Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Educate me, carry pistol.

It's time to go shopping, and I'm far from a pistol guru,

What's the current trend, and preferred action?

Size will be determined but likely looking for a mid to small frame, small frame for concealment but large enough for control as I enjoy shooting time.

Double action or Single? pros and cons to each please.

Caliber, .380 to .40

Lets spend some money.........

Glock 19, sign P229

Glock 19 is hard to beat. If you want smaller, a Glock 43 in 9mm or the Model 42 in 380 is slightly smaller a little more shootable IMO.

Or if you prefers a revolver, a S&W J frame in .38 special is my first choice in a carry wheel gun. Or if you don't mind UGLY, the Ruger LCR works too.

No wheels, and no ugly.

I'll do some research, but for starters, Glock 19 is a DA? Safety?

why is the Glock so preferred?

Because


High cap. Low weight, go bang EVERY TIME



No ugly? Sign 229 legion

Yep. And easy to shoot also.

Who's all using crimson trace or similar lazer sights?

I've got Crimson Trace on several of my carry guns. They work great.

Loved my Sr9c...till I got this.

Trijicon night sights, Talon grip tape, Ghost Elite connector with trigger work and extended mag catch and slide stop.

An absolute superb carry gun.

The only thing keeping me from carrying it all the time...my 30S!

MO Betta!!!!

But Sigs are UGLY

And you wonder why people think Texans are dumb, lol

No flies on a g19 for a high cap 9mm of low weight and moderate cost.

LMAO!

I'll second the 19/23 and the P229 as fine, easy-to-shoot-well pistols though my personal preference is for the 40 S&W.

Nothing wrong with a Nine, with one admonition. Everybody I know who carries one has had children born naked and toothless.

I'd look very hard at the single stack options in 9mm like the Glock 43 and the S&W Shield.

If you're far from a pistol guru, you're going to have a tough time shooting anything more smaller.

And if you're just now deciding to carry, you're going to find the G19/23 size pistols to be more than you're willing to deal with. That's a guess, but an experienced one.

I'd go inside-the-waistband right out of the gate.




travis

True dat

Have the 40c with CT Lazer


And the Shield 9 for cargo pocket carry


CCW variety is the spice of life

Speaking of the G19/23 Deflave, the Apex flat faced drop in is ultra uber.

Lasers are great until they aren't.

Which is 90% of the time.

Don't bother.



Travis

UBER-DUBER???

Improving on awesome is always.... awesome.




Travis

I need reasons.

Ability to see is largely dependent upon time of day, lighting in the room, and color of your intended target.






Travis

And no, that wasn't a black joke.

I'm referring to clothing.




Travis

The Lazer can aid in speeding up accurate fire at small targets. For ccw the range is typically short and one can damn near point shoot and get center mass hits. Also to9 many folks start to rely on the dot and never practice with their irons thus when the Lazer goes TU they can't hit shcitt.

I have ever a few due to super good deals but I do not rely on them except for shooting for fun.


Yes Deflave the Apex is smooth and feels like a well lubed womens........ well you know.

All true; and you'll develop the bad habit of dicking around looking for a dot, when you ought to be pointing and shooting.

Bicycle?




Travis

Front sight.

Can I ask why you have an aversion to revolvers?





Dave

Not to mention it gives your opponent an aiming point...

Hunting them in the dark freaks them out pretty good.

I have carried the P229 and G19 quite a bit. I prefer the G19 because its lighter and thinner. Magazines are cheaper and are easy to find. The G19 is striker fired and will have the same trigger pull each time. Standard P229s are double action/single action. This isn't a big deal if you train with it, but why bother?

I carried an issued G22 until I could afford a Sig P226. Same controls as a G19 vs P229. I learned to shoot the P226 well and I still have it, but I also went back to the G22 as a duty weapon. As a fighting handgun, its really hard to beat.

No expert but here are my choices in 9mm,Glock 43,S&W shield,CZ 75D PCR compact.

I've owned a few, and just not looking for a revolver at this time,

although I do understand there are some handy little compact revolvers out there for ccw.

I got a Colt 25 acp that isn't ugly.....

If this is in response to your riots, and you're only now feeling its time to arm, and you are not a pistol person, then "trendy" isn't what you want.

