I’d also question how the determined how often criminals use guns.

Out of every time one is used against a person. That is a huge distinction. Guns are used tremendously beyond that.

That's fair. Still, I suspect the use cases are very different. People who use guns for hunting and defense against large animals don't need concealed carry permits, nor do they need to carry their guns in the city. People who use guns for sport don't need their guns anywhere except at the firing range.

They're often the same guns, though.

I hunt with the AR-15 that I have set up for home defense, and I shoot competitively with the pistols I carry for personal defense on a daily basis.

Be careful with that depending how you do it. It is highly recommended to not modify your carry gun in any way. A trigger job will be spun by a prosecutor as blood lust.

Mas Ayoob is of that opinion, but I’m not. I’m aware of exactly one example of that happening.