which one to carry?

[shtr1]

I would like to get a carry,the choices are many.So I would like to get some good advice from people with experience on ccw.Which ones have you found to be most comfortable, reliable, and least obvious.What caliber do you prefer? While I'm at it which holster gives the smallest profile?

 

[shtr1]

I would like to get a carry,the choices are many.So I would like to get some good advice from people with experience on ccw.Which ones have you found to be most comfortable, reliable, and least obvious.What caliber do you prefer? While I'm at it which holster gives the smallest profile?

 

[photoman]

The baseline for me is a 642 in a Mika pocket holster. By far the easiest to carry and draw fast. The 642 is not the easiest gun to shoot well though.

 

[JnBy]

It's really hard to beat a lightweight hammerless J-frame in .38+P for a carry piece.

Model 442 or 642. Just about the perfect midpoint between power, size, weight, concealability, and convenience. Simple operation. Easy to make safe or make ready. Lots of grip choices and lots of holster choices available right off the shelf.

Just do it. Eventually, you WILL find yourself buying one anyway, so you might as well just get it over with early. It'll wind up being the one you never trade or sell.

 

[LuddhaBuddha]

This is a pic of my 1911Sc that I carry every day, with a good holster it is quite comfortable and conceals really well. I can shoot it as well as any gun I have ever shot, and I don't have to worry about not having enough gun.

 

[safearm]

+1 for a 442/642 in a pocket holster.

 

[xrmattaz]

325PD in .45 ACP/Comptac CTAC or VM2.



Or, the 642/Mika....I like both.

 

[cmort666]

I carry everything from a 2" Model 36 to a full sized Norinco M1911. I carry everything in Don Hume 715M inside the waistband (IWB) holsters except for the Model 36, which I carry in a Desantis Nemesis pocket holster.

You need to THOROUGHLY test your firearm for reliability and accuracy, and especially reliability with your chosen ammunition.

Either use friends' guns or rent them to see what you like. Playing musical holsters is expensive enough. Musical guns is ridiculous.

 

[38-44HD45]

Today, this:

Aegis Ultra, converted to 9x23

Other days, one of these:

Nighthawk Talon II Bobtail, 9x23

Colt Delta Elite

 

[Bobwtn]

Luddabudda, I just wanted to say, your 1911 is one fine looking pistol.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Try to find a rental range and rent a Glock 19. If you like it, and don't have problems using it, you've solved a good part of your problem. If you want something smaller, then get either the Glock 26 or a J frame .38.

If money is an issue, then a Bersa .380 is probably your best bet.

 

[LuddhaBuddha]

Originally posted by Bobwtn:
Luddabudda, I just wanted to say, your 1911 is one fine looking pistol.

Thanks

I'm not quite done with it yet but it's gettin there.

 

[Ogandydancer]

My main carry is a Sig P229R in a tucker HF2 but, I also carry a Sig P6 mexican style and sometimes a S&W 5903TSW mexican style. I have also been known to occasionaly carry my Beretta 92 in a DeSantis three slot or mexican style. It's really what you feel comfortable with and what your particular dress for that day demands.

 

[mnhntr]

any of the j frame 357's are the easiest to carry with the best amount of power to size ratio IMO. however i just cant give up the 686

 

[rsnyder]

Doesn't matter what everyone else is carrying. Carry what you are comfortable with, and what you can shoot efectively. Everyone is different, some don't mind recoil while others are more sensative to it. Bottom line is know your carry gun and how to use it. Just my IIC

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

There are a lot of good posts here. I'll add an observation or two from my experience.

EVERYTHING depends on how you dress. If you have a jacket or untucked shirt or something covering your belt, you can carry a 1911 in a Milt Sparks Summer Special or some other holster. I have done this for twelve hours a day or more, many times, and it remains one rig that I can go out with and not worry that it might become uncomfortable. With the right holster, and depending on your body shape, there are probably many other guns, including revolvers, that are just as comfortable. Keep in mind that with IWB, you will probably have to have larger pants, although you may get away with your present ones if you stick with a 1911. If your outerwear permits (by concealing properly), you may find a good OWB holster-belt combination more comfortable. However, if you wear fairly close-fitting jeans, you may find that IWB carry actually supports the weight of the gun BETTER than a mediocre OWB holster and belt combo, and probably gives less of a lever arm for the weight of the gun to act over, regardless.

An auto should be used for a while to determine reliability before it is carried. It's nice to practice with a revolver, too, and to know where it shoots, but it doesn't take as long to find out whether it will actually work.

You will probably end up with an aluminum J-frame revolver, particularly if you can't dress properly to conceal a full-sized gun. They can usually be carried in the pocket. Even if you carry a full-sized gun, you should probably have a light J as a backup, as a weak-side gun, or as a gun that can be drawn when seated, especially when belted into a car seat. Depending on how you dress, you may find that it takes three guns rather than two to fill all those requirements if, in fact, you regard them as requirements. Keeping in mind that you will never be able to prepare for all the remotest possibilities, you will have to make up your own mind what is a reasonable price to pay for protection against unlikely (or, perhaps, likely) threats.

Hope that this is of some help. It really just touches the surface.

 

[Ernest SanSouci]

I carry a 642 in the summer & a 640 in the winter.Both guns are in my DeSantis pocket holster.I also have a Kramer holster but I find it a little heavy with the 640 & has a tendency to pulling my Jeans down.

 

[shtr1]

I want to thank you all for your responses.I wanted a wide range of opinions and different experiences and got it. I now have a good idea of the different sizes of handguns that can be concealed with confidence. Which was one of my main concerns.Warmer times of the year will be the biggest challenge obviously.Thanks again!

 

[flop-shank]

Remember, most people can dress around and carry as much gun as they want. If I can carry a 5" full underlug N frame in the summer, most anyone can pack a midsize 9mm. I'm not a very big guy.