I chose a ______ as a CCW because:

Colt Commander because I don't want to put wear on my 35 year old Hi Power

Great thread.

I like my Kimber Ultra CDP in .45acp.

- It is 25oz w/mag, empty, so lighter than a SIG and not a lot heavier than a Glock.
- With a 3" barrel, a higher caliber is better, so .45acp (not that a 9mm isn't perfectly fine)
- Nice and thin, hides easily
- Great ergonomics, great grip, great accuracy
- 100% reliable, two safety's
- Familiar 1911 manual of arms, consistent with any full size 1911 you might use or train with
- Even though it is a compact, you can use full sized magazines (there is a spacer available)...and thus have 8+1 rounds of .45acp onboard and an even better grip (especially when used with a Hogue finger groove grip).

s&w bg380 most days and taurus mil pro 9mm on colder days, both are super reliable , and both have been shot alot and are very comfortable for me.

Sig P250 subcompact.

fits in my front pocket and carrys 13 rounds of 9mm +P+

638 Airweight

Light and comfortable in pocket holster.

These days it's a G36. Nice package, 6 + 1 of .45 acp. Shoots great and rides well in my IWB.

I use a G27 or a G29 because it is easy to conceal in a Milt Sparks VM2, a good compromise in weight, power, capacity and size, uses full size mags for spares, and they are accurate, especially the G29, and very reliable, they always go bang, the trigger is consistent, and there are no levers or anything to mess with, no mag safeties, etc. They don't wear easy and are a good deal for the price, and the small ones work and pretty much feel just like the larger ones when you use pinkie extensions. Just excellent defense tools, excellent.

I've looked for better and tried others, but I always just come back to the Glock. So now it is all I carry. I wouldn't bet my life on anything else anymore. I like a lot of other weapons, but for serious stuff, I only trust the Glock. I have six, and I trust each one of them. Even the 25 or so year old G17 I have, I probably trust it the most.

I choose the flavor of the day from a G26, G19, and a G30sf. I shoot the 30sf the best. A NAA .22mag when I "can't" carry. If I'm going to be mostly outside, the Gp100 fits the bill OWB. Picking my carry weapon is a fun decision I am blessed to be able to make.

Kahr P45, cause, if it don't start with 40 it isn't big enough, backed up by extra mag and PF9 with spare mag, can't have too many

i just started carrying a caracal c, very comfortable to shoot.

Pocket carry a small auto.
Comfortable, never prints.

I chose my Kahr CW45 in a UBG IWB holster because it is reliable and thin making it easy to carry. It was also reasonably priced and very accurate for a short barreled handgun.

Winter carry is XD45 compact
Summer carry is a Sig P238

H&K USP Compact .40 because, well it is compact,, reliable, and shoots really well.

Walther PPS in .40 S&W. If they made a .45 that thin, I'd carry it instead.

I choose a g-19 because they are reliable, accurate, and easy to maintain. They are rather inexpensive for what you get. I have had many guns, and various carry guns but I alwasy go back to the g-19 as my primary defensive handgun for everything, ccw, home defense etc.

I choose a 627 because 8 shots of 357 isn't bad ass enough, clubbing someone with it when you run out ammo sure is.

Actually a big gun just fits my hand better.

S&W J frame in a pocket holster

.38 LCR- easy to carry, easy to shoot.

I went through all 6 pages of this thread, and only ONE person EDCs a Makarov?

I chose a Makarov as a CCW because:
1) 100% reliable. It's the only handgun I own that has never, ever, ever had a jam. And I own a revolver - S&W 442. I once had ammo where the bullets backed out of the case, jamming the cylinder. None of my other handguns could pass the 200 rounds without a failure test.
2) Small and compact, but heavy. Some might think that's a disadvantage, but I like the controllability.
3) Powerful round. Certainly more oomph than a .38 special or .380 ACP (especially if you're shooting .38 special out of a snub)
4) Accurate! Due to the fixed barrel
5) It has 28 parts. That includes the components of the magazine. Take that Glock fanboys!
6) Oh yeah, it costs 250 dollars, so you can own two in case one breaks. Which they don't. But I guess you can always dual-wield

None of my other handguns could pass the 200 rounds without a failure test.

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You have crappy guns then.
But if the Makarov works for you great.

28 parts? wow thats very few. Some very effective tools only have a few parts. A hammer for example. Few parts tends to lead towards less problems, but not always.
If you were to get rid of the trigger safety in the glock I think the 35 parts would come down pretty close to that.

coolluke01 said:

You have crappy guns then.
But if the Makarov works for you great.

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I have:
CZ-75B
Kel-Tec P11
S&W 442
Ruger LCP

With the exception of the Kel-Tec P11, they're not regarded as crappy guns. The Kel-Tec is regarded that way by some. I didn't include my .22 rimfires, but they're not carry weapons.

I swear, it's my Russian peasant ancestry making me incapable of operating anything not designed for Russian peasants.

coolluke01 said:

28 parts? wow thats very few. Some very effective tools only have a few parts. A hammer for example. Few parts tends to lead towards less problems, but not always.
If you were to get rid of the trigger safety in the glock I think the 35 parts would come down pretty close to that.

Click to expand...

Whatever they did with the Mak, they did right
And I'm not bashing Glocks in any way, shape or form. The Glock was literally next on my list (due to its reputation for reliability) when I got the Mak. I was concerned about the grip ergonomics (didn't feel right to me). But I don't believe in using that as an excuse: enough practice resolves the issue.

Oh, more reasons to love the Mak:
7) DA/SA... A lot of people seem to hate this feature because of the way the trigger pull changes. To me, it's nothing that can't be fixed with practice, and I love the fact that I can have a heavy DA pull for safety, and a crisp, clean SA pull for follow-up shots.
8) You can remove the trigger pin in under 10 seconds, which is really good for dry-fire practice. I find dry-fire practice to help a lot, but with other guns I'm always second guessing whether it's loaded... the anxiety isn't conducive to a good practice session. WIth a Makarov, once you remove the firing pin, you can look straight out the barrel when the hammer is pulled back, giving you visual confirmation.

Maks are awesome!

I think 2nd guessing whether your gun is loaded when dry firing is a good thing. It should always be the first thing on our minds when dry firing.
I would be thinking did I really take that firing pin out?

coolluke01 said:

I think 2nd guessing whether your gun is loaded when dry firing is a good thing. It should always be the first thing on our minds when dry firing. I would be thinking did I really take that firing pin out?

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It is, and it always is on my mind, which was what made dry-firing such a strain for me before. I was constantly anxious about the firearm being loaded even when I'd just checked and was squeezing the trigger. Maybe I'm just more prone to anxiety than most. With the firing pin of the Makarov out, you can be reassured that there's nothing in the chamber/barrel even as you're squeezing the trigger. Here, I took a picture. You can actually see that the barrel is clear out of the corner of your eye, even as you focus on the sights.

I chose a Sigma because it's pretty cheap so if something bad happens to it, I don't really have to feel bad. Also, it's poly framed, so it's pretty light. 15+1 .40, <$300 and while it's not the most accurate beast, it's reliable. When I'm not wearing a belt, I like to toss my Kel-Tec P32 in my pocket.