Spring/Summer Carry? Missing My LCPII ☹️

[wayneinFL]

Wait? You change up guns because its getting warm?

I just change my shirts from long sleeve to short and ditch the fleece and sweatshirts. Same gun, every day, year round.

I just live somewhere it doesn't get cold. I wear the same cargo shorts and fishing shirts year round.

 

[Hartkopf]

Sometimes a micro 380 is all I have room for.

The LCPII is my favorite.

I got a Kahr that I want to compare it to on my next range visit, though.

Kahr CW380.jpg

• Tallball
• Oct 9, 2023

I’ve always liked the look of little Kahr pistols but never went down that road. Let us know what you think.

 

[Twisted Chemist]

I really like my Smith M&P Bodyguard in .380.

For almost any occasion I can pocket carry a S&W Shield 9mm in a DeSantis pocket holster (forget the model). It is especially handy during our 8 month summers for shorts, lightweight pants or swim trunks. Since cooler weather has hung around this year I've been carrying the SA-35 in a Galco OWB under my enormous collection of Hawaiian/Bowling shirts.

 

[The Night Rider]

I just live somewhere it doesn't get cold. I wear the same cargo shorts and fishing shirts year round.

When I lived in Florida it got cold. Must be global warming.

 

[Tallball]

FWIW, if someone reading this has never shot a micro 380, or hasn't carried one much...

Recoil doesn't bother me much in general, but they're snappy. I have to hold them just right in my XXL hands, or some finger/thumb will get an owie.

They're challenging to shoot accurately. I've shot a lot of handguns, and the micro 380's are one of the most difficult genres for me to shoot decently.

If I'm not having hand issues I can empty a magazine onto a small paper plate at seven yards, which is good enough for SD, IMHO.

They sure are easy to carry, though. I even carry one in the breast pocket of a button-down flannel shirt sometimes.

I've never owned or shot a Bodyguard.

I own or have owned the Kel-Tec P3AT, Pico, original LCP, LCPII, and Kahr CW380.

I preferred the LCPII to the KT and original LCP, so I let them go. (I couldn't get anything worthwhile for the Pico.)

The Kahr fits my hand a little better than the LCPII, and I like the trigger... but I've been having problems with my hands for the past year or so and haven't carried or shot a micro 380 for a while.

My reservation about the Kahr is that the slide seemed very stiff. Now that my hands are getting better, I should be able to try it out soon. I'll let y'all know what I think.

LCPII And Spyderco

• Tallball
• Jan 30, 2019

 

[.38 Special]

I carry a 340PD OWB in a leather holster. As long as I don't use shirt-grabbing rubber grips, it hides perfectly under a light silk shirt. The downside, of course, is that the gun is enormously unpleasant to use and nearly impossible to hit with much beyond 15 yards. Trade-offs...

 

[unclenunzie]

I carry a 340PD OWB in a leather holster. As long as I don't use shirt-grabbing rubber grips, it hides perfectly under a light silk shirt. The downside, of course, is that the gun is enormously unpleasant to use and nearly impossible to hit with much beyond 15 yards. Trade-offs...

I checked mine out with a cylinder of 125 grain JHP. I'm sticking to 38 +P at most and it should last forever

 

[Gun-Reck]

Sometimes a micro 380 is all I have room for.

The LCPII is my favorite.

I got a Kahr that I want to compare it to on my next range visit, though.

Kahr CW380.jpg

• Tallball
• Oct 9, 2023

Better than a poke in the eye, for sure.

But then, the 9mm is a considerable step up, for a little size and weight.

Sig Sauer P938 Nitron vs Ruger LCP II​

Subsonic 147 gr. 9mm loads are easy to shoot, expand very well, and meet the current FBI ballistic specs from a micro.

The P938 is one of the most precise pistols owned.

But I don't pocket carry.

A thin suede IWB holster, for me, is a better choice and an easier carry.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Snappy micro 380's...

Yes, they're a little snappy, but not as bad as 9mm in a small P365, at least not for me.

They'll never be comfy or fun to shoot, they're too short and thin for that, but they're comfy and fun to carry.

Power...380 is plenty, a couple rounds in the face is pretty much a guaranteed threat stopper.

Is 9mm more powerful and better? More powerful, absolutely... but not always better... the one I have is always better than the one I can't carry because it's too big to conceal.

The options get to be very few when absolute 100% concealment is the top priority... that's not everyone's priority, but a change in my job title made it mine.

 

[wayneinFL]

When I lived in Florida it got cold. Must be global warming.

Where I live it didn't get below the 40s this winter. I think I wore a jacket maybe 2 weeks.

 

[Howland937]

For me it would be a change of pants. To light weight cargo pants (surprisingly cool) and carry whatever full size gun you normally would.

Change to pants? How short are the shorts you're worried about that won't conceal a full size?
Other stuff would be hanging out way before even a full size 1911 plays peek-a-boo.

I wear the same gun in the same holster when it's solid color T-shirt and shorts (at or slightly above the knee) or when it's pants, thermals, wool socks and a parka.

