What’s your vacation gun?

I stopped taking vacations when I found that vacations were taking me more than I was taking them.
I would have to take two weeks off to get over the one week vacation.
So now I just have outings & yes I carry my normal carry gun a Sig P398.
It's been camping, kayaking, hiking & a lot of hunting right at my side.

Mine is whatever I feel like taking. I don't let little details like "it won't fit in the console" influence my choices. You read that right- choices. Plural. I'm on vacation, for Pete's sake!

I'll always bring 2 handguns if I'll be out of the house more than a night. One full size good capacity duty type gun (almost always a g20) and a gun that is compact and can go along everywhere regardless of how I'm dressed (always a g42). The 380 stays on my body no matter what I'm doing, it's gone in the ocean a few times and more. No problem.

I like the small gun for convienice but if I breakdown in the middle of no where (or worse, in a big city) I want to be confident that I have something formidable. This is different from what I do at home , I know- people love to say "always be prepared for anything" , but the real world doesn't always work that way. I normally split the difference around home , my most commonly carried gun is a g30sf . 10 rds of 45 acp in a chunky little big gun is a best all around choice for me. I'd be totally comfortable with just the g30 on vacation but it's a heavy thick brick if lightly dressed. If I'm not going to a tropical climate , the g30 alone would be just fine. I'll be honest though, I live in Northern Illinois - if I'm going on vacation it had better be somewhere warm.

AK Hunter said:

I stopped taking vacations when I found that vacations were taking me more than I was taking them.
I would have to take two weeks off to get over the one week vacation.
So now I just have outings & yes I carry my normal carry gun a Sig P398.
It's been camping, kayaking, hiking & a lot of hunting right at my side.

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lol that's how I feel after my fishing trips, 100 miles from the saltwater and usually only have the weekend when I have the money. Done to many no sleep weekends.

My next two vacations are to Europe. Britain next week and Portugal in June. So, no guns at all.

I have tended to like .357 Magnum revolvers, with 4” or more barrel length, and nicely-visible adjustable sights, for road trips, whether vacations, or driving through wide-open spaces for whatever reason. Magnum cartridges have flatter trajectory than most other service handgun cartridges, and have long been able to shoot S&W K-/K-Frame and Ruger GP100 revolvers better than most other handguns.

If the vacation involves travel in big cities, where deeper concealment is a consideration, I like somewhat smaller revolvers.

If abusive environments are the greater consideration, well, I would rather not have to detail-strip a revolver, after something like seawater contamination. A Glock would be a better choice, for me, in such cases.

DocRock said:

My next two vacations are to Europe. Britain next week and Portugal in June. So, no guns at all.

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Have a good trip, one day I'll make it to whales were my grandmother was from, maybe even Luxemburg were grandpa was from. Perhaps when your in Portugal you can look up the fn/winchester factory.

A G19 is my usual go-to pistol for just about anything. I do have a G29 in 10mm for when camping/hiking in bear country. We are leaving GA after school is out in June taking our 3 oldest grandkids into New Mexico, north into Colorado, and may hit parts of Arizona and Utah. Ages 9, 11, and 13. I'm pulling a small travel trailer and we will camp.

We will take the southern route going west, a more northern route coming home. Since I will be going through a couple of places along the way with mag capacity restrictions I plan to take 2 pistols. A full size M&P 45 and my 10 round Sig 365 in 9mm for CC where legal.

Haven't taken any road trips as of late but when I did I typically took along a 9mm.; either a Glock 17 or else a Steyr M9 with a couple of spare magazines.

WestKentucky said:

What’s your vacation gun? Is it your daily carry? Something special?

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Generally speaking, it would be the daily carry gun because I dont see the logic in purposely changing to a less familiar gun than your daily carry gun while purposely going to a less familiar place.

However, the vacation itinerary may warrant a change

My road trip gun is this Ruger SP101 in .357, with a couple of speed loaders. But I still pocket carry my LCP.

When we travel, even short trips, I have my Glock 23 and a couple of mags in the console and the Wife has Her Springfield 911. My Seecamp will be in my pocket.

I take whatever I'll carry - a Commander or Officer's 1911, or maybe a snubby depending on what I'll be wearing. I also take something with great capacity and range like a CZ Skorpion or AR pistol.

I run the gamut and take a full (Bar-B-Que)Kimber Det-1, a mid Kimber Pro Aegis II and concealable Kimber Micro-9 most every time. 340SC and Sig 230SL *floaters* And, a claymore bag of ammo requirements.

Of course - I usually take a 590 and AR too but that goes into considerations not allowed on THR unless one calls it an un-civil unrest scenario. Or; "Gettin' home guns."

Todd.

A Glock 43X has been on my last couple of road trips. Since I wasn’t going to the high country, it fits most any role I could imagine needing a gun for.

Stay safe.

Armybrat said:

My road trip gun is this Ruger SP101 in .357, with a couple of speed loaders. But I still pocket carry my LCP.

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My choices exactly!

But I’m leaving in a couple days for a 52 hour, 3,200+ road trip and I plan on putting my Marlin lever .357 in the trunk. That’s what I picked it up for.

WestKentucky said:

What’s your vacation gun? Is it your daily carry? Something special?

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If I'm driving to another State(s), I take my daily carry guns.

If I'm flying to another State(s), I take my Glock 39.
It's a subcompact, the magazine capacity does not violate any State laws, and if it gets lost or stolen during transit via airlines, I don't view it as a major loss due to it being in .45GAP and the thought of a thief trying to find ammo for it, amuses me.

I don't do vacations much, but I do travel for work frequently.

If traveling by car, I simply bring along a compact handgun in addition to my usual pocket gun. Most often that compact handgun tends to be my Glock 36.

My vacation carry gun was a Glock 19 + spare mag and I would take another Glock 19 + spare mag in case anything happened to the first.
Normally I'd carry a Glock 23 but on vacation I opted for the 19 which my teen boys had shot before just in case.
Now we live where we vacationed for years and my EDC is still the Glock 23, minimum.

On rare drives to Fairhope AL: the CZ PCR and Maadi Sport Utility Rifle.

My brother belongs to the “Three Brothers Gun Club”.

Driving 7 hours to ATL every year, any handgun Then naturally gets locked in the car’s gun safe for our flights to LHR or AMS.

troy fairweather said:

Have a good trip, one day I'll make it to whales were my grandmother was from, maybe even Luxemburg were grandpa was from. Perhaps when your in Portugal you can look up the fn/winchester factory.

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A trip to Wales would be well worth it. The last wild parts of southern Britain are there. And it’s quite beautiful when it’s not slashing with horizontal rain

As to Portugal, we go to beach in the Algarve on the southern coast. Last year with ‘Rona Rules was one of the few times in 30 years we didn’t go. FN’s facility will be up north around Lisbon or even farther north up towards Porto.

My vacation EDC is the same one I carry 24/7...the one I can shoot the truest and that I'm most confident with.

Usually just my ppk or s & w snubby 38.