Conceal carry weapon
 

I am going to get several pistols upon my return from afghanistan.

I am going to get the M&P9 range/carry kit and a XDM40. I am looking at getting a conceal carry weapon as a daily carry. I have talked to people who carry full size pistols, but most of them wear jeans even during the summer. I am an island guy, so I enjoy wearing flipflops/slippers and shorts. I was looking at getting the SW Bodyguard 380 since it is perfect as a pocket pistol.

I have read that finding ammo for the 380 is difficult and expensive. I have always wanted a G27 or a G26. Plus, I figured that I should get a 9mm or a 40SW CCW since i'll have a full size 9mm and 40SW.

Since I am in the military, I do not need to take the CCW course, but will take it when my wife is ready to take one.

What do you guys suggest? What do you carry?

:tiphat:

Take a look at the Kahr lineup. They are super slim single stacks. The CW and CM line are the "budget" versions of the P and PM. You can get them in 9 through 45.

A CW or PM would make for a perfect island carry type gun IMO. Very compact, very slim, very easy to conceal.

I carry a Glock 26. It's not too hard to conceal but one of those Kahrs would definitely be a lot easier. I think I am going to get a CM9 at some point.

I carry a 4in Kimber 1911 .45 acp.

I have no issues hiding it

it's not too heavy.

What ever you choose don't go any smaller than 9mm.

Seems like a lot of people are using single stacks for EDC.

I am definitely leaning towards something not lower than a 9mm. Although, my choices are a 9mm or a 40SW.

I have never heard of kimber or kahr.

I always hear the typical glock, SW, springfield...etc for everyday shooters.

I definitely need to do some research. thanks guy

They are both nice brands. Kahrs aren't cheap and are built to very tight tolerances so you need to be able to put several hundred rounds through one before you actually start carrying it.

wow.. you don't need to take the course?... you might wanna double check man.. Im Mil and still need to take the course... if you don't you are lucky!


as far as carry... the P30, or the SS P229

In VA if you are military you don't need to take a class.

yup...I didn't believe it until I saw it online.

U.S. Military Veterans Can Legally Carry A Concealed Pistol In 27 States.

You can have a CO type up a memo stating you qualified on a pistol range within 12months :p

also just like the kimber, they are quite pricey. I guess that's why I was so excited about the bodyguard 380 since it'd be under $400 OTD, but was deterred by the caliber.

please continue to post what you guys carry so I can consider what to carry :)

If you are cool with the .380 maybe you should look at the Ruger LCP. It seems like a good pocket gun and the newer models get some pretty good reviews.

My dads a sheriff and they carry .40s&w it is a very good cartridge, definitely .40 over 9mm any day.

I guess I am deterred from buying it is due to the stopping power, mag size and that was told that the rounds are quite expensive.

Although, the BG380 is quite popular now and seems to be up to par to the LCP. I'll get the BG380, but still unsure. I doubt i'll ever have to use but worried about when I really do have to use it, if it is able to handle the situation.

.380s are a little pricey. 9mm is definitely the cheapest. And a high quality 9mm round will do a good job at stopping a target. Ultimately you just want to get the biggest round you can shoot reliably, so YMMV.

I like 9mm, not sure if I'd really be comfortable carrying a .380 or not. So that's where something like the CM9 from Kahr comes in if I want a pocketable pistol.

not bad. I will definitely look into the CM9. I briefly saw a review of the CM9. They did a side to side comparison with the LCP and the sizes are quite similar! awesome.

Where did you get yours and how much? Would consider it since it is the same ammo capacity to the BG380. :tiphat:

I don't have a CM9 (yet) but Budsgunshop.com seems to have some of the best pricing online.

yeah I just read that it just came out and was unable to find it at buds.

That Veterans can carry is news to me, but it's good news!
40 over 9mm , definitely!

what would you recommend for this island guy?

I carry a Taurus 9mm 709 slim with a waist clip. I wear it just to the right side of the center of my back. The gun hides very nice, some of my friends that I see everyday dont even know I carry a gun. The 709 can hold 7+1 rounds, which is not alot but at least you do have alittle more power than the .380. But whatever gun you pick I would try to have it so you could carry it on a waist clip. You dont want to have to be digging through you pockets in an emergency, most pants have different size pockets. With a waist clip you can practice drawing the gun at the range so in the emergency the gun is always in the same spot and you have that muscle memory. As I'm sure you know practice, practice, practice. This way you know what you have to do before you have to do it. Also it sits almost right above my wallet pocket. So if someone is demanding money they really wont be thrown off by you reaching back there. But in most situations its best to just hand over what they want. Well sorry kind of went on a rant there but back on track. If you want pics of the gun or anything let me know.

and as far as the CC course and stuff I'm lucky I live in Alabama all we do is pay $25 for a back ground check and sign a paper lol

<---- carries glock model 23 everyday.... and loves it!!

Same here. Exact model. The polymer frame makes it light enough to where its size is not a burden.

I know there are two different viewpoints on this, and I don't wanna :stirthepot:, but I wouldn't carry a 9mm for personal defense. Drunks, druggies, ect., you're gonna have a tough time taking them down. Which is the problem the Phoenix PD were having, which is why they switched to 40s.

