Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Pocket Pistols. Really...

I was at a new but fairly well stocked LGS today and got the opportunity to do a side by side size comparison between a few pistols.

I see guys post all the time about pocket carry with guns such as the Springfield XDS and the Smith Shield.

My primary interest today was finding a pocket holster for the Shield, and seeing how it fit/looked/drew from my pocket.

I first did a side by side comparison between the Shield, the XDS, and the Bodyguard .380.
There was no real comparison with the Bodyguard. The other 2 pistols absolutely dwarfed it.

And... I did not find any pocket holsters on the wall for the XDS or the Shield. The shop did allow me to insert one, and then the other, into my right front jeans pocket.
Guys... I'm 6'7" and weigh in at 375. In a pair of Carhartt carpenters jeans there is no room for either the Shield, or the XDS. And especially not if a guy should need to sit down... Getting into the cab of my F250 would be a real chore with either in a pocket.

Now, I've used both the Shield, and the XDS on a range. Both great shooters and easier to shoot well than my Bodyguard.
Cut to the chase, for pocket carry, anything more than a Bodyguard is too much for any pants pocket that I own...

What kind of pants do you guys wear???

On the other hand, I did score an immaculate Ithaca 37 for $250 while I was there...

LCR.

I wear Levis.



Travis

I don't care for the trigger angle/distance on the LCR, but I'll agree that my 2 1/2" Smith 66 fits a pocket better than either the Shield or XDS...

I really have learned to shoot the Bodyguard well, and it is the "go anywhere" answer for me...

Some people consider a gun that somehow can fit into a pocket as a pocket gun. I don't. Some people also walk around town wearing pants with cargo pockets, which I don't. To me, a pocket gun is one that will fit in normal pants pockets, and which permits the user to obtain a full firing grip on the gun while looking very natural.

I have a DeSantis pocket holster for the XDS, and the gun and holster will barely fit in a pair of Levi's. But, I do not remotely consider that gun to be a pocket gun. It is not easy to get a good firing grip without looking weird. It is very hard to draw, and it snags. Don't know about the Shield, but it looks too big to me. Same with the Glock 26/27 sized guns.

The problem with pocket carry is getting the gun OUT efficiently, not so much that it "fits" in the pocket.

For me (5'10"/225 lbs) that maxes out with a Kahr PM9 sized pistol for everything but jeans which require something Ruger LCP sized.

Some of the guns people claim they pocket carry are ludicrous and reveal the fantasy world in which they live.

S&W .38sp Bodygaurd J-frame. Factory Laser, part Polymer, part Aluminum, small rubber grip, weighs only 12 ounces. retails for about $450.

I'm 6' 3 and weigh 240, and it drops right into the pocket of my Wrangler Cowboy Cut Jeans. Never even know it's there.

Pocket carry for me is cargo. I lift pretty heavy and have for the past 25 or so years and have the fat thighs to prove it. I buy a couple of inches to big in the waist and they MUST be relaxed fit for my legs...keys and a pocketknife are the limit for my front pockets. Timing of this is funny...just this morning I raised my leg up to tie my shoe and the hamstring/backpocket area of my pants ripped.

Some folks can front pocket carry, but not a fat azz like me.

you must wear "package hugger" pants, especially at that size and weight! sheesh. I have no problem at all ccwing and really swift draw with Sig P938 from a Kydex front pants pocket holster. Sitting down has never been a problem with it, but for long drives, I do remove it from the rig and stick it IWB, Mexican carry. I like the way that I can swap rig and all from pants to coat pocket, for cold weather ccw. Right before I enter or leave a building, if the coat is going to be doffed or donned, I swap the rig to the other pocket. Works great!

A clip combined with an LCR or J-frame solves lots of problems.

Not to mention, you can actually hit a person @ 50yds with one.



Travis

Life became simpler when I decided to pocket a J frame, and on occasion, mex-style with a D frame Colt.

I am almost exactly chlinstructors size. Tried to pocket carry a Kahr CW40 and others but for me the P3AT and other similarly sized guns are the limit. At least for comfortable carry and to be able to get it OUT of a pocket quickly

Amazing how that happens, huh?

