Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns "Pocket" ccw suggestions

Have both of your top choices, the 642 and P380, and much prefer the P380.

DA trigger pull is MUCH better

Sights are MUCH better

The P380 is just as safe in a pocket with or without a holster as the 642

P380 holds more rounds

P380 lays MUCH flatter in the pocket than the 642

Have run no less than 6 different types of factory and reloads through the P380 with zero problems except one time when I had failed to properly clean and lube the gun between range sessions...


Have had the P380 (with the optional night sights) since about 2012. Was looking for something to carry when the Commander was not viable. Was fortunate enough to have a lot of friends with "pocket" guns from the KelTec 32 to Walthers and the P380 was the easiest to shoot, recoiled less and was more accurate than the rest. It is a lot smaller than a PPK or G43. Have two Walter PPs now and have had just about every variety of the line in the past. They have by far the heaviest DA trigger pull I have ever experienced on a semi-auto firearm.

Good luck in your quest...Bob

Ruger LCR for pocket carry.

I prefer the P365 for waist and it can do double duty in a front pocket....but a small revolver seems to work better for me in a front pocket.

I like the Glock 42 in an Alabama pocket holster for pocket carry.



The Boraii Eagle also can work as a minimalist rig.

Those pocket holsters look perfect for the 42.

PS I have exactly the same Gerber on my key chain. In fact, it's been on my key chain since the early 1980s. I use it constantly, and it holds a sharp edge for a long time, and takes a new razor sharp edge very easily, with a few swipes on a stone.

S&W 642 is the king of pocket carry. The thing most people miss is that the 642 draws MUCH smoother from a pocket holster than any autoloader. The slide of small autos tends to snag when drawing from a pocket, especially in jeans. The 642, on the other hand, draws like butter from a pocket.

I have both choices here. Haven't carried the Kahr for years. Prefer the 642 for its smooth draw and reliability.

Any J frame S&W. Hasbeen

I am really satisfied with my Colt Pocket lite 380. I can slip it in my pocket and forget it is there. I also don't have to adjust it for sitting in my vehicles. Also, I have no use for a pocket holster.

I feel that any semi auto I have is going to be a hammer gun, and the Colt design is still my favorite.

I do like the J-Frame Smiths also.


Ken

Sig 938

If you're just sticking the Pocket Lite in a pocket, I hope that it's hammer down on an empty chamber rather than cocked and locked. Those thumb safeties can be easily swept off by inadvertent contact.

I pocket carry a Beretta Nano, but if I had other Glock pistols I would go with the Glock 43 for pocket carry.

Yep, they offer "no-lock" versions of all their J-Frames featuring internal hammers, which models cannot be manually cocked. The inability to manually cock them makes them inherently "safe" sufficient to convince their lawyers that it will shield them from lawsuits.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and advice. Someday I will have all three for sure. My old man had a ppk/s and it never failed us at the range with any ammo.

I like the idea of the colt pocket lite and sig p238, I have an M45a1 so know the manual of arms fine. But dont think I could carry those little guns cocked and locked in a pocket.

I think I'm going to try and shoot both the kahr and glock 42 whenever I am able, when ranges open back up. I've shot the 642 and did pretty well with it.
Just want to be able to carry something and not know it's there because of the clunkiness and weight.

Your ranges are closed for COVID? Mine stayed open. They just put on their website that, during the outbreak, all members should maintain social distancing while at the range. It's an outdoor club, so that's not difficult. If you see someone, you just wave, say hello, and mind your own business. Only once did someone insist on coming right over to me for a conversation while I was shooting, as if he didn't know anything about what was going on, but I kept stepping backwards, keeping six feet between us, and he eventually got the hint.

S&W J frame and it derivatives, wife has one. Mine is a Sig 238.

I've got a Sig P238. Cool little mini 1911. Rarely if ever gets carried, though. Sometime, just for fun.

Back in the 1980s, though, I frequently carried the gun that started the whole mini 1911 (in .380 ACP) trend, i.e., the Colt Government .380. I wish I never sold that gun. I carried it often in my back pocket in condition 3.

Ruger LCP 380 for the win. The old model. Not the LCP II.

^^^This^^^

Every PPK/S I’ve ever owned was a jammamatic!

Barely reliable with hardball.

Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result...

Unless it was an S&W version---

Try:


Feed ramp maintenance and adjustment.

Proper slide maintenance.

Stop using ball.

Have a gunsmith correct your failures. The weapon is one of the most simple designs ever made.