Carry choices, such a hard decision

All and all it's what is most comfortable to carry and is the easiest and most accurate to shoot. It is that simple. Weight is a factor. At least for me.

Most of us have run this gauntlet. I carry a 9mm Dan Wesson Vigil Commander. I have larger, heavier, and more accurate 1911's. There is no perfect carry gun. Plastic fantastic and their gosh darn horrible triggers are trendy. Not for me.

Personally I think too many people dwell too much on caliber and capacity, thinking more is better on both. The chances you will ever have to draw your defensive firearm is very, very slim. The chances you will fire more than 3 rounds in a defensive situation (unless you are employing the spray and pray method) is also slim. Add those two factors together and you see why I say people overthink what they carry. With that said, carry what YOU are comfortable with, period, the end.

I agree with @Plan2Live ...carry what you're comfortable with. I carry a single stack Micro 9 because I shoot it well and it's dam comfortable in my hand...it's 7+1 and it's highly concealable. I also carry a Shield Plus 10+1 for the same reasons.

Bazoo said:

With a revolver, I carry a pouch with a reload, and again keep some in the car and house. I don't carry a speedloader though cause of the bulk.

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Maybe you'd like to carry your speed loaders in your pocket.

Aholster Bactrian https://aholster.com/aholster-bactrian/

Not meant to rude and or condescending but I don't belong to the concealed carry of the week/day/hour club in regards to weapon type and or caliber. For myself my EDC is the S&W Shield 9X19mm with the (8) round capacity magazine. Yes I have other handguns revolvers and semiautomatic pistols in differing calibers. We reside in a rural county. I'm not concerned with interactions with domestic and or wildlife animals. We have black bears which can be a nuisance. Dogs are problematic but our walking stick is a long handle shovel shaft. Your ability to contact others such as law enforcement and or paramedics with a cell phone is of more importance than the weapon type and caliber that you carry.

Bazoo said:

Weight isn't a factor for me. I am a big dude and i don't web notice the weight of a full sized gun.

Comfort I find is more a factor of holster design than anything. My flattop blackhawk in a sourdough pancake holster is more comfortable than my 1911 in any holster I've ever tried. I currently am using a ritchie hideaway. I think part of it is that with the blackhawk, the grip doesn't dig into me like the 1911 does.

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A holster that you like, for your Blackhawk, would be a good candidate to order, for your GP100. Rob Leahy, doing business as Simply Rugged, is a gentleman, and a craftsman of the highest order.

I carried a GP100 on the sometimes-mean streets of Houston, Texas, at night, as a duty sixgun. I had to use my GP100, defensively, one night in 1993. The shot went right where I aimed, and the Federal 125-grain JHC did its job, with immediately devastating effectiveness. In 1997, I did, finally, make the final, permanent transition to duty autoloaders, but, never had to fire another shot, in the line of duty, so, could have survived, perfectly well, for the rest of my career, with a duty sixgun. Notably, however, when Tasers were issued, and became a mandated item of equipment, it would have been difficult to deal with the resulting real estate crisis, on my duty belt, as revolver ammo tends to require more room, per cartridge, on the duty belt,

When I carry a GP100, a 1911, an SP101, or any “lower capacity” weapon, I am cognizant that the priority is to stop a fight, not “exchange gunfire.” The important thing is that I have felt the same way, when I have a carried a “higher capacity” firearm, such as the double-column-mag duty pistols that I was mandated to carry, from 2002 to 2016. (In 2016, I was able to resume carrying a 1911 as a street duty pistol.) Well-placed .357 Magnum shots do tend to shut things down. There are strong indications that the blast of a .357 Magnum acts as a added disincentive, for bad guys, as few folks want THAT thing to go off, in their face, again.

I carry the biggest gun and caliber that I can shoot well and am willing to carry. Which depends on where I am going.

Location not factored, which would you prefer in hand if you had to defend yourself? ("bad" people are mobile and may go on a field trip)
Glock 22 or 1911 would be my choices of those options; I have both and have carried both.

I am a revolver guy, they are the only handguns that make me smile when shooting them and go ewwww and ahhhh when window shopping for them….. Without getting into a capacity or caliber war, for me there has to be some give and take with a high level of conceal-ability, a certain level of comfort and still be able to shoot accurately. Thats where the current line of sub compact wonders come into play for me.

You asked if you have lost your mind. Heck no, if your comfortable carrying a GP100 or something similar that would be a great self defense choice. To each their own.

I dont think the decision is hard, carry what you regularly shoot the best with, and in a realistic manner from how you carry it. I think that should be the basis for choice, not what is easiest to carry.

If you want to try something else, then get set up for it, holsters, gear, etc, and put in the time and effort to see if its feasible and what you really want.

I wouldnt do the actual switch until I was as well versed and competent with what I wanted to switch to, as I was with what Im already comfortable with and carrying.

If youre going to carry a revolver, speedloaders, and maybe moonclips, are really the only choice. If you should have to reload, there isnt anything quicker. With a proper carrier they arent bulky, and fairly easy to hide.

trackskippy said:

If youre going to carry a revolver, speedloaders, and maybe moonclips, are really the only choice.

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Perhaps the only choice for a full reload but a few loose rounds come in handy when you are behind cover and topping off after firing less than a full cylinder. It's a fighting revolver technique similar to today's "administrative" reload and one that should be remembered and practiced it you are going to carry a revolver.

