What WON'T you carry and why?

1. Anything striker fired.
2. Anything below .380 or .32mag.
3. Anything with a manual safety.
4. Anything I cannot easily conceal
5. To expand a little, any oddball ammo. Normal weights from major manufacturers please, preferably something tried and true. It doesnt have to be the latest greatest and most expensive either. Winchester white box JHP in 9mm is just fine. So is Federal HST. So are many others. But I stay away from exotic ammo.
6. Anything I cannot get a full grip on. No dangling pinky.

I used to exclusively carry a J Frame but have been transitioning to pistols over the last couple of years. I now have a Sig P239, a Kahr K9, and an H&K P30sk.

I like the Kahr but shoot the Sig more accurately. The Kahr kind of sort of breaks rule number one, though I do like its longer trigger. And while it has never had a malfunction, it is picky in the accuracy department. The H&K is a peach, but the P239 seems to be a perfect fit. In the last couple of weeks at least the Sig P239 has been number one with just an odd day or two that a carried the J frame.

I will probably end up carrying the Sig the vast majority of the time IWB at about 10 oclock(I am left handed). The J Frame(either the .32 or .38) will be on occasion depending on a few factors. And the H&K will be for any OWB opportunities. And the Kahr will be a range gun that I will keep as a backup.

So anything bigger than those three pistols and two revolvers is too big. I have bought four of those five, including the Ruger LCR in .327(use .32) in the last two years. I feel like I am probably done with the search.

On a side note I am sure my wife will continue to keep one of those two J Frames very close by. She shoots them pretty well and has zero interest in changing.
 
I recently bought a Colt Cobra and I have a holster on the way. Once I am proficient at it, I wouldn't mind carrying it. But one hesitation is that it's such a nice, and pricy gun. I am not so sure I want to use it in a defensive situation and then lose it to the system. Sometimes, people don't get their guns back. I don't want to lose it. Rather lose a cheaper, plastic gun - like my 365x which is my current carry.
 
I won't carry anything where I have to squeeze the grip for it to function. I have found that my hands are an usual enough size that having to squeeze the grip significantly changes my grip and trigger pull on the firearm. Essentially it adds an element of fumbling around with the firearm that is just unnecessary for me with today's wide selection of available models.

This also goes for grip lasers such as Crimson Trace that requires me to squeeze a button on the grip to activate. I either have a good grip on the gun, or I have a laser, never both at the same time.
 
Stefan A said:
. But one hesitation is that it's such a nice, and pricy gun. I am not so sure I want to use it in a defensive situation and then lose it to the system. Sometimes, people don't get their guns back. I don't want to lose it. Rather lose a cheaper, plastic gun
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Carry what you shoot the fastest, most accurately and the best. Carry this handgun like your life - or the lives of your family - depended on it. Because they might. If it does its job, you're not going to sweat losing it, even permanently. Isn't that why we carry handguns?
Oninotaki said:
I won't carry anything where I have to squeeze the grip for it to function. I have found that my hands are an usual enough size that having to squeeze the grip significantly changes my grip and trigger pull on the firearm. Essentially it adds an element of fumbling around with the firearm that is just unnecessary for me with today's wide selection of available models.
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Well, that seems to be a vaild reason to not carry a specific handgun. I would say that's why I never warmed to the HK P7, myself.

Alas, no one seems to have gotten my Seinfeld (season 4, episode 11) reference in post #151. You're killin' me, Smalls...
 
I'll play. My requirements are pretty simple though. First off I will not carry any rimfire cartridge. I have experienced too many duds with .22 LR cartridges over the years. I realize some manufacturers (brands) do better than others but if I am going to carry it for self defense reliability is a requirement.
I wont carry a cartridge smaller than 9mm. There are 9mm pistols available that are small enough any carry position I would choose. The smaller cartridges are more expensive & I don't gain anything performance wise by using them. If I develop phsical limitations in the future that could change but for right now it wouldn't make sense for me.
I wont carry an expensive gun. Not that I own anything outrageously expensive but there are pistols that cost less than $500 that I work & work well.
Unless I am carrying it for a specific reason such as woods carry I will not carry a full sized pistol. They are just too hard to effectively conceal.
I have been carrying Compact (G-19 sized) pistols or smaller for some time & I don't care to carry anything larger.
I'm actually a bit embarrassed to admit that lately I have been foregoing carrying my M&P 2.0 40 Compact at 3:30 -4:00 IWB in favor of carrying my Kahr CM9. The little Kahr is just so easy to carry AIWB. At some point I will pony up for one of the newer double stack micro 9's. For various reasons I like the idea of AIWB but I don't really want to cram a huge pistol down the front of my pants & try to hide it.
 
Not a lot of guns I won't carry as a rule, but:

1. I won't carry a 22 semi auto. I have carried a few 22 revolvers, don't generally trust rimfire ignition, but it's better than nothing I guess. Usually just as backup anyway, or woods walking.

2. I won't carry single actions IWB. Mostly because of....

3. I won't carry anything with more than a 4" barrel IWB. I like single actions, and will occasionally carry them, OWB, but not as my main defensive firearm. Usually just hunting or woods walking.

5. I won't carry big revolvers in urban environments. Too hard to conceal, because, too big. If it's open carry (camping or hunting, or at home) I don't care, but if I'm going out I will be carrying concealed, and easily, comfortably concealed. I do like big bores, but the size outweighs the utility for urban use.
 
Styx said:
I won't carry anything Glock makes because I personally think that, other than being reliable, they are bottom tier budget built pistols compared to the competition. Not interested in carrying any Sig other than the P239, and especially not the P320 and P365 because I believe they're overpriced for what they are, and I don't trust any Sig striker fired pistols. I'm not interested in any Ruger semiautos because they feel cheap, unrefined, and the one and only one I purchased broke right away.

