When setting up a personal carry gun in this day and time, the first thing a person notices is the huge amount of accessories that are available. This can be good, and it can be bad. The best rule of thumb for the personal defense gun is to not hang anything on it that is not absolutely necessary. The first thing that I want to do with a new gun is to shoot it a lot, and those shooting sessions will tell me what, if anything, the gun really needs.
Not too long ago, I bought one of those new 3-inch Colt Pythons from a friend. I guess I must have put a couple of hundred rounds through it in order to make sure that it worked properly and to determine that it really liked the 158-grain lead hollowpoint load from Underwood Ammo.
The gun already had a post front sight with a gold bead, which is my preferred sight. And my friend had a professional gunsmith do a good defensive trigger job. I don’t like a really light trigger job on a defensive handgun; that might get you in trouble. I am more interested in smooth and that is what this Colt had.
This was one of those Colts in highly polished stainless. And, while the sights are black, the glare from the rest of the gun in the bright sunlight was a distraction. After shooting the gun enough to know that I liked it and would keep it, I had a local gunsmith bead blast it. No more glare and what was left was a much more business-like appearance to my way of thinking.
This particular Python came to me wearing a set of Colt checkered-wooden service stocks that fit my hand very well. However, I learned long ago that I needed smooth stocks on a fighting gun. Bill Jordan had pointed out to me that, in the heat of battle, we may not always get the perfect grip on our gun when we make the draw. With smooth stocks it is quite a bit easier to make any minute adjustments that may be necessary. Not long ago, I found a small shop that makes very nice, and attractive, smooth mesquite wood stocks and ordered a set. So, with a bead-blast finish and a set of smooth stocks I am good to go ... well, right after my holster comes in from Barranti Leather Company, that is. So, my suggestion is not to jump out to accessorize a defensive carry gun. Just shoot it. Compare it to your performance with other guns. That experience will tell you what the gun needs. Often it won’t need very much, and you can spend your extra money on more ammunition, which is always a good thing.
