What percentage of shooters actually carry a full sized gun

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A S&W M66 with 4" barrel here in tuckable IWB appendix carry or DeSantis thumb break scabbard. I will have the M66 in for installation of XS Sights and carrying my 6" 686+ in the tuckable. I will be glad to have the M66 back as things get crowded in the crotch with the 6" 686+.
 
I must say I carry my S&W Shield most of the time (90%). This has been primarily for concealment reasons. I am smaller in stature and find it more difficult to conceal a full size. But when cooler weather comes I wil carry a GP100 or 1911. Love the GP100 but best to wear the suspenders when it is on my belt.
 
I've never been a fan of compact guns and don't believe in pocket pistols at all. I do own a couple of compact's and carry them now and then when I really need to but 99% of the time it's a full size, lately I mostly carry a CZ P-09
 
Ive always carried full sized handguns, Colt 1911's, SIG P220's/226's/229's, and now Glock 17's. I also carry smaller guns, but normally in a back up capacity to the full size.

Been doing that daily for a little over 40 years now, and never had any problems doing so. No plans on changing that up either.
 
I carry the 4" M66 because attacks are getting less close up and personal, outside typical combat range. I'd like to improve odds slightly with a longer sight radius as long as I'm carrying the weight. However, I am thinking of a Ruger LCR where I know the threat is likely to be close in.
 
When the weather finally gets cold enough (worked outside all of my life, and never wear a jacket until it's below 40, or windy at 40) I usually CC something pocket-able, like an LC9s. If a jacket goes on, a PT101 gets carried, or a Para (12 or P14).

Living in an area where crime consists mainly of traffic violations, I'm actually over-armed. But, hey, it's still my choice here.
 
Caliper_RWVA said:
6'1" and 165# here. A full size gun looks like I have a tumor of some sort...

Summertime, it's singlestacks. I usually carry a KT PF9. DB9 or P32 if I want really low profile.

In winter, I can carry something doublestack with the aid of a heavy jacket/coat.
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6'0" and 160ish here.

5" 1911s carried IWB are no problem. My 5" 1911 with a surefire X300 conceals well, but is incredibly uncomfortable while seated in any of my cars.

Although, lately, my Kahr K9 has been carried more often. Easier to put on and take off, considering the holster uses a belt clip instead of loops.

Winter does make it much easier, since the additional layers allow my holsters to move to the outside of my belt. At the moment, I'm carrying a Glock 19 with a TLR1 in a KT mech holster.
 
This is what I said in another thread, and I stand by my comments.
My observation over the years has been that (1) most folks I know who possess CPLs (or CHLs/CWLs/CWPs/CCW licenses, whatever they're called in your state) DO NOT actually carry a firearm on a REGULAR basis; and (2) that most folks who actually do carry on a regular basis already carry small guns, typically .380s, compact/sub-compact 9mms, J-frame .38s or even smaller, and that very, very few people are dedicated enough to carry full-size handguns.

So, no, I do not believe magazine capacity limits will cause more than a handful of folks to even think about going bigger in caliber, because I believe most folks that carry, already carry small handguns with small capacity.

Now, I'm sure many here (on this dedicated firearms forum) will jump up to contradict me, but seriously, guys, consider: what do most of the (non-law enforcement, non-dedicated gun-carrying) people you know REALLY carry? And I live in a state where open carry is pretty well-established, and our shall-issue concealed carry law is (arguably -- sorry, Indiana) the oldest in the nation.
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I believe, with no offense to the OP, that the question might have been better phrased as "What percentage of those licensed to carry concealed handguns ACTUALLY carry on a regular basis?" It's been my experience (others' may vary) that (and I live in a state with one of the larger per-capita percentages of licensees out of the eligible citizenry) what is really going on isn't what we who frequent internet firearms forums want to believe ...
 
I get up and put on a Glock 26, sub-compact, it stays on me until I get undressed and go to bed. Normal carry is with a plus 2 12 round magazine. That is one round less than a Browning High Power, a full size gun, had for capacity. A gun that was generally considered to have a very large capacity, perhaps even considered oddly large capacity. I've been doing this for seven years.

I think sub-compact versions of service sized guns are the sweet spot for carry. A good compromise between size and firepower.