You aren't buying to brag about your pistol - you're buying to get something you can carry every freaking day, that works.

Since you are far from a pistol guru, then a single stack 9mm IWB (Glock or Smith) or the non-trendy 442, or LCR.

If you want cool factor, than get the stainless Sig and rosewood grips. They're perdy.

A .25 saved my life a couple weeks ago.

If you change your mind, the LCR's are really hard to beat.

But if I were you I'd be looking at the G43 or Smith and Wesson Shield right now.




Travis

It's the tack Hammer of Thor...

First, Damn a snake.

Second, a question.

Was the bastid all coiled up and one 25 ball round stitch him in three different places, or did you have to shoot him three times to slow down his slither?

I was prone shooting steel. A guy was behind me using my spotter and he blurts out "SNAKE!"

It was sidewinding it's nasty ass straight toward me on that concrete pad. When I got clear of it I was going to shoot it with my .40 but I wanted it to get off pavement before doing so.

The other dude unloaded his Beretta on it. It was totally fugked.



Travis

Good thing he didn't keep his eye on the sparrow.....










Don't go to bed with a price on yo head....

Saved your life eh, now you are indebted to him for life. Lol, that would be fun: hey 'Flave I need this or that, .......

G-19 IWB... don't get better than that.

Thanks, Sammy.



Clark

I gave him an autograph.

We're square.




Travis

I've just spit coffee everywhere.

Now that is what they call "Sporty". Venomous snakes, little 25 bullets zinging off the concrete and you executing a ninja roll, dive, leap etc. to get up outta the midst of it.

Had that been me, I'd have taken a ricochet through the sack, a snake bite to the a$$ and the heart attack would have killed me grave yard dead.

My 2 favorites, 26 and 19.

Good advice right there...

I vote G43 or Shield with Travis. I've always used IWB leather for my G36 but I'm going to try the Vedder Light Tuck or the G Code Eclipse for my 43.

You can carry a G19 or G36 IWB but sometimes it's nice to have a smaller option like the G43. That's where I would start. I seriously doubt I'll need more rounds than I will carry in the gun and extra mag. I'm not starring in an action movie.

You never know what will happen, i'll take discomfort and the extra rounds.

Springfield XDS 3.3 is my choice. As small as a J frame Smith. 6 rounds of .45 ACP. Controllable, accurate, easy to conceal, with no vices.

Yep!

I like the 43 mostly these days.

There is a lot to be said for a stone reliable pocket gun, for times when the P229 might be a little much; or stow in a side pocket for times when both guns might be just enough.

Mine is an old Ruger LCP. I've shot it enough to know it's reliable and man sized targets are no problem to 25 yards.

Old?

Yes. Made in 1917.

I would not buy a pistol without having an idea regards the holster that I was going to carry it in and would try not leave the store without trying it on. I have settled on Glocks as CCW pistols and have become familiar with their action, have had SIG's and HK's and nice 1911's but for a sub $600 pistol the glock is hard to beat in a lot of ways. The Smith MP's are about the same, 9mm is most popular and cheaper to practice with, and as we have recently learned adequate for bear hunting. I know many like the exotic, the expensive, the arcane, but the gun of the Hoi Palloi seems to be G19.

G19 good choice. I often need something smaller depending on dress/ occasion. Then, the G 43 or others come out. The Shield or M& P are good choices.
But, one cannot train with a G43, if 150-300 rounds are to be shot in a short time. A number of people train with the G 19 or like, with minimal shots with the G 43.
I likes them all including non- striker fire guns.
Sometimes carry a 6" python in an extreme cross draw Mernickle holster, for special occasions, like church dinners, etc.

Looks like no one answered your specific questions.

Not DA or SA per se, but a pre-loaded striker design (pre-loaded might not be the right term but it sounds better than "half cocked" ). It's been called a staple gun trigger. Once it's cocked it fires with a light, very short pull through kind of like a very short DA as you bring the striker back the last few millimeters to its release point. It can take a little getting used to.

No safety of any kind on a Glock except the "safe action" trigger which means you have to depress the little lever sticking out of the middle of the trigger before you can pull the trigger.