 

[halfmoonclip]

I've had a bunch of LCPs over the years, following a KelTec or two. They were reliable, but the most disagreeable little bastards to shoot. The II and the Max are more of the same, plus they slap/pinch my trigger finger. One II gifted me with a dead trigger.
Been down the Kahr road; liked it, bugger to charge.
So the current really small is a Smith Body Guard .380 with TruGlo sights.
Really wish Glock or SIG would have a go at the 'really small' market; both the G42 and P365 are just a little big.
Moon

 

[Gary H]

Another vote for the LCP Max in a DeSantis Superfly pocket holster.

 

[Hartkopf]

Change to pants? How short are the shorts you're worried about that won't conceal a full size?
Other stuff would be hanging out way before even a full size 1911 plays peek-a-boo.

I wear the same gun in the same holster when it's solid color T-shirt and shorts (at or slightly above the knee) or when it's pants, thermals, wool socks and a parka.

Change OF pants. From jeans in winter to light weight cargo pants when it gets hot. I carry the same gun year round.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Just got another G42 as new ,extra mags ,light and laser trigger guard mounted and holster $340 out the door. Deals are out there.Perfect summer carry.

 

[CDW4ME]

Where I live it didn't get below the 40s this winter. I think I wore a jacket maybe 2 weeks.

I turned on the heat in the house 1 day this past "winter".
When some people are getting snow I'm driving with the top down or riding a motorcycle.
Cargo shorts and a loose untucked shirt most of the time; if on the motorcycle then cargo pants* and it is not difficult to conceal a Glock 19 size pistol.

*If I'm going to the gym on the motorcycle I have a M-Tac "tactical"(overused word) "bag" that easily holds a Glock 19, spare mag, wallet, keys. The pockets on sweat pants are deficient. I'm not a fan of wearing the "bag" but it serves a situational purpose; I think it looks a bit "Disney" but maybe people will assume I'm from Europe instead.

 

[JDeere]

Sig 365XL IWB with jeans and fishing or Hawaiian shirt year round. Wind and printing don't happen as someone mentioned. Even if it did big deal for a few seconds. If it gets cold on occasion a hoodie works fine. Open carry is legal but I choose not to...

 

[WisBorn]

I must have picked the wrong week to visit Florida this year. I think I wore shorts one day . We had a good time, but did get rained out of a few things. We didn't get to go to the Daytona 500, but we did make the Duels. No carry inside the track.

I am going to need to start taking inflammation meds again (osteoarthritis in my left hip and arthritis in my hands). This is part of carrying a small handgun. The more gun weight I carry, the more I hurt at night. The less hiking and walking I do the more weight I have to carry. Hip replacement in the future.

 

[dobedo]

With spring and summer coming, I am wondering if I made a mistake by trading off my LCPII.
I really like carrying a j frame 38 airweight. But once and a while the LCPII made sense. On really hot days and with lightweight shorts.

What would you recommend for a lightweight extra small carry when you really want to carry a micro micro because your melting

Buy a Kimber you will be better off. I was shooting a buds LCPII 380 and the mag fell right out of the gun.

 

[Anchorite]

FL man, who can dress how he chooses, doesn't have trouble concealing a Glock 19 size pistol.

I’m on the Alabama gulf coast, often affectionately referred to as the “red neck riviera, “ as coined by the late Lewis Grizzard.

I pocket carry a Colt Agent revolver year-round, the heat and humidity be damned!

 

[Anchorite]

I checked mine out with a cylinder of 125 grain JHP. I'm sticking to 38 +P at most and it should last forever

I keep mine in the safe. It’s more of a discussion piece nowadays.

 

[Howland937]

Change OF pants. From jeans in winter to light weight cargo pants when it gets hot. I carry the same gun year round.

Yeah, I'm just trying to understand the advantage of pants or what they'd conceal that shorts won't. Except an ankle holster...
I don't change what or how I carry based on weather. I also don't build my wardrobe around what I carry.

 

[trackskippy]

Yeah, I'm just trying to understand the advantage of pants ....

If you work outside and "off the road", you know the advantage.

As far as concealing a gun, and as you mentioned, barring the ankle holster, there is no difference, as long as you can wear a belt, and even then, there are holsters that work around that.

Regardless of what you're wardrobe might be, these days, with the plethora and varied selection of holsters available, if you cant find something (for a realistic gun) and make it work, you're not trying very hard.

 

[LAH]

Purchase what you had & were happy with. I carry this in my rear pocket when I want something which hides well.

 

[The Night Rider]

I turned on the heat in the house 1 day this past "winter".
When some people are getting snow I'm driving with the top down or riding a motorcycle.
Cargo shorts and a loose untucked shirt most of the time; if on the motorcycle then cargo pants* and it is not difficult to conceal a Glock 19 size pistol.

*If I'm going to the gym on the motorcycle I have a M-Tac "tactical"(overused word) "bag" that easily holds a Glock 19, spare mag, wallet, keys. The pockets on sweat pants are deficient. I'm not a fan of wearing the "bag" but it serves a situational purpose; I think it looks a bit "Disney" but maybe people will assume I'm from Europe instead.

I lived in Hudson (Pasco County North of New Port Richey) The day the Challenger blew up. I saw it from my front yard. The reason I was at home was I worked as a Block Layer and it was too cold to mix Mortar. Well below freezing