First hand gun: concealed or not?

Both of these. I'm also an NRA instructor, and have been a concealed carry instructor in NC.

The gun must fit your hand; if you're a big person with big hands, it opens up the field. I'd recommend a mid-size revolver (J- or K-frame S&W) or a compact semiauto. Whatever you buy that fits, you must PRACTICE with it. You have to develop muscle memory for loading, unloading, safing/unsafing, drawing and firing it. You have to know its characteristics: does it have a magazine disconnect, or will it fire without a magazine in place? Is the safety within the trigger mechanism (Glock), or is there a separate thumb operated switch to release or apply the safety? A revolver is simple, and the safety comes from a long trigger pull with relatively high effort, when fired as double action. Once you're completely familiar with it, you have the option of a light single-action pull if you desire it. Capacity shouldn't be the determining factor in a purchase choice. Lower capacity (single stack magazines, or a revolver) are generally lighter and the grip is smaller.

Consider that most in-home defense and personal defense outside the home shootings are at distances of less than 10 feet. Your actions must be automatic and immediate as well as accurate, because the bad guy isn't standing still for you. You must consider many variables in an instant; once you pull the trigger, you can't "un-pull" it. And know and be willing to endure the investigation after you shoot someone, that you will be treated like any other shooter until justifiable cause on your part has been established and the District Attorney is satisfied that you were within the law. Too little attention is given to this aspect of concealed carry in the courses required for the permit to carry.

 

Not really. My first Point Shooting class was done with a Glock 26. By the end of day 2 I was making center-of-face hits from 25+ yards, on the move, without using the sights. Any quality subcompact suffering from accuracy issues is a software problem, not a hardware problem.

 

Find a range where you can rent a bunch of options. Picking a gun is like dating women, they will all work but some just feel better

 

I have a Taurus PT111 Gen 2 and have put over 2000 rounds through it. Not once has it failed to fire. Great gun and great price. Now my ex's S&W MP shield 40 jammed all the damn time and was twice the price. So from my first hand experience (not google) i trust the Taurus with my life.

 

I was around $500 for my firearm and paid around $80 for my holster but you get the jist.

 

Retired military, range master qualified, thousands training hours on both sides of the equation as student and instructor.
1. Nothing smaller than medium frame for your first weapon. Easier to learn fundamentals that will transfer to compacts and subcompacts as carry weapons. Glock 19, M&P Compact, P320C are all common examples of quality, medium priced firearms. A good basic guide for choosing is to look at what the FBI and the military choose for caliber and service weapon choice. Then take a moment to understand why they chose both.
2. You are buying a tool that your life may depend on and it must work first time, every time. Do not buy cheap. Glocks, sigs, springfields, smiths are moderately expensive for a reason. They are reliable.
3. Buy your training ammo in the same bullet weight and powder load as your defense ammo and train. Basic skill sets get rusty very quickly, especially trigger control.
4. Dry fire training is a good substitute to build muscle memory. You should be doing this regularly when you can't get range time.
5. Train with a purpose. Pick one or two things to work on each training session whether you dry fire or range train. Drill them until they are perfect. Never put a round down range without thought or purpose. I'm not saying don't have fun. I'm just saying have fun while accomplishing a goal.
6. Airsoft training tools (full weight simulated handguns) are available for most popular handguns and rifles. You can setup indoor ranges with a canvas backdrop and cardboard targets that will allow you to practice both basic drills and more advanced movement skills, in your personal space. Unlike the static training at the range, you can work on basic drills to advanced drills to reinforce the principle of movement, cover and concealment, which will keep you in a fight longer and aid in your survival.
7. Once you have the basics down and you feel comfortable in weapons handling, take a professional course or two. There are a lot of great instructional schools available, and they are well worth the money to advance your skillsets in weapons handling, situational awareness, and survival in a hostile force on force environment.

If you do this right, this becomes a lifelong pursuit and a passion.

 

My LGS does a 10 for $10 deal on their range guns. You pay $10 and get 10 rounds in any of them. Great way to try something before you buy.

