In your opinion, what is the most popular Carry gun in the USA

Easily J-frames.

One of the five shot "snub nose" revolvers. In the last ten years or so I've seen more smallish semi autos, but in the forty or so years leading up to that it was invariably a small pocket-type revolver. For many a small revolver is till the only choice.

Ruger LCP is my guess. If you grouped all the S&W snubbies together it would be them by a lot.

Click to expand...

Uh-oh. My EDC is an LCP in an ankle holster and a J-frame in a shoulder rig...

Taurus 85 or keltec p3AT. Both cheap enough for anyone to buy and use, small enough to conceal, powerful enough to get the job done.

No way the LPC is ahead of the J-Frame size revolver. As mentioned the LCP hasn't been around nearly as long, there certainly aren't as many of them out there as there are the snub .38s

Current sales are only a part of it. The J frame I carry is over 30 years old.

Click to expand...

I get that, heck I own J-frames and no small Rugers.

However, the majority of states didnt have concealed carry laws until 10-15yrs ago.

tarosean said:

I get that, heck I own J-frames and no small Rugers.

However, the majority of states didnt have concealed carry laws until 10-15yrs ago.

Click to expand...

Ruger wasn't selling LCP's 10-15 years ago.

People carried before they had shall issue.

Fact is there are a ton of j-frame/snub nose .38s out there. More than there are P3AT/LCP/etc.

I really don't know or care what is the most carried handgun.

I carry either a Kimber UCC II .45 ACP, Firestar M43 9mmX19 or a S&W Mod 19 .357 magnum. Mostly the Kimber.

My Jframe 36 is over 50.

J frame gets my vote.

American carry.....

Id say in 12/2014 the most common CCW handgun is the Glock 19.
Followed very close by the S&W snubs: J & E frames.
In 5/10 years, Id add the S&W Shield pistols may be as common as the Chiefs Special was in the 1960s/1970s/1980s/1990s.
Glocks in 19 or 23 formats will dominate the US markets too but the Shields will be very popular.

If you have the time to go through all of this from the ATF, this list may be interesting.
http://www.atf.gov/files/statistics/download/afmer/2011-final-firearms-manufacturing-export-report.pdf

bannockburn said:

1) Glock 19/26
2) Ruger LCP
3) S&W J frame
4) Ruger LCR
5) SIG P238

Click to expand...

I still own and have carried 3 of the 5 on that list

And if I stumble across a 9mm LCR it will be 4 of the 5.
Don't ask me why I want it, I just do.

Since this is all about feelings and opinions I'll say that I have a number of the top choice revolvers but they remain in the safe for the most part.
I would be shocked if there are more revolvers actually being carried today than autos and I'd say the Glocks, XD's, M&P's, & Keltecs carry a majority of that market.
There's no question if I would rather have 10-15 rds vs. 5 or 6 and the reload consideration no matter how it's considered is unquestionably superior in the auto.

I think the J-frame is being overestimated for actual CARRY. Sure they were made for a long time, but concealed carry has really only taken off greatly in the least 10-15 years. A lot of the ones made over the years are probably not seeing duty (as is the case with most guns. Remember only a tiny fraction of gun owners apply for carry permits).

Put it this way - of the people I know who carry - none carry a J-frame (I did know ONE guy who carried one but he passed away about 2 years ago). None even carry a revolver.

So if you're looking at "Most popular carry gun", as in a gun that could be carried, sure, maybe the J-frame. Most popular gun actually carried? I'd probably bet on the LCP.

I would guess j frame also .

Kleanbore said:

But I see very few people practicing with them at the range. Very few.

Click to expand...

This is a good point. It is rare to see somebody shooting a small snub nose revolver.

This of course brings about the question...do most people who carry actually shoot their carry gun? More than once every year or two that is. Because if they do, then the J-frame seems to not even be a contender for most popular carry gun. And if they don't shoot with any regularity...well...I'm inclined to say they are doing it wrong.

