The never ending journey to the perfect CCW.

[AK_Maine_iac]

I have carried just about everything over the past 40+ years. 1911's, small framed revolvers Smith, Colt, Rugers, XD's, Brownings, From 25acp up to and including 454 with 2" barrel.

Now i am saving up to get a (yes i will say it) Glock29 10mm

 

[tinygnat219]

I look at acquiring Concealable Handguns like building a computer system:
What are the requirements?
1. Reliability, if the gun doesn't run, then what's the point of bringing it.
2. Shootability, this takes into consideration caliber, felt recoil, how fast I can acquire a target, etc. Service calibers fall into this category with the minimum level being the 9MM.
3. Capacity, 10+1 is my minimal carry requirement for a primary Concealed Carry Handgun. Single stacks simply aren't worth it to me when I can often carry 5-6 extra rounds in the same space. BUGs are another matter, this is where I consider a revolver or even a single stack micro-mouse gun to be useful.
4. Carryability, there HAS to be a suitable gun belt / holster combination out there. I will dress around the gun where I feel I need to.

In my 8 years of carrying a Concealed Handgun, I started with a Taurus PT-22, and I've gone to 1911s, S&W 3rd Gen 9MMs, XDs, etc. I've finally settled on the Glock 19 as it meets all my requirements. There simply is no semi-auto more reliable than a Glock. It's simplicity and ruggedness are what appeal to me as well as its ease of being disassembled. It's easy to shoot with the consistent 5.5 pound Striker fired trigger. Capacity of 15+1 is nothing special, but it's nothing sneeze at either, and the carryability of this compact handgun is simply nice with the polymer frame. It took me years to reach this conclusion, but what's right for me may not be right for you. Take the time and research accordingly.

 

[DAdams]

I have guns I carry and the rest I buy just because. Some of the just because were intended to become carry guns, but didn't work out and now I keep them just because. I also have guns I have purchased and one or two might become carry items but I haven't put any time into them yet. I guess you could say I have a backlog to work on for OWB.

I now concentrate on (and have become proficent with) three units which cover all types of dress:

Seecamp LWS .380 (I guess an Ruger LCP would work).
S&W M&P 340 J Frame with CT grips. (No substitute for this one).
Kahr PM9 with CT.

I typically only bring one of my carry guns to the range at a time. I like concentrating on one carry at a time. I often do bring something else for fun, K Frame or Browning Buckmark.

 

[CYANIDEGENOCIDE]

FEG PA-63. More power than a .380 but less than a 9mm so over penetration shouldn't be an isssue. Accurate as a Walther because of the fixed barrel. It is reasonably small and even more so if you grind off the factory thumb-rest. The aluminum frame is light but still all metal. Decocker and hammer block safety makes me feel better from a safety stand point. If I shoot someone the police will take it and I will likely never see it again, sub $200 hurts less than a $750 Sig.
Downsides, heavy trigger pull. doesn't bother me but my wife has to cock the hammer to pull the trigger. Snappy recoil may bother some folks. There isn't a lot of variation in ammunition, the sights could be nicer. Capacity is on the low side 7+1.

 

[mavracer]

First you need to realize that a CCW is always going to be a compramise. That the perfect CCW is a mythical creature.

 

[wyatte]

I think a lot of us go through this sort of thing. I am now on my 3rd S & W model 60-10 revolver with a 3" barrel. Why? - because I sold the first two, and then realized how much I liked them, and acquired another. I have come full circle a number of times, and spent a lot of money just to end up where I started to begin with. As another poster mentioned, sometimes you just have to slow down and work with what you have before decisions are made. I'm pretty impulsive too when it comes to gun trades, but I'm now trying to use what I have. wyatte

 

[leadcounsel]

My problem is the opposite... too many great affordable effective choices!

 

[Ghost Tracker]

too many great affordable effective choices!

Agreed! We are quite fortunate to enjoy handgunning right NOW! More great choices (from 1911 variants to poly wonder-guns) than any other time in history. Very (VERY) few of us are forced to settle on only one perfect CCW choice.

 

[230therapy]

If I shoot someone the police will take it and I will likely never see it again, sub $200 hurts less than a $750 Sig.

I guess you'll notice the other $20-50k. $550 is nothing compared to legal fees.

Simply consider the gun part of the cost and buy a good one.

 

[Ghost Tracker]

...and buy a good one.

And a quality holster & a dedicated gun belt & well-regarded ammo & practice (...practice, practice). Ladies & Gentlemen, if you choose to be a bear, fer Gaud sakes...be a GRIZZLY!

 

[coolluke01]

If I were you I would beg, borrow, and steel all of the guns your have owned in the last year. Go shoot 20 rounds through all of them.
Then lay them on a table in front of you and imagine zombies breaking down your front door. Which one are you going to grab?
Make this decision more about which gun you would want to be holding the most when the SHTF and less about size, weight, texture, smell?, prettiness?.

