What best gun to carry

What best to carry every day?

1 Like

One that is comfortable and works for your budget, physical restrictions, recoil tolerance, and carry position. I like my FNS9C, Glock 29, and Taurus 605, so I think they’re the best, which is why I got them. A 1911 fan, a SIG fan, and a Beretta fan are sure to disagree. :smiley:

6 Likes

The one you can handle best and is most comfortable to carry. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. If it’s possible, I would find a range that has guns you can rent and fire a bunch if them so you know how they feel and handle. There are also “Try Before you Buy” courses that are available you may like. I took one where they had 15 of the most popular carry guns that we all fired, five rounds each. In the end they gave us each a full box of ammo and we could pick whatever gun or guns we wanted to shoot from the 15, and fire them again using our box of ammo. I ended up buying a gun that wasn’t even in the 15, but it also helped me eliminate about three that I was considering.

7 Likes

A 22 in your pocket is better than a 10mm at home

Find something that you WILL carry and can shoot with confidence

9 Likes

Very true, @Sheepdog556!

2 Likes

All good info I did that for a friend. I told him what I thought. I said I get bucnh of info. And yall came out and let him know what I was saying is right.
Thanks everyone

3 Likes

The one that
YOU will carry everywhere you can, and YOU will train with, in a caliber YOU can accurately put rounds in target. Me myself, I’m fond of my M&P 45c.

5 Likes

When I received my California CCW permit some years ago, I had already begun the process of choosing the “right gun” for me. My criteria was; safety, comfort, concealability, capacity and caliber.

I didn’t like the idea of carrying cocked and locked from a safety standpoint and my 1911 seemed pretty hefty to lug around all day comfortably. My XD 40 was much lighter, higher capacity but, it’s width made it less concealable and bulky to carry IWB. I also didn’t like the idea of striker fire or SA in an adrenaline filled confrontation when an accidental discharge might occur.

In my reasoning, a DA only or DA/SA were the safest platforms for me as an untrained civilian. The long DA trigger pull makes an accidental discharge nearly impossible. You have to mean to pull the trigger. Safety first. I settled on the Ruger LC9 as my EDC weapon. I carry it 95% of the time compared to my others. It’s safe, lightweight(comfortable), very concealable, when carried with the 9 round extended mag, plus 1 chambered, it has decent capacity and 9mm is a proven defensive round with a ton of ammo choices.

My 3 carry guns are the LC9, Sig Sauer SP2022 and Ruger LCR snub nose(it’s my Sunday go to meeting pocket gun) all in 9mm. My criteria might not be yours. I just wanted to share my thought process in choosing my carry guns.

2 Likes

Between any Gun and Owner there is a relationship almost if not more than a marriage bond.

  1. Must fit your hand perfectly
  2. Must not fail you when you need it
  3. Try Stricker and/or Hammer style to find out which style you are comfortable with.
  4. Gun with Safety are usually safer and has less accidets.
2 Likes

Yes! A DAO or DA/SA is the safest and best way to go, I believe, followed by striker fire. The RSO in charge of my gun club refuses to carry a 1911 for the reasonings you listed, and I agree with him. Don’t get me wrong, I like and own 1911s, but I don’t think they give me what I am looking for.

Glad to see I’m not the only other person who has a “Sunday best” revolver. Lol.

3 Likes

I love shooting my 1911! It has a place of honor in the living room closet as a prime go to weapon, just in case.

2 Likes

Well James for me, it does not make any different. Honestly, I can switch back and forth between Beretta 92FS (DA/SA) and Smith Wesson (Stricker) and still be accurate.
It is just a matter of foucus and proper training.

1 Like

Oh, I can maintain accuracy doing that as well, in fact I mainly carry a striker fire gun. I was more or less commenting about statistics with safety. Statistically there will be less NDs with a DAO gun everytime.

3 Likes

The Glocks 27 (.40) and the 32 (.357 Sig) Gen 4. You get a bigger bang for the dollar and MORE POWER.
Very easy for EDC and the holster are plentiful. Cleaning is easy, 34 parts, and dependable too. The
27 and 32 has the ability to have mag upgrades.

William Smith

1 Like

I just bought a Smith and Wesson M&P .380 Shield EZ for my sister, and liked it so well I bought one for myself. I normally carry a .45 for my EDC, either my Glock 30 or RIA M1911, but this little .380 is so easy to load, shoot, rack, and hit the target, I’m thinking it makes a great backup EDC that I can stick in my pocket, wear on my ankle, or stick in the small of my back. My range buddy, who likes a big grip for his formidable hands, also fell in love with the Shield EZ and is threatening to buy one for himself for EDC. They are relatively inexpensive, give or take $350, and are fantastic little guns! They are also perfect if you have trouble with weak or injured hands, as they were designed to slide easily, load rounds in the magazines easily, and field strip easily. Perfect for me with my arthritic thumbs! I love my 1911 and will never part with it, but I’m gonna carry this .380 as a backup in all my travels! I can see how it might become an addiction for me!!!

4 Likes

I’d certainly question your number four and don’t believe there’s any statistical data to back it up, at least none that I’ve ever been able to find. One thing that’s undeniable is that we see in shooting videos regularly that under pressure it’s pretty common for someone to fail to remember to disengage a mechanical safety or to “miss it” when attempting to do so and such a delay can easily cost you your life.

Just like with revolvers a double action Semi Auto is very safe.

Some I think are certainly safer than others for sure, I prefer an additional safety feature to the trigger such as the backstrap safety on the XDM’s.

Personally I think one should carry the handgun that best fits your hand, that you shoot the best, and that is the most reliable you can find.

I also highly advise people who can afford it to have one for practice identical to the one you’re going to carry every day or two to swap out for both.

Any mechanical device operated often enough and long enough will eventually fail so I don’t think it’s necessarily wise to practice regularly with the same gun you’ll carry but to have one identical to it for the purpose of practicing.

To play off of another post above, the .22 magnum is perhaps the most underrated handgun caliber available for self defense. Loaded with a 70gr soft point or JHP it’s penetrating characteristics are extremely impressive yet it still has minimal worries about over penetration.

Lastly while you always want to “bring enough gun to the fight”, you certainly don’t want to bring too much gun to the fight. If you can’t shoot it very well and have no problem managing the recoil leave it at home.

The bad guy isn’t going to know whether you shot him with the .22wm or a .460 S&W if you put the rounds where they need to be to stop the threat.

It all boils down to three very simple things.

Competence, Confidence, and Reliability.

2 Likes

To answer the op’s question directly, I carry Springfield XD’s and XDM’s primarily. I have each of them paired from the subcompacts through the 5.25" comp’s and I own each of them in .40 S&W and .45acp.

Which I’m carrying or in what combination depends on what I’m doing from day to day.

2 Likes

I have 2 Glock 17s but I carry Ruger LCRs snub-noses because they are easy to conceal. Plus you can shoot concealed hammer LCRs right through your pocket or purse repeatedly in very close combat. ALWAYS CARRY! SHTF when you least expect it.

2 Likes

What’s best? That’s like asking “what car is best😏”. As stated, the “best” is the one YOU can shoot well, is reliable, and is ALWAYS with you. Anything less is not suitable for EDC.

5 Likes

I settled on my Ruger LC9s w/tritium sights & a grip sleeve. Reliable, comfortable inside the waistband & a FOB paddle holster that sits above the belt with untucked shirt. Also a pocket holster for shorts & quick errands. Hornady critical defense 115gr

1 Like