[JDGray]

I carry a G23, which I'm very happy with, but it seems like every time a buy a similar size gun, I end up wanting to carry it too. I have 2 holsters ordered from Milt Sparks, 1 for my Sig P239, and another for my CZ Compact, now I'm thinking of adding 1 more, for my S&W commander. How many gun-holster combos, do you guys and gals have? I love the simplicity of the DA only Glock platform, but love the slim 1911 & CZ design for carry IWB. The Sig fits my G23 holster, but really deserves its own leather. I'm truly addicted!!!:)

[siglite]

I have three, and they all serve a particular purpose.

My winter carry (because the clothes allow better concealment) is a P220.

In the summer, I carry my P239 because it hides better. I sacrifice the terminal performance for the ability to better conceal.

Then, SOMETIMES, my manner of dress will not allow me to effectively conceal either the P220 or the P239, (shirt must be tucked in, no jacket or overgarment, etc..) and a smith airweight in .38spl goes in a pocket.

[p89cajun]

I got lucky. My full size 1911, my warthog, and my kel-tec pf-9 all fit the same holters. They all share the c-tac, don hume, and fobus. The only one that has it's own holsters is the millinium pro.

[esq_stu]

Of 13 handguns I own, I consider all but my two .22s (6+ inch barrels) suitable for CCW with appropriate attire. At one time or another, I've carried all but the .22s.

The five that actually get carried with any frequency: 642, SP101, PM9, Glock 26, and Glock 19.

[grimjaw]

I carry one of two: either a Ruger LCP or a compact (G19/G23/G32) Glock. I only got the LCP because the dress code here (due to warmer weather) doesn't let me conceal the Glock as well. Otherwise I'd just stick with one. I've considered going to a compromise again, like a Kahr K9/K40, but will stick with what I have for now.

jm

[40SW]

The choice of CCW firearm and setup should be a function of your lifestyle, wardrobe, and
geographic area. Don't be afraid to experiment with a setup that fits your circumstances. It takes time to reach the right solutions.

[romma]

I have three... Walther PPK/S, Keltec P32, Kahr PM9. I used to carry the Keltec all the time, but I am carrying the other two more often instead.

But I love the way the P32 hides. When it finally warms up, I will wear the Keltec more I am sure.

[Frandy]

Sorry, just couldn't resist. I'm sure many have seen this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25-8eJs054

[shdwfx]

There is the temptation to get "just one more" rig than what you already have.

But consistency. There is something to be said for lots of drills with one system.

Regularly switching carry pieces - Glock, S&W, 1911 - with different pointing styles, recoil, and actions - 'safe action', DA, SA - takes away from that instinctive edge. Under stress, I want to know exactly how my weapon will respond without ever having to think, "Which gun am I wearing today?" or "Where is it?"

[Sniper X]

I carry either a commander size 1911 and a 605 or model 60 and sometimes a full size 1911 and the commander! both at the same time that is.

[hso]

I stick with the same "family" of carry guns and don't approach carry like "fashion".

If you train, as you should, with the gun that you make the quickest quality hits with, then why would you change the basic layout and ergonomics of your carry guns? If you point 1911s and train with 1911s then carry guns that point like 1911s (Whether it's a P14 or a Colt Combat Commander or a 9mm 1911 or a Springfield XD) regardless of size and materials. If it's CZs or Sigs, carry within those families. Remember, you carry against the day that your life depends upon being able to get that gun out of the holster and pointed so that the rounds end up on target and not so that you can enjoy carrying a different gun every week.

[siglite]

hso,

That's why my primary two carry guns are sig P series. Same manual of arms for both, very similar "point."

The .38 airweight is for that last resort situation where I just can't practically carry either of the P series. It's, the "this is better than nothing at all," concept.

[bnkrazy]

I either carry a Walther P99QA or a P239. My 229ST is a bit heavy for everyday carry, but I sometimes carry it OWB it while hunting or at the range, etc.

99% of the time, my P99 is worn with a t-shirt/tucked dress shirt or additional layers in the winter. It is by far the most concealable I own and therefore most carried.

