CCW Trip Down Memory Lane

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guyfromohio

guyfromohio

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The First CCW thread got me thinking through all of my choices through the years. Ohio Concealed Carry Law passed in April of 2004. I was within the first 50 issued by Ohio. I would venture to say that most of us have had a Goldie Locks complex regarding our carry choices. What have you carried concealed through the years? Remember, that this 20 years of carrying and I used to be much more of an accumulator than I am now.

Walther PPK….Not reliable enough for carry +
Walther PPS….Still Carry +
Walther P99AS….Good larger carry +
Walther P99C…Weird ergos
Walther PPQ….Trigger too light
S&W 642….Still Carry Primary Pocket Gun +
S&W 640…Still Carry +
S&W 442…redundant with the others
S&W CS9….Wish I didn’t sell it +
S&W 3914….Wish I didn’t sell it
S&W 60…Redundant
Sig P239….Too big for just 8 in the mag +
Sig P225A1….Too big for just 8 in the mag, but I regret selling it
Sig P232….Good gun
American Derringer…Wish I didn’t sell it, but heavy for what it is
Glock 43…preferred the PPS
Glock 48…preferred the PPS
Glock 26…not bad, but P30SK beat it on ergos and LEM trigger
Glock 19….Still there for carry if I choose +
Glock 30FS…Too bulky
Beretta 84…Too heavy
Beretta 85….Pretty cool..wish I didn’t sell
Beretta 21….wish I didn’t sell +
Beretta 1934…meh
CZ Pro Tek…Too much money for not a lot of improvement
CZ PCR…great gun +
CZ Rami BD…the worst ergos of any subcompact in my hand
CZ P01 SDP… meh +
Wilson EDCx9…Nothing my G19 won’t do
Wilson ULC Commander…. great carry, but paying bills won +
DW VBOB…I still carry occasionally +
DW ECO….My hand wouldn’t press the grip safety in a hurried draw
HKp30SK…still carry occasionally +


What’s your Goldie Locks timeline?

Edit… The “+” signifies real….prolonged tour as my carry gun. The others were tried for shorter periods of time. My 642, 640, PPS Classic, or G19 is always on me or next to me.
 
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Only been carrying for 12 years or so but let me try to think.

Sig 225: it’s what I had when I moved to a state that respected the 2A
Sig 220: about the same time, liked it for walks since a large aggressive dog was what got me started carrying
Ruger SR9c (also 40c): First dedicated carry gun(s), great till the Glock bug bit
BHP: only carried it for a bit since I had some issues with the gun for carry. Weight, slide bite, hammer poking my ribs, etc.
Glock 19s: Still my favorite overall gun, I’ve had and carried Gen 3, 4, 5, a 19c and I’ll throw the 19x in there. Still have a couple and a MOS is my bedside gun.
Glock 26: Briefly carried one but just never really found it better to carry over the 19.
1911s: I’ve had a bunch in various sizes and calibers, main reason I stopped carrying them, especially my VBob, is weight and my back pain.
Sig 226 SAO Legion: love this gun for carry, but the weight is just too much for my back.
Wilson EDC X9: fantastic gun but I just could never find the right holster to fully love it for carry, didn’t love not having a good yellow front sight option and didn’t shoot it any better than my Glock 19 in practical drills. Also I moved to optics for carry guns.
Sig 365xl: current Goldilocks, has the optics I like, light and easy to conceal and shoots 80-90% of my favored Glock 19. Good carry compromise for me.
 
I've had my CWP for 23 years. The order may be off a little, I'll go back and forth, depending on what clothes I am wearing.
S&W M459
S&W 4" M66
Colt 1903
S&W 4" M19-3
Ruger SR40C .40S&W
Ruger LC9 9mm
SA EMP4 9mm
SA EMP4 .40S&W---I carry this the most now
S&W 2-1/2" RB M66-1
 
For what seems like forever it was only 2 different guns.
Colt Lightweight Commander
Walther PPK

Then did some experimenting for quite a while.
S&W 66
Beretta 92 Type M was too bulky for what it is (Single stack).
G17 too thick.
HK45C too thick
Wilson Professional awesome
Nighthawk T3 more awesome sauce.

