Which SD handgun works best for you?

[WCCPHD]

Which handgun works best for (me)?

The one I have access to when I need it.

That said I usually carry a SIG P365 and when I can't carry a gun, I have a .32 Seecamp in my back pocket.

 

[Doug M.]

It has to be something you will carry all day, every day. Not on your person, it is probably of no value.

It has to be utterly reliable, and something you shoot well.

Bigger platforms are generally easier to shoot well, but you have to plan to dress around the gun.

Most of my carry choices are medium to full size duty pistols, 9mm or maybe larger. Under some circumstances I might carry a revolver, and most of the time that's a S&W 296 in a fanny pack. That's a specific choice for a specific reason/niche.

 

[biku324]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you you'll die a horrible death unless you carry a Glock 19 and four mags.

I carry whatever strikes my fancy. I had to carry what the bosses said for 33 years, no more of that nonsense. Now my tactical decisions are determined by what I watch on TV. Key Largo - gimme that 1903. Sergeant Preston of the Yukon - that New Service will fit here somewhere. Don't get me started on Magnum Force.

Right now? 2" Model 12. Broderick Crawford, baby.

Carry what you like. You will almost certainly never need it, and if you do almost anything will work.

Sounds like that J frame suits you just fine.

A NM State Policeman walked into a robbery in Datil, NM, in the 1950s. He was disarmed by the robber, who ran out to his car to get away, firing blindly back at the store. The storekeeper threw a bolt-action 20 gauge to our officer, who incapacitated the robber with the 3 rounds of birdshot in the gun (there was a three-shot rule for hunting shotguns then).

 

[dave1918a2]

When I don't carry My 1911 45 ACP I carry a Model 60.

 

[Dvus]

my selection varies with the weather (clothing choices)
warmer weather puts a Kahr PM9, Taurus 738 TCP in 380 or FEG PA-63 in 9x18MAK...

A PA-63! Now there's an under-rated little gun! I've had several and was able to make head shots at 20 yds with them all, back when I was able to see the sights.

 

[Puller]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you you'll die a horrible death unless you carry a Glock 19 and four mags.

My Glock 19 and spare mags will certainly help me prevent dying a horrible death.

Ain't she a beauty!

 

[RetCapt]

I have been carrying a Glock Model 26 since around 2000. It suits my needs perfectly. My wife, who is CCW, liked mine so much she bought one for herself. Now that the Model 43 is out, she would prefer that for the smaller grip frame. But the 43, like countless other semi auto pistols, is not available in CA (which of course makes us all safer) so the point is moot.

I don't care if it's ugly. It's a functional firearm; not my wife. I don't care if it has no soul (the relationship with self defense I have never grasped). I do care that it is reliable. The sound I never want to hear in the jungle is 'click'. For that I most trust the Glock.

 

[Birdhunter6]

I have 2 and have had them about 3 months now. I first put 100 FMJ and 25 JHP through each with no failures, was confident to start carrying them. I now have over 250 mixed rounds through each, still with no failures.

I have not switched out the mag release and have no issues. I do have one though, but I'd have to run test over again so right now, all good.

Carrying 31 rounds in a fairly small package…

Thanks for the response. Yours would have been purchased well after mine. I'll have to give this some thought.

Glad to hear they work for you.

 

[chief38]

I have been a huge fan of the P365 for a few years now. Light, compact, reliable, super accurate and even with the first issue standard magazine it is a 10+1 capacity pistol. I have no desire for larger capacity because it hinders pocket carry - which is great for me. 11 rounds of Federal 124 grain HST should get the job done if even needed (which I hope never happens).

I learned long ago carrying a big cumbersome and heavy Revolver or 1911 style pistol is not for me. Been there / tried that.

Before the P365 I used a Model 60-7 J Frame. Served me well fo many years but it was heavier, bulkier, printed more and held less than half the rounds of the P365. The straw that broke the Camel's back is that the P365 is so so much easier to shoot, has less recoil, can be shot faster with greater accuracy and again, 11 vs 5 without a reload!

 

[18DAI]

I've been carrying S&W 3rd Gen 45s for the last 20 some odd years. I see no reason to change. Accurate and reliable. Durable too. I shoot them regularly.

In partial retirement, the CS45 model is most often the gun on my belt. Great little carry 45. Regards 18DAI

 

[SuperMan]

#1...Colt Commander .38 Super...have carried one daily since 1980

#2...Kahr P380...just did my LEOSO qualification again a coule of months ago and shot the tightes group and highest score with this gun

#3...Glock 19...only upgrade is the TruGlo TFO sights...otherwise box stock.

