Believe me, I love them just as much as the next guy. I’m not going to talk about how awesome they are in this article, though. For the purposes of this topic, I will be providing you with a few important reasons as to why we should be keeping our firearms stock…at least the ones we carry around with us.

Imagine this: One of your worst fears has become a reality, and that was the need to pull the trigger of your firearm in self defense. You have just killed someone. As soon as that happens, your life changes immediately.

One of the first things to happen will be for the police to hold your firearm as evidence. Now, imagine that you installed a nice new trigger with a lighter trigger pull. Let’s say that your stock trigger pull was 6 lbs and your new trigger pull was 3 lbs. Whether you like it or not, this could be used against you in court. A lawyer could throw out the idea that, had you maintained the stock trigger pull of 6 lbs, you may have had time to stop yourself from pulling the trigger before it hit it’s break.

I know to keep my finger away from the trigger until I’m ready

You and I both know that we should be keeping our finger away from the trigger until we are absolutely ready to fire, and no matter the pounds of pull, we would still be pulling the trigger if required. However, people in the courtroom may not know this and may form other opinions that are based on the lawyer’s discussion of the topic.

A side note with the example above is that, if presented with this in court, the manufacturer of the firearm is likely to not side with you because the firearm has been modified from stock. They would probably never be a direct part of the conversation anyway, but it’s still something to consider.

What can I do? Let me do MODS!!

Ok, calm down. There are still things that you can do to make your carry firearm better. Modifications that help with the handling of your firearm, such as aftermarket sights and grips, are generally acceptable. With sights, it’s still a good idea to have them installed by a gunsmith. Why? Better safe than sorry. Remember, a lawyer willsometimes try and spin the case in the opposite direction of where you’d like it to go. They are there to win the case just like you are. Don’t give them any advantage that would hurt your case.

An example of aftermarket grips from Talon Grips

Conclusion

If you have a firearm that you carry and you’re unhappy with the trigger pull, getting a new firearm to carry may be a better option than modifying or replacing the trigger. If you have a firearm with a safety that you don’t particularly like, replacing it with a different firearm without that type of safety is a better option that removing or disabling the safety on the other.

Plus if it’s stock and it doesn’t work, you should be moving along to another firearm. Sure we want to make things better, but a stock firearm should function properly all the time. Save the modifications for your competition or range firearm.

Many localities actually require permission from a judge to allow modifications to a firearm that you carry. Make sure to check your local and state laws ahead of time.

I don’t make the rules, I just see what can happen if things are out of place