All great guns!

However, knee issues (no more cartilage in my knees) started complaining about my choices for all day carry, so the smaller and lighter era begins.
XDs meh, yet carried for 4-5 years as it worked.
HK P2SK LEM needs to be slightly thinner but is my current EDC.
Kimber EVO current "pocket" gun. A "sleeper" in the gun world.


Wont even try and list the guns I tried once or twice and decided heck no.
 
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I started carrying as a kid in the late 1950s with an H&R 22LR in an old holster I found in a barn. That was only in summer when I was wandering the hills and woodlands in the Catoctin Mountains.

Later carried full time when married and living in California in the mid to late 1960s. At that time IIRC it was a Smith Model 19-2 4" in a Bucheimer or Hunter OWB holster. I traded it for a Highway Patrolman but later really missed the smaller lighter 19 so bought a 19-5 in the early 1980s IIRC. Still have the 19-5 and the Highway Patrolman.

There were others. Before moving to California we lived in Phoenix for awhile and when wandering in the Superstitions or above the Mogollon Rim it was an old US Army Smith Model 1917 in 45acp.

The first semi-automatic was a Beretta Model 70 22LR that I almost immediately upgraded to a Model 70 "New Puma" 7.65 and I still have and carry that one. There have been lots of semi-automatics since then but while I've carried 9mm Parabellum and .380 and 9mm Mak the majority have been 7.65/32acp most often with a 25acp also in a pocket.
 
Springfield V10 Ultra Compact.45 for several years.
Got rid of it when I decided muzzle flash from the ported barrel/slide wasn't a good option in low light.
Switched to SIG UC 1911 .45 about 6 or 7 years ago.
P238 overlapping both as an extra/pocket option.
SIG full size 1911 in 38 Super for a month or 2 when the 45 was getting some work done.
So since about 2005 when I started CCW, it's been one 1911 or another... except a handful of times I only had the p238 due to restrictions of some variety.
 
Based on the responses above I feel like a neophyte.
I started carrying a Springfield XDm 3.8 Compact chambered in .40 S&W. Carried that for about 2 years.
Then I found a used Sig P239 chambered in 9mm. Loved that gun and carried it until my oldest son graduated college about six years ago and wanted it as a graduation present.
I switched to the Sig 225-A1, which is basically a Sig 239 with a different profile, and carried that for about a year then I moved to a different city and no longer felt the need to carry a larger pistol.
So I bought a Ruger LCP Custom (with the pretty red aluminum trigger) and have carried that non-stop since. Even on the now rare occasion when I carry something larger, I always have the LCP in my pocket.
I have, on occasion carried a Sig 938 in the original, stretched out Ruger LCP pocket holster. I bought a Desantis pocket holster labeled for the Sig 938 but it is way too tight to be practical. I say the label lied.
Sometimes when I woods walk, and once or twice on the street, I've carried a Ruger Speed Six 2.75 inch chambered in .357.

That's it, the entire roster.
 
Off and on since the late 1980's...

various 38 snubs

micro 380's (only two)

CA Bulldog 44 snub sometimes recently

380 Russian Makarov sometimes when I was young

It sounds low-key, until I reveal the hideous truth...

I've had ten or more snub 38's!

Wow, I didn't know I had such a weakness for them until I started counting them up.

They just barely pay attention to me and all of the sudden, before I know it, bang! my brain has shut off and my wallet is open.

Ouch. The truth hurts. :)
 
Ruger LCP 1, gen 2 (My first, and still most frequently carried!)

M&P Shield 45 (has since been sold off, in favor of 9mm)

M&P Shield 9mm original (has also been sold off)

M&P Shield Plus (recent acquisition, which replaced my old Shield 9mm and 45 above)

M&P 9 M2.0 Compact 4" (my primary carry in the fall/winter/spring months. THIS is the gun I would carry every day, if I didn't have to worry about thoroughly concealing for work)

Walther PPK 380 (pure class! I carry it a lot in the summer, when I want to give the LCP a break. Personally, I love DA/SA for a pocket gun!)