Seecamp .32 for me with a custom Meco pocket holster.

http://mecopocketholsters.com/

nobody reliably hits anyone at 50 yds, with any handgun, while they are being shot at. Any hits so achieved are lucky flukes, for a fact. I have seen many hundreds of complete misses of the 50 yd IPSC silohuetter over the years, made quite a few of them myself, under "just" match stress, by people who could reliably shoot a 6" group at that range, IN PRACTICE. this is in good light, often from rollover prone position, on a fully erect, fully exposed, 18"x24" torso, with ear protection. So you can forget about such hits, even at 25 yds, when it's for real, even with a belt gun, and same is true at 50 ft, with a pocket gun.

You should post a pic of you and Cooper standing side by side.



Travis

That would be really swell.

Ask him about his felony record

We don't have that much time.Or bandwidth.

It's impressive.


Especially his plan to sell meth to fund fireamrs putchases, and his acted upon idea to sell homemade suppressors

look who's back! Gouge any old people lately?

Let me guess, you're coming in under the cloak of an illness, right?

Never left, never gouged, same health stuff but with good news for a change.

Getting back on topic now, what is your opinion of what best comprises a true "pocket pistol"?

I've carried some handguns that aren't exactly 'pocket' pistols.
But the two smallest handguns I own are a Beretta Tomcat, 32 ACP
and a snubnose, S&W 432 PD, 32 H&R Mag.

Both handguns fit comfortably and securely in many jacket pockets and Dockers hip pockets that I wear.

As far as a holster goes, something like Uncle Mike's $9.00 Inside-the-Pocket Holster keeps the handgun in place,
clean, and accessable.

Nothing hi-tech or tactical - but it suits me.

You appear to have a lot in common with old Charlie Askins.

The original Charles Askins, gunwriter and worldwide hunter? Or is there someone going by that name here? I have not seen it if there is. But, what does THAT have to do with pocket pistols or mini pistols and their use?

How many times are the negative types (holding back from some much stronger descriptive adjectives here.....trying to be civil) going to try and hijack a perfectly good and useful thread here I wonder.....

Have any helpful or useful PERTINENT to the thread insight for us here?

I had a 3 inch 360PD with a CT lazergrip for a long while, and it was a terrific all around compact handgun. Wish I had it back.

I'm 6'2" 230lbs and I can carry my D frame Colt in my front pocket just fine. Now, it looks like I have a bunch of chit in my pocket, but it doesn't scream gun. I wear Wranglers.

That will more than likely continue until you stop posting.



Travis

That's obvious.



Travis

AMEN from the corner!

Yeah, that's the one. The sociopath who wrote "Unrepentant Sinner". Sound familiar?

Yep. 'Twill indeed.
Just goes to show how ridiculously obtuse Pompousman really is.

My first pocket gun was a Ruger LCP in 380, I had to add a grip extension to better fit my hand, and some laser sights so I could see where to shoot, (LCP's for the most part don't have sights)
The trigger pull seemed to be about 6" and 10 lb's.
It was small but that's about the only thing it had going for it.

Today was at my LGS and ran across this, fit's me much better, about the same size, more rounds and night sights.
Great trigger along with a decocker. came in 9mm kurz.
Nice backup to my 40 S&W 226

I had one of those when they were called the P230. I always regret selling it. Very cool little gun. I was on a kick to rid myself of all autopistols that required a trigger pull transition from double to single action.

Just pulled this out of the right pocket of a pair of Wrangler Originals for this picture. Notice that's a Pearce grip adapter on a 6 round 40 S&W mag on the Shield. Same grip as the 7 round but but better concealabilty because it's shorter at the heel.

The holster is a DeSantis Nemesis size U4. Snug to keep in right orientation but pretty easy to draw.



Switch over to either of the ones below - MS Nexus - and you can do double duty with one pistol as a BUG and EDC. Same mag configuration as the BUG for max conceal (top) or more capacity with the 7 round mag (below). YMMV with a 9mm, same dimensions.



