Do You Carry Different Loads In your CCW?

Same. Always

Same here too. Although in the woods. I'll up the caliber. 10mm and 44 mag. Street 9mm and .380

I sometimes alternate between a Glock 19 and a 4" S&W 686 when I carry, except I don't carry that often. Except in the woods around here when I often carry a .22 cal. Ruger Single Six. Thinking of just using the 686 for my occasional concealed carry because I seem to be more accurate with it. I also like having a choice between +P 38 Spl. and 357 Magnum.

If I'm riding a horse, I take a different gun.

Other than that, it's the same 95% of the time.

There really wasn't an answer that fit me. I think I've said this before but I have three guns in my "Rotation".

A Glock 43 that's exclusively my go to the gym gun.

A Glock 26 that is my NPE gun and my around the house gun.

And a Glock 19 that's my leaving home but not going to the gym or an NPE gun.

So, three different guns but they're all loaded with 124 g Speer gold dots.

Same loads with the exception of 45acp I go from Hornady critical defense to a cast truncated cone. No real reason to besides the fun of it.

I carry a Springfield Mil-Spec 1911 in the Lord's caliber 45ACP pretty much all the time. I have Federal 230gr +P JHP rounds in it. My other handgun I carry sometimes is my Sig P320 compact in 40S&W and I have Remington 180gr Golden Sabers in it. Now my Pietta SAA 45 Colt isn't really a carry gun as it's not very practical around my neck of the woods but it has Hornady 250gr FTX ammo in it and on the gun belt. I'd get really wierd looks going to Whataburger with it on lol. But again, this is Oklahoma where we still live in teepees and ride horses everywhere.

S&W Shield as my standard CCW, sometimes a S&W 642.

If I'm out woods bumming or hunting it's a revolver, .22, .38, or .45 Colt depending on where I'm at and if I'm hunting.

My EDC is a Glock 19 in a kydex OWB that covers 90% of my carry time. If I must be discreet it's a Shield in tuckable IWB. If I'm requiered to dress up, I carry a Browning Hi Power in a nice OWB. All are loaded with 124+P Gold Dots.

I carried Gold dots in my .380 for about 5 years, then after some reading and research, switched to Fiocchi (hot) hardball FMJ's, but as of the last couple years all I carry in my LCP is Underwood XP's after I determined they would function reliably in "my" particular LCP. With that particular gun I want adequate penetration since testing with HP's was not ideal.

Sometimes I'll carry a .38 and I use Hard Cast wadcutters in that too, for better penetration out of the short barrels.

The 9mm I carry most often (G43)usually has 135gr Hornady FTX Critical Duty since I am very happy with the results and use the +P's of the same cartridge in my 19 and 17. I've shot enough of them to know they are accurate and reliable. I have Golden Sabers's and 150gr HST's that I was carrying in my G43 for a while but I carry those as spares, I have alot of faith in the critical duty in both standard pressure and +P variety. Fantastic ammo in my opinion.

I have not seen it for sale lately so I'm still carrying the same ammo in my carry guns for about 2 years, I'm sure it's all still g2g but as soon as I find some I'm gonna cycle it out and get some new ammo. I hate shooting premium (expensive) JHP's but you gotta do it. If you're smart and financially able, it's good to buy a full 500-1000 rd case of your favorite carry ammo and cycle it out every once in a while for practice, etc.... I miss the days when you could get premium JHP's like Hornady CD, Gold Dots and HST's for around $350/1000rd case, shipped free.

I carry the same gun and ammo for SD, a P365XL with HST 124 grain +P. I'll carry something different when hiking in an area where wildlife may be a concern.

For "serious" guns - those used for defense in particular - I use just one load.

Fun guns, for woods loafing and such, I'll often play around with different bullets and powders.