I prefer revolvers, DA/SA pistols, and metal frame pistols.. I'm not obsessed with capacity either. I typically EDC a S&W 686+, Kahr K40 or MK9, or if I need something small and light for pocket carry, it's a Hellcat.
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Wait, you'll carry a Taurus but not a Glock?
 
I don’t really have rules so absolute as “I would never…” I’m looking at guns for a defensive standpoint from the perspective of “what is likely to get the job done and excel in the role” and every choice is a compromise to some extent. My NAA mini .22lr excels on size, weight, and thus concealability and carryability, and is pretty good on price too, but lousy on stopping power, capacity, and middling on reliability (thanks to .22lr rimfire, nature of the beast) -nearly equally important attributes of a carry gun. My Browning .25 has more ammo reliability but probably doesn’t edge out the revolver in absolute trustworthiness. It’s prettier but costs twice as much. Equally poor stopping power.

My KelTec P3AT is ok on capacity and great on stopping power -for its size, but lacks in concealability compared to the NAA -but blows away common carry guns like the Glock 19 (which is also a vastly superior gun if one must shoot it in anger.)

……..my PREFERENCE is to avoid guns that don’t have a safety lever (because I have small children which increases the risk of unforeseen accidents with my carry gun, and I believe I’ve trained to the point that disabling a safety in a moment of need will not be a problem) and my preference is also to carry something that’s at least .380acp.

These days I favor a well-worn .380 Russian Makarov and a Sig P238, and I keep telling myself that one day I’ll buy a modern polystriker CCW gun.
 
  • I won't carry a gun that doesn't point well for me. If there's some reason I can't use the sights, I want assurance that the gun is going to be pretty close to on target anyway.
  • I won't carry a handgun/loading combo that forces me to adjust my grip between shots. If I can't maintain a solid grip all the way through a magazine, then that gun is not suitable for carry.
  • I won't carry a gun that has a significantly different manual of arms than my normal carry guns. I don't want to be fumbling for controls, trying to remember whether it's a frame mounted or slide mounted safety, whether it's up for fire or down for fire, whether the mag release is a push in or a push down or a push forward, etc.
  • I won't carry a gun that doesn't shoot well for me. If there's some reason I can't get it to consistently hit where I want it to, then I'm going to choose another gun for carry.
  • I won't carry a gun that isn't reliable. That means I've tested it with the ammunition I'm carrying in it to verify that it function is good.
  • I won't carry a gun that isn't drop safe/doesn't have passive safeties to prevent the gun from discharging without the trigger being pulled.
 
I won't carry any of the cheaply made revolvers where a whack can cause hammer/firing pin contact when the trigger is not pulled. There are some revolvers out there that will go off if the backside of the hammer is bumped.
 
WisBorn said:
I hear a lot of good about the Taurus G3 & GX4 pistols. Have you ever tried one?
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I've owned a PT111 G2 which is basically like a G3. No, I haven't tried a GX4. I'm not bashing them, and I've also heard good things about them. They are great options for people who simply can't afford anything else.

My thing is, I can get a Beretta APX, CZ P10c, Canik TP9SF or MC9, PSA Dagger, police trade-in Glock or M&P, used Springfield XD or Hellcat, S&W M&P Shield, etc for $50-$100 more than a Taurus. I don't see Taurus semiautos as being robust duty grade pistols, but rather 1st world pistols meant to be carried more than they're fired. They don't make much sense to me when better grades of pistols from more reputable manufacturers are available in my price range for not much more.
 
I prefer 9mm but 380 acp is my minimum carry caliber.

I wont carry any of my 2 1911's. One is broken, the other is not reliable in my hands.

I wont carry an unreliable gun or a gun I cant hit with. I prefer to not carry an overly heavy handgun.

I own lots of handguns but only carry (in public) 2 of them - My Ruger LC9s Pro and Glock 43X.

Occasionally, I will carry a different handgun but only if I've shot it recently.
 
drobs said:
I prefer 9mm but 380 acp is my minimum carry caliber.

I wont carry any of my 2 1911's. One is broken, the other is not reliable in my hands.

I wont carry an unreliable gun or a gun I cant hit with. I prefer to not carry an overly heavy handgun.

I own lots of handguns but only carry (in public) 2 of them - My Ruger LC9s Pro and Glock 43X.

Occasionally, I will carry a different handgun but only if I've shot it recently.
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What's the maximum weight you'll carry when it comes to handguns?
 
With respect to "expensive" or "inexpensive" carry guns:

It's more accurate for me to say I would not BUY an outrageously expensive gun for the purpose of carry. However, I WOULD carry any gun I have, regardless of expense, if the need arose.

I have a Colt 1991A1 I've had for over 3 decades now, which I've carried for quite a number of years. I would not BUY a Wilson Combat 1911 as a carry weapon.

However, I MIGHT buy a Wilson Combat 1911 for other reasons and end up carrying it once in a while simply because that's what I had at the time.


A gun is a tool, regardless of expense. However expensive that gun may be, should it ever be required in defense of your life the cost of that gun will fade to insignificance. This is not justification for shelling out a wheelbarrow full of money for a carry piece, it's just a viewpoint between the cost of one's firearm and the cost of one's life. Perspective is important.

My wife was once in an accident that resulted in the totaling of her Ford Expedition. While that was, by far, the most expensive vehicle we owned, and its replacement was not going to be cheap, the fact that she, her sister, and our youngest daughter walked away virtually unharmed made that vehicle the cheapest thing on the planet to me.
 
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