I think the tool has to fit the need. Look at it in this light... the snub is a closer radius tool or a "get off me" piece. Then you have a larger radius tool, like the modern semi or a "get off my family/friends/employees" kind of piece. With multiple attackers, we hope for the best with whatever we have. I'd prefer an infantry squad. Mindset is foremost.
Neither choice has the authority of a longarm. But both beat screaming and throwing fists while taking incoming.
My late uncle took the US sponsored tour through France and Germany a few years back. He relied on a FN 1910 in .32 to be his "get off me" piece while in country. He simply said it worked wonderfully for that need. Stateside, a S&W snubby in .22LR accompanied him. Placement over capacity. He lived a full life.
Having said all that, the biggest thing I have learned is that the best gun you can carry is the gun that you will carry. At this point, for me, that gun is going to be a LCR in .38 Special. (sic)
A well thought out and written post, but I just wanted to concentrate on this bit.
Amen and absolutely. You determine what level of risk reduction you want to achieve, the gun that will provide for that and carry as you see fit.
Even though I've been a long time handgun owner and shooter, only in the past few years have I considered a CCW worth carrying. And for me that's been primarily an LC9s pro with a spare mag. Sadly as my city has become more violent, I'm planning to change that to my Glock 17 with a spare mag.
A gun you know well and carry always is your best defense IMHO.
For me, it gets down to a small basket of good choices for CCW depending on the weather, dress, and situation... M642 38 Special, first gen Walther PPS 9mm, and G19/23/32 make the most sense to me. Colt CCO when I feel old school. those four choices cover all the ccw bases in my opinion.
One of my closest friends is a Federal Special Agent (NCIS) who travels all over the world with his job quite frequently. He's currently living in the D.C. area and working at Quantico with training their SERT teams. What does he carry on a daily basis? A Glock 27...no spare mag...in an ankle holster. Every day, all day - nothing more, nothing less. When he told me that, I was actually surprised that he didn't carry more firepower. I mean, here's a guy that does bad-ass schit for a living, carries one hell of a set of credentials (Federal Agent badge), and can carry pretty much anything he wants - and he chooses a relatively small capacity Glock in .40S&W (he did say that they were required to carry that caliber, except for their special weapons and special situations.
Perhaps that should make all of us ponder what is truly reasonable to carry.
I have a Sig 228, M&P9 and 45, 640-1 (357) and a 642 38SP+P J frame to choose from. I do carry the 642 when I run due to the kydex holster design more than the gun but it is lighter than my Shield.
I carry everyday and everywhere so I have chosen the Shield due to it's ease of disappearing, it's easy to shoot, I'm familiar with it and it's been 100% reliable.
I also carry an extra magazine.
Those that can get by concealing larger pistols are possibly better off but I've just not found a way to do it.
Serious question, are you really able to conceal a Glock 19 with nothing more than a shirt or do you just not care if you print? Reason I ask is we had a guy come to church carrying a large pistol under his jacket but it was pretty obvious. I sat behind him waiting to see what he was going to do all service and he of course never knew we knew.
So how well are you concealing your Glock 19 sized pistol and how? (Just wearing a shirt no jacket.)
Serious question, are you really able to conceal a Glock 19 with nothing more than a shirt or do you just not care if you print? Reason I ask is we had a guy come to church carrying a large pistol under his jacket but it was pretty obvious. I sat behind him waiting to see what he was going to do all service and he of course never knew we knew.
So how well are you concealing your Glock 19 sized pistol and how? (Just wearing a shirt no jacket.)
I carry a 17. The only time it becomes a suspicious print through my polo shirt is when I lean forward to pick something up off the ground. Standing anything like straight up, there's no suspicious printing to speak of.
I carry it IWB at 4:00 with an El Paso Saddlery C-Force IWB holster. It's covered only with an untucked polo shirt.
I am pretty much done with centerfire revolvers in any capacity. The only revolver I can justify for extremely limited CCW circumstances unmet by any other gun I own is a NAA Min Pug in .22 WMR. There are times where a J frame revolver may fit a limited role for certain types of encounter, such as ground fighting or shooting through a coat, but that is too limited to give up the versatility that the current crop of mini-nines and forty-fives provides for general CCW. I believe it has been about 5 years since I have carried any centerfire revolver. YMMV.
