Concealed Carry Weapons, Firearm

[SpecOps13]

I personally deal with firearms every day. I do testing of AR-15 type weapons for a number of manufacturers. But I also carry a concealed firearm for personal defense, pretty much 24/7.

I currently have 3 choices that I select from depending on a lot of factors. Generally my choice is made by the weather conditions though.

For hot days, I have a Smith and Wesson Airweight, 38. I don't particularly like to carry a 38 because it's a little short on stopping power if I ever need to use it. I've compensated for that with the installation of a Crimson Trace Laser. I know it's gonna hit where the red dot is. I generally carry it in a pocket holster. It's very hot here in Florida most of the time. This is a very comfortable way to carry it.

My second choice is a Glock, 30 which is double stacked 45 acp. It's for days when I can wear a little more than the normal pants and shirt. It's a little larger than the Smith but the weight difference is minimal. It's polymer frame keeps the weight way down. I carry it in a number of ways. With a high ride belt holster / shirt over, waste band holster / shirt over, bigger pocket of ballistic pants or even in a shoulder holster under a jacket.

The third choice is a Para Ordinance, Carry 6 in 45 acp. I generally carry it only when I can wear a jacket and shoulder holster. Not so often here in Florida. It's heavy enough to use as a hammer if I'd run out of bullets. All Stainless Steel.

I hope I never have to use one of these but I do value my life and my families lives more than the Bad Guy's. I've carried for so long, I feel naked without one.

Lets hear from some of the rest of you about the firearms you carry and how you carry and conceal them.

 

[EvilD]

I don't carry very often becasue I don't go any where other than work and stupid run around places with my wife, and occasionally the golf course, but I have at my disposal, a Glock 17, had it since 88 or so when they first came in, carry it in a speed scabbard made by a local leathersmith Called Alessi. My other two are a Taurus 2.5" .357 or a 5 shot Charter arms .38, I too do not like the .38 even with +P loads, but i can throw it in a pocket and be done. I used ot have a Detonics .45 that was super tiny but I needed a car so I traded it away about 1991. Also had a Star PD which would chamber everything including the 200 grain CCI flying ash trays ona factory set up. Sold that too because of financial reason when i was newly married.

 

[ColoNat]

i carried on duty for a while - Sig 226 DAK Homeland Security edition... but now it's for sale because i need to finish my V-Max!

Don't adult priorities suck? :confused2:

 

[2fear]

I have two handguns that I carry, my S&W Airweight .38 +p and my Sig Sauer P239 chambered in .357Sig. I love my Sig but I seem to take the .38 for comfort and ease of carry. Most of the time it's in my back pocket or my small belt holster. I never leave home without one or the other.

 

[Hatter]

I have a Taurus PT745 Millennium Pro, .45cal, 6+1 Polymer frame/ SS slide that I carry in my pants pocket loaded with Cor-bon Powerballs.

If not that, then its a Ruger SP101 Snub .357 mag (Federal Hydra Shok) with CTLG.

A Government .45 in the door pocket of my truck, and a Wilson Combat-equipped Government .45 with CTLG and 10rd mag as a house gun. (along with a Win. 1300 Tactical shotgun.)

 

[kaboom]

I have a safe full of guns and a concealed carry permit......In the 20 years I have had the permit I have never felt the need to carry a weapon for protection.....just lucky to live where I live I guessunk:

 

[MoPure]

I normally don't carry on my person because I haven't found a holster yet that I really like. But when I do, it's my little P-64 9x18 with Hornady HPs. I normally just keep it in the car because I only go to work and back during the week. I want to try a Crossbreed holster for my S&W Sigmas (.40 and 9) and carry the .40 I would feel a little better about defending myself with it than the P-64 or CZ-82, which is also 9x18 but a sweet little pistol.
I also own, but don't carry, and AMT .45, a pos Jiminez JA-9 and a pos Jennings .22 auto. I would be willing to trade the J's for a 2 Gen V-max :biglaugh:
I also own a few rifles, but won't name them since this topic is CC and I haven't figured out how to conceal them very well yet.

 

[MoPure]

I have never felt the need to carry a weapon for protection.....

The thing is, it's much better to have it and not need it, than the other way around. And you just never know when you might need it. Kinda like carrying a rubber in your wallet, or wearing your seatbelt, or buying any kind of insurance, or yada yada yada....

 

[Rollie]

Glock 22 on the hip , Glock 26 under arm . S & W 645 under dash of Z71 p.u. truck , S & W 686 in console in the Suburban .

 

[spyder13]

Yes I have concealed permit. I carry all the time. Never know when needed these days. I have a FNP 9 and a FNP 40. I carry a S&W bodyguard with me. Oh by the way I had a Taurus TCP 380. Had nothing but trouble with Jams constantly. Sent off for repair and still problems. Got rid of it.

 

[richwrench]

Taurus 85 38 special that was brush-chromed & fitted with a Wolf spring by Kogan at APW. I put a Barami hip-grip on it & carry it "mexican style". Not super comfortable, but very convienient. It's currently stoked with 158 grain ball for maximun penetratration. When hunting, I carry a Taurus .357 loaded with 200 grain Corbon hard-cast. It saved my ass last year - got charged by a boar in Sarasota. That was the first time I've ever fired a shot in self-defense, & I hope it's the last. That scared the hell out of me.

