Pocket-carry 9mm?

I had a Ruger when they first came out, took it to range to qualify and had 5 failures in the first 25 rounds. This was after cleaning and firing a magazine thru it for familiarization.
Been going to range 4 times per year for qualification and monthly for practice, and if a gun does that to me, I get rid of it. Might have just had a Monday made gun, but it ruined the gun for me. Ordered a 290rs from Sig direct sales, took 6 months back then to get it, but after getting used to the trigger, it was great for off duty and carry. Now I am retired and carry it most of the time.

 

Also, here is a great thread started by Nom de Forum, titled "Pistol weight in ounces: When does it get heavy?"

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=749907&highlight=change

Its good reading.

 

LC9 in regular fit Key Jeans. Seemed a bit big at first but now I give it no more thought than I did my pocket .380s.

 

I used to carry a .380 in my pocket but found that I just carry too much other stuff to fit everything in my pockets comfortably. I carry a one handed flip open knife all of the time and it gets in the way of pocket carry. I now usually carry my .380 in the small of the back just because it is more comfortable and it isn't getting in the way of my knife, chapstick, change, keys, spare mag, etc.....If you choose to pocket carry a 9mm I would prefer the Glock 43, M&P Shield or Ruger LC9S. All are reliable pistols and about the same size. The LC9S is probably shaped the best for pocket carry.

 

Anything over a pound fully loaded is too heavy for me to pocket carry.

 

This thread ties in well with this more recent thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=811004&page=3

and my comments in the thread mentioned by C0untZer0 should be considered with my new comments on my experience with the G43 9mm in post #63 of the more recent thread.

Comfortable non-printing pocket carry depends on the size/type of the pocket opening and depth, the strength and durability of the pocket material, in pants the pants leg material and bulk of the pant leg, and in a coat the material and bulk of the coat. In all cases of pocket carry the pistol's weight is almost as important as its bulk since weight is what will make a pocket sag enough to draw attention even if printing is not occurring. In my experience typical denim jeans with a Levi 501 type pocket would have to be of very large size (much larger than a 34" waist) for any of the small 9mms to be drawn with ease.

 

FWIW, I recently switched from a Ruger LCP to a Diamondback DB9 for hip pocket carry. Interestingly, I'm using the same Kydex wallet-holster I made for the Ruger modified slightly, and the Diamondback fits in it.

The keys (for me, YMMV) are thickness and weight. My Springfield XDs isn't much bigger, but is MUCH heavier and requires a good gunbelt to keep it from sagging. The Diamondback isn't significantly heavier or larger than the LCP, gives me 7 9mm 124-gr HSTs.

 

I find it pretty easy to pocket carry my LC9s pro for most of my jeans and many I have no problem with my PPS40. For the record with the right pants and belt I've pocket carried a Smith 6926.

 

Some of you guys must wear those "skinny jeans" I hear my kids talking about. I pocket carry a KAHR PM45 nearly everyday, for the first couple months it was a bit much but I'm now so accustomed to it I have to check and make sure I have it, I totally forget about it. I've been carrying it for 5ish years I guess, I'm not real good with dates and such.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.