Have been reading a lot here and I put this up to give some ideas and help to other people new to CC and any critiques or ideas for improvements to my set up are welcome.
Not very much experience with firearms, none at all previous to this year, but I decided that having a firearm around is a good thing to have. Went out to a few ranges and shot a whole lot of different pistols and shot a whole lot more .22s so that I can aim adequately. Put in for a CHL and narrowed down choices, and purchased weapon + accessories. Here is what I came out with and my thoughts on choices. Also, height is 5’10’’ and weight is 170lbs.
Pistol: Springfield XD Sub-Compact, 9mm.
Why this weapon? It fits my hand well, points naturally, and compared to other guns I am accurate with it.
I don’t think I could conceal a larger grip without really changing my wardrobe though it would be nice if they made a compact XD 9mm in addition to the sub-compact, I’d prefer a 4 inch barrel over the three.
As I have little experience with firearms I don’t have the muscle memory for flicking a safety on/off. Also on quite a few pistols my thumbs have had trouble operating the safety quickly. There is also the argument of the thumb safety on some weapons somehow switching by themselves as well as fumbling the safety off. I don’t put much faith in the trigger safety really doing anything but the grip safety seems like it will prevent an AD equally as well as a thumb safety without any of the negatives.
No hammer on weapon so hopefully that will reduce the amount of lint collected and reduce the chance of a ND. Negative to this is that I think hammers conceal better when they have a heavy cant, which is the only way that I am able to conceal a medium to large pistol. Revolvers nearly twice the size seem to conceal just as well as this one because of the curves in the hammer and grip area. I’ve heard that average rounds fired is 3 however that is the average and as most of the time just showing a weapon stops violence I’d guess that a lot of the time only one round needs to be fired so every rare occasion a dozen or so rounds may need to be fired. Also if confronted with a group of BG (recently around here there have been assaults of 4-5 people threatening a lone person) having more rounds in a magazine that I can reload quickly seems more beneficial than having 6-8 powerful rounds. Also the 45 version of this dosen’t fit my hand well at all and I shoot a 9 more accurately and faster and I have trouble shooting a 40 SW, rounds in compact magazine for a XD are fewer than I’d like. In the future I may carry a 357 revolver as a primary and this as a back up.
Other nice but overall inconsequential things about the weapon; Comes apart and cleans easily, 9mm is cheaper to practice with, I consider it pretty light, external indicators (chamber/striker) that I don’t use but are nice, and pistol is comparatively cheaper than other models.
Negatives; Weapon is fat. This doesn’t help concealment, especially with the grip. The rear sights limit the other side of the gun and restrict the amount of cant that the holster can have. I like the trigger, I’m sure it is mediocre at best however I don’t have enough experience with other weapons for it to really bother me. However the pull is light and double action for the first shot would be safer. I think a bi-tone may be slightly easier to use in low light.
Holster MTAC
Awhile after I narrowed down weapon selection I realized that I’m going to need something to carry this thing around. A lot of holster makers have a very long waiting period and produce very nice items however I’m simply interested in utility at this point. I thought the hybrid holsters are a good compromise for comfort and durability. Went with the MTAC as it has a leather backing that covers the metal mountings and I don’t wear undershirts. Also the cant is adjustable (and I had little idea what would be ideal for me) and I can order a new half of the holster for any weapons I get in the future. I also purchased a leather belt from Comp-Tac as this should fit well with their own holsters. I usually wear a 32 on the tightest setting and took a measurement with an XD and that would have brought me up to a 34 on the middle notch. I think a belt the next size up would fit me the best as I have to wear the belt on the second largest notch with the holster but it works well enough for me right now. Comp-Tac had everything arrive in about a week and a half after I put the order in and everything seems well made to me.
