CCW Weapon

[Charlie50]

Great input on this thread. It seems all too often guys are trying real hard to sell what they use / believe - does not matter the subject! My two cents, handle and shoot as many different types as possible, make sure it has a reliability factor .999999, after that pull the trigger on that choice. If you're like most of us (bit gun nuts) its likely you will end up with other newer favorites later on. BTW the one I carry the most is the J frame 642 - power, dependable, ease of concealment. Obvious downsides are round capacity and difficulty shooting accurately. If I feel the need for a bit more security I like a full size .45 but thats just me .

The little Springfield Armory EMP 9mm catches my eye... a little flashy but ..

[Sam]

Sorry.

[Sam]

There is no perfect carry gun. I have six different guns I carry. My 4" 1911 the most but a 3" 1911 and G23 & 27 also see time on the hip. PM9 and J frame see back up duty. Dress and activity dictate. Biggest thing is to have the proper gear(holster) and training.

I can understand the different sizes of Glocks you have but why the different manuals of arm for a tool that you may need to use while someone else is trying to do you harm?

[redcliff]

Although I have "several" ccw handguns the one I carry virtually every day is the Kahr P380. Small, accurate, light and truly pocket carryable unlike a lot of pretenders.

Although I carry my larger pistols at times, the P380 is just too convenient to not consider. First rule of a gun fight is bring a gun; so get a small, light one you will actually carry everyday as your first.

[9mmlove]

It's hard for me to keep a beretta storm in 40 on target.

My parents both swere by the xd in 9mm and .45

My vote would be g19 if striker or cz p01 if hammer is your choice. Both are my faves.

[J.D.Allen]

I carry a full size CZ 75 B every day. I use an OWB concealment holster with a shirt over it. It does print a little but I have a large cell phone that prints even more. For all anyone else knows my weapon is a cell phone under my shirt. The weight doesn't bother me, maybe someday it will but for now it doesn't. I carry it all day quite comfortably. I am a fairly big dude (6'2", 205 lbs.). My point? Everyone is different as far as what works for them. You don't necessarily have to look for the smallest thing out there.

[Ryan_D]

I like the Springfield EMP too, but Rob Pincus' opinion of sc-1911s kind of steered me away from the idea of using it as a carry weapon, and I don't like it enough to pay $1200 for it, LOL

[Massan]

I'm not a fan of having multiple carry choices(jack of all trades, master of none) as your life may depend upon it so I want to be intimately familiar with my choice. Pretty much any handgun can be "concealed" properly as long as you have a good belt/holster combo and some minor tweaking to the way you dress. Course you will also have to figure out what compromises you want to make, ie grip comfort/size. Stick with what you know/comfortable with(your XD) imo unless you are willing to make a complete change.



I carry it's bigger brother in colder weather since I have an excuse to keep the jacket on.

[sandsk8erz400]

Have you looked at any of the Kahr models? As others have stated, since the purpose of this gun is for concealed carry, size does play a crucial role. My father and uncle recently acquired their CCW this past year, my father picked up the Kahr PM9 and the uncle picked up a Glock 27. Both guns shoot great and are of similar size, the key difference IMO lies in the thickness.

PM9 - 0.9" and Glock - 1.18".

Doesn't sound like much, but for my every day attire I could conceal the Kahr fine while the Glock imprinted. The Glock was also quite a bit heavier than the Kahr, so again IMO, the Kahr was much less noticeable to myself.

In the end, it will just come down to how you trying the guns out and getting a feel for how they'll conceal on yourself. I'd recommend at least checking out some of the Kahr models (CW,PM) to see if they're to your liking.

[Ryan_D]

Have you looked at any of the Kahr models? As others have stated, since the purpose of this gun is for concealed carry, size does play a crucial role. My father and uncle recently acquired their CCW this past year, my father picked up the Kahr PM9 and the uncle picked up a Glock 27. Both guns shoot great and are of similar size, the key difference IMO lies in the thickness.

PM9 - 0.9" and Glock - 1.18".

Doesn't sound like much, but for my every day attire I could conceal the Kahr fine while the Glock imprinted. The Glock was also quite a bit heavier than the Kahr, so again IMO, the Kahr was much less noticeable to myself.

In the end, it will just come down to how you trying the guns out and getting a feel for how they'll conceal on yourself. I'd recommend at least checking out some of the Kahr models (CW,PM) to see if they're to your liking.

I haven't been in to the shop to actually fondle any of the weapons yet. The XD subby is the front-runner at the moment based solely on how much I like my current gun. Glock is probably on my "list" but lower down. The Glock ramp angle does not suit me well. Hell, I'm not even sure what my carry preference will be just yet, will probably look at IWB first.

[kauaibuilt]

There is no perfect carry gun. I have six different guns I carry. My 4" 1911 the most but a 3" 1911 and G23 & 27 also see time on the hip. PM9 and J frame see back up duty. Dress and activity dictate. Biggest thing is to have the proper gear(holster) and training.

I'm in this boat. In the last year or so Ive pocket carried an LCR and iwb a G26 and m&p shield. Used to carry a G23 and kimber ultra carry.

Friend of mine carries a 5" sa 1911, rock island compact 1911, g19/26/27, j-frame, shield, kahr 45 (forgot the exact model), and a few others depending on the weather or specific need.

I used to think kydex holsters were great but now I've levitated to hybrids and love my mtac over my crossbreed.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[drifter2be]

I'll make my suggestions, because these are the two guns that I carry. Walther P99cAS and Walther PPS(not on roster)

I carry both in 9mm, but they are also available in 40.

If I decide to get back into shooting .45 sometime I may end up picking up an XD-S (a new law limiting mag capacity might make me re-evaluate the 9mm vs 45 argument, since capacity on future purchases would be limited)

Obviously in CA it doesn't apply to you, but I like my P99cAS because it can also use my 15 round mags from my full size P99, so I carry one as a backup.

I've handled the XD-S. It's pretty much the same size as my PPS, so I know it's easily concealable, even in a front pocket. If I start shooting .45acp again that and a 1911 are the two guns I will be buying.

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with carrying a 1911, other than I don't like guns with manual safeties for concealed carry and I personally don't like the idea of carrying cocked and locked, although I am an advocate of carrying with one in the chamber.

This of course is all my thoughts and feelings. What works for me may not work for you. Whatever you do, don't carry anything smaller than a 9mm. I do have a .380 PPK that I carry occasionally, but only when attire or something else prevents me from carrying at least the PPS.

Also, it should go without saying, but I will say it anyway. Verify that whatever you carry is reliable, and reliable with the ammo you have loaded in it. It might be a little pricey to put 100 rounds of your carry ammo through your gun, but to me it was worth the peace of mind to know that my gun would reliably feed those rounds.

[bsg]

my favorite subcompact semi-auto is the G26.

[Ryan_D]

I'm pretty well settled on a .40 for the sake of uniformity right now. I don't have a great deal of disposable income at the moment, so buying one type of ammo is more efficient for me. Plus, as I said, simplifies packing a bug-out-bag.