“The best gun is the one you have” can be useful when it means that an available tool is better than a perfect tool left somewhere else. It becomes an excuse when it is used to end every discussion about reliability, suitability, training, or preparation.
Availability is only the first requirement
A defensive handgun must be present when needed, but presence alone does not make it a sound choice. The gun should also be reliable, safe to carry, suitable for the user, supported by dependable magazines and ammunition, and compatible with a secure holster.
A small pistol that can actually be carried in light clothing may be more useful than a larger pistol left at home. Conversely, an unreliable bargain pistol is not made adequate merely because it is already owned.
Separate temporary limitations from permanent standards
People work within real budgets. A person who already owns a marginal firearm may need to use it while saving for something more suitable. That temporary reality should produce a plan:
- verify safe function and reliability with the intended ammunition;
- obtain a holster that protects the trigger and retains the firearm;
- replace damaged or questionable magazines and parts;
- seek competent instruction and regular practice;
- identify the most important equipment limitation; and
- save deliberately for the upgrade that solves it.
Buying the cheapest available option can delay that plan by consuming money that could have gone toward a dependable baseline. At the same time, equipment advice should respect financial reality and distinguish essential reliability from expensive preference.
Define “best” by the task
The best choice for deep concealment in summer clothing may not be the best duty pistol, home-defense firearm, or training gun. Size, capacity, shootability, concealment, access, maintenance, and individual fit all create tradeoffs.
The useful version of the saying is: the gun you can safely access and competently use is more valuable than the ideal gun you do not have—but you remain responsible for improving foreseeable weaknesses.
Heh, they’re confusing best with better than nothing.