Concealed carry recommendations

[jackknife]

Glock, I carry a 26. It fun to shoot at the range and is concealable but big enough to shoot well even at long distances.

Double stack you can use other magazines from glock.

This is what had a great deal of influence on me to change. I hate change and am stuck in my ways, but I gave up on the J frame .38 I used for 40 years and now am a Glock fan. I find I can shoot the Glock 26 way better than the old revolver, has 10 rounds on tap instead of 5, and can use all the mags from the block 19, 17, and the big 33 round job. The 26 is a little chancy, but with a good holster it rides very comfortable, but has great shoot ability out to 50 yards and beyond. It's a great 'everything' gun.

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[Jr1982]

I'd recommend you take a look at Kahr's offerings. They make a nice gun. I carry a CM9 loaded with federal hst. Just curious, but why is IWB carry not an option?

 

[Charlie_K]

This is what had a great deal of influence on me to change. I hate change and am stuck in my ways, but I gave up on the J frame .38 I used for 40 years and now am a Glock fan. I find I can shoot the Glock 26 way better than the old revolver, has 10 rounds on tap instead of 5, and can use all the mags from the block 19, 17, and the big 33 round job. The 26 is a little chancy, but with a good holster it rides very comfortable, but has great shoot ability out to 50 yards and beyond. It's a great 'everything' gun.

What do you mean when you say the 26 is a little chancy? Are you talking a mechanical problem, or some other issue that I should be aware of?

I'd recommend you take a look at Kahr's offerings. They make a nice gun. I carry a CM9 loaded with federal hst.

Kahr is definitely being considered. It's largely going to depend on what's available at the annual show.

Just curious, but why is IWB carry not an option?

Unlike some people I've always, without exception, kept my shirt tucked into my pants. I've been doing that since I was young because my parents insisted on me looking neat, and it's not a habit I'm going to be able to break anytime soon. IWB isn't concealment for me since the gun would be sandwiched between my pants and my shirt, meaning I'd need another shirt or jacket over it, so I might as well just be going with a belt holster anyway in that case, as it would be the more comfortable of the two options.

 

[Wheeler80]

You can get iwb "tuckable" holsters. I've not tried one since I don't tuck my shirts but I have seen them.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

If you don't plan on carrying IWB, then I don't think any of the pistols you listed in your original post are going to work for pocket carry.

You may need to look into touchable holsters as Wheeler suggested.

 

[bflying]

So over the years I've tried just about everything. I've now landed on OWB for comfort and the ability to carry a "bit" more gun and still keep both comfort and preferred firearms. Ninety percent of the time it's this combo. 1911 in leather. This holster I made has seen over 2-1/2 years of near daily service, and still holding strong. And if IWB, I've landed on the Crossbreed Supertuck Delux on horsehide.

The key for me is keeping a flat (but contoured) surface against my body. Any hot point become very uncomfortable day after day. Too many holsters are formed pancake style leaving half the shape on the back that digs into your body. My leather holster below had the entire gun wet formed to my gun all in the front. So the back is just simple and flat to mold to my body. The same thing happens with the Crossbreed (and similar), where the gun is formed only into the Kydex, and the leather is left to form to you.

For dress, I'm lucky now to be able to wear jeans and untucked shirt most of the time for concealment

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Sent from my mind....using Tap-a-Thought. (tm)

 

[jackknife]

What do you mean when you say the 26 is a little chancy? Are you talking a mechanical problem, or some other issue that I should be aware of?

.

Dammed auto correct!!!!

I meant chunky. Chunky, like in a little bulky. It's no pocket pistol, so you need a decent holster. I've used strong side high ride with good luck and comfort.

Mechanically in the past wo years, the gun has been flawless with zero malefactions of any kind. Even with cheepo ammo from Walmart. Couple thousand rounds through it now. If it got stolen tonight, I'd be buying another one in the morning!

 

[Charlie_K]

Dammed auto correct!!!!

I meant chunky. Chunky, like in a little bulky. It's no pocket pistol, so you need a decent holster. I've used strong side high ride with good luck and comfort.

Just so long as you meant that, and not that it was proving to be finicky in its functionality. Not that a Glock would be, but you never know.

Mechanically in the past wo years, the gun has been flawless with zero malefactions of any kind. Even with cheepo ammo from Walmart. Couple thousand rounds through it now. If it got stolen tonight, I'd be buying another one in the morning!

