprene backing that keeps the sweat away from your firearm.

Do you have any other myths you'd like us to examine? Tell us in the comments section below.