Concealed Carry: Your EDC

[Tundra Tiger]

Diamondback DB380 Gen 4... whatever I am wearing: front pocket, back pocket, vest pocket... they all work.

 

[1dirthawker]

Do you sit a lot for work? If so is it still comfortable?

i am retired, so work is not an issue. if i am driving, or at an eatery, i sit a while and yes, my rig is pretty comfortable.

*one thing that was a game changer on comfort and printing = the vedder holster has an item called the "WEDGE" it is a fuzzy covered foam wedge that make the grip of your pistol lay against you more closely. it is very comfortable, and can be placed on other kydex type holsters as well. the combination of their "claw" (it pushes away from the belt and into the person) and the "wedge" make the gun print very little. the wedge makes the holster noticeably more comfortable.

 

[Laura AK64north]

My son and I have been teaching Kansas Concealed Carry since our state initiated the program in 2006. ..... I would be interested in hearing what your wives, girl friends, moms like to carry in terms of model, caliber, semi-auto or revolver.

Great choice. I carry a Wilson Combat modified Sig P365 micro w/red dot; have two. On body with a Phlster Enigma; off body with Zendira. Also have many other of the P365 line, including Rose (which is an XL) and the X-Macro, but the micros with the Wilson Combat grip and slide and trigger mod--I use those every day. I, too, taught Alaska Concealed Hangun classes for many years as well as other personal protection classes. The P365 and Hellcat lines were popular with women for everyday onbody carry. If they had grip issues and wanted to stay with a semi, many went with the M&P Shield EZ. For women, Lena Miculek has great influence; she just left SIG to work with S&W. She had much influence on women purchasing SIG P365 and M400s. I think we might see women gravitate to models in the S&W line now as Lena is trusted in her field. I had all the P365s, the EZ, various Glock models, and others, including revolvers in my classes. Men and women (never taught all ladies classes) tried whichever ones they wanted to. If they liked a model, I wrote that on the back of one of my business cards so they could take that to the gun store. I'd caution them not to be talked into another model; get the one they liked and decided on.

 

[Hedge774]

Springfield XDs9 3.3 with laser light combo in kydex IWB holster. Even with love handles, I don't feel it.

 

[meigsbucks]

Does anyone rate the Beretta PX4 Storm? I had a go with one during a range visit to Phoenix a few years back and it seemed to have a nice size and profile. My government also doesn’t trust us with handguns of any description so this is purely theoretical on my part.

I don’t own one, but my brother does and he loves it. I’ve put over a 100 rds thru it myself and it functions and feels good. I wouldn’t hesitate to grab one.

 

[woods0824]

P938 in a Alabama pocket holster.

 

[Russ16]

Walther PPK or concealed hammer detective special .38.

 

[Robmill70]

S&W Shield

 

[meigsbucks]

My summer carry is a Kel-Tec P3AT. Rest of the year, a Glock 27. May switch it out with a Springfield Ronin EMP that I picked up late last year. Nice pistol.

 

[DLSJR]

Glock 17 or 19. Also have a Colt 1911 on my California permit but seldom carry it. I like the 17 the best of the bunch.

 

[West_Texas_Bull_Shooter]

Indoors: Kimber Ultra Raptor II 45 ACP or Belgium made Browning Hi-Power 9mm.
Outdoors: Smith and Wesson 629 V-Comp 44 Magnum.

 

[WAB]

CZ 75 Compact with Cajun Gunwork’s full pro package. Old school single/double
Action with exposed hammer. Best trigger I’ve ever used on a handgun.

 

[barryk]

Great choice. I carry a Wilson Combat modified Sig P365 micro w/red dot; have two. On body with a Phlster Enigma; off body with Zendira. Also have many other of the P365 line, including Rose (which is an XL) and the X-Macro, but the micros with the Wilson Combat grip and slide and trigger mod--I use those every day. I, too, taught Alaska Concealed Hangun classes for many years as well as other personal protection classes. The P365 and Hellcat lines were popular with women for everyday onbody carry. If they had grip issues and wanted to stay with a semi, many went with the M&P Shield EZ. For women, Lena Miculek has great influence; she just left SIG to work with S&W. She had much influence on women purchasing SIG P365 and M400s. I think we might see women gravitate to models in the S&W line now as Lena is trusted in her field. I had all the P365s, the EZ, various Glock models, and others, including revolvers in my classes. Men and women (never taught all ladies classes) tried whichever ones they wanted to. If they liked a model, I wrote that on the back of one of my business cards so they could take that to the gun store. I'd caution them not to be talked into another model; get the one they liked and decided on.

