Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Concealed Carry

This board sure doesn't get much action so I have a question since 38 states have passed shall carry laws.
What is your idea of the perfect concealed carry handgun??
LEOs have been carrying for years so there should be some input from them for the guys just getting a license.

I have carried since 1951, started with a "J" frame S&W 38 Special, (Chiefs), and many others since. We realize at bad times we carry more, (read larger, heavier), than at normal times. Just for a day in and day out "piece", what would you carry, summer and winter?? -- no

I have a kel-tec 380 'pocket pistol' I like it because I can just drop it in my pocket. I got a pocket holster for it that keeps it in place and keeps lint and stuff out of the action. tom

I answered this one a couple weeks ago so I just copied the old post to this one. lazy I know but I just got off work this morning and I'm beat.

I guess I'll throw my 2 cents in. I carry both on duty and off. My standard carry guns are in the winter my Glock 22 and in the summer the GLock 23 is a little smaller to conceal behind a vest. Do I care if someone knows I carry, not really. If I want to be more concealed in warm weather I use a standard run of the mill fanny pack. Not one of the gun packs, they're huge. I use a green nylon tapered pack with my badge wallet in front to hide the print of the gun and the gun sits in the rear pouch upside down with chamber empty. The zipper has a long toggle and I practice drawing from this at the range. It is truly quite fast. The grip is positioned so that I can get my standard grip my free hand lets go of the zipper racks the slide as it comes up and I take my two handed grip and take my shots. There are times however where these options are not available in that case I carry either a Colt 1903 in 32 or a Colt 1908 in 25 as a last resort in my pocket. The 32 is stoked with the Winchester Silvertips or Golden Sabers and the 25 shoots the Federal Hydroshocks. These are close quarters Ah [bleep] weapons. For the most part these are carried when the wife wants me to go low key like fancy restaurant or family reunions It is better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. The mindset is the most important and the first thing to ask before even carrying a gun is "Can I kill someone" I ask this of my officers and I ask that of myself. It is a dirty question that has to be asked and answered truthfully or as stated above already you are more of a liability to yourself and those around you. My 2 cents turned into about 20 so I better sign off. Ryan

I have carried a variety over the years, mainly a 2 or 3 inch Colt Cobra, a 1903 Colt .32 hammerless auto. Of late I have taken to a Kel-Tec P-32 and a P-11 9MM. All share two things, small & lite. Caliber is a minor consideration as long as you can HIT with it.

642 S&W .... good in the pocket or holster.

Terry, might have known you and I travel the same road. After carrying many different pieces over the years I have came down to the cheap, lowly, Kel Tec P32, kicked around, stepped on by everyone BUT, very light, dependable, small, accurate for it's range, and loaded with high performance ammo, (read $2 a round), it performs my needs. Add the factory clip to the back and it dissapears inside the waistband of any pants. When I add up all the pluses against the minuses it comes out on top and at just over $200. --- Run two or three boxes of ammo through them to get familuar and check dependability and if you loose it, no problem. No rust on mine even in summertime Texas.
Like most everyone else I have many handguns but choose this for everyday carry. "Special" conditions I switch to a Colt Defender 45 ACP that outshoots any Gold Cup I have owned. -- no <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I've always carried a Glock 17 or 22, in a strong-side hip holster (Galco Avenger). Someday a smaller lighter pistol like a Kahr P9, or Kel-Tec P11 will be in the inventory.

There's no such thing as "perfect" IMO. The key is minimizing the flaws.

Handguns suck as manstoppers and the smaller, lighter, and more concealable a handgun gets the suckier it becomes.

My concealed handgun has to fit in a "box" of a certain size and a certain weight. If it doesn't fit the box, the odds are good I won't be armed when my gunfight arrives...

There are two cartridges of suitable power 'useable' for the handguns that fit my box: the .38 Special and the 9mm Luger. Smaller cartridges don't inspire faith, and larger cartridges are too hard to fire with speed and control.

As such, my imperfect choices for concealed carry are a S&W M37 Airweight and a Kahr K9.

On those occasions where the odds of my gunfight arriving seem to rise up a bit, I might choose a handgun that stretches the box a bit, or at least the barrel hangs over the edge. Let's say I have to pick up a broken down car in the "bad part of town" - a Commander-sized 1911 would probably make the trip with me.

JOG, I think anyone who has ever carried any length of time has carried the "J" frame S&Ws and with good reason. I have two 640s now in 38 and 357 but in stainless steel they are heavy for size. I like the airweights and the new lighter versions BUT -- no

Yeppers N O, some things born of experiance are good. My 3" Cobra is shrouded and served me well for my entire Peace Officer career as BUG and off duty. But by jingo a nice tiny little pistol like the P-32 is just plain HANDY, that means that now that I am not required to have an offensive as opposed to a defensive handgun little and lite get the nod. Like you say, with the clip it just flat goes away in the waist band.

