Do you agree or Disagree?

I agree that what you carry is a choice. I do not shoot small handguns well with my large hands; I would feel clumsy and under gunned. I carry either a 75B or a 1911; my confidence requires the larger stuff that I shoot well.

Terry G said:

"If I'm just going to the store for a gallon of milk I just drop my .22 Deringer, Ruger LCP, or similiar small caliber pistol in my pocket." Good idea? Bad idea? I always thought and taught when you go armed, no matter where, you go armed. That means your EDC.

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Great idea because grocery stores, quicky marts, and gas stations never get robbed.

Around the house or in the backyard, then a Keltec P3AT in my pocket will do. Off my property and out in the rest of the world then it's my EDC: a Kahr CM9 or a S&W Model 638.

I'm going to disappoint a few of you. There are a few places that I don't carry. I haven't found a good way to carry when I go swimming at the pool or the beach. Of course the handgun stays in the car when I go into buildings that they are illegal to have, like a courthouse.

I do grab my LCP2 or J frame before leaving the house. If I need more than that I shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Any gun will defend you as long as you're proficient with it.

So, in some cases, just move your backup gun to primary, leave primary at home!

It is a good idea, I think. Particularly if otherwise you would be unarmed.

I have a handful of carry guns of different sizes that I carry based on how I'm dressed. They are of various calibers but share the same manual of arms and are carried in the same manner (IWB). Depending on where I'm going/how I'm dressed I can carry more or less gun. I love my fullsize CZ 75B, but it is difficult to conceal in summer clothing. I live in an urban area where many people are hostile to CC so maintaining concealment is a high priority for me. I'm not interested in being SWAT'd on my trip to the grocery store because a mommy-demanding-action-on-gun-violence type decides to drop a dime on the dangerous gunman purveying the meat section, like poor Erik Scott at Costco (RIP)

If you're able to use the same EDC every day, good for you. Wish that was the case for me.
I've thought about purchasing a NAA minirevolver but I never have, the SA and tiny nub of a trigger make me nervous.

Terry G said:

"If I'm just going to the store for a gallon of milk I just drop my .22 Deringer, Ruger LCP, or similiar small caliber pistol in my pocket." Good idea? Bad idea? I always thought and taught when you go armed, no matter where, you go armed. That means your EDC.

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Meh.

Far be it from me to pass judgment on anybody for their own threat assessments.

My personal opinion is one carries SOMETHING to the maximum extent practicable, whatever and however practicable. Sometimes it's your "EDC", other times not.

Lots of factors may go into this, some more logical than others.

Bottom line for me: "If you can carry, then carry SOMETHING. Because something is better than nothing."

I guess any gun is better than no gun, but why do things halfway? I won't even own a carry handgun that I wouldn't feel confident in getting me through a gunfight. That mean a gun that is sufficiently accurate, reliable, and powerful enough to address multiple lethal threats at ranges up to 25 yards. For me, that means a shield 9.

Terry G said:

"If I'm just going to the store for a gallon of milk I just drop my .22 Deringer, Ruger LCP, or similiar small caliber pistol in my pocket." Good idea? Bad idea? I always thought and taught when you go armed, no matter where, you go armed. That means your EDC.

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Good idea...I EDC from after I get dressed to when I get undressed..then the G17 goes on the bedside table.

Can't predict when and where you 'might' need the thing, particularly now.
WHAT you carry is a personal choice that is rehashed here and most other gun forums...to 'death'...

So, I have a serious question...

I carry only when going to the inner city where there is a chance of serious physical harm such as robbery, car jacking, assault may happen. My question is what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass? If I have that much fear of my neighbors or someone coming to hurt me while cutting the grass then I would seriously move. I used to carry daily but it became an annoyance. I just avoid areas where potential severe bodily harm could come to me and sitting on the riding mower isn't one of them.

Axis II said:

So, I have a serious question...

what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass?

