conceal carry question

[Rye Miles #13621]

I go back and forth from a S&W 442 Airweight in .38spl. and a S&W Shield in 9mm. The 442 is easier to carry but has only 5 rounds. The Shiled is a bit bigger and holds 8 rounds. Hmmmmm............hence the back and forth!

[Snakebite]

Yata, yata. The first and formost requirement for a CCW firearm is to pick one that you will actually carry. Neither the best or the worst will do you any good if you leave it home.

[largo casey #19191]

The P365 comes with a 12 rd mag & you can also get a 15 rd mag for it.

                                                                                                                                Largo

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

22 hours ago, Perro Del Diablo said:

I like a full size 1911

Roger that.  Two spare mags to balance the load.

 

Anything that requires more than that isn't a gunfight, it's a war and I'm going to disengage as fast as I can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShadowCatcher]

21 hours ago, TN Mongo, SASS #61450 said:

What pushed me towards a carrying my Glock instead of the J frame S&W was the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting.  The wife and I enjoyed going to movies on weekend nights back then.  We always sat on the back row.  I wanted something that had night sights that I could consistently hit a person size target at the front theater exit doors.

 

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but that shooting really bothered me.  Before that, I had always felt well protected with my J frame.  I recently fell into a 3" S&W 686 with 7 shots.  It's an excellent and accurate revolver.  It's very similar to the Taurus and Charter Arms mentioned above.  If I went back to a revolver, it is what I would carry.

Your thinking echos my own and for just that reason.  The last time I carried a small frame pistol (Walther PPk in .380) and went to a school recital, I realized that I could not reliably hit a person half way across the theatre/gym.  That led me back to larger framed pistols, still concealable, but of course weighing a bit more. 

 

In the last few years I started downsizing (weight and lower-back issues) and I'm now carrying a Glock G43 with +2 mag, and a spare mag.  The pistol has a Red Dot sight on it and it makes all the difference in the world for being able to hit across a large room or theatre. I just bought a new Beretta 92x Compact (with Langdon trigger kit) for my 3 season carry - I want the longer sight radius, and I find the 92 shoots much smoother and faster than my other 9mm's, including (heresy here) my Colt 1911 in 9mm.  With 15 in the magazine carrying a spare magazine is like carrying coal to Newcastle, but I do it anyway, magazines can fail at the worst time.

 

There are lots of arguments about how many rounds one might need and at what range the gun fight will occur, and like 9mm versus .45 or revolver versus semi-automatic, they are all good to indulge in around the campfire, we learn new things doing that.  For me though, the biggest gun I can carry, with the most effective round I can shoot quickly and accurately makes me feel more comfortable.  I can rationalize my way out of carrying a gun altogether if I try, statistics tell me I should worry about lightning more than the other issues. 

 

Stay safe,

 

Shadow Catcher

 

 

 

 

[J.D. Daily]

If you come up against an assailant that is on PCP, unless you are very good at head shots one full Glock 17 magazine ain't enough.  20 years ago when my son was a paramedic in a major metropolitan area.  He was dispatched to a suicide by cop incident.  The suicidee was armed with a knife.  After many minutes of the police officers on scene trying to talk him down the man advanced on the police.  The officesr opened fire when he passed the magic 21 ft. line.  Most of the officers emptied their magazines before the man was on there ground.  It took a while for them to remove the knife.  So, it was several minutes before the police allowed my son & his partner to treat their patient.  I don't remember exactly how many rounds hit center of mass; however, I know it was more than 9.  The man bleed out before they got a blood pressure cuff on his arm; because, his BP was Zero over Zero with a pulse rate over 150 BPM.  My son said the bullet that took him down severed his spine.   The US Army learned the hard way in the Philippines what some drugs do to make humans bullet resistant in fight.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:17 PM, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

The NYPD had many incidents with .38 spls. where they fired big numbers and hit neither perps nor passersby.

So did LAPD and LASO.

[Smuteye John SASS#24774]

On 7/3/2021 at 12:07 PM, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

For years and years, the average number of round expended by a non law enforcement person in a self defense type gunfight has been 3 rounds.  

That's just the 'average'. 

 

Personally, I know that Demon Murphy rides on my shoulder, so I don't see myself toting a airweight J-Frame with 2 empty chambers any time soon. 

 

Knowing my luck, I'll end up facing a larger then normal Samoan man who swapped from meth to PCP and bath salts on the last day of his current binge.

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

4 minutes ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

That's just the 'average'. 

 

Personally, I know that Demon Murphy rides on my shoulder, so I don't see myself toting a airweight J-Frame with 2 empty chambers any time soon. 

 

Knowing my luck, I'll end up facing a larger then normal Samoan man who swapped from meth to PCP and bath salts on the last day of his current binge.

Average:

 

noun

 

1. 1.

   a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data,

    

    

   For any "average", there should be a higher and a lower value or number.  Your mileage may vary  

[ShadowCatcher]

15 hours ago, J.D. Daily said:

If you come up against an assailant that is on PCP, unless you are very good at head shots one full Glock 17 magazine ain't enough.  <SNIP>

An important point, and also we need to remember other issues - such as someone wearing a tactical vest with lots of metal magazines in it (making it into body armor) which may not be easily penetrated by your handgun ammo, or worse yet some clown running around wearing an explosive vest yelling Aloha Snackbar!  Head shots are getting to be more necessary, and practicing them at various ranges and speeds should be an increasing part of training.

 

SC

 

 

[Captain Bill Burt]

On 7/4/2021 at 8:51 AM, Snakebite said:

Yata, yata. The first and formost requirement for a CCW firearm is to pick one that you will actually carry. Neither the best or the worst will do you any good if you leave it home.

Which is why I have carry guns AND car guns.  Heck I even have a gun for my scooter. 

 

Summer months my S&W Model 37 works well.  When it's cooler, I like my Colt Commander.

[DeaconKC]

The need for accuracy is why I carry a medium small gun like the Sig 239. Small enough to readily conceal IWB, but still large enough for accurate shooting.

[Filthy Harry, SASS #24924]

I've had several Glocks over the years. The only one I kept is a gen 4 Glock 26 with Big Dot sights and a plus two on one magazine. a Glock 17 mag is on my belt. A crossbreed Supertuck holster works well for the gun. My normal edc's are revolvers or 1911 compact. When the LCPs came out,  a lot of them went on the used gun market because the recoil was "stout". I bought one and it was OK, but I didn't carry it much. I gave it to A County Police Officer neighbor for favors he had done for me. My LGS sold a clip for them like a knife clip so Officers could carry them in their vest.