S&W Model 29 (for hiking in the woods). I originally tried a Ruger Redhawk, but it was a little too bulky. I was happy to find a mint pre-lock Model 29-2 to replace it.

S&W Model 642 (my around the house/lounging gun... it's in my PJ pants pocket right now!)
 
JR24 said:
my experience with .38 super has led me to feel it has a lot of flash, moreso than, say my comped 9mm 19C I had.
Click to expand...

Oh, that. Yes it certainly is flashy...not sure how it compares to the ported 45ACP, though. Some of my factory Super ammo is pretty tame. Handloads, not so much. It was the only other 1911 I had at the time to sub in, and made more sense (in my head anyway) to stick with the same program.
 
Been carrying for about 35 years.

S&W snubby .38
S&W Airlite .357 (ouch!!!)
Walther PPK
Glock 26
S&W snubby .38
Glock 42
S&W snubby .38
Ruger LC9
Ruger LCR (9mm)
S&W snubby .38

You can see a pattern. I keep returning to the snub-nosed platform .

And, I almost always have either a NAA mini-revolver or a Ruger LCP .380 in my front pocket - additionally...
 
Howland937 said:
Oh, that. Yes it certainly is flashy...not sure how it compares to the ported 45ACP, though. Some of my factory Super ammo is pretty tame. Handloads, not so much. It was the only other 1911 I had at the time to sub in, and made more sense (in my head anyway) to stick with the same program.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, I should have been more clear. Distracted by kids while posting and all that :)
 
Sig P6- still have and carry on occasion, weather permitting
Beretta Tomcat- frame cracked
Taurus Titanium 7-shot .357- too bulky, weird fluted rubber grips never settled in my hand right from the draw
Taurus .44spl 3"- shot patterns, not groups, never figured out why, $$ ammo
Colt Mustang- buddy offered me a ridiculous sum for it
P239 9mm- never quite fit my hand right
S&W M60 .357 3"- heavy, ouchy
SP101- even heavier, but less ouchy
M36- a little lighter, but more ouchy than the Ruger, even with mild .38 loads
Sig P230- kept ejecting into my face......
P238- no idea why I sold that one, stupid, stupid, stupid
Colt Govt. .380- still have and carry sometimes
Sig P938- just about perfect for me, go-to daily carry now

Backup is a 3" folder
 
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skfullen said:
Been carrying for about 35 years.

S&W snubby .38
S&W Airlite .357 (ouch!!!)
Walther PPK
Glock 26
S&W snubby .38
Glock 42
S&W snubby .38
Ruger LC9
Ruger LCR (9mm)
S&W snubby .38

You can see a pattern. I keep returning to the snub-nosed platform .

And, I almost always have either a NAA mini-revolver or a Ruger LCP .380 in my front pocket - additionally...
Click to expand...

The J-frame has earned that.
 
I got sworn in in 1984. I carried a government model on duty. And I carried the same government model off duty, with the two magazines.

Then a Detonics with two mags.

Somewhere along the line, I found I wasn’t really getting into very many shoot outs off duty.

so, I started caring a 3 inch model 65 into spare speed loaders.

Then one extra Speedloader.

finally settled in on a Sig P239 in 357 Sig. Carry that for many years, our department issued Glock 22s and I had a 40 barrel for it with 40 magazines so I could practice with department ammo.

now that I’m retired I alternate between the P239, a Ruger SP 101, and recently a Sig P365.
 
Because my line of work leaves me in no carry zones a lot, none of mine are in heavy rotation, but it is an odd lot.

Colt Police Positive 38 special - only handgun at the time, but actually nice in an OWB under a jacket. Retired
CZ vz82 - too heavy and thick, moved to nightstand duty
FEG PA-63 - really not bad, but hard to find good non-ball ammo or good holsters easily available
S&W Shield 9 - current primary

I still take the FEG sometimes for walks with the kids around. The additional manual safety helps. I got the shield without it since I knew I had other options.
 
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