Laura....good information and thank you for the info. One recurring problem I have in the women's classes are ability to rack the slide. In particular, with someone new to handguns, this can be a discouraging problem from the start. Some of the farm wives are widowed and want to learn some basic skills to be able to protect themselves, but may have some arthritis....the M&P Shield EZ may be a workable solution for them.....I have never fired one but can check out the slide rack at our local gun store. I recently purchased a SIG P322 for those who have never fired in order to give them some confidence in racking an easy slide and minimum recoil......which is the second problem in helping get them a proper gun fit...recoil in an small pistol like the LCP Max is more than several of them care for. I had to Google Lena Miculek....I'm not up on the competitive shooting but she apparently initiated the Rose Training Program for SIG....their 4 point training system looks like it would cover all bases. Will have to research into that info further. Had to also Google the Phlster Enigma and Zendira. My concerns with off body carry: purses and backpacks is the ability to put them down and forget....although women may not have as much of a problem since their routine "muscle memory" probably makes them less likely to walk off and leave.....guys...well. I will have to follow Lena as she goes to work for S&W and see what she promotes for womens' handguns. Thank you again for response...most helpful.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I don’t own one, but my brother does and he loves it. I’ve put over a 100 rds thru it myself and it functions and feels good. I wouldn’t hesitate to grab one.

I almost bought one of those, once upon a time...

 

[RedTag]

The one I like to have on me no matter what is the Smith and Wesson 340PD .357 Magnum. This little gun offers a truly exceptional combination of light weight and high power. Recoil with magnum loads is unpleasant to say the least. But having something so light and easy to carry in a pocket (pants or jacket) and reliable and powerful makes this one a winner for me. I usually carry two handguns at a time. The choices may vary considerably depending on the seasons, winter to summer, and urban to rural environments. The full size piece will change with the seasons and the environment, but I like to have the little .357 “snubbie” in my pocket pretty much every day.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

A Webley & Scott Model 1908 in .32 ACP with 25 extra rounds of GECO 73Gr round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids. It has one very serious flaw. It jams after three shots.

This May, I’m hopefully replacing it with a Beretta Model 81 in .32 ACP.

 

[coreydb]

Beretta Nano 9mm

 

[DaddyFlip]

@Hunter-Habib all you have to do is produce the W&S 32ACP to your assailant and ask, "Pretty, ain't it?" If the beauty of the piece does not diffuse the situation, then discharge three rounds into said assailant and ask again. I believe the next response will be in the positive.

For me, I was not aware of the P365's existence until one day I was walking through a big box sporting goods store NOT looking at firearms when a counter representative got my attention. He showed me the piece and when I held it, I thought, ergonomically, it was the most perfect handgun ever devised. I did not buy one that day, but was determined to own one at some point. LSS, I purchased the original P365 and the first XL version and found the original with the 12-round mag to be the perfect carry gun in an Alabama Holster kydex pocket holster. I carried the 15-round mag as spare in a cargo pocket. This was my EDC for several years without issue.

Then the SIG P320 saga began. I don't own one of those and I have no opinion or commentary on the issue (or non-issue), but it made me look seriously into the sear mechanism of the P365. As a result, I decided to stop carrying the P365. If you look at the sear mechanism on the P365 compared to a Glock Gen4, for example, there is a big difference in engagement and movement. The P365 sear only drops away from the firing pin while under spring tension; the Glock firing pin is held back without spring tension, then trigger engagement pushes the pin backward then the sear drops away. The Glock system is much more robust and failsafe.

For this reason, I abandoned Sig and now carry a Ruger LCR 357 mag loaded with 38+P outfitted with a Ruger branded Lasermax laser sight in an Alabama Holster kydex pocket holster. Spare 5-Star speedloader in their kydex belt carrier.

 

[Laura AK64north]

Laura....good information and thank you for the info. One recurring problem I have in the women's classes are ability to rack the slide. In particular, with someone new to handguns, this can be a discouraging problem from the start. Some of the farm wives are widowed and want to learn some basic skills to be able to protect themselves, but may have some arthritis....the M&P Shield EZ may be a workable solution for them.....I have never fired one but can check out the slide rack at our local gun store. I recently purchased a SIG P322 for those who have never fired in order to give them some confidence in racking an easy slide and minimum recoil......which is the second problem in helping get them a proper gun fit...recoil in an small pistol like the LCP Max is more than several of them care for. I had to Google Lena Miculek....I'm not up on the competitive shooting but she apparently initiated the Rose Training Program for SIG....their 4 point training system looks like it would cover all bases. Will have to research into that info further. Had to also Google the Phlster Enigma and Zendira. My concerns with off body carry: purses and backpacks is the ability to put them down and forget....although women may not have as much of a problem since their routine "muscle memory" probably makes them less likely to walk off and leave.....guys...well. I will have to follow Lena as she goes to work for S&W and see what she promotes for womens' handguns. Thank you again for response...most helpful.