Which is all good to know. I plan on running a lot of the cheap Tula ammo through whichever pistol I get, because if it can cycle that dirty stuff I'm figuring it'll pretty much cycle anything.

 

[jackknife]

Just so long as you meant that, and not that it was proving to be finicky in its functionality. Not that a Glock would be, but you never know.

Which is all good to know. I plan on running a lot of the cheap Tula ammo through whichever pistol I get, because if it can cycle that dirty stuff I'm figuring it'll pretty much cycle anything.

The Glock will cycle pretty much anything, even when dirty.

Last summer I went out to Front Sight and took a defense course. Over the next few days, we fired a couple hundred rounds a day. Leaving in the evening to meet up in the morning, the instructor warned the students to "clean those guns tonight, except you guys with the Glocks. Won't make any difference for you all!"

Once back at the motel room, I did the most streamlined cleaning, just taking a patch and wiping off the outside of the gun. Didn't have any problems the next day at all. I left the chamber and barrel alone, sort of curious if it would keep on working. It did, in spite of the dust and grit from crawling around in the Nevada desert. I gained a hell of a lot of confidence in the gun from taking that course.

 

[leghog]

The Glock will cycle pretty much anything, even when dirty.

Just don't use lead reloads if the barrel has polygonal rifling.

 

[Charlie_K]

Just don't use lead reloads if the barrel has polygonal rifling.

I've always wondered about that. Does that simply involve softer lead that would be used for slower velocity rounds? Or does it include hardened lead that gets used in higher velocity loads like magnums?

 

[Wheeler80]

Dammed auto correct!!!!

I meant chunky. Chunky, like in a little bulky. It's no pocket pistol, so you need a decent holster. I've used strong side high ride with good luck and comfort.

Mechanically in the past wo years, the gun has been flawless with zero malefactions of any kind. Even with cheepo ammo from Walmart. Couple thousand rounds through it now. If it got stolen tonight, I'd be buying another one in the morning!

I've pocket carried mine with no issues. The only true way to find what you like is to try a bunch of different models carried several different ways.

 

[M67]

I carry a Sig P290 in a Black Point mini wing holster. Carries well and has been extremely reliable and I shoot it well.

Carry guns come down to what you and your body can conceal well, what fits in your hands, and your current clothes. Some guns, yes, you may start buying a pant size larger to accommodate a larger pistol. A good holster and belt makes a world of difference too

If you're leaning towards a 26, a 19 is a pretty viable option too. A friend a couple years ago got a 26 and by the time he added the finger extension and the +2 capacity floor plates, it was a 19 with a short barrel. He later got a 19 and shoots it a lot better and is happier with it. That's an individual case though, I don't have a problem with my pinky not being on the grip but some do

Edit to add: ditch the Remington idea

The Glock will cycle pretty much anything, even when dirty.

Last summer I went out to Front Sight and took a defense course. Over the next few days, we fired a couple hundred rounds a day. Leaving in the evening to meet up in the morning, the instructor warned the students to "clean those guns tonight, except you guys with the Glocks. Won't make any difference for you all!"

Once back at the motel room, I did the most streamlined cleaning, just taking a patch and wiping off the outside of the gun. Didn't have any problems the next day at all. I left the chamber and barrel alone, sort of curious if it would keep on working. It did, in spite of the dust and grit from crawling around in the Nevada desert. I gained a hell of a lot of confidence in the gun from taking that course.

That's just him probably being a glock person. I don't clean my guns unless there's an issue or I shoot old corrosive ammo. And they keep working.

Just don't use lead reloads if the barrel has polygonal rifling.

I've always wondered about that. Does that simply involve softer lead that would be used for slower velocity rounds? Or does it include hardened lead that gets used in higher velocity loads like magnums?

If you're using it as a range gun, lead works fine, I know a lot of people that shoot lead in their glocks and it shoots it really well. If you want to shoot a FMJ or copper plated bullet in it though after you shoot lead, most people I know clean the bores out really well. Probably depends on the particular gun in general though, even mass produced, each barrel is unique in its own way.

 

[seeverscpa]

I carry a 43, 19, and a LCP. No, not all at once

Appendix carry with the 43 is what I do 90% of the time..