"Don't believe everything you see on the Internet" - Abraham Lincoln
I carry a 17. The only time it becomes a suspicious print through my polo shirt is when I lean forward to pick something up off the ground. Standing anything like straight up, there's no suspicious printing to speak of.
It's pretty easy to hide guns while standing still. Have you tried walking down the street in a Polo with arms swinging normally and a "don't mess with me" gait in an area full of buildings with reflective plate glass windows that let you see how things look when moving? Maybe you have and it works for you. I have been surprised by the print with some of my guns. I couldn't make a full sized gun like a 17 work for me in a Polo.
"Don't believe everything you see on the Internet" - Abraham Lincoln
A DA/SA snub, fired single action, allows the average shooter to make hits substantially further than they might with a pocket auto. It's in its element up close, too.
I won't pretend to have experience at the level of Trigger's NCIS pal, but I can tell you being in a scrap or two will cause a realignment of your priorities regarding armament. I'm comfortable with a MP40c with a flush-fit 10 in it and a 15 rounder as a spare.
And yes, you can IWB a G23 or smaller pistol under a tail-out T-shirt and no one have a clue you're doing it. I've done it easily since I got my first Safariland 27.
Direct Impingement is the Fart Joke of military rifle operating systems. ⓒ
One of my closest friends is a Federal Special Agent (NCIS) who travels all over the world with his job quite frequently. He's currently living in the D.C. area and working at Quantico with training their SERT teams. What does he carry on a daily basis? A Glock 27...no spare mag...in an ankle holster. Every day, all day - nothing more, nothing less. When he told me that, I was actually surprised that he didn't carry more firepower. I mean, here's a guy that does bad-ass schit for a living, carries one hell of a set of credentials (Federal Agent badge), and can carry pretty much anything he wants - and he chooses a relatively small capacity Glock in .40S&W (he did say that they were required to carry that caliber, except for their special weapons and special situations.
Perhaps that should make all of us ponder what is truly reasonable to carry.
That's about the dumbest comparison I've ever read.
your friend works an administrative job. in a static sanitary environment. ask him what he would carry if he was still "working"
that's like our old chief giving us schidt for carrying four spare magazines on our bury belts. he didn't see the need. however the only time he left the office was to get coffee
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
my take on printing: I don't worry about it. the vast majority of people are too engraved in their phones to see a ufo on the sidewalk let alone tuned in enough to notice little tell tale signs of a gun printing, even if they did see a "bulge" I doubt the associate it with a gun on average
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
One of my closest friends is a Federal Special Agent (NCIS) who travels all over the world with his job quite frequently. He's currently living in the D.C. area and working at Quantico with training their SERT teams. What does he carry on a daily basis? A Glock 27...no spare mag...in an ankle holster. Every day, all day - nothing more, nothing less. When he told me that, I was actually surprised that he didn't carry more firepower. I mean, here's a guy that does bad-ass schit for a living, carries one hell of a set of credentials (Federal Agent badge), and can carry pretty much anything he wants - and he chooses a relatively small capacity Glock in .40S&W (he did say that they were required to carry that caliber, except for their special weapons and special situations.
Perhaps that should make all of us ponder what is truly reasonable to carry.
That's about the dumbest comparison I've ever read.
your friend works an administrative job. in a static sanitary environment. ask him what he would carry if he was still "working"
that's like our old chief giving us schidt for carrying four spare magazines on our bury belts. he didn't see the need. however the only time he left the office was to get coffee
Nope, I've known him for almost 15 years, since the day he graduated from FLETC and began working for NCIS and stationed at Camp Lejeune. He went to ankle carry with the G26 about 3 months in and has been that way ever since. I've flown commercial airlines with him when he and I were traveling with our jobs and the G26, and later the G27, was on his ankle every time. I didn’t say, nor imply, that he carries a G27 when his SERT team raids a house to arrest a federal fugitive. I'm just trying to point out that a guy that can carry pretty much anything, any where, any time, chooses to carry a relative low-capacity pistol and far less firepower than the majority of you couch-commandos.
my take on printing: I don't worry about it. the vast majority of people are too engraved in their phones to see a ufo on the sidewalk let alone tuned in enough to notice little tell tale signs of a gun printing, even if they did see a "bulge" I doubt the associate it with a gun on average
And who gives a flying [bleep] if they DO see that you're carrying, right? As long as you're legsl, it shouldn't matter.