#4...Kahr PM9...when I need something smaller than the Commander or G19 but can carry something larger than the P380 this just works well... Took a while to really like it but it works.

#5...KelTec P32...when it has to be hidden...there is nothing better.

 

[gwpercle]

After 50 years of trying this , that and whatever the experts claim is "best" at the moment ... I've come full circle ... back to the J-Frame S&W in 38 special .
But I did make one concession ... I Traded my steel square butt model 60 , which I started out with about 1968 , in on a Airweight round butt Model 637 ... Lighter Weight ...Yes !
All that looking for the"best" led me right back around to where I started all those yeas ago !
Gary

 

[sikacz]

J frame all the way.

When I can carry, a J-frame. I have only one at the moment a Model 49. Looking for a stainless 649-3. I find the size conceals well and it's one I will carry easily. I'm not even considering a semi or other revolvers at this point with the exception of another J-frame, a Model 640 at some point.

 

[sikacz]

I find the easiest to carry is my 642 in a soft remora holster. I can slip it into the pocket of my cargo shorts, no worries about safeties with the 10 lb trigger pull. I just bought a Sig 365XL, no safety. Love to shoot it, but wouldn't consider carrying it without a good holster and belt.

Is that 10 lbs without any spring or trigger work?

 

[OLDSTER]

I feel very well defended carrying my Seecamp .32. Disappears in any pocket in a Jackson Leather holster.

 

[haywood]

I've been carrying nothing but a pair of J-Frames for a few years. The past couple months I missed my Glock 26. I decided to blow the dust off of it and carry it with a pocket 442 at times.

 

[Puller]

I have been carrying a Glock Model 26 since around 2000. It suits my needs perfectly. My wife, who is CCW, liked mine so much she bought one for herself. Now that the Model 43 is out, she would prefer that for the smaller grip frame. But the 43, like countless other semi auto pistols, is not available in CA (which of course makes us all safer) so the point is moot.

I don't care if it's ugly. It's a functional firearm; not my wife. I don't care if it has no soul (the relationship with self defense I have never grasped). I do care that it is reliable. The sound I never want to hear in the jungle is 'click'. For that I most trust the Glock.

The whole gun having a soul or not seems like silly talk. It's a way for the anti-polymer people to articulate their nostalgia for older gun designs. Certainly nothing wrong with that, I get it, but it's kinda corny.

 

[sikacz]

By a "soul", for me it's an object I'm drawn to by esthetic or other quality I appreciate. I don't have an affinity for polymer. That doesn't mean another person shouldn't have or recommend one simply for functional qualities it does have. It's all about balance and there's nothing wrong with an appreciation for older methods and materials. Just like there is nothing wrong with wanting polymer over steel. It's a choice. It's a matter of appreciation. For example, polymer guns are generally lighter and that quality is appreciated by the people who usually choose to purchase one. On the opposite of that spectrum are those who see light weight as a negative. One person's plus is not always another person's. We all evaluate our own priorities and what we value purchasing any item, including guns. To me all items have an esthetic and functional component at minimum. Some even have a historical one as anyone on a forum like this surely recognizes. There's another term I'd use "soul", character, a pleasing esthetic. Not everyone's esthetic sense is the same, and that's a plus.

 

[John Patrick]

Next to my bed is a CZ SP01 Phantom with a light. This will change shortly to an FN 509 with a red dot and light, once the smith has swapped in a cleaner, better resetting Apex trigger and I've had sufficient range time with it. Plenty of rounds if required, easy to shoot well, easy to reload, size, weight no issue.

For a quick trip a 638 in a pocket holster is quick and easy.

But a Sig P365 is easy to carry IWB, even tucked, and I'm going to get a pocket holster for mine too. An IWB spare magazine carrier is easy to use off side, or in an off side pocket.

We know handgun rounds aren't always stopping rounds, a 10-14 round primary load allows double taps, or, better, the Mozambique technique to ensure end of threat. And on multiple threats if it comes to that.

Around the hunting club, I'm all revolver. Currently either a 386PD or MountainLite. Light easy to carry, unpleasant to shoot. I'm going to have a SS cylinder fitted to the MountainLite to bring the weight to ~25oz.

 

[Old cop]

I've been carrying a J Frame off duty since my 1968 graduation from the police academy and carried a revolver for the first 20 yrs of my career. My issued thirty-eight saved me more than once on duty and it's where my comfort level lies in retirement.