[Teuthis]

I carry one gun at a time. The ability to carry a concealed weapon, or carry one openly as we can do in Arizona, does not mean that the world has become a battlefield. I see no reason to become even midly paranoid and go about bristling with weapons. There are venues where one simply does not need to carry a gun anyway.

In Arizona, though we have liberal laws regarding concealed carry, we also have a complete imbecile as a governer. We cannot carry a weapon into any restaurant that has a liquor license. So I do not. That means having to remember that law, and often just leaving my gun in that car that day.

The new laws we are all enjoying are a true benefit for us. I recommend that we do not get carried away with carrying. LEO's might go about better armed, but citizens have no need of a personal arsenal hidden about our persons. More important is honing your skills at observation, cover and tactical advantage.

[JDGray]

Very good points on different platforms. The reason I like the Glocks and Sigs for carry, is the lack of manual safety. They both point the same for me, same size, both thick, however. I like the slim 1911, and the more I think about it, I think I'll get a holster for it instead of the CZ. The commander is lighter, and way thinner in the grip. Simplicity of platform and similarities between the G23 & 239, tells me to just stick with them, but the 1911 is just to thin and light to not try.

[MachIVshooter]

I have 3 to suit different attire. In the winter or cool fall/spring days when I'm wearing a jacket, I carry my Witness Compact 10mm. In warmer weather, My PF-9 is generally used with an un-tucked T-shirt. If my shirt is tucked in, my P3AT hides behind the belt buckle.

95% of the time it's one of these three, though occassionally I just feel like carrying something else for no particular reason.

[tmajors]

How many pockets you got? :)

Seriously though kinda like olives in martini's one isn't enough and three is just too many.

EDIT: Oh I thought you meant carried at one time. If counting total stock...well how much money you got?

[Bobarino]

just one. carried the same way, in the same place, every day for 9 years now. never could find a good reason to change up my carry outfit. its works very well for me.

Bobby

[Trisha]

It depends on the outfit (we forest people can be surprisingly fashion conscious), the activity, and the season!

The 3# obsidion short axe with the fire-hardened digging point (as long as the long bone of my leg) slings just as easily from the back as it hangs from the hip, making it ideal for most daily activities in warmer months and light leathers. It all but disappears under a water bladder or a skin of mead as long as the lower half of the haft is sheathed (don't ask about the time the mead skin got punctured while I was at camp roasting rabbits and fish!) securely.

The light pair of bolas (each three starting with mouse-sized round river rocks dipped repeatedly in heated sap mixed with ground elk horn until twice the size and then wrapped in scraps of elk belly to keep them quiet on their braided cords of gut) hang beneath the wrap of my skirt on each hip under a slit concealed by the caste and tribe feathers and paint required of all.

Four throwing blades are a pair on each upper arm, beneath the loose tunic of the season, the shorter sleeves split under the arm to the crook of the elbow, hilts down in sheathes of boiled, sueded badger. They are my personal treasures, having been passed down through my family for a span of generations the numbers to the counting of the fingers of the hand to the width my thumb marches down my arm! They are priceless. . .

The common long sheath knife of folded iron from the lands of the snows, where the peoples eat jellied dried fishes as often as we feast on bison and elk and the fleet, striped dun eltella of the high plateau is in plain view at the small of my back, the leaf-shaped blade the length of my forearm to the point nesting in the flesh of my palm and its hand-and-a-half hilt of birch burl sheathed in dun kydex braided with silk and familial cordings of each generation of my mother, and hers.

Firearms I carry, the blued Colt in a crossdraw at my waist beneath the sash with which I belt my tunic and its sister in the dailes bag I carry everywhere when arising from sleep.

Of the forest peoples, we are not as is common among the cities folks who only look at the ground and almost scurry in endless efforts to be preoccupied, demanding their polices and their payments in tax (a pox on all that levy any tax!) substitute for a spine and a beating heart that loves!

Are you answered?

[Pat-inCO]

Sounds like the guy trying to get his third concurrent wife because he can't make up his mind. :eek:

[Seminole]

How many is what?

I'm sorry, the question makes no sense!