IMHO the Shield in either 9mm or 40 S&W is still the preferred choice

This beretta 32 ACP




Loaded with this

Fotis, will it reliably feed those flat nosed rounds?

Yes sir absolutely. It is a little fireball with them! Very concealable and not far behind a 38 snubby. At least IMO.

Yes, those are some hot rounds. I've shot them through my Kel-Tec P32. It's not particularly reliable in that gun, though. The flat nose tends to stick on the feed ramp.

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I use the 380 version of this load in my P3AT. Yep, it is right snappy in such a small light gun. In mine it loads and feeds fine. Probably ot good for the gun, but I do not care about this pistols longevity so long as it goes bang enough times to use up the seven that are in the gun when I need it.

The only two guns I have any experience with that I would consider pocket guns are the Ruger LCP 380 and any of the various NAA mini 22 mag revolvers. Anything bigger needs either a holster or a large jacket pocket.

the mini-revolvers are jokes. slow, awkward, likely to be dropped under stress, 1 hit per second, at best, given that dinky hammer and grip, that lack of a trigger guard. The .32 keltec is small and lw enough to be worn as a necklace pendant, and it offers 60 grs at 1200 fps, if you handload the Silvertip bullet. Real expansion of the jhp at that speed. Have to chuck them up and get rid of that semi rim on the case, tho. it causes mis feeds with jhp's. that's 200 ft lbs per shot and 7 hits in one second

My Sig P938 is plenty small and lw enough for front pants pocket carry. NO woman has looked at your crotch since college, so why bother with package hugger pants, hmmm?

My son carries a Diamondback DB9 in his right rear pocket under his wallet every day for the last two years. Just regular jeans for a 6'1 230# guy. It is the smallest 9mm I ever saw and it shoots great. Nice smooth trigger pull. It looks to be modeled loosely like a miniature Glock and is very reliable. Based on my sons experience at least 4 of his friends are now carrying the same gun the same way. No holster between the wallet and him.

Hickok45 does a nice review of it on youtube.


Picture borrowed from Google images.

You can improve the grips.

So... As a convicted felon, you are admitting on an internet forum that you are in possession of a Firearm. Either that or you are FOS ....likely both

So what you gonna do about it, Snitching punk? Can't find anything to attack in my ideas, so revert to the only thing you know? backstabbing? Because that's all you are, and now everyone here knows it.

I'm scared for you gitem.

I don't need to do anything, but it's fun pointing out stupid people

I'm scared too Joel. Just shakin in my boots

guys with computers can sure be tough. I suspect several can be shakin in their boots with that guy. Trolls will be trolls.

Best I can carry in a pocket is a Kel-Tec P3AT with CT Laserguard on it. Anything else, like you is just too big to be practical.

I did look at the new Ruger LC9S the other day, it would hide quite nicely IWB.

Keyboard Kommando

Oh! Back on topic.

I carry anything from a Seecamp to Charter .44 Bulldog in my front pocket.

ME? Not likely Sir.

Nah, not you.

The innanet badasses.
You know, the mall ninja types.

If it fits in your pocket, that probably is a pretty good idea for a distraction device.

Terry, have you tried any of the Buffalo Bore +P 100gr ammo in your P3AT? That is my my pocket rocket, too. The BB ammo pushes a 100gr hardcast flat nose bullet out of my mini pistol at a full 1125fps, chronographed. That is 22LR speed with a 100gr 38 cal bullet. Runs good in mine, but the trigger guard wants to come back and smack my trigger finger and HARD. No matter in a "need to use it" scenario as I see it, but thought I would check in with you. If you cannot find any, PM me and I will send you some. I shipped some to McKay Sagebrush a year or so ago for his guys who carry 380's to use. IMO that fodder makes the 380 a whole 'nutha critter.

Along with my Colt's Cobra, I also have a S&W 431 6 shot .32 H&R mag; it's a downright decent little revolver and the .32 H&R actually beats the .38 Special in penetration.

I have a couple of .32's but they're old school guns. I shoot them mostly for fun.