I too carry the G43 in AIWB, with a spare mag in an IWB kydex rig at 11 o'clock. The ability to draw from concealment and get shots on target for me is accentuated with this gun. It's a natural extension of my hand right from the holster. I did put some talon grip panels on the gun. I'm able to "squeeze" the gun around the blackstrap within the web of my hand, and when the gun comes out of the holster I have an extremely solid grip on it, before my 2nd hand even arrives.

I've shot over 10 brands of defensive ammo through this gun, and settled on this: Barns Tac-XPD. This ammo is tailor-made for short-barreled firearms. Take a look at the very exhaustive review: http://www.luckygunner.com/9mm-luger-p-115gr-barnes-tac-xpd-hp-20#geltest

 

[heresthedeal]

I carry a Sig P290 in a Black Point mini wing holster. Carries well and has been extremely reliable and I shoot it well.

Carry guns come down to what you and your body can conceal well, what fits in your hands, and your current clothes. Some guns, yes, you may start buying a pant size larger to accommodate a larger pistol. A good holster and belt makes a world of difference too

If you're leaning towards a 26, a 19 is a pretty viable option too. A friend a couple years ago got a 26 and by the time he added the finger extension and the +2 capacity floor plates, it was a 19 with a short barrel. He later got a 19 and shoots it a lot better and is happier with it. That's an individual case though, I don't have a problem with my pinky not being on the grip but some do

Edit to add: ditch the Remington idea



That's just him probably being a glock person. I don't clean my guns unless there's an issue or I shoot old corrosive ammo. And they keep working.





If you're using it as a range gun, lead works fine, I know a lot of people that shoot lead in their glocks and it shoots it really well. If you want to shoot a FMJ or copper plated bullet in it though after you shoot lead, most people I know clean the bores out really well. Probably depends on the particular gun in general though, even mass produced, each barrel is unique in its own way.

The above is true, with an exception.

Decided a few days ago I was done posting in threads about guns, to many opinions, but this subject is something I have a bit of experience and first hand knowledge of.

The lead issue isn't something that's been or can be fixed and its not just with Glocks, its an issue with all pistols with Glock type rifling. It just happened to be more of an issue with Glock because of the way the chambers are made, and most of the issues I saw, and heard of were with the .40.

Doesn't seem to matter if its soft lead or hard, its just a matter of time and the front portion, (from chamber) about an inch or two, will get lead basically melted to the inside and fill the rifling. Firing a copper jacketed bullet through it will clean it out, sort of, but it can also cause to much pressure and the chamber being the way it is can fail.
From what I've seen, and heard, and shot, just use a few copper jacketed bullets every fifty rounds of lead or so seem to take care of the issue.

I used to shoot Ultra Max, ( Glock .40) back in 04 , 05, a lot, I mean 500 to a 1000 rounds a weekend at least once a month, sometimes twice a month. I never blew up a gun, but I did brake a few, noticed the lead coating the front of the barrel after about 100 rounds and shot it out. Glock came out and stated that you shouldn't use lead bullets, (Minus a jacket) in their pistols, haven't looked to see if that's still the case, but they had a bunch of failures back then so that was their policy to fix the issue.
I think If I remember correctly the failures were coming from continuous firing of lead and no cleaning and eventually the chamber and the front of the barrel would just give.
Basically the leading would cause the caliber of the barrel to be to tight for the projectile to go through, (Think 9mm hole and .40 bullet) without the barrel and unsupported (Not as supported as others) chamber to stay together, causing a failure.

So, JMO, if you are going to shoot lead bullets, pay attention, shouldn't be a problem, I know most of the people on here are lead slinging, gun fighting, big **** dragging operators that have BTDT and have the passport stamps and t-shirts to prove it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.

PS, I only quoted the above post because I agreed with it and just thought I needed to add something to it.

 

[Charlie_K]

I carry a Sig P290 in a Black Point mini wing holster. Carries well and has been extremely reliable and I shoot it well.

I love SIGs, I really do. Unfortunately they can't be in the running due to two primary factors; weight and cost. One and two pounds empty, and a lot of them carrying a price tag of $1,000 or more. That's way, way out of my price range, especially if I ever have to actually use it and then it's going to be sitting in an evidence lockup room for the better part of a year.

Carry guns come down to what you and your body can conceal well, what fits in your hands, and your current clothes. Some guns, yes, you may start buying a pant size larger to accommodate a larger pistol. A good holster and belt makes a world of difference too

So I've heard. But sorting out what's good and what's not is difficult to do.