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nothing.

on a related note, every single one of us makes risk assessments about our safety and choices based on those risk assessments. Those choices are applied to more than just the size of the gun or caliber we carry.

Terry G said:

"If I'm just going to the store for a gallon of milk I just drop my .22 Deringer, Ruger LCP, or similiar small caliber pistol in my pocket."

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A .22 derringer is (slightly) better than nothing, but I don't think much of derringers or .22s for self defence. At minimum I'd carry the LCP but my personal pocket gun is a LC9s in a DeSantis pocket holster.

Axis II said:

My question is what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass?

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Walking to the mail box? I personally know a person who was robbed while walking from his car to a friends front door, and this was in a "good" neighborhood. Sitting in a recliner? I read about armed home invasions all the time, isn't it better to have a gun on your belt while sitting in the recliner, than to have to run upstairs to your bedroom and grab it from your night stand?

It's not like I live in constant fear of being attacked, but I acknowledge that no place is 100% safe these days.

Axis II said:

So, I have a serious question...

I carry only when going to the inner city where there is a chance of serious physical harm such as robbery, car jacking, assault may happen. My question is what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass? If I have that much fear of my neighbors or someone coming to hurt me while cutting the grass then I would seriously move. I used to carry daily but it became an annoyance. I just avoid areas where potential severe bodily harm could come to me and sitting on the riding mower isn't one of them.

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In these very uncertain time, living is a VERY safe but pretty soft town, there are people wandering around who just look 'out of place'..NOT trying to be xenophobic but the homeless population has exploded around here, there are numerous tent cities around now so, yes, I carry when sitting at home, or when I go to the mail box.

YMMV and all that. If EDC is an annoyance, then don't do it but predicting when and where you 'may' need to protect you or yours has always been kinda 'tough'...

Disagree. Neither of those pistols, are worth having the responsibility of a pistol in my pocket. If I'm going to carry, carry something that works better than a knife. Otherwise just carry a knife and relax.

Sell both and get a LCR or Jframe. Jframes are dirt cheap on sale right now. Those are the only things I recommend for pocket carry, everything else should be on a belt.

I carry only when going to the inner city where there is a chance of serious physical harm such as robbery, car jacking, assault may happen.

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Why do you go there? Stay safe and only go to your house of worship if you are so inclined. There's never been a rampage at a church, synagogue, mosque, Hindu or Sikh temple. College campuses never have seen an incident. Why no one has ever taken a wife hostage and set the family on fire! Go to the deli, racists will never attack the deli! Upscale malls, never happen. How about a work after hours party, a disgruntled worker, religious fanatic will never shoot up a work party.

We've done this so many times before, it's repetitive.

1. We start with the nice gun fight occurs in nice places silliness.
2. The small gun is limited in what experts call in the fight, number of opponents.
3. If you are smart, you realize this and cognitively accept this limitation, playing the odds that you will be mostly likely in a single mugger, economically motivated crime that can be deterred with the small gun, fired or not.
3. Thus, you carry the small gun because it is convenient, comfortable and perhaps for a NPE.
4. If you are the smug child of Dunning-Kruger on the Internet you will mock those who carry something more substantial as compared to acknowledging the limits. #1 is an example of that BS.
5. If you carry the small gun, like most - you probably just shoot it on the square range, once in awhile. You probably never try it out in a dedicated class for such, competition (esp. ones designed for small guns) to see how you do with stress, accuracy, reloads. You will now say, show me a case where you have to reload.
6. The hot weather BS - you can't carry because it is SO hot where you live. Well, I lived in the TX inferno for 25 years and managed a Glock and an extra mag without a problem because I figured it out.
7. You look at the situation as a continuum of incident intensity from the one mugger be gone, wave your gun to some rampage horror show. As in statistics, you make a reasonable criterion cut according to the risk you worry about. If you only go to nice places, then an unloaded gun for deterrence might work for you. Or a small gun. If you decide that you may be in a more than one opponent, multiple shot horror, you may want more. Horror shows happen everywhere nowadays.
8. Current professional thinking (and some of us are wired into that world) is that:
a. A pocket gun like a J frame is decent for the accepted low risk and/or well I'm screwed convenient carry. We accept that it is not optimal. We also train up on those. There is some debate about pocket semis vs J frames. The former can be unreliable, that's an empirical question. I've had three that stunk.
b. If possible, and it is not hard, a semi about about 9-10 lower limit and an extra mag or two, is a reasonable load even for a nasty rampage. Sure, it would be nice to have more, but this is doable and realistic.

