Let’s talk about concealed carry handguns. What we have now as a primary EDC. What do we like or dislike about it? Why did we choose it in the first place?
Then, which one would we like to buy next and why?
I carry the base model Sig P365. I picked it due to it’s concealability and round capacity. My research indicated that is was reliable, accurate for it’s size, had higher capacity magazines that only slightly impacted concealability, and my fondness for Sig.
It has not disappointed me in any way. It is easy to shoot and control. For a 3.1" barrel, it is quite accurate. After around one thousand or so rounds, it has never had a stoppage. The only modification I made was to put on a Hogue grip sleeve. This mostly due to my aging hands. I absolutely love this pistol.
The next one will probably be a Sig P365 X or an X Macro. All of the same benefits with only a modest increase in size, especially for the X model.
I often wonder if I should explore other brands. The Smith and Wesson brand has served me very well with long guns. My Army buddy has let me fire his M&P 2.0s in .40 and .45. They are super easy to shoot and control. The grip texture and triggers are pretty nice.
G43 due to easy carry and I shoot it way better than I should be able to.
G19 carries pretty well, shoot as accurate as my 1911.
G26 clone (P80 sc) carries 10 rounds, shoot it better than I should.
Got 9 others, think I’m done, smile when a new gun gets hyped… it’d be easier to talk politics lol (fjb)…the above are my main carries.
Thank you sir. All very solid and reliable choices with tons of aftermarket support. I wanted very badly to be a Glock owner. Sadly, they never felt very good in my small hands. Maybe I should handle some of the newer models and see how they feel?
The 48 you may find fitting as it’s a single stack (as is the 42/43)iirc. Believe it’s a 10 round gun. Agree that most of the double stacks feel like holding a plastic 2x4…but adapt and…uh, whatever the rest of that expression is.
The 48 caught my eye when it came out, like a 43 and 19 had a kid.
Taurus older mill ,111 g2 just because I’m used to it & have no issues. Purchased a canik elite sc, (really like caniks) put a red dot on it. Still dry firing it trying to get used to it before going to the range.
My true EDC is a little Smith & Wesson 642 revolver. It was the first EDC I bought (about 2 years ago) and I still carry it every day. I had been an almost-lifelong shooter, but never a daily carrier. When I made the choice to be armed all the time I wanted a gun that I could conceal in business dress clothes, would be reliable under the worst of conditions, fit my hand well, and that I could practice with daily (dry fire) and become totally comfortable with. I actually have two of them but one rides with me all the time and the other is basically a back up. I’ve practiced with it so much now it’s totally second nature to do an instant pocket draw and put two shots on target.
When I’m wearing the right clothes to conceal it easily, I’ve recently started carrying a S&W M&P 380EZ that my wife gave me. Its a hammer fired, locked breech 3.8" barrel 380 so its a very soft recoiling gun that I can run really fast. She had bought it for herself, but found it a little too big for her hands, so she gave it to me and I found it to be an great shooter. Being a plastic/stainless gun it’s great to wear when I’m getting very sweaty in the Florida heat workong outside, like today. I’m wearing it right now in an IWB Kydex holster and it got soaked today in the Florida heat/humidity. It’s been 100% reliable after about 800 rounds or so with me.
.32 (1903) and .380 (1906) Basically the same gun except for chambering and magazine. Another thing I like is the grip safety since I’m already “in sync” with carrying a 1911.
If you guys been here long enough you would know I am a Smith & Wesson guy. But the above named manufacturers are also fine guns. I just prefer the Shield Plus PC and the looks of it. It is a fine shooter with a great trigger. The fact that they increased the capacity to 13 rounds made me very happy. You can also run the 15 round Equalizer magazine in it.
Like @Virgil_H my primary carry is an original P365. Though I changed the front sight on mine. I also sometimes just slip my little Ruger LCP Max into my pocket. I’m pretty happy with both.
I’m interested in trying a Shadow Systems CR920 someday. I have read good things about it in terms of shootability and accuracy. Probably the only shortcoming with my P365 is I’m not yet comfortable shooting much past 35 yards or so with it. That may sound like a long way for self defense situations but I live in very open country here in the Southwest. It is not outside the realm of possibility that I may need to lob some bullets a long way to dissuade a threat. So finding a smaller package that I can shoot as well at longer ranges as my home defense G19 would be nice.
Yes sir, I agree. 25 to 35 is a longer shot for the 3.1 inch barrel to be sure. Regarding 35, I recall that the young man who stopped the mall shooting engaged at a similar or even longer range.
You just never know. I regularly practice at 25 yards with my P365. It is a challenge for me but I keep working on it.
