With the increase of individuals wanting to protect themselve, I keep hearing people around me talk about what they carry. One says, “I carry a 9mm. What do you carry?” “I carry a 22-caliber automatic.” The other day I had a man tell me that he would not own any pistol that was smaller than a 40-caliber Smith and Wesson to use as a concealed carry firearm.

I subscribe to two monthly gun magazines that help me to keep up with the trend on new products coming out in the future. There are many discussions about what pistol is best for personal protection. The reports talk about how small some pistols are, and how powerful they are. The individual’s opinion on this subject can be very different in what they conceive as the perfect gun to carry for protection.

I first look at the manufacturer of the pistol to make sure that they have a reputation on producing quality firearms. I consider Colt, Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Beretta, Sig, and H & K to be quality firearms, just to name a few. I try to stay with the companies that have been in the business for several years.

I next consider which firearm fits my hands best and is comfortable to carry. I decided on a revolver or a automatic pistol. This selection should include how much experience you may have with each pistol. I generally believe that it is easier to learn how to shoot a revolver. The simple technique of just pulling the trigger on a revolver is quicker to learn.

The automatic pistol on the other hand has several things that you need to learn. The biggest difference is the operating of the slide. The revolver is pretty straight forward, pop open the cylinder and insert the bullets. The pistol consists of using a clip to load the bullets into the gun, and manually operating the slide to get the pistol up and running. For some individuals, such as ladies, this can be a difficult proposition in itself. Generally, ladies use a lot of hand moisturizers to keep their hands soft, which can cause pulling the slide back on an automatic a little tricky. This does not always apply to all of you ladies, because I have seen ladies shoot these guns just as well as the men, and in some instances even better.

Is your concealed carry gun too small? I believe that this is up to the individual. If you never practice with your pistol then you will probably never be proficient in using it. I don’t suggest that you have to carry a cannon for protection, because if you can’t shoot it straight, then maybe you should check into something a little smaller that you can handle.

I believe now that I should mention the most important lesson of all when owning a firearm: safety. If you have someone that can teach you safe handling techniques, then seek them out for help. If you do not have anyone who can teach you how to be safe, I would recommend taking instruction from one of the many organizations that teach these classes. The ones that I have heard about are very reasonable in price, and after completion will give you a certificate for your concealed carry permit in your state of residence.

I will say that I would rather be around someone with a gun of smaller caliber that can handle it safely and shoot it with confidence, and hit what they are aiming at, than someone with a 44 magnum that cannot hit the side of a building.

Roger Sherrill lives in Ringgold. He can be reached at tandemjumper@catt.com.