Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Best .45 for concealed carry?

I'm taking a concealed carry class in Feb and am looking to pick up a .45 for the class.

I'm not looking to spend a pile of cash on a new pistol but want something that's reliable. I can get a new Glock 30 for $489 but not sure that's the best route

Looking for opinions

Kindly depends on what you are generally leaning towards. A plastic gun? There is the Springfield XD, the Taurus and the Smith M&P, all in compact versions. You've also got the SIG. I would personally go with a Colt Commander or one of its clones. I don't think Springfield makes a Commander sized clone. A real Colt gets into the collector's market somewhat, even in the common guns. A quick glance at Gun Broker has most of them upwards of $800. You didn't say what your price range was, but that's getting up there.

Sig 220 Compact or P245

Orrrrrr.....some have toted the HK45 Compact as the finest compact 45 made to date.

I think the most concealable 45 is going to be something like a glock 36. I think Kahr makes one comparable to it also. The only negative IMO about these tiny 45s is ammo capacity at 6+1. The G30 is a fine pistol, might be a little on the fat side for some, but very accurate, reliable, and easy to shoot. A glock 30 slim frame would be my pick if going the glock route. Some put more weight into concealability than shootability, and carry tiny guns, 5 shot 38s ect. These are nice for back up but IMO if I ever NEED a gun and am legally justified to use one, the situation will be real bad, im sure I would want as much gun as I can comfortabliy carry.

I carry a XD compac in a Crossbreed holster. When I got that combo, I stopped looking. It carries 10 rounds in the gun plus 13 in the spare. It is comfortable enough to carry all day. I made a six hour trip to Houston and forgot I was carrying.

This is a bit off topic, so forgive me. Unless you are in a state where your carry permit is tied to a specific gun, why would you want to buy a new gun a couple of weeks before a class? Why not go to the class and see what everyone else is carrying and what the instructors have to say? Going to a class usually involves learning new skills, and doing it with a new gun increases the learning curve. Back on topic, I currently am experimenting with a Smith & Wesson 325 Night Guard revolver.

I pack a Kahr P9 most times. It's my all time favorite carry gun.

The same gun is availble in .45
If I was going to buy a new .45, that's what it would be.

Some times I carry my Kimber 1911 5" Tatical .45
Just depends on "mood" and threat level.

Virgil B.

For concealed carry it's hard to beat a Commander pattern 1911. Alternatively, there's the Kahr P-45. Both are very slim and therefor easy to carry IWB and to keep concealed.

I would buy the Glock 30 Sf or a Glock 36. If you buy a glock you will not have to wonder if the magazines will work, if it will feed hollow points or how many parts you will need to change out..... The Glock will just work.

Dink

There, I fixed for ya.

I carry the exact same rig as Woodstalker, XD Compact in a crossbreed supertuck.

Without knowing your level of experience with carrying, and what thought process caused you to arrive at the main criteria being ".45", I would say a good first step is to figure out the biggest gun you can comfortably conceal, and let that illuminate your choices.

This is also the case with specific brands of 1911, but unlike "The Glock," "The 1911" doesn't refer to a specific brand. It refers to a design pattern only.

Hawkey it does not matter brand. Any 1911 is rolling the dice if it works or not. Buying a glock is a sure bet that it will work.

Dink

If I insisted on a 45 acp for concealed carry I would probably look at a Kahr PM45.
At least it's small enough and light enough to conceal without feeling like you have a small anvil hanging off your side.

That�s what I thought when I bought my Kahr .45, a very nice pistol. But what I noticed was that the slide was a bit too short, and when tucked in my IWB holster, it wouldn�t get far enough under my belt to �lock� into place. Whenever I sat down, the gun and holster would push up on my belt. When I carried my LW Commander, it locked into place and quite honestly, when paired with a world class holster, was just as comfortable to carry as the Kahr .45. Yet my Commander packed 2 more rounds in the magazine, had a longer sighting radius, and my LW Commander proved to be much more reliable than the Kahr .45, (and much more reliable than a friend�s Glock 36, when I was giving consideration to the G36 � Still, the G-36 was more reliable than the Kahr .45, although the more you shot it, the more reliable the Kahr was getting ).

Honestly, for the money a Glock is hard to beat. When I considered a G36 and took one for a test drive, I found it just didn�t compare to my LW Commander in reliability, accuracy, and comfort while carrying. Now keep in mind, I carry exclusively IWB, so someone carrying the G36 in a pancake holster may come to a much different conclusion on the comfort question.

But also consider that my LW Commander (a S&W M1911 PD) is nearly twice the price as the Glock. I don�t know about others, but I experienced FTF issues with the G36 when I test drove it, as did the owner of the pistol. I have since tried another G36 (a gun I REALLY want to like), and experienced the same. I attributed it to �limp wristing� of the pistol because I try to be very relaxed when I shoot, but even when I locked out in a tight isosceles stance still had issues (although less). So while the G36 may be a good or even great gun, it clearly wasn�t the gun for me. I don�t recall ever shooting the G30.

FOR ME, I have found the LW Commander (either Colt�s or S&W) to be the carry .45. It�s slimmer than most any other .45 (as slim as a Kahr .45 or Glock 36), very light weight for a .45 caliber full sized pistols at 27oz, and as made by Colt�s or S&W, an extremely reliable pistol.

I have sworn off sub-compact pistols for carry unless they fit into my pocket. If a gun has to be carried in a holster, then you might as well carry a full sized pistol because it takes just as much to conceal a sub-compact as it does to conceal a full sized pistol (especially if we�re talking IWB holsers), and often you�ll find that a full sized pistol can carry better provided it�s not too heavy.

And when it all goes bad, you�ll handle and shoot a full sized pistol much better; so with all that in mind, the LW Commander just makes a whole lot of sense to me.

I really like the �compact� Glocks such as the G19 & 23. That size is very light weight, has proven to be very reliable, yet still close enough to a full sized gun that most can shoot them very well. While I�m not a big fan of the .45 GAP (because I find it the answer to a question never asked), it is a good and capable cartridge, and Glock makes a �compact� pistol in .45 GAP in the model 38.

The Glocks are great pistols for what you pay, and if money is tight, the Glock is a solid choice. But if you can afford a Colt�s or S&W LW Commander, I think you�ll find them about perfect; I did. My motto has always been �Give me a LW Commander and a Smith J frame and I�m good to go�

What a crock of chit.

I second the motion!! Dink you and Jeff O must be room mates to make a meat stick remark like that about a weapon you apparently know nothin about....FYI

I sold guns for three years after getting out of the AF and next to Mod 29 Smiths the Commander was second overall..we couldn't keep em in stock..NEVER had issues or any returned,they carry nice in leather and never cared what they were fed..