If you're leaning towards a 26, a 19 is a pretty viable option too. A friend a couple years ago got a 26 and by the time he added the finger extension and the +2 capacity floor plates, it was a 19 with a short barrel. He later got a 19 and shoots it a lot better and is happier with it. That's an individual case though, I don't have a problem with my pinky not being on the grip but some do

I've got a 19, that's why I want a 26. Haven't figured out how I'm going to configure it though.

Edit to add: ditch the Remington idea

So what's wrong with the Remington?

 

[Converge]

The biggest factor in carry comfort and concealability is the width of the firearm followed by the length of the slide and grip. For me my 43 carries so much better then my 19 and it's due to the width. Of course there are down sides especially capacity.

For myself I usually just carry based on where my day will take me. If I am just going to work and home in the suburbs, or out on the weekend no where special I'll carry my 43 with an extra magazine. That's 90% of the time. If I were to head into the city I would have my 19 with an extra magazine. I also keep a spare magazine in my car for each carry gun.

I feel completely fine with my 43. The magazine I carry in the 43 has a +2 extension. That's 8+1 and a spare 6. If I need more then that believe me I am running for my life at that point.

I do pocket carry my LCP 380 sometimes too. I wouldn't want to pocket carry anything bigger.

 

[jackknife]

The biggest factor in carry comfort and concealability is the width of the firearm followed by the length of the slide and grip. For me my 43 carries so much better then my 19 and it's due to the width. Of course there are down sides especially capacity.

For myself I usually just carry based on where my day will take me. If I am just going to work and home in the suburbs, or out on the weekend no where special I'll carry my 43 with an extra magazine. That's 90% of the time. If I were to head into the city I would have my 19 with an extra magazine. I also keep a spare magazine in my car for each carry gun.

I feel completely fine with my 43. The magazine I carry in the 43 has a +2 extension. That's 8+1 and a spare 6. If I need more then that believe me I am running for my life at that point.

I do pocket carry my LCP 380 sometimes too. I wouldn't want to pocket carry anything bigger.

Of course, they had to come out with the 43 AFTER I got my 26!!!!

Oh well. I'll just comfort myself with knowing that in a pinch, I can use any of the Glock mags from 17's and 19's. But I think I would like to pick up a nice little Ruger LCP for true pocket duty in hot weather.

 

[bflying]

Of course, they had to come out with the 43 AFTER I got my 26!!!!

Oh well. I'll just comfort myself with knowing that in a pinch, I can use any of the Glock mags from 17's and 19's. But I think I would like to pick up a nice little Ruger LCP for true pocket duty in hot weather.

Isn't that the way everything goes. [emoji51]. My first Glock was a 17. Liked it so much I got a 26 (almost right after they came out) for carry. But really wanted the 43 wAayyyy back then. It was my imagination of how to make the 26 perfect for my needs. It really is perplexing how such a tiny fraction of an inch in width, can make such a huge difference in comfort and carry-ability.

Since then, I've gone through a dozen other guns for carry. Finally when I swing back around to 9mm, the S&W M&P Shield came out. It was "almost" everything I wanted in a pocket 9, except for the Glock trigger. But the trigger was close, and really pretty decent. And wouldn't you know it, right after I buy a Shield 9, the 43 comes out.

 

[Charlie_K]

Isn't that the way everything goes. [emoji51]. My first Glock was a 17. Liked it so much I got a 26 (almost right after they came out) for carry. But really wanted the 43 wAayyyy back then. It was my imagination of how to make the 26 perfect for my needs. It really is perplexing how such a tiny fraction of an inch in width, can make such a huge difference in comfort and carry-ability.

Since then, I've gone through a dozen other guns for carry. Finally when I swing back around to 9mm, the S&W M&P Shield came out. It was "almost" everything I wanted in a pocket 9, except for the Glock trigger. But the trigger was close, and really pretty decent. And wouldn't you know it, right after I buy a Shield 9, the 43 comes out.

Of course, they had to come out with the 43 AFTER I got my 26!!!!

Oh well. I'll just comfort myself with knowing that in a pinch, I can use any of the Glock mags from 17's and 19's.

I handled a Glock 43 at the last gun show. I really liked it, almost bought it. But looking over the available data, I'm torn between it and the pro version of the LC9S. They're both quite similar in terms of size and weight.

But I think I would like to pick up a nice little Ruger LCP for true pocket duty in hot weather.

Oh you'll like it a lot. I know I do.