:D

[Dismantler]

This is an interesting question. How many CCW guns is enough? I have wondered that myself, and may start to thin mine out. I have some that I rarely carry due to their size and my dress/lifestyle. Frankly I am inconvenienced if the carry gun is bigger than a pocket pistol. I may get rid of my two snubbies and get a Ruger LCP. I have a Kel-Tec and a Beretta .22 LR now, and they see much more carry than the .38's.

[mbt2001]

How many CCW guns is enough?

Just one more

[rdrancher]

Wow, Trisha sure knows how to accessorize!!! :D

My carry options are just a little bit simpler.

S&W 642-1 / Vintage Charter Arms Undercover / Ruger SP101 2.25" .357 magnum

Similar triggers in DA, similar sights, and one additional strip or loader in .38 special standard pressure works for all three. I'm usually pretty close to my truck, so there's a Mossberg 12ga. or Mosin Nagant M44 handy too.

rd

[hso]

similarities between the G23 & 239, tells me to just stick with them, but the 1911 is just to thin and light to not try

If you've never shot a range session with a 1911, it's a great idea to find out if it points for you and is easier and more accurate in your hand than the Glock or the Sig. OTOH, if it's just "I wanna new gun", quit trying to rationalize that you want it for a carry piece and just get it as a new toy.

If you can't figure out which one type of gun to carry, don't worry about being able to hit with what you're carrying, it is after all how good it looks that matters.:rolleyes:

[sevin8nin]

I currently have have 4, but can still see myself expanding on that. I have 3 1911 style pistols, each with their own holster, and then I have a beretta px4 in 9mm with it's own holster.

At the moment two of my 1911s are off at CCR getting refinished, and my other 1911 is without a holster at the moment, so I've been carrying the px4. I converted the px4 to a 'G' type so there's no safety and I feel good about that. But I also think i wouldn't mind adding some kind of DAO gun to my carry collection.

Each one of my pistols has a slightly different carry purpose, and most of the time at least one lives at home with my shotgun, or locked in my car.

I don't know that you can find just one pistol that does everything you'd like perfectly, so it seems normal to me to have quite a few.

[Dismantler]

WOW! Trisha...you go girl!

[tblt]

I want 3 ccw guns at the min.

[JDGray]

If you can't figure out which one type of gun to carry, don't worry about being able to hit with what you're carrying, it is after all how good it looks that matters.


I dont know were your going with this, but thanks for your infinate wisdom:rolleyes:

I wouldn't even think of carring a gun, without being proficiant with it. And thanks to the others who actually answered the question:)

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

One; maybe two.

[flip180]

For the most part I carry my G26 pretty much year round.

Flip.

[mavracer]

I've got 5-6 I carry with some regularity.but I'll carry about anything in the safe and thats probably close to 20 different guns.

[JDGray]

Mav, you win with 20:D

[HM2PAC]

JDGray wrote:
How many CCW guns is enough?

Just one more......:evil:

[rantingredneck]

I have two P345's that I can carry either IWB or OWB even in the summertime under an untucked shirt.

I have a Ruger P90 that I sometimes carry in colder weather.

I have an SP101 that has become a regular part of my carry rotation.

I have an LCP (that just recently replaced my NAA Guardian) for pocket carry.

If I seriously felt froggy I could put a GP100 4" in a shoulder holster under a jacket (highly doubtful).

I think I'm pretty well covered.

[Black Adder LXX]

Quote:
How many CCW guns is enough?
Just one more

Dang it!!! Beat me!

For me it's (now) two - M&P 9c or in the next couple of days a 642.

[guntotinguy]

I have 7 listed on my CCW and my wife has 9,but we both have a couple exclusive we carry.Mine ParaOrd Slimhawg,XD.45 as primaries.

Hers,Kimber Ultra carry 2,P94,XD .40...sometimes a (bug)Tomcat 3032..

Just name a couple of each.

[JDGray]

I have 7 listed on my CCW and my wife has 9,but we both have a couple exclusive we carry.Mine ParaOrd Slimhawg,XD.45 as primaries.


You have to list your guns on your carry permit?

