What Pistol do you carry.

I carry my P 938 with extra mag. When home my Glock 30 SF is close at hand.

Sig 239 chambered in 9mm. Why? Because it's equipped with a DA/SA trigger system which in my opinion is safer on a carry pistol than a striker fired option. I carry one spare mag, more for malfunctions than capacity. I also carry a folding blade knife as an alternate persuader on my weak side. If I am going into a darkened environment like a movie theater or out past dark I carry a small LED flashlight that I have used during low light pistol classes. I don't see myself involved in a scenario that will require more than the 8+1 in the initial load but carry the spare mag in case of a failure or intentional mag eject during a tussle. In a proper holster with a proper belt the gun rides high and tight against the body. I bought it used with wear so I have no sentimental attachment to it. If a cop says drop it over concrete I will drop it.

I carry a (drum roll, please...) fullsize 1911.

It's not the most convenient pistol to carry, admittedly. However, if I ever need it I will need it badly. That's not the time to wish for a bigger gun.

My choice was swayed heavily since my teenage years, though. I shot a 1911 and it felt good in my hands. Then Uncle Sam handed me a 1911. I just stuck with what I know.

Пистолет Макарова (PM).



Flawlessly reliable, accurate, acceptable stopping power, acceptable capacity. A fine weapon.

Rohrbaugh R9 in the right front pocket






But I also have a "truck gun" a SAR B6P with a 19 round magazine that rides in a Gum Creek holster at my right knee

For normal EDC in my semi-rural area, something that is small and light enough to carry in my pocket easily. I have four different ones that I rotate according to clothing/temperature. All are DAO with no safety, so manual of arms is not a concern.

I am old-fashioned. For alarming urban "situations" I am a fan of the Thompson M1A1, but that's just me.

When discretion is paramount....Walther PPS. When it's not, Walther P99AS (although I have recently found my way to another G19 which I haven't tested yet).

a s&w 340pd or a Sig 290rs

very soon im using my gssf coupon to buy a glock 26 to replace both of those. i love the idea of having a 2 spare g17 mags in my pockets as O sh*t back ups.

depends on my mood and what im doing and where im going, but its one of these

SR1911
Glock 21
Glock 17
Glock 43

I am in CA where we are generally stuck with no more that 10 round mags.
My main EDC is a G26 + extra mag. Like the OP and others, I'd likely carry a G19 if I weren't restricted by state regs.

S&W M66 with 4" barrel, two moonclips. XS sights with small front. 158 gr .38 spl loaded for 900+ fps. I carry what I use in practice and can't afford commercial stuff.

I carry in either a tuckable leather holster at 1 o'clock or DeSantis Thumb break scabbard at 4.

The 4" barrel extends my range for SD across conference rooms (San Bernardino), malls and theaters (Clackamas). Improves aim anytime.

95% of the time, it's a S&W 640. The other 5% is a Colt Compact 1911. I started out with a full-size 1911, switched to a 642 or 438, then realized my hands couldn't take shooting the light frames anymore, so here I am. I have an LCP for times when pocket carry is all I can manage, which is rare.

I've gone through multiple iterations of carry guns, always in twos; a compact for 90% of the time, and a subcompact single stack for when I can't reasonably conceal the larger pistol. I don't rotate carry guns and before changing guns I will literally put a 1000+ rounds through a new one running drills before I'm comfortable with it. Once I feel I've "learned" it, then it will go into service.

Right now I carry a HK P2000 "light" LEM 12+1 in 357 Sig with Trijicon HD night sights:


I've found the HK P2000 to be utterly reliable, the pistol is approximately the same size as the Glock G19, which makes it relatively easy to conceal while still being large enough (sight radius, weight) to shoot well. It is relatively the same size (lighter) as my Baer 1911 CCO, but with almost twice the capacity. I find the HK LEM trigger to be a superb defensive trigger as it incorporates the positives of a hammer fired pistol, including the ability to ride the hammer while holstering, but allows for a consistent trigger unlike DA/SA guns. The longish trigger take-up allows for the DA trigger safety "margin" while the 5.5 pound pull allows me greater accuracy for the 1st shot, follow up shots are the same 5.5lb pull. There's no DA-SA transition. I have 2 other HKs with light LEM triggers so I practice with this trigger frequently.

The 357 Sig deserves it's own paragraph; awesome defensive caliber, more ooomph than a 9mm, easier to shoot quickly than a .40 with the added reliability of a bottle neck. Expensive if you don't reload, but if you do, only a few more cents than a 9mm to put together. The Speer 125 GDHP load is carried by the US Air Marshals and the Secret Service as well as a couple other LE agencies, from what I've read the cartridge has a good reputation. It really should be a more popular caliber.

When I can't conceal that well due to the "environment", I carry a Walther PPS 9mm, 6+1, with the same sights:


The PPS M1 is a unique little gun that shoots "bigger" than it is. Very thing, so it's easier to dress around. Mine's been reliable and with the 6 shot magazine disappears in an IWB holster. 9mm is as small as I'll go for a defensive pistol, and since the PPS is actually smaller than the .380 I used to carry (SIG 230SL) there's no need for me to go smaller. Just by a simple magazine change the PPS goes from 6+1 to 7+1 to 8+1 capacity, basically the same capacity as a single stack service size pistol.

