Carry-Gun Selection

Elm Creek Smith said:

Rational? I carry S&W .38 Special/.357 Magnum revolvers. Everything works the same way all the time.

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Yup. When situational stress degrades your fine-motor reflexes and anything to do with non-situational awareness, it is a good thing if your guns all work just the same and are as familiar as your toothbrush.

Currently a 642 and a 586. I am considering changing off to Glock 43 and 19, same idea, different era. I am, however, in no hurry.

I suppose those who speak of having a carry gun "rotation" of differing firearms are talented that way, able to work them all with equal facility; never liked the idea myself.

kbbailey said:

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I will use these pics to illustrate how a revolver guy switched to an autoloader.

...Basically the same length overall
The same height

I shoot it better than the revolver.
Since this is a carry choice thread, I thought it was relevant.

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Height and length arent the only pertinent aspects. The picture I retained in the reply illustrates one aspect of a small revolver that is actually a benefit over an auto. That part of the auto that's behind the hammer of the revolver, meaning the rear part of the slide and frame, is bulkier in a pocket. Revolvers carry better in a pocket for the most part. Their form is less blocky, more tapered, despite the lump of the cylinder. It doesn't take much for a revolver to not be a good pocket carry gun though, and the SP 101 may be crossing that line due to length and weight, and perhaps grips (I havnet handled one in ages, so cant say for certain, others have mentioned it as somewhat of an issue to them). The Smith Js pocket carry very well, especially in Carhartts. If you don't pocket carry, it probably doesn't matter, though if belt carrying, Id probably choose a slightly larger revolver than a 5 shot anything.

The shooting better is personal, though Ive not compared my shooting of a small revolver to a small auto. In full sized guns Ive just never been able to consistently shoot an auto as well as a revolver. Theres still many solid advantages of an auto, so long as pocket carry and ultimate accuracy and shootability are not at the top of the priority list, at least in my case.

I seem to be pragmatic. The criteria are something like 1) reasonably effective caliber 2) easy to carry 3) no safety or SA or anything like that: just aim, squeeze, bang.

The realistic, if statistically unlikely, situations for me where I live and work would be a mugging or a carjacking; I am not overly concerned with large capacity or long distances. I can rapidly empty any of these onto a paper plate at seven yards and hit it 99% of the time. That is good enough for me. They all go bang every time. If there was ever a hint of a problem with one, it would be out of the rotation.

Kel-tec P3AT 380, Glock 43 9mm, Taurus 85UL 38sp (with hammer spur removed), Ruger LCR 38sp (with longer than usual grip), Charter Arms Bulldog 44sp (with shrouded hammer):

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With bullet technology these days,carry what you like. Choose the proper bullet and enjoy.

If I trust a gun and its comfortable to carry I will carry it. I do sometimes find myself carrying something that may not be the perfect option though. For instance, some days I will carry my Makarov even though I have other guns that are lighter and hold more ammunition but I just like the Makarov.

Older I get, the lighter my carry gun gets. Carried the Cobra 20 something years. Moved to the LCR. Don't know what's next.

Airman Basic

Older I get, the lighter my carry gun gets. Carried the Cobra 20 something years. Moved to the LCR. Don't know what's next.

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This is about as lightweight as I'm probably willing to go.

My current carry pistol is a Kahr MK9.

I had decided that an ideal carry pistol (for me) would be in 9mm solely for logistical reasons. There had been some .380 shortages at the time, and I planned on purchasing a full sized 9mm to share ammo with later on.

Once upon a time I fired a friend's pistol in .380, and the tiny little thing was miserable to shoot. Each round was like having your hand walloped HARD with a hammer. One magazine per day was about the limit anyone would care to shoot. I'm also on a budget, so I decided that I would need a pistol I enjoyed shooting rather than suffering through one mag per session. I decided this was most likely with a metal framed pistol.

I was waiting for a sale on a Sig P938 (or maybe a P290RS) when I stumbled across a Kahr MK9 at a rather surprising price. Not only was the price excellent, but the pistol was in like new condition. I think the original owner only fired a single magazine for function testing. I dryfired it (with permission) and I liked the (much hated) long silky trigger, so I bought it.

It turned out to be bafflingly accurate and relatively pleasant to shoot.

However, now I wonder if perhaps it's the unusual combination of too small and too heavy. I could get away with a polymer double stack for the same weight.

