Need advice on my first concealed carry

The above is the best post in the thread as far as advice and an answer to your question. Carry what YOU are best with. Everyone’s miles vary, don’t fall for the “this is best, or that sucks” opinions.
The only addition I would make to the above quoted post is, find a local IDPA, or similar type, pistol club/match and participate as often as time and money allow. Just the basic knowledge you pick up in listening and observing at the matches is worth its weight in gold.

 

wall of text will crit you for 9k

I currently am "employed" sometimes gainfully on a gun counter have been for 10 years, less face it, doing what you love to do you NEVER truly work. The best advice I could offer is to find something YOU like the feel of. How do I know what that feel good is going to be you may ask? Well it's kind of like a pair of shoes, you know when you put your feet in them whether you like those shoes or not. Same goes with handguns, your hand is going to tell you if you like it or not. After you have narrowed it down to a few you like the feel of next thing is to "point" or aim that pistol (preferably in a safe direction(read preference as ALWAYS in a safe direction.) What you are looking for is for the sights to be in perfect alignment. Glocks, H&K, Sig Sauer, Smith and Wesson, those all point very well for me naturally. The Springfield XD and XDM series do not point well for me, they are fantastic firearms, I will never own one due to this fact. My own personal muscle memory does not allow the Springers to work for me there for I do not want to own one, they always pointed down at a 5-10 degree angle. As far as caliber goes for a CCW I prefer 9mm, its practical inexpensive and WORKS. Lets face it there will always be the debate over what's a good round for defense (they all are). I have repeatedly heard over the 10 years that a 9mm has no stopping power. Ask your self this question, would you volunteer to stand in front of it? at the end of the day the BEST caliber for self defense is the caliber you can put rounds on target quickly (work up to his part (slow is smooth, smooth is fast) accurately and repeatedly. 10 rounds of 9mm in to a salad plate at 7 yards is exponentially more effective than 10 misses with any other caliber. Additionally most all rounds today are all produced to meet the same penetration depths as other rounds on the market as evidenced by Lucky Gunner Labs in the following test ( https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/) Working in the retail establishment I do (9mm goes for 10-14 bucks a box of 50, 40 S&W will run about 14-18 and .45 ACP rings in at 19-25. Lets face it one point of owning a gun is to have fun with it, meaning shoot it. I can shoot a lot more 9mm then I can .45 ACP. Also because I can shoot it for less I am now able to become more proficient with it. If you are buying for the intended purpose of CCW you don't want to just buy it, put it in a holster, slap it on your belt and call it good (yes I have seen this happen). You want to practice practice practice with it. You want to work to a point where you can do what you need to do in a situation (hopefully you will NEVER be in that situation) with out having to think about what you are doing ( build up muscle memory) practice shooting, but don't just go to the range and put the gun on the tailgate of the Taco; run the gun in a holster, draw aim fire, repeat. You can develop drawing skills in your home too ( MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED, CHECK TO MAKE SURE GUN IS UNLOADED AGAIN, REPEAT) put the gun in your holster and carry it around your house like you would if you were in Wal-Mart or where ever you may go, pick two commercials, I use Aflac and JG Wentworth because they are annoying) and when those commercials come on, draw aim and pull the trigger (if you shoot a hole in the wall of your house, the TV, the dog, ANYTHING I am not to be held responsible, you failed to check the gun not me.) As far as quality of firearms go I base everything off of what we have sent back to have repaired ( every brand we sell has had issue at one point or another) I personally would own a Hi-point before I would own a Taurus (please don't hate on me for saying this TW) I have sent somewhere in the neighborhood of 250-300 Taurus back to the factory to have fixed for issues ranging from fully locked slide to the cylinder falling on the ground after the first shot, that was on a gun that had just come back from Taurus after being "fixed." Would I ever carry a Hi-Point for defense? YES but only if it was the ONLY thing I could afford, a gun is better than no gun. ALSO TW y'all should know that a co worker of mine owns 7 Taurus handguns and loves them and has never had an issue with them, my not liking them is my preference due to what I personally have seen. Please visit your local gun shop ( LGS) and handle as many guns as you can find what YOU like and what's reliable, buy it and have fun put 500-100 rounds through it to get familiar with it and then practice with it when you can.