1.- Small frame snubnose .38spl.s.
2.-Glock 19/26,s.
3.-1911.s.
4.-LC9.s.
5.-Snubnose .44spl.s
These are what I see the most. I think they are all good choices.

I think the J-frame is being overestimated for actual CARRY.

Click to expand...

I totally agree. And Kleanbore's point about rarely seeing people shooting J-frames at the range is spot-on as well. I'd go so far as to say that I can't even recall the last time I saw a J-frame being used at the range ... uh, 1992 when our investigators still carried Chief's Specials and had to actually qual with them? Not in the last many years, for sure ...

I'd suspect small auto-pistols have captured the majority of the concealed carry market ... which makes Warp's question:

do most people who carry actually shoot their carry gun?

Click to expand...

quite valid. I don't think folks that spend a lot of time at the range do so with handguns that aren't real comfortable to shoot ... but I sure do notice that most folks I see at commercial ranges or the gun club bring out their full-size handguns and big boomers.

Of my admittedly small sample size (the people I know who actually carry regularly):
I know several (2-3) people who carry a j-frame as their EDC.
I know at least three who carry an LCP.
Remainder either carry something else, or have several that they rotate through (although each of them has either a j-frame or and LCP, or both).
I don't know anyone who carries a Glock, although I know several people who own them. I'll go a step further and say that I don't know anyone who carries a double-stack anything, and this mirrors my experience.

I have owned two LCPs (none currently), six j-frames (one currently) and have carried both at times. I'm thinking of picking up a new LCP to try the newer trigger, but that is still up in the air.

I have read several times that S&W's 642 outsells all of their other models put together. I would not be surprised to learn that Ruger sells more LCPs that any of their other models.

But...S&W had about a 50-year head start, so I'd be willing to bet that there are more j-frames in people's pockets than anything else. I think I had actually owned five j-frames before the LCP was created.

Since I only carry pocket sized pistols anymore I shoot them every week at the range.

With some of the newer 380 pocket pistols like the P238 and the G42 comfort is no longer a problem with these smaller guns.

This begins to get into the question regarding what guns were purchased for CCW and what guns actually get carried. G19 is on this proposed list a few times, and for good reason. They are in a decent caliber and the gun itself works. I personally don't like them, but that's beside the point. A lot of people do like them. A lot of people bought them.

But when i see how many threads here, on other forums and discussion among my acquaintances, I get the distinct impression that many of these "CCW guns" were purchased, carried for a short time and then retired while the purchaser looked for something smaller, lighter and less bulky.

I am an advocate of carrying the largest caliber, in the largest frame that you can conceal. Realizing this is different with everyone, real world CCW will range from a full size service pistol to a Kel-Tec or LCP. But many seem to go out of their way to get right into the smaller guns, simply because they view them as being less intrusive into their daily routine.

Most people are unwilling to change anything at all and simply write off mid size to full size guns as non-starters for CCW. Thus, I do not think that the G19, or even my personal favorite, the 1911, is on the list of most popular. With the advent of truly small handguns, I seriously doubt the esteemed Chiefs Special is even high on the list. It's a snubbie, sure, but it's also an all steel revolver. I'm willing to bet that most of them have been, along with the Glocks, pressed into nightstand duty.

Such an experiment would be impossible, but I have a theory. Find 100 people who claim to carry a mid size to full size handgun for CCW and randomly spot check. I'd wager money that 60% of them have the supposed CCW at home and are actually carrying a polymer .380 or 9mm pocket gun, if they are carrying at all.

Here at THR we are a little ahead of the curve, we actually read and discuss our interest in firearms, including CCW. The average gun owner views it as a magic talisman which prevents them from getting the short end of the stick. Who needs to practice with magic?

In short, the lists proposed previously are a likely overview of guns purchased with the intent of carrying. But for a list of guns actually carried, simply make a list of the smallest, lightest handguns chambered in calibers ranging from inadequate to barely adequate.

Probably a Glock