My first gun was a CZ 2075. I bought it used and it's a nice "midsize" gun. Shoots dead straight and is more accurate than I am for sure. It's small enough that it carries well, but big enough that you can get a decent grip on it. It is my daily carry piece.

I OC, but since you are in CA it doesn't matter like you said. You're going to need something small-ish to be able to carry it comfortably. My CZ does print a little bit if I have a tighter shirt covering it, but 99% of people wouldn't notice it. Hell, around here most people are so oblivious they don't even notice it in plain sight.

 

The glock 26 is 6.2 inches barrel vs the bodyguard @ 5.1 inches and the lcp2 @ 5.00 inches.

These guns are inherently not very accurate at range or no where near as accurate as the glock and the m&p shield series at range.

The kimber is also about 5.4inches.

These smaller carry guns are also shooting .380 ammo.

I know they are both classified as sub compacts but the bodyguard, kimber, and ruger lcp 2 are really micros.

I know 1 inch doesnt sound like much but it actually makes the barrel almost 20% shorter..

 

Just buy a Glock 19 and be done with it. There’s a reason they are the number one pick on nearly every concealed handgun list every year. Small enough to conceal but no loss of functionality for home defense or tactical shooting. Plus good capacity.

Don’t let any one talk you into a larger caliber. The objective is stopping the threat, not looking or being cool by having a larger caliber because someone on the Internet told you you need to. 9mm is the ideal caliber for defense, in or outside of your home.

If you decide to go the concealed route, buy a good quality kydex holster and train train train.

 

" Just buy a Glock" is terrible advice. Sorry

A Glock isn't a good fit for everyone. I find them extremely uncomfortable to hold and don't shoot them well. You can say I may just need practice but bottom line is if it's not comfortable I'm probably never going to shoot it well or at least as well as I could something that fits my hand better.

 

That'd be like saying just buy a ford ranger I mean they are the #1 mid size truck pick across the board!

 

Not trying to nitpick but my Kimber is a Micro9 or 9mm. I also recently bought an 8 round mag for it.

 

Yea i think theres an extended for the body guard too

oh I was looking at the .380 kimber when I was gonna purchase I think?

idk i dont remember I just know they are really freaking small

edit:

yea this one

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/kimber-micro-carry-2-tone-380-acp-semiautomatic-pistol

 

edit holy moly the barrel is 3inches on it.


edit: oh its got a 5.6 overall

 

No it’s not for everyone but since the OP indicated he is inexperienced, it is a very reliable handgun that has been tested and renowned for quality for decades. Plus it’s a very easy firearm to operate. I’ve been shooting for 20 years and have used over 8 different guns for concealed carry and it’s my OPINION that this is a good fit for a beginning or experienced shooter...man everyone is so quick to shit on recommending a Glock lol.

 

I think you have multiple purposes here. a) learning to shoot, and accurately shoot from draw, a handgun. b) something that is safe to conceal.

I'd start with classes. Any gun that goes bang without exploding will do at that point. I'd pick something cheap, full frame, and reliable. Like a gl.... nvm.

Then we'll look at concealment. A lot of that depends on your body frame, holster setup, and if you're still interested after the first step. Personally I'm smaller so I roll with a Shield 2.0, but larger framed folks can get away with larger compact sized arms. And practice. I suggest an airsoft of the same size (or a laser trainer round) that you can practice draw-and-shoots with. Or getting into IDPA and other practical pistol sports.

Of course, you're in CA so good luck getting a permit.

 

You're welcome to your opinion. And I'm not discounting the quality of Glock firearms. I actually do agree with you they make a damn good weapon. The blanket statement of just buy a Glock is still terrible answer.

 

They're (relatively) cheap and go bang reliably. Good enough to learn on.

 

Yes that’s why I expanded on why I thought it was a good fit... and didn’t just say “buy a Glock”. I carry a SIG btw so I’m not just blindly recommending it as a fan boy. Anyway, I digress. Best of luck, OP!