185 grain hollow point FTW

Yeah I agree with you about he stopping power. But you also have to think the 40 if you miss its going to go through walls and still be traveling at a diedly force. Where you could hit someone else and go to jail for. A 9mm is more likely not going to go through object and if it does its volocity will be slowed enough that it will not be fatal. But I really do understand the thought behind wanting a bigger round so that if you do gut shot or barely hit someone that it will bring them down. But if you practice shotting and aiming while drawing you can bring down anyone. You take a 9mm to the chest and your not getting up your dead.

Some of your large caliper rounds will just go clean through someone yes. But same thing like a 9mm hollow point stays in. If it hits bone it does not have the force to break it so the bullet changes direction. Its just like electricity it follows the path of least resistance. Even a small .22 will do damage. The mod carried .22 revolvers to kill people. They would shot you in the head and the .22 had the power to go into the skull but when it hit the other side it had lost the power to exit. So the small round just pin balled around inside the person's head destorying everything. So I would say caliper is up to the person and know how to handle a gun.

I think I have Winchester silver tip 155gr hollow points

Yeah, I'm sure we could go back and forth, but I'm gonna step over that trap and just say there are a lot of pros and cons and it's a matter of personal preference :tiphat:

I actually think in many cases the 9mm, especially FMJ, is more likely to go through a wall than some of the larger calumets... The 9mm velocities are high, especially the hot rounds. For PD, I'm pretty confident in 9mm 124gr Speer Gold Dot.

As far as waist clips go... If you are talking about what I think you are, I'd highly recommend against it. I would never use any holster system that didn't fully cover the trigger guard.

Agreed. Carry what you shoot the best and are confident with.

That why I said caliper is up to the person and there know how. If you have the motor functions, can aim, and are cool under pressure so you can think what is behind your target if you miss then the 40 or even a 45 would be fine. But for the people that want something smaller like a 9mm I'm just saying it can still stop someone with practice at the range.

I would argue that .... wait a minute ....


http://files.sharenator.com/TRAP_AVO...317-131740.jpg

The clip I have the only thing that sticks out is the hand grip. It took time practicing drawing the gun but I like it alot now. But as for the rounds velocite you have to remeber the mass behind the velocite. If you take a small rock and throw it very fast then take a large rock but throw it slower the larger rock is still going to do more damage. But also if you have a spare tire and a rangeor field where you shot at it, the 9mm will not puncture the car tire but a .40 will!

.40 = :)

I'm biting my tongue on linking tons of firearms wounding research. I'll leave you with one really good link you should all read through carefully though: Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo. The information there is compiled from many (modern, accurate, scientific) sources on ballistics and wounding research, kills a lot of common myths you hear in the gun world, and lays out practical advice on ammo selection.

This is what I carry. Here is a size sheet along with it.

http://images.picturescraze.com/pict...istol-8746.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y6/...mparison-1.jpg

Cool link! you have to really read through it but there is a comparison of Federal round penetration between 9mm, .40, and .45. Suprised that the .40 and .45 only penetrate just alittle less than an inch more than the 9mm. But if you look at the .40 compared to the .45, the .40 velocity is 960fps and penetrates 12.6" in gelatin. The .45 velocity is 926fps and penetrates the same 12.6".

On another note I'm suprised to see such a small change in effect in +P ammo. I would have expected more.

Guns are very personal things. As long as you are comfortable and accurate with what you shoot and are confident in it, you're fine. We can talk all day about caliber but I can tell you I'll never volunteer to stand infront of even a Daisy BB gun. I'm definitely not going to be one to judge what anyone carries. I might question how they carry it, but that's it.

Actually gun shop "experts" tend to give the worst advice imaginable, on average. "Stopping Power" is one of those keywords one should immediately recognize as a sign that the person you're talking to has no clue what they're talking about. Some of the statements you've made here about ammo (and especially walls) is completely false. Scroll up a few posts and read the link I posted.

I'm not going to bother dissecting everything you wrote. I'm not out to argue with you personally, just stop the spread of misinformation. From the linked article:

http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_De...allBarrier.jpg

The first two bullets in that graph are hollowpoints fired from handguns. They actually have much deeper penetration in human tissue after going through drywall than they would have without going through drywall. In other words, a hollowpoint that might have lost most of its energy after passing through just one human being may easily go straight through two human beings if it goes through a wall first. This is because the drywall tends to close up the hollowpoint and prevent proper expansion, effectively turning a JHP into an FMJ.

I should've known that it would somehow steer away from the main topic. lol

although, there are a lot of information.

thanks guys.

I was thinking of getting the S9rc.

Although, it is a 9mm. I think there are more than enough rounds to punch holes in one guy with 15 rounds! lol

On the other hand, I am getting the m&p9 and XDM40 for shitz and giggles but will definitely wait til I put the gun in my hand to make a final decision for my CCW.

:tiphat:

Go to a gun store and hold as many guns as you can. You might find that you absolutely hate the gun you are thinking of getting.

I really wanted to get a Springfield XD9SC but when I actually went to check it out I found that I hated it. I went home with a Glock 26 instead.