My CCW (my "in town" gun) is a Glock G19, loaded with Winchester "Train & Defend" (the "Defend" JHP ones). I used to carry a Smith snubby with factory +P JHPs of some kind, but I've grown to like my Glock G19 a lot. Besides, it holds more ammo.
My EDC gun for just working or puttering around the house and property (rural) here is a short-barreled Taurus .32 H&R revolver. In fact, I'm wearing it right now, and it's loaded with Federal 85gr JHPs. However, I have a pouch with 12 or 15 handloaded 95gr SWCs in it in my pocket.
Sometimes my Taurus .32 H&R is concealed (like when I'm wearing a long shirt or jacket), usually it's not.
We don't have much for "beaches" here in SE Idaho, but when we were younger, my wife and I did a lot of backpacking in the Idaho mountains. I changed my mind about which gun was best for grizzly bears and sasquatches several times over the years while we were backpackers. I finally decided on a Taurus "Tracker" .41 Mag loaded with very stout 250gr SWC handloads.
As I've said before though, the times when I felt most ill at ease when my wife and I were into backpacking, was when we were at the trailheads. Sometimes two-legged miscreants hang out at trailheads, and I always feel more ill at ease when I'm around those types than I do when I'm five miles into the wilderness where there might be grizzlies and wolves and mountain lions, oh my!
So, the fact is, I'd have probably been better off carrying a reliable 9mm, 40, 10mm, or even a 45ACP semiauto of some kind on our backpacking trips than I was carrying a powerful revolver.
One more category - fishing guns. I've had a stainless Smith 22/32 "kit" gun for probably 40 years. I like to have it in my tackle box just in case the fish aren't biting, but there are makeshift targets that need perforating.
I really like my old "kit" gun, and I'm feeling kind of guilty about the fact that in the last year or so, I've spent a lot more time target practicing, fishing, ground squirrel hunting, and just goofing off with my Glock G44 than I have with my first loved .22 handgun. I've strayed.

If I exclude the "frivolity" of ever carrying a revolver, and stick to the "all practical" family of Glocks, I do change guns depending on the situation. And I change ammo depending on the situation too.

My G20, as an example:

• Usually loaded with 200gr HST, we have a factory load that's doing things the FBI likes and penetrating towards the upper limit of 18" of gel.
• In places (other than my house and the supermarket) were over-penetration is less of an issue, and deeper penetration on animals may be preferable, I typically load 180gr XTPs at around 1240fps. Probably about 18-22" of penetration with that load, so it has an increased chance to reach the vitals of 4-legged animals.
• In places where very large animals (moose, and grizzlies) are the main concern, I'll take either Buffalo Bore 190gr monos at 1150-1200fps, or my own 180gr FMJ-FN load at somewhere around 1200-1250fps. Both loads just keep going for several feet of penetration.

But I can't carry the G20 in all circumstances. So I have other smaller guns(Glocks). Though with those I tend to prefer one load that gets around 18" of penetration in gel and still opens reliably with the barrel lengths I'm using.

On the other hand, I feel like a .357 Magnum revolver pushing 158gr XTPs at around 1250fps, is a fantastic compromise for a wide range of applications. Though over-penetration in urban areas is certainly a concern given that it's probably probably pushing 22-24" in gel.

One gun just can't fit all the roles I require. Neither can one load. But that doesn't mean one gun and one load can't do it for those who don't traverse such a wide range of environments.

It's ALMOST always the same gun with the best ammo that will function in it. If it wasn't the best gun and the best ammo, why would you carry it at all?

However, I am looking at buying or building a Glock 10mm for woods carry, and I'll probably use hard-cast bullets, either my own loads or premium defensive stuff.

No. It's fine if other people believe that they will have the luxury, on the street, or sitting in a car, to be able to reach for a gun with their gun Already in your face - most of the time.

There is very little chance that an armed attacker will want to be/remain in our field of vision before the last half second, unless our attention is distracted by a Second attacker behind us.

It has now been three years, starting at age 62. I jog 4-5 days per week also.

My Krav training is —Not actually for guns—, but for the wide variety of assaults where you immed. require Both hands and feet in a bitter struggle.

Many attacks are purely physical (you watch tv, and Youtube, right?)...they prevent you from having a Spare hand, or Time to do anything -- so you must have a Plan B to fight with both hands and legs, where you have No chance to reach for a weapon.