Use Velcro clips. Stays securely on and goes on easily enough (with a bit of pulling the belt before looping through pants) but I think normal clips would be a bit easier to adjust the gun while wearing it. One nice benefit of the v-clips is I can just pull the holster on and off without taking off belt. This may come in handy if I have to store the pistol in my car. Also the belt hides the clips with the exception of the part that folds over pants. I’m a bit concerned with the Velcro loosing its gripping ability as time goes on. They make Velcro like strips that are hard plastic but never lose their ability to grip, I don’t know how thick this set up would be or if anyone uses them for holsters.
I wear the weapon at 3:00 strong side. My one side looks a bit larger than the other but it is pretty hard to notice and a lot of people have blackberries and cell phones strapped to their side in those leather sheaths here. Tried a few other angles that do conceal a bit better but they restrict my mobility. To far back and I can’t sit down and to far forward I can’t bend over, if the gun is right on my hip I can nearly bend and touch my ankles before it is to uncomfortable and I can drive without shifting the holster. Also in any confrontation I’d attempt to go into a fighting stance and blade my body so that I have myself between the target and weapon and at 3:00 it is easily accessible to my shooting hand and I’d have my other hand free hand to block/strike/whatever. Pistol stays firmly up against me and I wouldn’t think twice about doing a back flip with it there.
I store the weapon in a small number pad safe that is hidden and near bed along with some electronic earmuffs. I do feel a bit uncomfortable loading and unloading it as I’m in an urban zone but other than being careful I don’t know what else to do here. Gun always stays in holster unless it is at the range or being cleaned, holster slides out of belt nicely so I keep it in the holster it all the time. Plan on rotating magazines every 3 months and will practice with range ammo and use defensive ammo every 3 months or more frequently.
Carry method; 10 round compact magazine + 1. Usually wear cargo and carpenter pants so I can carry the extended magazine in one of my side pockets. I can wear a patterned shirt that is long enough for me to stick my hands straight up without it going above my belt. Comfortable and I look like a normal person, few changes in wardrobe needed. Only been carrying for a few weeks but never felt like people could see that I am carrying and people that know me well (some of whom also carry) can’t tell.
I typically wear a small or medium shirt and while carrying just wear a medium size shirt. Here are pictures with the set up, white shirt and black semi-patterned shirt.
Not very much experience with firearms, none at all previous to this year, but I decided that having a firearm around is a good thing to have. Went out to a few ranges and shot a whole lot of different pistols and shot a whole lot more .22s so that I can aim adequately. Put in for a CHL and narrowed down choices, and purchased weapon + accessories. Here is what I came out with and my thoughts on choices. Also, height is 5’10’’ and weight is 170lbs.
Pistol: Springfield XD Sub-Compact, 9mm.
Why this weapon? It fits my hand well, points naturally, and compared to other guns I am accurate with it.
I don’t think I could conceal a larger grip without really changing my wardrobe though it would be nice if they made a compact XD 9mm in addition to the sub-compact, I’d prefer a 4 inch barrel over the three.
As I have little experience with firearms I don’t have the muscle memory for flicking a safety on/off. Also on quite a few pistols my thumbs have had trouble operating the safety quickly. There is also the argument of the thumb safety on some weapons somehow switching by themselves as well as fumbling the safety off. I don’t put much faith in the trigger safety really doing anything but the grip safety seems like it will prevent an AD equally as well as a thumb safety without any of the negatives.
No hammer on weapon so hopefully that will reduce the amount of lint collected and reduce the chance of a ND. Negative to this is that I think hammers conceal better when they have a heavy cant, which is the only way that I am able to conceal a medium to large pistol. Revolvers nearly twice the size seem to conceal just as well as this one because of the curves in the hammer and grip area. I’ve heard that average rounds fired is 3 however that is the average and as most of the time just showing a weapon stops violence I’d guess that a lot of the time only one round needs to be fired so every rare occasion a dozen or so rounds may need to be fired. Also if confronted with a group of BG (recently around here there have been assaults of 4-5 people threatening a lone person) having more rounds in a magazine that I can reload quickly seems more beneficial than having 6-8 powerful rounds. Also the 45 version of this dosen’t fit my hand well at all and I shoot a 9 more accurately and faster and I have trouble shooting a 40 SW, rounds in compact magazine for a XD are fewer than I’d like. In the future I may carry a 357 revolver as a primary and this as a back up.
