What do you prefer in a carry gun? Can't make up my mind

[EricW]

Quite honestly, I've settled on a Keltec P32, which sounds bad, but at least I can have it with me everywhere. If I go out on lunch from work, I throw it in my pocket. And not having to holster up and down constantly is a HUGE convenience to me. It's the difference between having a heater and not having one at all.

Now...

This is what may become heater numero dos for everything else. Yeah, it's big. Yeah, it's heavy. But currently, I'm carrying a 5 1/2" 44 mag or a G21 for everything else, so this can hardly be less convenient. My pet idea has been for quite some time to have "one gun" and make it work. So, we're going to see how setting up one pistol actually works for everything from 10mm to 170 PF competiton. I'm not sure if anything will be lightenend or shortened during that process, but we'll see. With the right belt and the right holster, I think it's going to work out just fine.

And FWIW, now that SA has the 9mm EMP, I may be taking a hard look at one to replace the KelTec.

Edited May 27, 2007 by EricW

[Overkill]

I've got the Kel-tec P32 and I just could never get warmed up to the idea that that was serious PDW. Too small a caliber, too bad a trigger, poor sights.... I just couldent get away from the idea that if something was close enough to do damage with that little gun I'd have a lot more faith in my knife.

[et45]

Most of the time it is a Smith 642..For walking it is a Beretta .32 Tomcat.If I know that I am going into a high crime area then it is a Glock 21.

[oddjob]

S&W 640 here with 38 special, 158 grn LHP's...........After 28 yrs of CCW off duty (LEO) I've always gone back to a J-frame. I wear sweats in the winter and can carry the 640 in a shoulder rig under a sweat shirt (Bianchi 9R)and in the summer I'm a T-shirt & shorts guy and wear the 640 in a Safariland 560 paddle holster (cross draw style). At work I wear a series 70 Colt LW Commander .45 in a 560 (plain clothes) behind the right hip. I know wearing two different guns on two opposite sides of the hip is a bad idea, but off duty it works for me because its comfortable. FYI........My 640 has been dropped, scratched and looks just awful...........but it shoots.

I was carrying a .380, but one of our guys has a brother who works for a large California agency and related the following incident. An off duty cop was robbed at a local ATM when the officer fired his .380 into the suspect's chest 3 times. The suspect was wearing a heavy pea coat and when he was caught he had three welts on his chest. Nothing went through the coat, but it did scare the suspect and he took off running. There was a massive sale of .380's after that. At least he was carrying something.......And thats always better than harsh language.

[ChrisStock]

My pet idea has been for quite some time to have "one gun" and make it work. So, we're going to see how setting up one pistol actually works for everything from 10mm to 170 PF competiton. I'm not sure if anything will be lightenend or shortened during that process, but we'll see. With the right belt and the right holster, I think it's going to work out just fine.

Already there FN-FNP9 fulfills all duties at the moment, but it is a bit of a bear to disguise unless I'm wearing one of my untucked button down shirts. I figure that by putting 500 rds/week through it, disassembling/reassembling blindfolded, that I know it intimately enough to depend on it if anything went terribly wrong and I needed it.

[abs]

Springfield Micro Compact .45, 22 oz, 6+1 cap, dehorned, night sites.

[Skywalker]

My actual carry guns: S&W 6904 (winter) and Taurus 617 (summer).

What I look for, in a carry gun, is the maximum concealability allowed by a 9mm calibre minimum.

I have tried with mini glocks (26/27), but I never felt really comfortable with them: grips and Glock trigger mechanism are the most disliked features.

I want a decent caliber (stopping power-wise), say a 9mm or .357, in a compact gun.

The S&W fits my hand graciously despite being double stack, it's traditional DA design (I like it better than SA), and it's totally reliable. I use it mostly for winter carry, since its butt prints a bit under a simple t-shirt

The Taurus (7-shot) is the perfect combination of a good stopping power caliber in a compact but yet manageable gun. It weighs almost the same as the S&W, but its rounded butt easily conceals under summer clothes without printing.

[Hoofy]

The purpose of a pistol is to fight your way to a rifle.

Kahr P40

1911 in Winter

Concealment, comfort, reliability.

[Gameplayer]

Colt LW Commander in a MS Axiom.

[MichiganShootist]

Hi Thomas

I prefer larger guns when the Michigan weather allows a Colt Officer's model sized gun to be hidden.

But my American Express Gun.... (I never leave home without it)... Is a Kahr PM - 9 loaded with Federal Hydra-Shoks.

It weighs less than 1.5 lbs. including a kydex paddle holster from Galco---- loaded.. and with the D/A/O trigger it is a real shooter... which you can carry in the rear pocket of a pair or jeans.

Bart.... Gary... and a lot of other shooters you know and respect rely on it too.

Edited May 29, 2007 by MichiganShootist

[Guest]

Where I live the common year round attire are flip-flops, surf trunks, and maybe a tee shirt. That kind of limits what you can conceal. A couple of years ago I got one of the Kel-tec P32s with the side clip and can carry that concealed with no problem. I've shot 500-600 rounds through it and actually have grown fond of the lil' mouse gun and would feel confident using it out to about seven yards or so. Plus, being mostly plastic it holds up well to sweat and humidity. When I lived in a colder climate I carried either a Firestar 9mm, or a Heine PD (personal defense) combat commander. Both of those are real guns, but absolutely impossible to carry concealed in surf trunks without carrying a "man bag"...which I refuse to do.

[Bear23]

1. Dan wesson Bobtail in 10mm.

2. S&W 686 2 1/2" 357

3. Ladysmith .38+P 5 shot.

What i carry depends on what i wear and how hot it is.

[SingleStacker45]

I'm new here but I've been carrying on and off for 8 years and have tried alot of different options. My latest is a Kahr p45 w a smart carry holster. It is super stealthy and it shoots a two inch group at 25 yrds with Winchester STHP 185 gn. Recoil is rough but the accuracy makes up for the double tap speed. Of coarse I've never been in a gunfight and I know nothing about shooting.

[kz45]

I carry a KZ 45 compact, double stack holds 9 rounds and is no wider than a single stack 1911

It is vary controllable and accurate, I have actually shot a bunch of match's with this gun.

As far as weight goes, it's 1/2 pound lighter than a standard 1911, I don't even know it's their.