Now if I am concerned that the SMHTF seriously I'll be packing my Commander .38 Super you can bet your booties! But day to day where I go the P-32 or P-11 are just right, and meet my requirements, I can hit what I am shooting at. And contrary to the belief of some, I have yet to find a volunteer to let me shoot them with even a TINY .32! I feed mine WW Silvertips BTW, and the 9 gets Speer Gold Dots. The .38 Super still likes the WW Silvertips as well.

no

I have carried since the early 60's. Most of that time I've carried the J-Frame of the era - mostly Model 60's. Nowadays I carry a 642 or Kel-Tec 32 80% of the time. When attire allows I have been known to carry an H&K USP Compact .45 ACP in a Fobus Holster (or something similar.)

T LEE

IMHO you are dead (pun intended) on re caliber. Besides the first rule of a gun fight is to have a gun. I carry my J-Frame and/or Kel-Tec 32 at times and to places where my attire would preclude anything larger.

I thought I had the best concealed carry gun, a Scandium framed S&W J frame 357 with laser grips......until I shot it! I hunt with a 500 but this 12 oz 357 got the better of me. I can beat recoil but not pure pain! I may work up a load and see what I can handle and evaluate if I believe it to be adequate. Full house 357's are not an option, though.

Now my model 60 works just fine. I also like a bobbed 45 like the Kimber Covert that I carry sometimes too.

Some one said they didn't care if the gun was spotted by the public under a vest if a bit large. I'm sure they know their own state laws but that doesn't fly in Iowa. They call that brandishing here even if it is inadvertant. Maybe the instructor was trying to go for some shock appeal to deter the bozo's who would flaunt carrying a bit. They were very staunch about that tho, here....concealed means totally concealed.

I tried the 342PD when it first came out in '99, even that little 38 w/+P's got my attention and a sale for the pistol. I refuse to shoot something that feels like I am slapping my hand with a Denver sap!

I'm with TE Lee...my daily carry gun for the last 24 years has been a 1952 Colt Commander in .38 Super. It is currently loaded with CorBon PowR-Ball ammo. About the only time it is not carried is when I am jogging and then a Keltec .32 with CorBon ammo is put in a pocket or clipped to the shorts.

Police and Concealed carry..... Having been in LE for over 25 years and a CC Instructor for 15 years I can advise you that the last person you want to take gun advise from is a police officer. 95+% know less about shooting and handguns than 99% of the people on this board. Depending on the community 95%+ do not carry a gun off duty on a regular basis. 25+% fail their qualifcation on a regular basis.

Bob

T LEE, Did you change out the grips on your S&W342, from those little two finger grips that come with it. I carry one as a BU in a vest holster strapped in my body armor. I've had mine since about 97/98 old style, not PD type. Those itty-bitty grips were gone the first day and full three finger combat grip was installed. The grips make a big difference and don't take away from the concealment factor.

RJM - "Having been in LE for over 25 years and a CC Instructor for 15 years I can advise you that the last person you want to take gun advise from is a police officer. 95+% know less about shooting and handguns than 99% of the people on this board. Depending on the community 95%+ do not carry a gun off duty on a regular basis. 25+% fail their qualifcation on a regular basis."
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I'll second that motion. I've seen patrol cops fail to qualify with their service pistols and then completely unconcerned, laugh about it. Talk about living in denial! And most cops today, know almost nothing about firearms, other than the one they carry on their hip and the issue shotgun.

Of course, there are some cops who are very well informed about firearms... but most aren't, and they don't care, either.

I've known cops who did not carry off duty. I was slightly acquainted with a cop a few years ago, who had his service pistol with him while off duty, but had it locked in his trunk. He also was carrying his flat badge and I.D. in his wallet, in his jeans.

He and his girl friend, also an off duty cop (and unarmed), were in a store when a bad guy came in to rob it. The bad guy took the male cop's wallet, saw he was a cop, and shot him dead on the spot. Bad guys don't like witnesses, especially when they are cops.

As for my carry, my old bug S&W 60 is in a pocket holster in my right pocket and it goes everywhere with me. Also, most of the time, I'll have my Colt's Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP under a jacket or whatever covers it.

FWIW. L.W.

I'm currently packing a Kimber Tactical .45 (aluminum frame)
With a Wilson 8 round mag. and one up the spout. It rides in a DeSantis IWB holster and I feel very "secure" with this combo. Over the years I've pack many different guns, starting with the J frame Smith.
Actually concealed carry has opened a whole new avenue of gun collecting for me.
A S&W 3" 696-44 special is another "favorite", and a 3" S&W Ti.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Virgil B.

RJM, I am not trying to start anything, but don't make open statements regarding LE and firearms. I don't know how it is in the "snow belt" but most cops in the SE shoot and shoot alot, and most are armed at all times, on and off duty.

I've not seen many qualifaction failures, due to most agencies that i'm familiar with, can them if they can't qualify, no matter what their sex or race is. If you check you'll see that most of the more proficient LE handgun teams that shoot competitively are from the SE, such as the Mississippi Highway Patrol, who have been natl. champions, to name a few.

That is interesting RJM, my Commander was also born in '52.

These little fellers are quite handy though.