Nobody
Member
Yes, I've read through many threads first but still want more opinion so here's my deal...
Where I live it is HOT, at least to me, most of the year. Outside of work I wear shorts nearly year round and often with a light t-shirt or sport shirt tucked in when not just around the house. At work, casual slacks with a sport shirt tucked in, it has to be tucked in, and no more. Jackets, vests, etc. are pretty much out for me. I'd look quite odd wearing more that this level of clothing because I'd be sweating like a man dying from the plague or something. The only method of carry that I've found I can consistently rely upon in this blasted climate is pocket carry. This obviously limits my choices a lot. Pocket carry has to be pretty light and not obviously printable. IWB simply won't work with my attire. For my situation, I look obviously out of place if I add more clothes just to cover up my CCW, so I feel I need to realistically conform my carry to my attire more than alter my attire.
Now to stopping power. I love the .45 but am quite comfortable for my CCW carrying 9mm and maybe .38 when playing the percentages game for my liklihood to need a pistol in self-defense versus having something I know I'll have with me all the time and with which I have practiced with some degree of regularity. I adhere primarily to that first rule, make sure you have a gun. I'm not one who loves fierce recoil either and this has kept me away from the ultralight snubs that I now am considering. No matter how small a pistol I may use, I mostly like having as much of a secure grip as possible and this is often where small pistols don't do too well.
Here's what I have and carry and my experience with these.
I have a 24 oz S&W Mod. 60 3", joy to shoot in .38 and quite tolerable to shoot in .357 but not for 100's of rounds. Too heavy and long for the pocket though, more for easy belt or IWB carry in woods.
Ruger P95, joy to shoot. OK on the belt or IWB but not for pocket and not easy to conceal. Way too heavy loaded up for the pocket.
Kahr Lady K9. Truly a joy to shoot and I love how this gun fits my hand. Nice and slim. Great for IWB but at 25 oz unloaded, it is way too heavy for the pocket.
Kel-Tec P32. Joy to shoot and a joy to carry. I use a +1 Mag extension, and A-grip and this gives me a satisfactory grip. I had to send it back to the factory for a bad extractor when I first bought it but has never had a problem since. This baby ends up being my 24/7 carry but I still fret regularly over the .32's stopping power. I really wish they would make a slightly larger single stack 9mm that is smaller than the P-11. Also, .32 ammo is darned expensive and not real easy to reload (which I also do).
I've considered selling my K9 to fund a P9 but I'm still not too sure it would be great for the pocket. The shorter grip Kahr's really don't fit my hand all that well either. That has brought me to considering an ultralight S&W, either 12 oz or 15 oz. Without having one to shoot, I have great trepidation at the thought of launching a .357 out of this platform and I'm not sure how bad a .38 +P, or even a regular .38 would feel. A 12 oz seems like it would work well in the pocket though, maybe a 15 oz one would too. I'm just not sure about this. Also, Kel-Tec just released a P-3AT but I don't personally feel that 6 rounds of .380 are really going to significantly improve my survival stats over dumping my current 9 rounds of .32 into an assailant during a true last ditch survivial civilian CCW encounter at extreme close range.
Any choices for pocket carry and advice that fellow CCW folks here could give me would be most appreciated. Thank you for bearing with this long post. I figured that better advice would be received when the reader knew most about my situation and experiences.
Where I live it is HOT, at least to me, most of the year. Outside of work I wear shorts nearly year round and often with a light t-shirt or sport shirt tucked in when not just around the house. At work, casual slacks with a sport shirt tucked in, it has to be tucked in, and no more. Jackets, vests, etc. are pretty much out for me. I'd look quite odd wearing more that this level of clothing because I'd be sweating like a man dying from the plague or something. The only method of carry that I've found I can consistently rely upon in this blasted climate is pocket carry. This obviously limits my choices a lot. Pocket carry has to be pretty light and not obviously printable. IWB simply won't work with my attire. For my situation, I look obviously out of place if I add more clothes just to cover up my CCW, so I feel I need to realistically conform my carry to my attire more than alter my attire.
Now to stopping power. I love the .45 but am quite comfortable for my CCW carrying 9mm and maybe .38 when playing the percentages game for my liklihood to need a pistol in self-defense versus having something I know I'll have with me all the time and with which I have practiced with some degree of regularity. I adhere primarily to that first rule, make sure you have a gun. I'm not one who loves fierce recoil either and this has kept me away from the ultralight snubs that I now am considering. No matter how small a pistol I may use, I mostly like having as much of a secure grip as possible and this is often where small pistols don't do too well.
Here's what I have and carry and my experience with these.
I have a 24 oz S&W Mod. 60 3", joy to shoot in .38 and quite tolerable to shoot in .357 but not for 100's of rounds. Too heavy and long for the pocket though, more for easy belt or IWB carry in woods.
Ruger P95, joy to shoot. OK on the belt or IWB but not for pocket and not easy to conceal. Way too heavy loaded up for the pocket.
Kahr Lady K9. Truly a joy to shoot and I love how this gun fits my hand. Nice and slim. Great for IWB but at 25 oz unloaded, it is way too heavy for the pocket.
Kel-Tec P32. Joy to shoot and a joy to carry. I use a +1 Mag extension, and A-grip and this gives me a satisfactory grip. I had to send it back to the factory for a bad extractor when I first bought it but has never had a problem since. This baby ends up being my 24/7 carry but I still fret regularly over the .32's stopping power. I really wish they would make a slightly larger single stack 9mm that is smaller than the P-11. Also, .32 ammo is darned expensive and not real easy to reload (which I also do).
I've considered selling my K9 to fund a P9 but I'm still not too sure it would be great for the pocket. The shorter grip Kahr's really don't fit my hand all that well either. That has brought me to considering an ultralight S&W, either 12 oz or 15 oz. Without having one to shoot, I have great trepidation at the thought of launching a .357 out of this platform and I'm not sure how bad a .38 +P, or even a regular .38 would feel. A 12 oz seems like it would work well in the pocket though, maybe a 15 oz one would too. I'm just not sure about this. Also, Kel-Tec just released a P-3AT but I don't personally feel that 6 rounds of .380 are really going to significantly improve my survival stats over dumping my current 9 rounds of .32 into an assailant during a true last ditch survivial civilian CCW encounter at extreme close range.
Any choices for pocket carry and advice that fellow CCW folks here could give me would be most appreciated. Thank you for bearing with this long post. I figured that better advice would be received when the reader knew most about my situation and experiences.
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