[JDGray]

JDGray wrote:

Quote:
How many CCW guns is enough?

Just one more......


Sounds like what I "ask" the Wife:D

[KyJim]

I have 8 that I will routinely carry depending upon weather, clothing, occasion, and just what I feel like carrying. All are of either 1911 type or double action first shot, either revolver or semi-auto with hammer down and safety off or no safety. The one exception is a .25 Beretta 950 which has a safety where down is off and is similar to 1911s in this regard. It is a true mouse gun and is carried only when I can't carry anything else.

[MCgunner]

You can't have too many IMHO. I got my NAA mini and my Kel Tec P11 taken by the police for a while after shooting a dog that attacked me in my yard. Case got dismissed and I've since got my guns back. When the cop took 'em, he tells me they'll be held as evidence. I told him, "that's okay, I have 18 more to choose from.":D Actually, I only have about a dozen that I will carry, but since I was being arrested anyway, I just felt like being a wise ass.

[sdj]

Great topic! I have 3: G32/19; 442; 1911 (5"). I have found that for me, this suffices. Good luck!

[Gordon]

In Ca., for those lucky ones with permits, the serial # and weapon IS listed on the back of the Card. You have to 'qualify' with each one before you get permit and when renewed. I have 5 listed (more than anyone I know and the issuing office had a hissy with each addition and told me "no more!"),a Colt Agent .38, an S&W 1911PD, a Colt Combat commander,a Glock 26 and an S&W37. I actually am a reservist currently and don't really need a CCW but you never know how long the gig will last and I keep the politics going for the CCW. I have an AZ permit and go there alot.I have a Nevada permit and don't go there that often and it will expire next year. I own a place in Or. I go to a few times a year but have yet to get a permit there as I don't have an Or drivers lic.but they honor my reservist badge!

[OMGWTFBBQ]

As many as you can get sufficient range time in with to be proficient in their.

[TS537]

@ Trisha: I don't know you, but I know for certain that I really, really like you. :D

[bigdaddydan]

you can never have to many ccw guns just make sure that you are extremely proficient with whatever ones you carry with you at all times :evil::evil::evil::D:D:D:D

[Jim K]

I have said this before and have been flamed, but I will say it again.

If you carry a gun for serious purposes, and not just to feel like some kind of a big macho hero, you better carry ONE gun, or at least one type of gun.

It will be damned embarassing to die trying to pull the trigger on a cocked and locked 1911 because you thought you had your Glock that day.

My two cents, so flame away!

Jim

[primlantah]

I would say at the minimum 2 CCWs. If one breaks your not unarmed while waiting for repairs or parts. IMO a revolver and an auto would be a good pair. The general rule of thumb around here seems to be you can never have enough guns.

and to remark about the post above this one... if you dont know what condition it is or what gun it is you shouldnt be carrying a gun. I mean, you dont just put a gun on without at least checking to see if its loaded...

how do you not know what heavy hunk of metal you threaded your belt through hours earlier?

[outerlimit]

Jim,
I carry a few different kinds of guns with different trigger actions and I at least try to have the presence of mind to remember which gun it is that I'm carrying.

[tbreed725]

i carry 2 guns at all times primary and backup usually i carry my g19 but i just got a cz po1 so it will be carried quite a bit as well and i also got a very nice rossi 38 snub but my backup and always gun is a keltec p3at.http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd171/tbreed725/IMG_0028-1.jpghttp://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd171/tbreed725/IMG_00103.jpg

[JDGray]

My two cents, so flame away!


No flames from me, very good point. And as many of you have stated, train, train, train, which is the fun part:) On averege, I like to put a few hundred down range a month with my carry gun.

[mavracer]

It will be damned embarassing to die trying to pull the trigger on a cocked and locked 1911 because you thought you had your Glock that day.
weather I carry my 1911 or (don't have a glock so for arguements sake)my 1076 or HK P7PSP I sweep the safety off on my draw.

[loboloco]

depends on a lot of factors...body size, enviroment/weather conditions, what you're comfortable with, etc... I'm 6'4" and 240 lbs, and generally wear a 3XL flannel shirt where ever I go, and if I ever felt so inclined, could comfortably carry my .40 cal Beretta 90-TWO, Taurus PT1911, and a Remington NMA with a .45 Colt conversion cylinder with only mild discomfort...