I started my CCW journey looking at all the facts on paper, and I thought a Glock 23 was the clear winner. After buying one I never once carried it outside the house, way too large and uncomfortable. I went completely a different direction next and bought a S&W 337, a SA/DA titanium j-frame. Slightly more comfortable IWB, but I never cared for a hammer the few times I'd pocket carry. Went to a 442 but for whatever reason I always wanted a bit more barrel length and capacity. So a P938. Well, I never got comfortable with a "cocked and locked" hammer, especially after the gun fell out of the holster once when I was on the throne and I found the safety flipped off. So next up was a Kahr MK9. I liked the gun, I just never "loved" it and was unable to find a comfortable holster, so I decided to go back to a revolver, this time a 3" .357mag with a capacity of 6; the Kimber k6s in DAO. For me it ticks all the boxes and I'm finally happy with my carry choice. Enough sight radius and weight to be enjoyable to shoot at the range. I'm perfectly OK with 6 shots and a speed strip with another 6. It's arguably the safest type of firearm to have. And most importantly I find carrying it all day comfortable and have zero desire to buy anything else for carry.

Long winded way of saying, carry what you're comfortable with. There's guys on here who will tell you nothing less than an FNX 45 with 2 additional mags and a BUG is acceptable. There's others who will say "I only carry my .22 when I go to dangerous areas". We all have opinions but its up to you to decide what you will want to carry every day.

Plan2Live said:

Perhaps the only choice for a full reload but a few loose rounds come in handy when you are behind cover and topping off after firing less than a full cylinder. It's a fighting revolver technique similar to today's "administrative" reload and one that should be remembered and practiced it you are going to carry a revolver.

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I see and understand your thinking here, but I can still dump everything and have the gun reloaded quicker with the speedloader, than fooling around trying to get a couple out and a couple more in.

Bazoo

I started out being a revolver guy with a .38 Special Charter Arms Undercover. It was nice and light with an aluminum alloy grip assembly and a steel frame. Easy to carry and more than serviceable with it's accuracy, it soon gave way to many more snubbies, mainly S&W J frames, a couple of Colt D frames, and a Ruger Speed Six. Meanwhile I was always checking to see what my older brother was doing as he was a dedicated semi-auto fan, with a Browning Hi-Power, Colt Government .45, and a Mauser HSc .380. More often than not he would have all three field stripped, cleaned, and back together before I could finish cleaning my first revolver!

That and the fact that reloads were so much faster with the semi-autos gradually impressed upon me the need to further my interest with self-loaders. I also liked the flatness and overall ergonomics of most pistols, thanks to my brother having a Hi-Power and a 1911! I have carried both of those guns along with a host of others and found them to be my preferred choice in handgun types.

Now having said that my current EDC is a Kahr CM9 or one of two S&W J frames; a Model 649 (all stainless), or a Model 638 (aluminum alloy frame with a stainless cylinder and frame). What I like about all three is their common mode of operation with their double action triggers (all three of which are fairly decent too). No manual safety to be concerned with, easy to conceal, lightweight and comfortable to carry, super reliability, along with more than decent accuracy for their intended usage.

How about this: Carry the gun you shoot the most.

Some people (like myself) will choose a gun for practical reasons, and then force themselves to get good with it and shoot it regularly. But if you're not one of those weirdos , and you prefer to shoot guns that you actually enjoy shooting, you should probably carry such a gun.

So which one do you like shooting most?

Carry choices such a hard decision?
And such a personal choice!

I prefer the comfort of pocket carry. So little guns are a big deal to me. I like j frame size revolvers and don't worry about capacity. I seldom go to places where I may need a high capacity gun. I am more likely to carry a second handgun than a reload for my primary carry which is always in my front pocket.
I may carry a XDM 45 with a thirteen round magazine, but the j frame is my primary.

EZ 9 8 + 1 of 9 mm with 2 extra magazines.

All the easy aspects of this gun are true... EZ to Load, EZ to rack etc.

If you like a revolver, carry one...size and caliber depend on why you are carrying. In my case, carrying comes with putting my pants on in the morning. I like all handguns of reasonable length, but, given one choice only, it would be a revolver, and one with at least a 3" bbl.

Examples: Here on our farm, depending on chores, my revolver choices vary from a .22 Smith M-18 (K frame) or M-63 (J frame), to a .32 H&R Ruger Single Six with 4-5/8" bbl (pests in horse feed bins), or maybe a Smith M-66 with moderate LSWC loads. But if we're putting down stock, it's a .44 Ruger Flat Top Special with Skelton lever loads (950 fps with 240 gr LSWC's).

Going to town or Louisville, my usual choice is a M-60 Smith .357 with 'FBI' loads (950 fps 158 gr LSWC HP's), or a Sig 9mm P365 for capacity and easier concealment.

All of the preceding are hauled around in an OWB of my own making. Open top, fitted tightly so no 'keeper' strap is necessary, they make the gun readily available for any legit purpose. Well over 50 years of doing it this way has made it 2nd nature.

YMMv, but it works for me. Best Regards, Rod......

The 1st pic is of my M60 3" bbl'd .357 in my daily rig. Yep...I dress around the gun/rig. Worn any higher, I find it difficult to access due to age/wrist & shoulder issues. An OWB choice is not that difficult to accommodate to the gun.

A T-shirt tail out in KY summers will do, or covered up by a button shirt/jacket etc. in colder wx. 2nd pic is of the same type of home-built holster with a M-66. A bit more revealing but still doable with a long tailed shirt.

There are those of us who generally prefer to carry revolvers.

A GP100 would be a fine woods gun.

My latest project is a 3" K-frame with boot grips. I have hopes that it will be as accurate as most 4" fixed-sight service revolvers, but a little easier to carry.