Handgun Modifications or Training?

Riley, thanks for joining me today. You know, you're really passionate about this topic of appropriate modifications, and even this idea really, what's more important modifications or training. What do you see when you go to the range that frustrates you when it comes to modifications? Many of the frustrations I have at the range are students that show up with compensators, ported barrels, fancy triggers, that don't necessarily make them a better defensive shooter. Right. It might help us split time or something like that, or help you hit golf balls at 50 yards, or that crazy turning your striker fired gun into a single action kind of trigger, maybe even bypassing safeties. These things don't really help you learn the fundamental application concepts. What do you suggest for people who are, especially the ones that are just getting started, where they spend the money, where they spend the time? I'd recommend they spend the money on their ammunition, and time spent actually training and learning the skills. That's sound advice to me. It's certainly something that we've advocated for a long time at Personal Defense Network. But you do have some opinions on modifications that are worthwhile. Maybe not day one, but certainly once you've established the baseline skills, what are you guys recommending at concealedcarry.com? What modifications make sense? Yeah, I think modifications that makes sense, are things that make handling and using that gun a little bit easier. For instance, you get a lot more positive extraction of magazine if you have maybe an extended magazine release. Or, it's a little bit easier to get that slide locked back with an extended slide stop. Definitely one thing that makes a lot of sense, because most defensive encounters occur at less than ideal conditions as far as lighting's concerned. A weapon mounted light is a great tool to have. Also, better sights, because a lot of times from the factory guns come with less than ideal sights. If that helps you a little bit, establish that sight picture, you know, with trickier shots, then those are some very easy modifications to do that make a lot of sense. Yeah. I agree with you. I tell most people, you know, stock is the way to go. Certainly with the trigger. I very rarely see a shooter on the range who isn't already really good with any kind of aftermarket advanced trigger, even a polished job on their trigger, that really makes them that much better, especially in the defensive shooting context. But sights, absolutely. A lot of the sights that come from the factory aren't worth having on the gun. And if anything, they're set up with a very narrow rear notch for extreme precision, shooting at a tight group from a bench. But I like the wide rear notch. I like obviously a front face that's flat on the rear sight, that's a great mod. And a lot of people have that... They're 95% of the way there to a perfect grip on their gun, and when they put the extended magazine release on, it's that much easier from the drop that mag without looking, without worryin' about it, more reliably. As long as it's not so big that it pops out when you put it in the holster. So I definitely agree with you on those two points. The underlying thing here is that your gear is not gonna save you if you don't have the skills. It's that software versus hardware thing. Absolutely. So spend more time on the ammunition and the training, as opposed to wasting money on the gun. Yep, I agree. There may be a time for modifications and some of them might even be important, but overwhelmingly if you're serious about being prepared for personal defense, get the training, get the practice.