[guntotinguy]

You have to list your guns on your carry permit?

Yes...in Nevada the guns qualified with are listed on the back of the permit card.Except for revolvers,once qualified with one revolver (listed on permit BTW) than any revolver you OWN (with proof/blue card) is legal to carry.All autoloaders are listed...

[MCgunner]

Christ, clean that little Kel Tec. :what::D

I have said this before and have been flamed, but I will say it again.

If you carry a gun for serious purposes, and not just to feel like some kind of a big macho hero, you better carry ONE gun, or at least one type of gun.

It will be damned embarassing to die trying to pull the trigger on a cocked and locked 1911 because you thought you had your Glock that day.

My two cents, so flame away!

Jim

I can walk and chew gum at the same time. However, my regular carries all fire with the pull of a trigger. Now, on the Ruger P guns, I have to remember to decock before holstering, but my DAOs and my revolvers all work the same and that's why I have 'em and don't even own a single action auto/1911 type gun. I can't give up carrying my revolvers, so my autos work the same way, at least on the first shot. I don't like 1911s, anyway. Had two, don't anymore.

[tblt]

you can never have enough,I buy one and I want another

[Jim K]

Isn't there a contradiction in advice to "train, train, train" until things are pretty much automatic, and having "the presence of mind" to know which of several different kinds of guns you are carrying at any given time? Some folks complicate things still further by changing the gun's position depending on the gun or which holster matches their socks or something.

I have never (thank Heaven) been in a gun fight, though I came close a couple of times as a LEO. But IMHO, a person in a tight corner will have a lot to consider - where the gun is, whether it is loaded, and how to get it into action shouldn't be among them.

I know that some folks who like guns will carry different guns, just for the heck of doing so. One fellow said he rotated guns from his collection, carrying a different one every day. Another said he carried three guns, all different, but didn't really have time or money to practice with any of them.
Those guys may be very nice folks, with good intentions, but I still think those are the attitudes of a gun hobbyist, not of someone in real and imminent danger.

Jim

[JDGray]

Those guys may be very nice folks, with good intentions, but I still think those are the attitudes of a gun hobbyist, not of someone in real and imminent danger.


Unless your out looking for trouble, no one really knows when it may happen. Being aware of your surroundings gives you a leg up, but whens trouble gonna find us? If I knew that, I would only carry on those days. Of course, my gun better match my shoes:cool::evil:

[distra]

I have 2 platforms I carry, 1911 (Springer micro or Commander) and DAO (G36 or G19). I have holsters for each one of my range guns for competition, but I've practiced enough with 1911's and DAO that these are what I prefer to carry. I have no problem with those who want to carry a different gun each day just so long as they have enough range time with it.

[moooose102]

1, IF it's a 45!

[DWARREN123]

For me 2. GLOCK 23 and 27, they are very similar in everything and do what I want. The 27 will take the 23 mags and trigger pull is identical as is fit. They carry almost the same also and can use the same holsters.

[The Lone Haranguer]

About 10 or 12 years ago Duane Thomas wrote an article for Handguns in which he recommended four CCW guns. They were as follows:

Main gun - no particular recommendation, but it needs to be a service-size or at the least a "reduced-service-size" handgun, chosen more for shooting qualities than compactness, in minimum 9mm (for autos) or .38 Special (for revolvers) caliber. This would be the gun carried most of the time.

Backup gun - small revolver or pocket auto; he specifically recommended the S&W 642.

"Church" gun - a very small hideout gun for when everything else is too big. He recommended the Seecamp .32; the Kel-Tec and Ruger LCP were not in production at the time.

Replacement for the main gun. If you are involved in a shooting your gun will be taken from you until the investigation is completed, case adjudicated or whatever. It did not have to be a duplicate, although this was recommended due to being able to use the same carry gear. The important thing is to have something to use.

To date, I see nothing wrong with this reasoning.