Now, someone will think they are clever and say, why not carry 10 mags, blah, blah. Not that clever if you understand the points above.

Ok, let's do this again in about 2 months.

Axis II said:

So, I have a serious question...

I carry only when going to the inner city where there is a chance of serious physical harm such as robbery, car jacking, assault may happen. My question is what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass? If I have that much fear of my neighbors or someone coming to hurt me while cutting the grass then I would seriously move. I used to carry daily but it became an annoyance. I just avoid areas where potential severe bodily harm could come to me and sitting on the riding mower isn't one of them.

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I live in a very rural area, the town I live in has a population of 1200 and the biggest town in the county has a population of 2400. I carry all the time due to the fact of the drug problems around me. One never knows what a person doped up on meth or heroin (and who knows what else) will do. Meth heads don't think about things and just act out regardless of the consequences. Personally the smallest I'll carry is my Kel-Tec 380, but usually carry a 9mm or bigger.

Terry G said:

"If I'm just going to the store for a gallon of milk I just drop my .22 Deringer, Ruger LCP, or similiar small caliber pistol in my pocket." Good idea? Bad idea? I always thought and taught when you go armed, no matter where, you go armed. That means your EDC.

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I’m not judging...but for me, There is a pretty big difference between your derringer and your LCP.

LCP > derringer > nothing.

I only have two carry guns, a Kimber Micro 9 and a DB 9. I stay proficient with both. I used to have a .380 but replaced it with the DB 9 that only weighs a couple ounces more and is 9 mm. I carry the DB in a DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster and have no problem drawing it smoothly from my front pocket.

I guess I disagree with grabbing a mouse gun.

Axis II said:

So, I have a serious question...

I carry only when going to the inner city where there is a chance of serious physical harm such as robbery, car jacking, assault may happen. My question is what in the world are you guys scared of to carry to the mail box, sitting in the recliner watching tv, cutting the grass? If I have that much fear of my neighbors or someone coming to hurt me while cutting the grass then I would seriously move. I used to carry daily but it became an annoyance. I just avoid areas where potential severe bodily harm could come to me and sitting on the riding mower isn't one of them.

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That's why I only wear my seat belt when I know that I am going to be in an accident...

I think it is a good practice to always carry your primary gun . But I will admit that I don't always do that . That is why I bought a 642 . It is easy to put it in my pocket and with the right ammo I don't worry if it has enough power . I would never consider a small caliber derringer , I would feel just as armed with a knife .

I've been trying to get onboard with the "same gun ,same place, same way everyday" line of thinking lately. Typically I would carry a 1911 in .45 and spare mag any time my attire would allow. That would change to a P238 with extra mags in shorts/t-shirts weather. Lately the P238 never leaves the house except when going for a walk or run in my neighborhood or pocket carried as a backup. If carrying is uncomfortable, you don't have the right gear... I've started looking at it as part of the wardrobe. You can't wear thick socks with certain shoes because they hurt your feet? Then you have to figure a way to make it work cause barefooted isn't a good option most times.

Lots of folks carry an EDC and a knife. Not hard to carry a Delica for instance. Of course, you can screw up your hand for weeks in knife class (sigh). The 642 is considered a fine gun for when you make the limited carry choice with full knowledge of the limitations of such carry. It's kind of the Platonic archetype of a pocket gun: a Platonic philosophical idea referring to pure forms which embody the fundamental characteristics of a thing.