Other nice but overall inconsequential things about the weapon; Comes apart and cleans easily, 9mm is cheaper to practice with, I consider it pretty light, external indicators (chamber/striker) that I don’t use but are nice, and pistol is comparatively cheaper than other models.
Negatives; Weapon is fat. This doesn’t help concealment, especially with the grip. The rear sights limit the other side of the gun and restrict the amount of cant that the holster can have. I like the trigger, I’m sure it is mediocre at best however I don’t have enough experience with other weapons for it to really bother me. However the pull is light and double action for the first shot would be safer. I think a bi-tone may be slightly easier to use in low light.
Holster MTAC
Awhile after I narrowed down weapon selection I realized that I’m going to need something to carry this thing around. A lot of holster makers have a very long waiting period and produce very nice items however I’m simply interested in utility at this point. I thought the hybrid holsters are a good compromise for comfort and durability. Went with the MTAC as it has a leather backing that covers the metal mountings and I don’t wear undershirts. Also the cant is adjustable (and I had little idea what would be ideal for me) and I can order a new half of the holster for any weapons I get in the future. I also purchased a leather belt from Comp-Tac as this should fit well with their own holsters. I usually wear a 32 on the tightest setting and took a measurement with an XD and that would have brought me up to a 34 on the middle notch. I think a belt the next size up would fit me the best as I have to wear the belt on the second largest notch with the holster but it works well enough for me right now. Comp-Tac had everything arrive in about a week and a half after I put the order in and everything seems well made to me.
Use Velcro clips. Stays securely on and goes on easily enough (with a bit of pulling the belt before looping through pants) but I think normal clips would be a bit easier to adjust the gun while wearing it. One nice benefit of the v-clips is I can just pull the holster on and off without taking off belt. This may come in handy if I have to store the pistol in my car. Also the belt hides the clips with the exception of the part that folds over pants. I’m a bit concerned with the Velcro loosing its gripping ability as time goes on. They make Velcro like strips that are hard plastic but never lose their ability to grip, I don’t know how thick this set up would be or if anyone uses them for holsters.
I wear the weapon at 3:00 strong side. My one side looks a bit larger than the other but it is pretty hard to notice and a lot of people have blackberries and cell phones strapped to their side in those leather sheaths here. Tried a few other angles that do conceal a bit better but they restrict my mobility. To far back and I can’t sit down and to far forward I can’t bend over, if the gun is right on my hip I can nearly bend and touch my ankles before it is to uncomfortable and I can drive without shifting the holster. Also in any confrontation I’d attempt to go into a fighting stance and blade my body so that I have myself between the target and weapon and at 3:00 it is easily accessible to my shooting hand and I’d have my other hand free hand to block/strike/whatever. Pistol stays firmly up against me and I wouldn’t think twice about doing a back flip with it there.
I store the weapon in a small number pad safe that is hidden and near bed along with some electronic earmuffs. I do feel a bit uncomfortable loading and unloading it as I’m in an urban zone but other than being careful I don’t know what else to do here. Gun always stays in holster unless it is at the range or being cleaned, holster slides out of belt nicely so I keep it in the holster it all the time. Plan on rotating magazines every 3 months and will practice with range ammo and use defensive ammo every 3 months or more frequently.
Carry method; 10 round compact magazine + 1. Usually wear cargo and carpenter pants so I can carry the extended magazine in one of my side pockets. I can wear a patterned shirt that is long enough for me to stick my hands straight up without it going above my belt. Comfortable and I look like a normal person, few changes in wardrobe needed. Only been carrying for a few weeks but never felt like people could see that I am carrying and people that know me well (some of whom also carry) can’t tell.
I typically wear a small or medium shirt and while carrying just wear a medium size shirt. Here are pictures with the set up, white shirt and black semi-patterned shirt.