I'm probably not the typical edc example. I live in the country a couple miles out of town. There is a salvage yard at the end of my road. If you don't know what that means, just imagine meth heads driving by your house all day, every day, in beater cars with washing machines, lawn mowers, and other junk, likely stolen, hanging out of the trunk.
They take whatever they can find to the scrap yard for a few dollars. All the while slowing down in front of my house with thier heads hung out the window looking to see what's in my sheds or yard. Occasionally a few have decided to stop down the hill at corner of my property and try to explore. A couple have pulled in to the abandoned house next door, which I own, and tried to explore.
One even drove around behind my house thinking no one was home, that was an interesting confrontation. So, I mention all that to explain why I have a very good possibility of having to defend myself against a vehicle as well as an armed person.
So I have a variety of edc in rotation depending on my plans. Each one has different loads. My CZ52 or my Xd40 are usually with me around the farm, but sometimes its one of my 9mm or 10mm. What ever I'm carrying around the farm usually has a combination of fmj and hp for the reason I mentioned.
One of my 9mm or .357 is usually with me if going to urban areas. What ever I'm carrying in that situation is usually loaded with hp.
I also usually have a back up .380 with me, usually loaded with hp.

Ignition Override said:

No. It's fine if other people believe that they will have the luxury, on the street, or sitting in a car, to be able to reach for a gun with their gun Already in your face - most of the time.

Click to expand...

Yeah, if an attacker has a gun (which isn't a given), and already has it pointed in your face, in most situations you've already lost. So it's time to be submissive and comply, and hope you don't get shot.

But if they have a baseball bat or a tire iron or a hatchet and are bashing in your driver's side window when your car is blocked in traffic at an intersection, you might want to reach for that gun.

Ignition Override said:

There is very little chance that an armed attacker will want to be/remain in our field of vision before the last half second (why Would they give us a warning?) allow us any time to pull a gun ---
and this is why I train vigorously twice a week in our Krav Maga classes. It has now been three years, starting at age 62. I jog 4-5 days per week also.

Many attacks are purely physical (you watch tv, and Youtube, right?)...they prevent you from having a Spare hand, or Time to do anything -- so you must have a Plan B to fight with both hands and legs, where you have No chance to reach for a weapon.

Click to expand...

Empty handed fighting skills are well worth developing, but as you already pointed out, if the attacker's gun is already in your face, I don't think krav maga is going to stop a bullet. And of course, the gun might not be held out conveniently to be swept aside or for a special disarm technique. It may instead be held in a retention position, because as you also point out, YouTube is available, even for criminals.

So whilst I value hand-to-hand skills, I recognize that against those younger/fitter/stronger than myself, or where I'm outnumbered, hand-to-hand is not a solution. All it can do is buy me time to get a gun into action. Lateral motion and trying to create distance whilst blocking, avoiding or redirecting strikes, is more important to me than engaging head-on. But to each their own.

I quit carrying CCW. I got tired of criminals deciding whether or not to attack this old man depending on which ammo I have loaded. So I started open carrying my M1Garand. Evidently the criminals no longer care which ammo I have loaded. They just run away. :>)

Fooey said:

I quit carrying CCW. I got tired of criminals deciding whether or not to attack this old man depending on which ammo I have loaded. So I started open carrying my M1Garand. Evidently the criminals no longer care which ammo I have loaded. They just run away. :>)

Click to expand...

That is not a terrible idea honestly and you'd get a free workout from lugging it around all day!

I use 9mm with some type of US made HP from a "household brand", except when I'm in the woods- then its a 40 S&W with US HP rounds. That will adequately address anything in the state that might want to give me a problem. Except maybe a skunk ape.

My Shield Plus shoots Underwood Extreme Defender very well and using it I do not have to worry about going to an area than bans hollow points & expanding type ammo.

I carry the same ammo, all the time.

I would change my carry ammo if, for some reason, I could not get ahold of my preferred ammo. I'd have to get enough of the alternate ammo to convince myself of its reliability and accuracy in my carry pistol, too.