What is your minimum?

Absolute minimum in a revolver-S&W Model 649 or 638 .38 Special 5 rounds plus two speedloaders.

Absolute minimum in a semi-auto-Kahr CM9 9mm. 6+1 rounds plus two 6 round magazines.


Absolute maximum in a revolver-S&W Model 686 .357 Magnum 6 rounds plus two speedloaders.

Absolute maximum in a semi-auto-HK VP9 9mm. 17+1 rounds plus one 17 round magazine.

Minimum I HAVE chosen to carry- 5 rds .22 Lr. Minimums I choose with regularity. 8rds .32acp; 7 rds .380acp; 5rds .38 spl.
Most carried - 7rds .380acp

G42 with extended mag. 10rnds

Pat Riot said:

Uh-oh. Silver only works with werewolves. One needs holy water, crosses and wooden stakes for vampires

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Oh no...I've seen so many people on here saying a .22 beats a sharp stick. Guess a sharp stick is the better option, sometimes.

I've never EDC'd a revolver. All my current pistols are single stack 1911 or variants thereof. So my minimum is the maximum I can stuff in them with a spare mag or two within spitting distance.

9mm, 15 round minimum. Assuming once loaded 14+1

And 3-5 extra mags.

G26 with G19 mag and a reload.

PPS M2 9mm with a 7 rounder and occasionally a spare in my pocket, and a Sar B6 in the door of the truck 17+1.

While the majority of the time I have a Glock 29 on me, occasionally I find myself with only a five shot NAA .22 Magnum.

Minimum is a 21A beretta .22 lr. Because I’m always armed. Usually carry something bigger but what the hell.

9mm and 8+1 onboard with one extra mag on the side.

As stated elsewhere my P64 and CZ82 in 9x18 Mak. The P64 holds 6+1, the CZ holds 12+1.

Fit's in my pocket and holds 10 rounds of .22 LR. Works perfectly with CCI Velocitors and that's my backup CCW wea[pon. My primary is my S&W EZ-9. Eight rounds of 9 mm with 2 extra magazines.

WisBorn said:

What is your minimum cartridge and capacity handgun for concealed carry?

Curious to see what the minimums are for the THR members. Remember this is your personal choice and opinion!
A single shot 22 short with a well-placed shot can get the job done. But you may run into two or three NINJAS.

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My current, but only occasional minimum, is a .32 ACP Tomcat. But usually, it's more like .380/.38 special.

If I had a .22 pocket pistol that was reliable, I'm not going to lie, I'd likely carry it once in a while to the store.

chicharrones said:

Minimum in an autoloader = .32 ACP with 7+1 stuffed in it.

Minimum in a revolver = .38 special with 5+0 stuffed in it.

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Currently, whatever the firearm will hold. No extra magazines or speed loaders.

When I was flying my own plane, I'd carry an extra magazine on the off chance that I'd have to make an emergency landing in the middle of no where.

Good Ol' Boy said:

G26 with G19 mag and a reload.

View attachment 1061720

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If you're going to do all that why not just carry a 19?

Autodidactic said:

My current, but only occasional minimum, is a .32 ACP Tomcat. But usually, it's more like .380/.38 special.

If I had a .22 pocket pistol that was reliable, I'm not going to lie, I'd likely carry it once in a while to the store.

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You would rather defend yourself with a 22 than other options.

CDW4ME said:

You would rather defend yourself with a 22 than other options.

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No, at no point did I say "i'd rather defend myself with a .22." Lol. I said if I had a .22 LR pocket pistol, which I don't, I would carry it occasionally if it was reliable.

For years I only carried a pair of 38 special J-Frames. For about a month now I dropped one J-Frame and started carrying a Springfield XDm 3.8 9mm. XDm for the waist and 442 in the pocket.

Autodidactic said:

No, at no point did I say "i'd rather defend myself with a .22." Lol. I said if I had a .22 LR pocket pistol, which I don't, I would carry it occasionally if it was reliable.

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If it's not something you'd want if you had to defend yourself why carry it at all?

Night Rider said:

If it's not something you'd want if you had to defend yourself why carry it at all?

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It's a gun that fires bullets that can severely injure or kill and actually had injured and killed a lot of people. I rather have a 22lr handgun vs a bat, knife, pepper spray etc.

I dunno, I'm kinda likin' these high capacity .22 "revolvers".

Styx said:

It's a gun that fires bullets that can severely injure or kill and actually had injured and killed a lot of people. I rather have a 22lr handgun vs a bat, knife, pepper spray etc.

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That wasn't my question

Night Rider said:

If it's not something you'd want if you had to defend yourself why carry it at all?

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Because like many I don’t subscribe to the idea that only the most self defense is viable self defense. A reliable .22 lr is better than most people’s knives, brass nuckles, pepper spray, taser, etc. Things aren’t binary. My normal is a .38 or .380

The smallest firearm that I regularly carry is a Seecamp LWS-32. Its .32 ACP ammo is the smallest cartridge that I use, for defensive carry purposes. I do not, however, normally carry this little pistol, as my only weapon. Its lack of sights seriously limits my ability to engage a target that is much beyond touching distance, and the .32 ACP is marginal, in effectiveness. I can usually manage to tote a Ruger SP101, or a full-sized duty/service handgun, so, it is a rare day that I do not carry .38 Special, .357 Mag, and/or .45 Colt.

The Seecamp is 6+1. The revolving pistols are 5 to 6 rounds, per cylinder. I do tend to tote more than one weapon.