 

[SpecOps13]

richwrench: It never dawned on me to think of a hunting situation as self defense. But it very well could be. I have a 460 Smith and Wesson as a backup for hunting. I have a holster that it could be concealed in but I'd have to wear my Alaskan Flight Jacket over it and then there's the 5 pounds it weighs. Man, What an overkill that would be for normal carry. It'd probably go through a line of people, concrete or brick walls, engine blocks. The blast is enough to stop someones heart, it's a mini Howitzer

Don't think I'll go there.....:biglaugh:

 

[richwrench]

I know a guy who runs a body shop up here in Port Richey who keeps a S&W 500 for protection. Insane IMHO. Like you said, it will go through a perp, his car & probably several others before it stops. At least he shoots it once in a while so he knows what to expect. I know another guy who carries a 44 mag WITHOUT a permit & he's never shot it in his life. I think he's seen too many Dirty Harry movies.

 

[98Redlne]

A 500 for personal protection from predators of the two legged variety seems way overkill (no pun intended). Maybe in Grizzly territory it would be OK to carry but inside city limits that is just insane.

For two legged perps, I prefer a .45

 

[SpecOps13]

Even Dirty Harry used 44 Special Cartridges in his 44 Magnum...:biglaugh:
IMO, 44 Special, 45 ACP are the ultimate in personal defense. I
have a 45 ACP, AR-15 in an XM177 Style Carbine for home defense...

 

[RaWarrior]

I'm no gun whiz, but are the larger calibers really necessary for self-defense? I have an old (30's era) Springfield .22 bolt action rifle, and when it's little 5 round mag is filled with hollow point bullets, it blows a groundhog away in a "most satisfactory" manner(i.e makes quite a mess of it). I can't imagine a human taking one of those and just shrugging it off. That gun has been in regular service for 80-odd years now with just routine cleaning and it still works perfectly and looks almost new. Gotta love things made "way back when".

I've seen .22 handguns that are crazy small and light also to the point that your cell phone is probably more bulky. While obviously it doesn't have the "stopping power" of a .38 or .45, what exactly are you trying to "stop? Buffalo? Elk? Or some shithead that's trying to snatch your wallet? For a pure self defense purpose I really don't see the point of anything larger.

A couple of my friends are big into guns (while I just target shoot and use it for varmint control), and they seem to think that a .22 is no more lethal than a BB gun and always make cracks about "my little gun". I guess if it won't blow someone's head clean off, not worth the time, right?

I tell you though, there's some pretty hardcore pellet guns out there that have crazy power...not your grandfather's Daisy. One of those and a good scope....critters in my yard don't stand a chance. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a point tip pellet travelling at well over the speed of sound.

 

[SpecOps13]

I've been in a position where I've seen a person shot 3 times with a 9 mm and it didn't phase him. It took one 45 to end the confrontation. True a 22 is deadly if it's fired and hits the right place on a person. A 45 will incapacitate a person normally with a hit anywhere in the center mass or head. A person hyped up on drugs may laugh off multiple hits from a small caliber. There are a lot of true stories of this happening. A larger caliber hit will likely end the confrontation in your favor.

In a gun fight your thinking isn't clear, what seems to be forever may only be a few seconds. A fraction of a second can be your life or death. I'd rather shoot once than multiple times. much less chance and time for me being killed myself... As I said, my 38 is marginal, I've compensated with a laser.

My wife carries a .357 Magnum, I certainly want her to carry the biggest handgun she can handle for all the above reasons...

 

[speedfreke]

I conceal carry almost always, especially if I am out with my wife and kids. I carry either a HK USP 45 compact w/ LEM trigger, or a Glock 27. Both carried using Galco inside the pants holsters. Considering a Lady Smith in the future as a possible third option, I would also like to shoot one of those Ruger polymer frame revolvers in 38+P.

.45 is carried with 230 grain Hydro Shok rounds, the .40 is carried with 165 grain Hydro Shok round, I prefer the 45 for pure stopping power in a easily concealable package.

Richard

 

[eatatjoz]

Unless it's somewhere that is not legal to do so, I'm carrying a RIA 1911 Officer. Either in a galco IWB holster or hanging by the "clipdraw".

No boo's or hisses for my little RIA please. I've put thousands of rounds through it, and it has never hiccuped. I don't trust my .38 wheel gun as much as I trust my 1911.

 

[2fear]

I've been in a position where I've seen a person shot 3 times with a 9 mm and it didn't phase him. It took one 45 to end the confrontation. True a 22 is deadly if it's fired and hits the right place on a person. A 45 will incapacitate a person normally with a hit anywhere in the center mass or head. A person hyped up on drugs may laugh off multiple hits from a small caliber. There are a lot of true stories of this happening. A larger caliber hit will likely end the confrontation in your favor.

In a gun fight your thinking isn't clear, what seems to be forever may only be a few seconds. A fraction of a second can be your life or death. I'd rather shoot once that multiple times. much less chance and time for me being killed myself... As I said, my 38 is marginal, I've compensated with a laser.

My wife carries a .357 Magnum, I certainly want her to carry the biggest handgun she can handle for all the above reasons...

I clearly see your point, buuuuutttt I also know most every day people don't want to carry a heavy gun on them every place they go. You know, like to the store, to the mall or to rent a movie, it's summer and we are in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops. A larger gun just is not practical in most peoples daily lives, so we opt for something smaller that we are more likely to carry then to just leave it at home. In my book, any gun on you is better then the one you left behind. :twocents: