which gun is best for concealed carry?

I am going to take the concealed carry class this coming Saturday and I will be in the market for a good concealed carry gun. I am in a very rural and safe area and for the most part I am getting my license in order to take my guns to the range for practice. But when I visit more populated areas of that state I would like to have a pistol with me. I plan to buy a M & P .40 for target shooting and home protection. Is the full size model of this gun too big to carry? I have considered the compact model but I like the capacity of the full size gun. Should I buy two guns, the M & P to take to the range and a small "pocket" gun for those out of town trips? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

I've got a M&P 9 and 9c. What I like about that is my fullsize has a 17+1 capacity while my 9c has a 12+1. However, I CC my 9c and carry a spare mag so I bring the 17 round mag from my fullsize but I put the $12 X-Grip on it. That means I've got 30 rounds available.

I CC my 9c but I've also got a S&W J frame plus a Kahr CW9 that I CC too. I wear them all based on my activity, clothing, weather, mood, etc... Options are always good. My M&P 9 FS stays home with a Streamlight TLR-1 light on it (my Mossy 590A1 is my HD gun).

Good luck!!

You have asked a "trick" question; one that there cannot possibly be a single correct answer to. The truth is, there is no "one-size-fits-all" or "best" CCW gun out there. I think the fact that there are hundreds of different handgun models available from dozens of different manufactures is proof enough of that.

I have a fairly standard set of questions I ask people when they ask me to help them select a gun. Those questions are:

1) Keeping in mind that this is a self-defense gun, what do YOU expect the gun to do? How will this gun fit in with YOUR lifestyle, YOUR style of dress, and YOUR activity level?

2) Being as honest with yourself as you can possibly be, how much time will you realistically spend training with this gun and under what circumstances?

3) Now with all of that in mind, what do you think the true role of this gun is going to be and under what circumstances can you expect to have to be able to deploy it efficiently, effectively, and decisively?

The requirements I have for my carry gun might be a bit different than the requirements you may have, and it doesn't really do you any good for me to make a specific recommendation based on MY requirements. I would be happy to offer general recommendations, and even specific ones, as well as give you whatever guidance I can as you evaluate the questions I asked above.

As for me, a few of my requirements for my EDC:

A) The size/design of the gun MUST lend itself to ME being able to fight with it! That means I must be able to utilize it efficiently even with highly degraded motor skills, under severe stress, and with EITHER hand. It must NOT have any "on/off" (safety) switches that have to be activated in order to make the gun work, even a passive safety such as a grip safety. Also, the gun must be big enough that I can really get my big hands on it so as to fully utilize all of the strength in my grip so I can better retain the weapon.

B) It must be of an adequate defensive caliber. In my mind, I would feel plenty comfortable with 9mm, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, or .45ACP in an auto-loader, or in a revolver, .38 SPL +P, .357 Mag., .44 SPL, or .45LC. The .380, IMO, is barely inadequate, and except for very specific and limited circumstances, I would never carry one for anything more than a backup, and then, I would probably carry it loaded with FMJ ammo.

C) The gun needs to be "de-horned" so as not to catch or snag on clothing or it's holster as I draw it from it's holster. There are a number of "fighting" handguns on the market that come this way straight from the factory.

D) It must be absolutely reliable. 100% is ideal (hard to get that with any of the micro guns), and 99.9% is acceptable. Yes, any gun can malfunction at any time. Still, it's best to stay away from designs that are notorious for problems.

Once you make some honest evaluations regarding the questions above, you will have a lot easier time narrowing down your options I suspect. You may just find that you've already got the ideal gun for you in mind, or you might decide that something else would be more suitable for your needs.

No, there is no one true carry gun. Different guns will work for different people. The two that I carry more than the others are a Glock 19 and a S&W 642.

I would look real hard at a 642 or a 442. I always turned my nose up at them until very recently I saw that they may be perfect for a CCW.

The best for concealed carry is the one that you can shoot accurately, is reliable, and something your willing to carry each and every day.

I saw a guy on swamp people end a gator's life with one of those NAA mini-revolvers last week, but when the gator shoots back I'd rather have something else. It all comes down to confidence. Which gun you are confident with in your shooting abilities, and which gun you are confident will fire any time you pull the trigger.

Thank you all for the excellent feedback! I am new, as you can tell, to CC. I only recently renewed a love for shooting that I had as a young man! Now I can't get enough and that means transporting my gun, soon guns, to the range for practice. I think I'll stay away from the "pocket guns", I like the advice about reliablity and ammo size. Again, thank you one and all for the help. I will report in on what I buy and how I choose to carry!
I have had a good look at the 442 and 642. Those seem like a perfect CC, size, .38 spec, and nothing to go wrong. Again, thanks for the advice! I think I'll get one of these for my carry gun and the M&P for the gun to keep at home with the "old" security six that I have had for years.

You will find that many of us have more than one carry gun. Depending on how I dress usually, not always, but usually determines which gun I carry. But I normally carry two anyway.

Shoot some guns if you can rent them and see what works for you. Consider how and where you will carry it.

The 642/442 or other similar snubbies do require practice and patience. But they are not hard to master at bad breath range.

Ed Lovette's "The Snubby Revolver" is a great book.

For the most part I like revolvers .. I carry a mod 28 3"... a 66 2 1/2 "
a mod 60 2 " and I also carry a CS45 a lot more than I thought I would.
A lot of it depends on the time of the year and where I'm going.
The revovlers imho look more intimidating than a lot of autos. I always get a few ... " exclamations " when I show someone my mod 28.
I think a lot of it is personal preference .. like most other things.

The M&P FS guns are big. Still, they can be carried successfully with long oversized t-shirts and polos in an OWB. I do it on occasion. Mostly, I just leave the FS to duty use and carry the M&P40c off duty with a FS mag (Arredondo'd) for a spare. Good luck in your pursuit.

Which gun is best for CCW???

The one that you will carry with you without fail.

Rule 303

Rule 303 got it right. Is the 642 the ideal concealed carry gun? Not really. But it's one that many, many people will actually carry every day, day in and day out.

Photoman44 said:

Rule 303 got it right. Is the 642 the ideal concealed carry gun? Not really. But it's one that many, many people will actually carry every day, day in and day out.

Click to expand...

+1

My 442 is on my hip every day, the wife's 642 at her appendix.

russp1 said:

+1

My 442 is on my hip every day, the wife's 642 at her appendix.

Click to expand...

+2 Easy to conceal. Light enough to carry everyday.

Of course . . . a trusty J frame IS the best concealed carry handgun!!!

I bet my life on it!

I like my 3913 LS and my Colt Magnum Carry.

tom turner said:

Of course . . . a trusty J frame IS the best concealed carry handgun!!!

I bet my life on it!

Click to expand...

+1............................

Thanks to many threads like this one, I decided on S&W J frames for CCW. Whether the question was "what is the best CCW gun" or "what CCW gun do you carry most", the discussion would first turn to big calibers or high dollar semi automatics. But sooner or later, most of the answers became the J frame, chosen for its ease of carry and reliability.

russp1 said:

Thanks to many threads like this one, I decided on S&W J frames for CCW. Whether the question was "what is the best CCW gun" or "what CCW gun do you carry most", the discussion would first turn to big calibers or high dollar semi automatics. But sooner or later, most of the answers became the J frame, chosen for its ease of carry and reliability.

Click to expand...

It's a good place to start. I like to back up my 642 with a Glock 19 sometimes.