I guess it depends on the state and, or a retired peace officer concealed carry. I carried concealed in Texas as a Peace Officer, so I really didn't have to conceal anything as long as I had my badge displayed. But if you're not a peace officer, in Texas printing was a violation of the statute. Now Texas is Open Carry. I'm carrying concealed now with the retired peace officer concealed carry. It's a federal license and printing isn't mentioned any where in the law. I DO have to conceal it. To the guys in this forum, peace officers, and your odd aware citizen if the gun is printing it might as well be open carry. But, as was mentioned most people have their faces buried in their damned phones - it's a wonder there aren't more people running each other down (on foot). I can't stand to carry IWB. It drives me nuts. So, I carry OWB with a coat in winter and a big shirt in the summer. Raven holsters really keep the firearm pressed against the body. If your middle is close to as big around as your chest you're going to print unless you wear a coat or another garment over your shirt. Oh, I carry a Glock 20 OWB in a Raven holster right at 4:00 o'clock.
One of my closest friends is a Federal Special Agent (NCIS) who travels all over the world with his job quite frequently. He's currently living in the D.C. area and working at Quantico with training their SERT teams. What does he carry on a daily basis? A Glock 27...no spare mag...in an ankle holster. Every day, all day - nothing more, nothing less. When he told me that, I was actually surprised that he didn't carry more firepower. I mean, here's a guy that does bad-ass schit for a living, carries one hell of a set of credentials (Federal Agent badge), and can carry pretty much anything he wants - and he chooses a relatively small capacity Glock in .40S&W (he did say that they were required to carry that caliber, except for their special weapons and special situations.
Perhaps that should make all of us ponder what is truly reasonable to carry.
That's about the dumbest comparison I've ever read.
your friend works an administrative job. in a static sanitary environment. ask him what he would carry if he was still "working"
that's like our old chief giving us schidt for carrying four spare magazines on our bury belts. he didn't see the need. however the only time he left the office was to get coffee
Nope, I've known him for almost 15 years, since the day he graduated from FLETC and began working for NCIS and stationed at Camp Lejeune. He went to ankle carry with the G26 about 3 months in and has been that way ever since. I've flown commercial airlines with him when he and I were traveling with our jobs and the G26, and later the G27, was on his ankle every time. I didn’t say, nor imply, that he carries a G27 when his SERT team raids a house to arrest a federal fugitive. I'm just trying to point out that a guy that can carry pretty much anything, any where, any time, chooses to carry a relative low-capacity pistol and far less firepower than the majority of you couch-commandos.
no, you are stating exactly what I said you're stating. your friend works a static job, by your own admission. he works at Quantico in an admisistrative job. his choice of carry is essentially the same as our old chief carrying his Glock in a thumb snap holster on his belt and nothing else.
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
my take on printing: I don't worry about it. the vast majority of people are too engraved in their phones to see a ufo on the sidewalk let alone tuned in enough to notice little tell tale signs of a gun printing, even if they did see a "bulge" I doubt the associate it with a gun on average
And who gives a flying [bleep] if they DO see that you're carrying, right? As long as you're legsl, it shouldn't matter.
That statement right there shows that you don't know nearly as.much as you'd like us to think you do. as pointed out there are various laws addressing "printing" that may or may not wind you up needing the assistance of an anttorney.
The government plans these shootings by targeting kids from kindergarten that the government thinks they can control with drugs until the appropriate time--DerbyDude
Whatever. Tell the oompa loompa's hey for me. [/quote]. LtPPowell
Florida used to make printing, technically, a violation of the CCW law, but that was changed a few years ago. Now, you can not only print, but unintentional showing of the handgun (gust of wind, shirt riding up, etc.) is no longer a violation.
