First CCW: 1911 v Snubbie

[ferretray]

I've been carrying various 1911 pattern pistols for several decades. Carried some revolvers too. For ME, the best all-around CCW handgun is the Lightweight Commander.
I like the S&W 442/642 pre-lock, as a backup to a fighting handgun.
With the plethora of well designed and constructed holsters on the market these days, toting a 1911 is not difficult, with a little effort.
The lightweight J-frames are a nice ace in the hole.

 

[earlthegoat2]

For concealment rain or shine hot or cold I would be hard pressed to recommend anything other than a snub revolver. J frames conceal way easy in the summer unless you roll around in a speedo. In the winter you can conceal something bigger and badder in colder months but when push comes to shove and you are looking for that go anywhere and dress however (except for speedo) the snubby is it.

I carry a model 60 year round. I may try my hand at an Airweight one day but for now the steel monster is the go to. Pocket concealable and easy.

On a related note I also carry a Hi Power. That and the 60 are my only CCWs. The HiPower conceals similarly to a commander 1911 which I think conceals just as easily as an officers model size (3"). The commanders and officers can be had with aluminum frames though which CAN help. Like jad said above WITH PROPER EQUIPMENT you can conceal any 4" barrel or shorter revolver and any 5" or shorter automatic with relative ease. Buy a good belt and a good holster. Plan to spend a lot. Like 200 dollars (and long wait times) for these very important and often overlooked items.

 

[jad0110]

Oh, and that's a beautiful wheelgun collection! I really like the 15-2 and 66-1. I prefer blued/black/etc in autos, but stainless revolvers look soooo good to my eye!

Thank you sir!

For a year, I carried the 15-2 almost everyday, until I proved the 66-1 reliable. Now the 66-1 has pretty much retired the 15-2 as a carry gun. The 66-1 is probably my most frequently carried gun, followed closely by the 4" Ruger. I do pocket carry my 642 as a bug pretty frequently, and as a primary now and then, especially if I am just tooling around the house with a shotgun nearby.

Since you like the look of stainless revolvers, here's one to egg you on a little more ... my 4" S&W 686. With smaller stocks, it would conceal as well as a 4" K Frame.

 

[Digger]

I had this same dilema when getting my CCW. I already had plenty of choices in the safe for either semi auto or revolvers. It came down to this for me:
In a high stress situation, when you pull the trigger and all you get is a "click", what do you do?

Semi auto: tap-rack-bang. Easy enough, but takes practice to be proficient.

Revolver: pull the trigger again

I usually carry my LCR.

 

[johnnylaw53]

IF you don't have a weapon yet I would say it depends on where you live and the laws in your state. Here in Texas if you qulified with a semi auto you can carry a semi auto or a revolver, if you qulified with a revolver they mark that on your lic and that all you can carry. Been carrying for over 30 years and have own a couples of 1911 but have always gone back to the snub for off duty carry. Alot of people, if you go by the internet carry full size weapons all the time but I don't know anyone that does. I have found that the .38 snub is the only weapon with resonable power that I can carry when ever I leave the house.

be safe

 

[arizona98tj]

In a high stress situation, when you pull the trigger and all you get is a "click", what do you do?

Semi auto: tap-rack-bang. Easy enough, but takes practice to be proficient.

This is true, but interaction with any CCW gun has to include practice. If a person isn't routinely practicing (which would include tap-rack drills for the semi-auto), they need to seriously rethink the idea of CCW. On top of that, professional training is a must do as far as I am concerned.

 

[93PT92]

Summary

Thanks again for all the replies, guys! (ha, I rhymed)

Been off the grid for the past day or so, seeing my brother off for his move to SLC. Great gun laws out there, or so I've read

SO, here's where I stand right now.

J frame: Best option for carry, but hard to learn to shoot, and not at a great advantage if I'm not looking to pocket carry anyway.

1911: A Commander (4-4.2") size will probably conceal almost as well. Opens my options up.

A bigger revolver will carry as well as either IWB/OWB.

If a bigger DAO revolver would be easier to learn to shoot than a 642/LCR, I think I'm going to go that way, specifically a 2" SP101.

I think I should hold off on the 1911 until I can afford to stretch the budget out a bit more. I'm definitely going to get a 1911, but I think I should wait until I flesh out my collection so I can make sure it's filling the proper niche and not overlapping another gun too much.

I am interested in starting on a DAO revolver because it will be a bit more difficult to shoot. Between a 22 and a DAO revolver I think I'll be able to expose any bad habits (flinch, etc with the 22, trigger control with the dao) earlier. I feel like a 1911 has the potential to shoot better than I do. I might be way off base on this, so let me know any opinions.

Haha, like most "vs" threads, settling on a 3rd option

 

[93PT92]

Oh, and as for using the gun I have now, I'm not 100% on it's reliability, not that I won't be able to prove it before I get my permit, but I'm always going to be a bit iffy on it. A early 90s 92 is probably the most reliable Taurus you can find, and this seems like a good one, but I'll always be a bit uneasy with it.

Also, size economy is just not there. I don't think I could conceal any gun this chunky, and if I were going to the trouble, I'd probably want a larger caliber. 18-20rds of 9mm is nice, but if I'm carrying something as large as a 92, I'd want a larger caliber. Bah, 9mm would probably be fine, it would just be too uncomfortable.

 

[9mmepiphany]

If a bigger DAO revolver would be easier to learn to shoot than a 642/LCR, I think I'm going to go that way, specifically a 2" SP101.

you'll need something more along the lines of a S&W K-frame to really benefit your DAO learning curve...the are a bunch of LE trade-ins available on the market...if not, you'd be well served by just going with the LCR (it has a very nice trigger)

 

[93PT92]

DAO Revolver

What exactly would I be looking for in a good starter DAO revolver? Perhaps this should turn into a new thread, but in the interest of getting the opinions of everyone that's been helping me out so far.

I thought an SP101 would be a decent start since it's a bit larger and heavier, affording better purchase and a better platform for soaking up recoil, especially shooting 38s for practice.

Would it make sense to go for a nice big K frame or a security six or something to start out (perhaps instead of the 22, or to augment it as a training piece) before moving on to CCW? I know I want to get a 22 at some point, but if I'm deciding to go down the revolver path it may be prudent to get my training in on that. I'm thinking time rather than budget may be my constraint on training, and I can always put in a bunch of hours dry-firing to work on trigger control.

My LGS has a Mark III Lawman 4" for $299 that's mighty tempting and would make a great HD gun as well. Maybe even IDPA, though I haven't looked too deeply into the revolver classes.

 

[93PT92]

ehh, probably not on that lawman, I think I was looking at pictures of a trooper. I like my revolvers a bit chunkier-looking than that. They do have a 6" Dan Wesson 715 for $229, which is coincidentally the same price as my 92 I picked up at the same shop...fate?

That looks like a killer deal...

 

[93PT92]

OK, enough of the bargain shopping. Time to start a new thread on the revolver forum for this. Thanks again for all the help, and I'll link to that thread once I post it up in case anyone wants to follow this over there.

 

[93PT92]

New thread in revolver forum:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=530460