I apologize for the wall of text but this is something I am VERY passionate about, incase you couldn't tell. I also apologize for any and all grammatical errors, I type like I talk and well I was raised in the south so that whole educational issue lol. Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any other questions.

Matt

 

Glock 19, Glock 26, Glock 43, s&w shield 9mm are all great options.

 

Here is my two cents worth. If you have the chance take a handgun familiarization course first that offers many different guns to shoot. See what best fits your hand, budget and how you plan to conceal it. Find a gun shop that sells holsters and try them on, or try on a friends EDC and see how you like how they carry. Take a defensive pistol course and get trained. Put many rounds down range first before going full mall ninja with upgrades.

 

Springfield XDS is mine. And love it!!

 

Me too, want to trade my 3.3 45 for the 4" 9mm.

 

I have 3.3 9mm.

 

Well OP, did you end up with your CCW, and if so what did you decide?

 

Love my shield. First firearm I purchased

 

What’s up with the bottom of the trigger guard?

 

Ah, just looked cut out from the side. Thought maybe you had some attachment or something

 

This x100.

This thread is a little old so idk where the OP stands but if you’re asking this question then you’re not ready to carry concealed and if highly recommend learning good fundamentals first. The rest will come.

The issue with coming to a place like this is that there are so many different opinions from all over the country. You have to dress accordingly to your situation/lifestyle. That includes weapon selection. If you learn how to properly operate under a stressful situation then you can run any firearm with a little practice.

 

Single stack 380 that you can just shove in your pocket.

 

I know I am in the minority, but...

I do not like striker fired pistols for concealed carry. I much prefer a DA/SA operation. The main reason is that generally speaking, people do not spend enough time practicing their draw and presentation, and with a tight to body draw, many things can go wrong. With a long DA first pull, you at least have the opportunity to realize that you may have gotten a finger inside the trigger well during your draw before it’s too late.

I saw this from the experience of being a NRA certified pistol instructor and a Simunitions range instructor.

If you decide to carry a striker fired pistol tight to body, I would strongly recommend a lot of practice on draw and presentation with an unloaded pistol in a safe area.

All that said, I really like the H&K P2000SK for concealed carry. Extremely dependable, accurate and concealable. Not cheap, but a daily carry is not where I want to save money.

 

I’ve narrowed it down to a Glock 19 or a Sig P320. They’re both in the 500 dollar range and reviews put them very close together. Unfortunately I moved a couple months ago to N.C. so I didn’t end up getting my CC License in Florida so I’ll have to attend a class (NC doesn’t waive firearm safety courses for military like Florida does) and apply for it here.

 

Good choices. Can’t go wrong either way... unless you go with the 320.

 

Not sure how it works in other states but only class is required here in NY. It’s not even like a safety class where you’re shooting or handeling firearms. Basically they just go over the laws and information about carrying, and how the permit process works. unfortunately that’s the easy part. My county isn’t as bad as some but it’s been almost 11 months and I’m still waiting for my permit. Good news is it should be granted any day now. Hopefully within the next week, if not I have to call them and see what’s going on. But it’s several months of just waiting for the detective to do the background check and interview. Basically the paperwork just sits around until they decide to get around to it. I tried to stay in their asses, not sure if that helped or hurt me. My advice is just get the class or course over and done with and get the paperwork ready the longer you procrastinate the longer it will take. As for pistol choices, just get what feels right in your hand. Both are good choices.

 

LCP 2; better trigger; w viridian reactor 5 instant-on green laser

 

I found the G19 a little bulky for CC, but then again I'm practically small enough to be a jocky. I bought a Beretta Nano, long before the G43 was released, and have been pretty happy with it.

The trigger feel on the Nano is definitively not on par with the Glocks, but the rest of the gun is pretty similar and they're usually a couple hundred less than the G43.