I can help a little more on a few issues.

1) Grip issues female shooters: If you purchase Mike "Ox" Ochsner's book "Red Dot Mastery...A Proven System to Quickly Master....", among other training items related to neurological based firearms training, you will find a section on hand strength. He provides a chart showing results of a large participant study measuring hand strength of both males and females through different age groups, and how hand strength begins to lesson as one ages. This loss of hand strength happens quicker in females than males, and it is worse considering that our (female) hand strength is typically less than a male's hand strength to start with. (Mine is now upper 40s down from 50s, and my co-instructors, all male, are at 90-100+.) Huge difference. And yes, they are more accurate with their handgun than I am using the same caliber. This issue affects the ability to operate a slide, but even more important, the ability to control higher calibers, 9mm being included.

There is no point in showing most women (and some men, depending on age and previous hand injuries or medical problems) various ways to rack a slide or continually trying to correct them to reacquire their sight alignment and sight picture quickly coming off recoil, because for many of them, they cannot and their second shot is going to be off the target. As you noticed, they can't control the recoil.

After reading Ox Ochsner's discussion, I purchased a battery powered "hand grip dynamometer." You can get them on Amazon. Now I am not guessing when working with a student. We can quickly measure their hand strength. I then have a better idea of what to recommend as a firearm they might enjoy using, and once they see the numbers on their own hand strength, they no longer feel they have to justify why they can't operate a certain gun. It is like buying clothes, buy something that fits today. And know that how something fits today might not work for us as we age.

This dynamometer is a great tool with kids and parents who get frustrated with teaching their kids accurate shooting with a handgun. (I run a youth marksmanship program.) Have both the father (usually) and the youth use the dynamometer. The father quickly sees the difference in hand strength ability; the youth now understands it might take him a few more years to shoot as well as his dad. The frustration disappears because everyone is happy as they measured the "why" of the situation.

2) I have boxes of holsters, and I have a number of custom holsters. None come up to par with the Phlster Enigma for a lady in terms of how most of us continually change how we dress; we need a universal solution. The company offers periodic online video classes on how to adjust their systems to one's body type; they just had one last week. One can participate or just watch and learn from others participating. What other holster company does that?

3) Off body carry is a necessity for many females for many reasons. They won't let go of their cross-body bags--they are wearing them cross body. There are good brands and designs and bad ones. Zendira, with magnets, no zipper, allows for quick and properly positioned draw. (The smallest version uses a trigger guard--that is a bad design and dangerous on re-holstering.) All the larger models use a sticky back Kydex holster specific to the gun model. There are state statutes regarding showing a gun, so off-body that unzips with a flap that lowers and exposes a gun compartment before one draws are negatives. If one needs to use a gun, they need to reholster (when law enforcement arrives) into their off-body easily and safely given their likely state of mind after an incident. I would worry more about proper off-body purses for safe draw and reholstering than I would about a female leaving her gun purse or bag somewhere. (Remember, our car keys are in the purse! We can't go anywhere without it!)

A number of issues I've run into can be addressed with Ox Ochsner's book. It is self-published and could have used better editing. He also tells the reader of his own issues. Don't let that detract from the base of information as a starting point. I've used several of his techniques to isolate why students are not able to do what I ask of them (it isn't always the firearm), and some of these techniques help those students overcome the problems. Two of his methods have helped me solve my own problems.

I hope some of this helps from a female perspective.

 

[barryk]

The one I like to have on me no matter what is the Smith and Wesson 340PD .357 Magnum. This little gun offers a truly exceptional combination of light weight and high power. Recoil with magnum loads is unpleasant to say the least. But having something so light and easy to carry in a pocket (pants or jacket) and reliable and powerful makes this one a winner for me. I usually carry two handguns at a time. The choices may vary considerably depending on the seasons, winter to summer, and urban to rural environments. The full size piece will change with the seasons and the environment, but I like to have the little .357 “snubbie” in my pocket pretty much every day.View attachment 756021

Nice looking gun but wow...they are a pricey piece...quick check at Cabelas=$1170. No exposed hammer would make it a good pocket carry for sure.