Find the gun you shoot the best and stick with it. This is a matter of training and discipline, not preference.
I ankle carry my g26 gen4 when I can't carry it IWB. I can hit what ever I want out to 50 yards with it. With a grip extension I can get my pinky on it and 2+ rounds. 13 rounds in a little package like that makes me feel very confident. As was said, "It's not the arrow, it's the indian".
Do that test and I'll bet you will end up with a semi auto with a high cap mag.
I'll say that I own the G34 as well. If I were to do that test I would grab the G34 over the G26, but only because it's a little easier to aim with and the higher cap mags. But that's not a very good CCW choice. Ankle carry would be out of the question too.

 

[Bovice]

Originally posted by Ghost Tracker:Like my dear ol' Pappy once told me - "A good golfer practices & a bad golfer...buys new clubs". Brother, it's not the arrow, it's the Indian!. Get settled then get GOOD.

That's the truth! I've been seriously attempting to improve my defensive shooting skills alongside someone else. We both started this "quest" at the same time. For the purpose of extreme familiarity, I have stayed with one gun for the process. I won't say what it is, because as long as it's reliable and quality-made, it doesn't really matter.

The other person has tried 3 different guns. All of them of reputable manufacturer and huge followings in the shooting community. They've been really searching for the pot of gold at the end of the personal defense pistol rainbow. Adjustable sights, custom gunsmithing, fitted match-grade barrel, the works. Then it was holster choice. Which one is faster on the draw? Holsters were changed frequently, trying to find the "fastest" one.

Who's the better overall shooter now? It's me, by a noticeable margin.

I put my focus on one thing. Learning the fundamentals of handling that particular gun. Choosing a single, quality holster to stay with and practice draws from. Learning the intricacies of the trigger, how to go only to reset and make that a completely automated task even under pressure of time.

My point from the outset was to make myself the only variable. The gun was the same, the holster was the same, the drills stayed the same. Any improvement would only be attributable to skill increase. If I'm always bringing out a new gun or a new holster to use in the beginning, how will I ever know that I'm getting better?

What I can tell you that I learned is this. For me, the standard holster placement at 4:00/4:30 is too far back for efficiency. Same for the magazine carrier placement at 8:00/7:30. The reach is just too awkward for my physique. Now, my holster is at 2:00, and my spare mags are at 10. I'm working on the muscle memory on the mag changes, but the new draw was almost automatically adopted by my brain. The shooting fundamentals remain the same, though.

What you can glean from all this is to just choose a gun, all of your options listed would work fine. Don't shoot anything else while you're learning. Build up the muscle memory. Otherwise, you're going to simply be lost at sea.

 

[22-rimfire]

THis is from a thread on our local forum. Its sorta babbling but feel free to follow if you will.

Sort of?

For 10 years the only carry gun I owned was a 3913. Over the past year I have found myself in a never ending tailspin. I had a SP101 w/ 3" barrell to buy a Glock 19 because I had a 642 and a Glock 26. I sold the 642 to buy a CM9 later to trade the Glock 26 for a LCR w/CT grips. I guess Im now full circle and cant remember what I didnt like about the SP101. I am reconsidering buying another SP101. I am also considering selling the LCR just because I find myself carrying the CM9.Wow after typing all of this out I think I need an intervention. Does the perfect carry gun exist.

You're the gunshop's dream customer. Buy Sell, Buy Sell, Buy again. I think you need to settle down. If you had kept all of these firearms, you could have switched back and forth rather than hopping around looking for the "perfect carry gun" and made a more stable decision.

I bought a S&W M442 first because I like revolvers and knew that I would be comfortable with it. I do have to admit that I handle the bottom feeders and consider them, but I'm not going to sell the 442 just to try something else. Yes, I own bottom feeders too, but not the compact ones.

 

[beeb173]

i settled on 6 o'clock carry and it is a compromise. it allows one to carry a full size high capacity pistol comfortably. it also slows down your draw a little and could injure your spine if you fell the wrong way. if you are forced into a gun fight, you'll be thankful you have a larger/higher capacity pistol.

 

[guyfromohio]

A peaceful calm has come over me as I have (within the last three months) come to the place where I am finally satisfied with my carry guns. I have all of the handguns that I need and can now just concentrate on the guns that I've wanted. No more "I don't need Mauser Broomhandle, I'll never carry a Beretta 84, I have no use for another CZ".... It's a good feeling. I've settled on my carried-for-many-years 642 for those more discreet days and my Sig 239 for when the wardrobe can handle it. Although slightly larger, I find that the 239 conceals better than any of the Glocks that I have owned or still own, and shoots straight with 100% reliability. The 642 also has never failed me and is spot-on accurate when my head is in the shot.

Now, I really need an AR or an M1A or an AK, or maybe a Benelli M4, but I could really need a double-shotty to hone my trap skills, but I have other shotguns, but maybe I could trade two Benelli Novas as a downpayment on the M4 or........ crap. There's no cure.