[10-Ring]

Really, the first one filled the "need" the rest address the want

[wuchak]

I suppose if you are buying guns because you need a special one to carry when the third full moon of the year falls on Thursday because the one you carry when it falls on Friday will never do, then you might be approaching "enough" but much like light-speed enough can be approached but never actually reached.

[papajohn]

I don't want to sound arrogant here, but when my hand closes around the butt of my carry guns, it KNOWS which one it is, and reacts accordingly. With the revolvers it doesn't matter, with the two autos I carry concealed, they feel totally different. It's not a matter of remembering what I have on, the moment my hand closes around it I rely on muscle memory. The heavy one is the 40, the light one is the 45, and the fingers just know. I guess I have smart hands. At least they have better memory than my head does!;)

PJ

[Jim K]

If your gun works, you don't need a backup, a replacement and two or three other guns hanging around. I don't carry guns that don't work.

And then there was the guy who posted a year or so back that he carried two big Glocks, two small Glocks, two extra magazines for each, two boxes of ammunition, and a pair of nun-chuks. I always wondered how big he was and if he could walk with all that junk on him.

Jim

[doc2rn]

I havent read them all yet but I would have to say two. One for each hand.

[DMK]

If your gun works, you don't need a backup, a replacement and two or three other guns hanging around. I don't carry guns that don't work.Everything has the potential to break, usually when it is most inconvenient. Everything wears out eventually.

I like to have a backup gun to my carry gun. Right now I have three primary CCWs (Colt CCO 1911, S&W 642 and a Keltec P32). I very rarely carry the Keltec though. I have a couple j-frames that could stand in for the 642, but I need to get another CCO sized 1911 in case it breaks, I ever need to send it to a gunsmith, or it gets stolen or something.

I don't want to sound arrogant here, but when my hand closes around the butt of my carry guns, it KNOWS which one it is, and reacts accordingly.Yea, I'd agree. I've gone for months of exclusively shooting revolvers, but when I finally bring a 1911 out, I still flick off the safety without even thinking about it.

[scurtis_34471]

My prefered gun is an XD-40 Service that I carry in a Fist belt slide holster or a CrossBreed SuperTuck IWB holster.

When I need to carry something that prints a little less or just want something a smidge more comfortable for IWB, I carry an XD-40 Subcompact in the same holsters I use for the Service.

The Service and Subcompact both have TruGlo TFO sights and I use Pierce grip extensions with the Subcompact, so they are as funcationally identical as possible.

In situations where I cannot conceal the somewhat chunky XDs, I carry a Kahr P9 Covert in a High Noon Split Decision tuckable IWB or a Galco Pocket Protector pocket holster. I just picked up some Ameriglo sights for it that I need to get installed.

Notice that all of my carry guns have the same manual of arms. Not one of them has a manual safety. I think that switching back and forth between guns with grip safeties, slide safeties and no safeties is a formula for messing up at a critical moment. Its fine for range toys, but I think consistency is very important for carry guns.

[DirksterG30]

I currently have 3 guns that I CCW:

The P-01 is my cooler weather CCW, as well as my HD pistol. The Kahr MK9 is used when I can pocket carry, or during the summer when I'm wearing a t-shirt with a short-sleeved button shirt over it, or If I will have to tuck in my shirt (I use a C-TAC tuckable holster). The Kel-Tec P3AT is pocket-carried when I cannot carry anything larger. The Springfield 1911 is only a range gun now, but will probably join the lineup as a cold-weather/house gun.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y217/dirksterg30/general%20guns/1911P-01MK9P3AT.jpg

[rainbowbob]

I CCW a Chief's Special IWB. Unfortunately, it is the only suitable carry gun I own at this point.

Last weekend, my buddy and I held our "First Annual Charleton Heston Memorial Snub-Fest Shoot-a-Thon". Since he owns four snubs, I had the opportunity to practice drawing and firing all afternoon with a "New York reload" - the Chief IWB and a "lemon squeezer" (S&W Model 40) in my Mika pocket holster. I loved it! I want one!

So in answer to the OPs question: I would say if I had my druthers I would CCW two j-frames - one (hammerless) in the pocket and one in the belt.