There have been accidental discharges with Glocks where some piece of clothing or something has caught in the trigger guard as the owner was holstering and fired the pistol.

They are uber reliable which as far as I can see is why they are so popular (I rarely use the term uber), they really do go bang every time. They have a blocky grip that not everybody likes but the Generation 4 models have replaceable backstraps to modify the grip somewhat, or you can just sandpaper the grip to suit.


Other striker fired models of similar size and reputation for reliability are the S&W M&P models, some of those come with a standard manual thumb safety, also Springfield Armory makes some very nice models that have extra features over the Glock like a cocking indicator. IMO they have a more nicely contoured grip than the Glock so one or both of these models may fit your hand better, especially the M&P. Both come in multiple sizes as well. I happen to have a Springfield XDm .45 ACP and it is a bit large for concealed carry but absolutely 100% reliable and just as accurate as it needs to be.

All of them are black and not exactly Italian fashion designer pistols but have a certain functional beauty if one appreciates those things.

Folks have their individual and much defended preferences for one of these three but any of them would serve you well in a hi-cap striker fired pistol, or a single stack smaller frame if that is what you want. Ruger and some other folks also make striker fired models but the aforementioned three are the only ones I've fired or looked at closely so can't comment on any others.



The other brand to look for which is kind of a personal favorite of mine are the Kahr models. These have a much longer DA feeling trigger pull but lots lighter than any DA revolver. They are single stack so only hold 6+1 or 7+1 in 9mm but are fairly small. The ones I've owned are incredibly accurate, even more accurate than several full size pistols of my experience. Actually they are far more accurate than they really need to be but they are also 100% reliable. Some folks report that their thumb accidentally drops the magazine when they fire one but I guess that's up to the way an individual holds it. They don't come with a manual safety either but that long DA pull makes them about as safe as any standard DA revolver. They sell high dollar models and economically priced "C" models - CWP, CMP etc. that are almost the same as the high dollar ones but with a pinned sight instead of dovetailed, standard instead of polygonal rifling and no fancy machining on the slide. IMO they are the much better buy over the "P" models unless a dovetailed front sight is a deal killer for you.


OR, you can go back to a traditional single stack, SA, thumb safety model like the 1911 in any of the 1001 different configurations they are made in today.

Lots of folks still like the 1911 design and especially the SA trigger pull, as do I, but having owned a few of those and a few of the new striker fired pistols I'll have to say the striker fired ones eat up more different kinds of ammo more reliably than any 1911 I've ever owned. "Ol Slabsides" (I never call it ol' slabslides) had its place and still does but for an efficient and reliable self-defense pistol the Glocks, M&P's, Springfields et al are the way to go in the early 21st Century.

Hope that helps some.

More: The .45 ACP has been putting dicks in the dirt for well over a century but placement is what kills and bullet performance has come a long way since a FMJ was the only choice. I have a hi-cap .45 as my bedside pistol but my carry guns are 9mm's loaded with the latest and greatest bonded hollow point ammo. Advantages are more rounds on board and lighter recoil for quicker repeat shots, as well as a smaller frame for easier concealability. 9mm practice ammo is dirt cheap and widely available.

Mostly I picked the gun that pointed the best for me. My one and only experience firing a handgun in an emergency situation taught me that it better be pointing where your wide open eyes are looking - i.e. you better hit the target where it hurts fast and first. To me that is the number one criteria for a SD handgun, most everything beyond that is discussion as is reflected in my signature line.



Also, a disclaimer. I'm no self defense ninja expert by a long shot, just another average guy who looked around for the best SD carry options in this day and age, and this and my first post are what a layman has found from gleaning the on-line wheat from the chaff and then trying and carrying several different models to see what worked best for me. Haven't shot anybody or shot at anybody (not human at least) and don't plan to so maybe someone who has will have radically different ides, but most of that "wheat" mentioned here comes from the guys who have.

Well, it's pretty much universally accepted by now that the Glock 19 is currently the standard defensive handgun by which everything else is judged. Not my preference, but not for any reason that should matter to you.

That's not to say that there aren't plenty of other options that work just as well.

Nice post Jim. thanks for your time.

So, with all of this newly imparted information, what you should do is go to a well stocked range that rents handguns and shoot a bunch of them and see what you like best.