I don't understand the attraction for all steel that a lot of people have. Its heavy. If you want to carry big and heavy that is up to you. I understand hair shirts were popular at one time, myself I will take modern, comfortable and functional.
 
Using an N82 Tactical IWB holster I carry a full size 5 inch barreled 1911 most of the time, when I am not carrying that one I carry a Sig Sp 2022 in another N82 Tactical IWB holster. If you have never tried those holsters you are missing out on the most comfortable IWB holster I have found. The 1911 holster is a retention holster by the way, going to get another retention holster for the Sig later on.
 
After carrying around an FNP45, or a para ordnance p14... Packing my hi-power feels like im carrying a compact.
BHP; all day, every day.
 
Only full size guns that I occasionally carry are a Colt Lightweight Government (OWB holster), and a S&W Model 686 with a 4" barrel (shoulder holster). Everything else is downsized, as in Kahr CM9, Ruger SR9c, SIG P238, and S&W J frame snubbies.
 
In response to Old Dog's statement, I carry every time I leave my immediate neighborhood--about one block--which is pretty much 4 days of the week minimum. Around the immediate neighborhood I depend on a Mossberg Persuader.
 
my conceal carry guns have gone in this order...

SP101 -> P64 Makarov -> S&W 380 BodyGuard -> Glock17.

i started off carrying small and easy to carry guns......until i actually though about why i was carrying a gun......i wasnt carrying a gun for the sake of carrying it....i wasnt carrying it because it was convenient to carry.......i was carrying it to defend my life with.

i figured, if i was going to use it in a gun fight....i might as well have a "fighting gun".

a snubnose revolver and a subcompact pistol is not a "fighting gun"....at least not to me.....no one in their right mind would choose one of those if they knew they were going into a gun fight.

and you also have to be real with yourself....how well can you actually shoot that small gun?.......in my case, i could not reliably engage targets accurately past 10 feet with the bodyguard, and past 30 feet with the SP101.....and that was on a calm and collected range......in a gun fight, i would not be able to hit anything (and it wasnt due to lack of practice, i had put over 10,000 through the sp101 and 2,000 through the bodyguard)....they are just hard pistols to shoot.

with the Glock 17, i can ACCURATELY engage targets out to 100 yds........so at and SD distance, under stress, i feel more than comfortable being able to put rounds on target.

also, the added capacity of the full sized handgun cannot be discounted....i have 3x the capacity of the SP101 and more than 2x the capacity of the bodyguard........more rounds = more time in the fight.

will i need 17 rounds in a gunfight?.....well i hope not......but if i do, i am better equipped with a full sized gun.

so yes, i carry a full sized gun daily.......and i will continue to do so until my philosophy on guns and gun fights change.
 
I almost never carry a small gun. I consider the G26 to be my minimum and it works with 98% of my wardrobe choices.
 
All my carry guns but my XDs are full sized guns.

Sig Sauer P320 Carry in .357Sig - 70%
Sig Sauer Carry Nightmare 1911 - 10%
S&W 1076 10mm - 10%
Springfield XDs in .45acp - 10%

I don't normally prioritize 'concealment' above (gun and caliber) effectiveness because concealed is just an option the the CPL allows, so why worry about it- nobody notices and if they do it's still lawful.

I recognize it would be a rare event that I would need a sidearm, but if it comes to it then I want something in a fight-stopping caliber that I can shoot well.
 
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A full size 1911 or 5.5 inch Redhawk. 5-10, 190. The speedloaders stick out more than the revolver. It's all a matter of belt and holster.
 
I carried a Glock 17 as a duty weapon in a regular duty rig.

When I retired, I started carrying the same weapon every day in a Galco shoulder rig..

With the shoulder rig, I can easily conceal it under an unbuttoned long sleeve short.
 
I have carried:
Keltec P-11
Smith and Wesson model 37
Ruger LCP
And my current gun, a Taurus PT111 G2.
I may also start carrying a Smith and Wesson model 36 as a backup.

Big and heavy guns just won't work for me.
 
Jim NE said:
Big and heavy guns just won't work for me.
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Generally it's helpful to cite why, in case others are in the same boat.

Big heavy guns don't work for me because......

....I've lost so much weight the gun causes me to topple over.
....I never got a concealed carry permit.
....I have no arms.
....I'm standing on quicksand.

;)
 
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