But now LCP's are cheap, and I often see super cheap Keltec P32's at gun shows. And that darned Bill Deshivs always talks his up. And a smaller lighter pistol would be dandy in the hot hot summer.

So now I'm kind of torn between options. Oh well.

I'm pretty pragmatic when it comes to my carry guns. I have discovered that I tend to lean more as a revolver guy.

In the winter months, it's no trouble at all to conceal a 3" .357. I like that it is handy, powerful, and reliable.

In the spring and fall, I like how easily concealed and lightweight the LCR is. Since I'm carrying a 9mm instead of a .38 +P/.357, I like the moon clip reloads.

In the summer months, I have to carry invisibly. My job dictates a micro .380. The best in for me in terms of reliability and accuracy is the Beretta Pico. I would love to carry one of my revolvers, but i need something that disappears in a back pocket with a tucked in polo.

However, if I am super pragmatic inasmuch as choosing just one handgun, my Glock 19 makes the most sense. It's what I keep by my bed and what I would grab if I were to bug out.

These are my carry guns. I rotate at times but, normally I carry Two of the J-Frames

My choice of carry guns is mostly pragmatic as well. My first was bought on looks though as I wanted a snub nose revolver due to style, but it became my first carry gun so it got modified accordingly by bobbing the hammer spur and installing a laser grip.

Two of my carry guns were picked in .32 ACP due to the .380 ACP shortage of the time. Other carry guns were picked due to want, but all are similar in function in that they all have heavier trigger pulls and no safety levers. I'd also prefer my carry guns to have double strike capability, but only 4 out of 6 of mine have that feature.

I think a seriously under-rated aspect of choosing a carry gun is the ease with which the gun indexes for you. I am using the word "index" to mean the extent to which you can look at a target while grabbing/drawing the gun and then have the sights appear, pre-aligned, on the target. This has a huge amount to do with how quickly one can begin to fire accurate shots, which seems like an important consideration for a self-defense weapon.

ATLDave

I think a seriously under-rated aspect of choosing a carry gun is the ease with which the gun indexes for you. I am using the word "index" to mean the extent to which you can look at a target while grabbing/drawing the gun and then have the sights appear, pre-aligned, on the target. This has a huge amount to do with how quickly one can begin to fire accurate shots, which seems like an important consideration for a self-defense weapon.

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I agree completely with this. This was one of the first things I noticed with the sights on the Ruger SR9c. The gun just pointed naturally for me and the sights were right there as soon as I acquired the target.

bannockburn said:

ATLDave



I agree completely with this. This was one of the first things i noticed with the sights on the Ruger SR9c. The gun just pointed naturally for me and the sights were right there as soon as I acquired the target.

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The more I shoot my sr9c, the more I like it.

Here's my daily carry.

I keep a G19 and extra magazine in my center console, and pocket carry a G42.

Michael Tinker Pearce said:

So- are you totally pragmatic in your choices for carry guns- or do other factors enter in to it?

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I'm pragmatic.

The vast majority of the time I'm carrying a 3rd Gen. Glock 26. I traded for this and actually with how much I had into the trade item it didn't cost a whole lot (a little over $300 if I remember right). Got it from a buddy who had done some light stippling on it on the front and back of the grip to provide some traction since 3rd gen's are generally a bit slippery.

While he had done a decent job on it, the stippling wasn't finished and it would have detracted from its value in a straight sale. I wasn't buying it for its beauty though (it's a friggin Glock anyway), I was buying it for a straight carry piece. To add to what he started which is a more sure grip regardless of whether the shooters hand is wet or bloody or was sub-optimal in some way I bought a piece of 3M slip resistant tread (skateboard tape) and carefully traced out and cut a template to conform to the pre-existing lines of the pistol and then cut out a grip and applied it on the right side of the grip. The left side of the pistol I left plain since that's the side of the pistol that sits against my body and I didn't want it to grate against my side.