I love my Glock 19, but I don't always want to carry a handgun that size. I recently bought a Ruger LCP which is about the same size as my I-phone with the pocket holster. It's not the pistol that the Glock is, but it carries with little effort.

Plastic, I'd go Glock or M&P. Metal, I like the CZ's.

Were you wearing your kilt?

No matter what you get spend the money on a good holster. If it's uncomfortable you won't carry it, no matter the make and model of the gun.

With that said I think the single stacks are great. I carry either the XDS 45 or Kahr P9. Whitehat Maxtuck for each. Also have a lcp and pocket holster for those quick trips to the convenience store.

Two excellent choices. For the Sig, their newer Short Reset Triggers are amazing, and not just in that they have a short reset. They're much better in all respects. Still, there's something to be said for the striker fired triggers as seen on the Glocks in terms of shot-to-shot consistency, first to last.

As for caliber, 9mm is the best compromise in terms of effectiveness, controllability, cost of practice, and magazine capacity.

Fugk no.

This America. And I am all American.



Dave

I'm surprised by the number of people that carry pistols the size of a G19/23 for EDC.

Especially in the warmer parts of the country.



Travis

I've been carrying a 9c (IWB) & the Colt 25 (pocket) all the time.

I'd love to have the luxury of just going pocket sometimes, but just can't bring myself to walk out the door without something 9mm or 38spc on hand.

im liking the G42, i know i know its a 380, but it shoots easier than the 43. At the ranges it would have to be used for, a 90 grain gold dot or a few of them would i think give me or my wife a fighting chance. shot placement trumps power and everyone is different as to how well they shoot a micro pistol...
laser could give you a quick point and shoot option if you dont have to fumble with turning on a laser...the only options there are the grip activiated ones by crimson trace or the holster activated ones from viridian...with viridian, when you draw the weapon the laser turns on instantly

green vs red...green much brighter in daylight and works at a farther range, problem is how far will you be shooting in CCW situation....plus green is so bright, the beam in lowlight can be traced back to the shooter, you can actually see the beam. Red lasers are not nearly as traceable

Not me. I've experimented with them from time to time over my 36 years of concealed carry, but have ultimately rejected them. I don't want to depend on electronics for my handgun's operation in the gravest extreme. Just get a good set of sights and train with them.

Sweet! I was just fondling one of those the other day at the gun store. Awesome trigger. Quite spendy, though.

Absolutely. Don't mess with anything else.

My Russel Athletic Omar the Tent maker Polo, blends well with my Sabago dockside boat shoes, spider king no show socks, Levi's 550 relaxed fit blue jean shorts and a G17 IWB. Its a bonus to have the 30 round magazine in your front pocket....

Fashion by Toby.

Yep.

Strictly a safety issue. The condition in which you carry it requires a higher degree of intention to shoot before a round will fire than with a Glock. This is a big comfort to some, but if that's not a concern, the Glock is somewhat better, strictly from a tactical perspective.

The 26 doesn't shoot nearly as well as the 19 for most people, so why bother unless you plan (or need) to carry it on your ankle? IWB, the 19 would actually carry better than the 26.

http://www.odmp.org/officer/420-trooper-mark-hunter-coates

i know power is important but it isnt absolute...

im not sure where all of these 357 rounds hit but 5 didnt do the job...

I shoot the 26 equally as well as any other Glock I own. How do you figure a heavier, longer slide and grip carries better than a 26?

I don't just figure it. I know it to be the case from personal experience. The 19 has a greater amount of flat surface area in contact with the body, thus spreading the pressure against the skin over a larger area (lightening said pressure per square inch), and thereby reducing felt pressure against the body. Additionally, a longer slide helps stabilize the weapon positionally such that the forward edge (by the muzzle) of the slide is placed at a more favorable angle for comfort, i.e., less bowing outward at the grip end, so less bowing inward at the muzzle end. The weight difference is so slight as to be inconsequential compared to those other factors.

PS For the reasons stated above, the 17 is even more comfortable IWB than the 19.

PSS- For you.




Dave

Maybe in your particular holster but not necessarily always.

Wouldn't the Kahr fill that bill as well ? Or is that a bad word?