Does it look like a show piece? No, totally doesn't but it works for its intended purpose. At some point I'll pull the grip piece off and have it professionally stippled and have the trigger guard under-cut, but for now this is good and it works for its intended purpose. I also bought a few X-Grip adapters and bought a G17 mag for use in this pistol (as well as to use G22 mags in a G23 pistol that I occasionally carry) and then applied the traction tape to that as well so the adapter doesn't slip upwards or allow just enough room to pinch my hand on reloads if there's a gap between the grip and baseplate. I also bought some +2 mag adapters on my 10 rd mags to give me 12+1 in the gun from the get-go and 12 rd reloads which is a similar capacity to the Browning High Power pistols that I carried for years and years in a much smaller and lighter package.

While not as aesthetically pleasing as sending it off to Robar to having it stippled, it works great and I'm fast and accurate with this pistol.



So when it comes down to it I'm pragmatic. I like a good looking pistol more than most, but on a list of criteria I like my pistols to have it comes in dead last.

I carry my 4" SP101 in .327 Fed Mag most of the time, but not because I am pragmatic, more that I do not have any smaller options and I like the effectiveness of the round and the weight of the weapon. Besides, I get funny looks if I have an N-frame S&W on my hip.

What I'm sorta reading from this thread is that some guys think of "pragmatic" as having to carry mouseguns or otherwise sacrifice caliber effectiveness or capacity solely because they're concerned about the handgun's weight or possibly printing ...

I view pragmatic as a pocket gun + another, when I'm around the house an LCP in the pocket just makes sense because bigger guns are aren't that far. A Road trip or venturing into civilization(I live rural) I'll add a bigger gun on the belt, but the LCP is always there in it's place, left front pocket.

Michael Tinker Pearce said:

If I were going to be absolutely rational about it my carry guns would be a Glock 19, a Glock 43 and a Keltec P32. Maybe throw a lightweight J-Frame and a Freedom Arms Sidewinder .22 Magnum into the mix for special occasions.


Boring but effective, especially with the new Lehigh Extreme Cavitator ammo in .32 ACP.


But I am not rational about my carry choices. My only real criteria for a carry gun are a) It works and b) I like it. For me to like it does not really depend on the cartridge it fires or the mechanism; it's more a matter of how interesting it is. Sure, if modern, proven ammunition is available I'm going to use that. But I am not dismayed at the prospect of using a gun even if the only ammo I can lay hands on is round-nose lead.


I totally get that this is irrational of me, and I don't recommend my way of doing things to others. It's not smart, and I always recommend more mainstream choices. But I have had an interesting life filled with experiences that most people don't have. I have confidence (overconfidence perhaps) in myself, and as long as a gun functions I'm OK with it.


So- are you totally pragmatic in your choices for carry guns- or do other factors enter in to it?

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I am not un military or pilice live in good area and do not frequent bad ones, threrefore, I do not carry handguns. If I thought I needed one my pick would be lcp, Keltec or CHarter Arms revolver. Not a lot of money spent for something I will never use except for few shots at paper targets.

huntsman said:

I'll add a bigger gun on the belt, but the LCP is always there in it's place, left front pocket.

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The same here, except iwb.
Most of the time, this isn't far away.

I used to carry a Les Baer "Stinger" in .45ACP that I had about 2K tied up in, then I got pragmatic and switched to polymer.

Now I carry an HK P2000 in 357 SIG; less weight, less cost, just as effective caliber (some would argue more) and almost twice the capacity.

So I went from this:



to this:



Chuck

When I first started shooting I bought a lot of different guns in a lot of different (oddball) calibers.

After a while I realized that it cost a lot of money to stock all those different calibers of ammunition and different types of magazines and accessories and I decided that I needed to downsize my "collection" and concentrate on commonality.

One of the reasons I made this decision is because I don’t feel like I get to the range all that often so I want to maximize the time I’m there and I feel like getting myself up to speed on various platforms takes away from that so I stick with the one.

I looked around I did some research and eventually settled on the M&P.* I sold off all my other handguns (except my 4006 just because I bought it in a private sale) and bought an M&P9 and a 9C.

I now have one trigger to get used to and one type of sights. The grips on each gun are essentially the same and the sight radius is almost identical. I only have to buy one caliber of ammunition and I find it's easier to buy in bulk that way. Both guns take the FS magazines and now that I can buy Colorado legal FS magazines I can stock up for both guns.

This may not be ideal for everyone but for someone like me who has a limited training budget it works

*If I had to start over from nothing I'd buy one (maybe 2) Glock 19s and call it good but the M&Ps are adequate to the task and I can't really afford the loss I'd take selling them off to buy a Glock