Both lack a safety, and they share the same style magazine release, both are carried at the 3:30 position IWB.

Chuck

Typically one of these three.....
S&W 686+ 3"
Beretta 92 Compact L
HK P30sk V1

If I read the OP and understood it, Old Guy asked and explained the "why." Lot's of brag posts and photos - but no "why."

We all assess our local risk first. Metro vs suburban vs rural makes a difference, and that also impacts the size, capacity, and type of firearm. Add in the specific lifestyle, and then comes the corporate bans which are highly pervasive and often trump any state's permissiveness.

So the why is where you live, what you do, and how permissive the environment - then you assess not only the risk of being assaulted etc but also the risk of being "persecuted" for exercising your 2A rights in your local legal system. Detection and prosecution is a higher risk more often than actual defensive use.

I live in an Open Carry state, in a town where people can and do walk in with a gun in a holster on their hip, male and female - working retail my last OC was. Good for her. Me? Anti gun work policy, employees will be promoted to "Customer" unless you are employed at the rare inner city location where shootings have occurred. Funny how corporate policy is two faced about that. Most are, they follow the typical American pattern that they deny anyone the use of a gun until someone is killed, then it's ok to protect yourself there because it was a demonstrated threat. All too late for the victim, tho. Go figure - that's how authoritarian groups do it, tho.

BTW, does the NRA Hqs in DC allow carry? Still haven't heard about that.

So, I DON'T carry on a normal workday. Not even to and from because people break into our cars at work - small town but Metro as it is. When I am off the clock, or traveling, that's different.

Kahr CW380, because it's affordable. If used, the gun WILL be seized as evidence and I won't likely get it back for weeks, therefore I will need to have another, and quickly. I don't want to tie up $1,000 in it. Second, it's small enough - very competitive in size and weight to the LCP, which I sold. It has a much better trigger which is only another tenth of an inch longer pull that the G19 - which I sold. It has good working sights and can be upgraded if I choose, later, not rudimentary ones. At close range it might not make a difference - but if I practice at range, which is the recommended thing to do with your personal handgun, decent sights makes the experience better. It improves proficiency and helps when the situation isn't belly shooting close. When it is discharged, it's have much better recoil and handling than said LCP - it's not harshly snappy - which gets you back on target sooner. I can shoot a box of 50 thru it at a practice session where the LCP invited stopping after two magazines. Again, practice and proficiency count for more when under stress, not thinking "it's so small I can forget it's in my pocket" and never taking it to the range at all.

It has a last round hold open and it loads by the slide release - which all duty guns do. There's some points of view that it makes little difference and you should rack the slide to load any defensive gun - but that avoids the issue of loading a magazine against a closed slide. Fail to lock it securely in place and when you do rack it, they frequently fall out. That isn't better, becomes a negative just practicing at the range, and certainly will create a problem just when you already decided you needed more ammo NOW. Nope, professionals avoid weapons with no slide hold opens the same as most modern armies avoid battle rifles that have no bolt carrier hold opens. The AK and G3 are obsolete because of them, among others.

.380? Part and parcel of the improving selection of ammunition. It's not as expensive as it was a few years back, I'm breaking in the Kahr on steel cased Monarch and carrying Hornady American Gunner with XTP bullets. It holds 6 rounds but with a Mag Guts kit can expand to seven and give you a metal round follower, too. That puts the total to eight when carried loaded, again, the size and weight of an LCP if it could do that. A spare mag offers up another seven for a total of 15. If you carry a double stack pistol, will you need to have them all in the gun? Rarely. Most confrontations are handled by informing the aggressor you are armed, much less displaying it, and even less by actually shooting it, which typically involves three shots maximum. I read a lot about people justifying having a 15 shot pistol and carrying it all day - yet for the MOST part, smaller autos are selling well and getting carried. The models and popularity aren't trending toward large duty sized and high capacity guns in the last 15 years - which is exactly why Kahr started up and they are still in business making single stack smaller pistols. Even Glock noticed now that they have saturated the duty gun market and went to a single stack .380. It's their historic antecedent anyway, the Europeans were .380 duty gun users from the start of auto pistol use.

Shot placement is more important than caliber. Practice is more important than comfort. Having a gun that supports both makes it better than one that actually imposes limitations on the carrier. If you won't carry it and won't practice with it then having it becomes the issue. You might not be able to carry at all, but when you do, it should be something you will carry. A smaller, lighter gun easy to carry and easy to shoot makes a better choice.

Why did you choose to carry what you do? Pictures don't explain it.

Sig P250SC in 9MM, IWB at 5 oclock. Lower end of dollar spectrum but I shoot it well. After about 1K+ range rounds, no burps! Total confidence.
Dan

Smith Shield in 9mm in a kydex IWB, or Smith 442 in pocket, or Ruger LCP in pocket holster. Strongly looking at making switch from LCP to Smith Bodyguard .380. But that is for another discussion!

Sig P239 in .357 SIG, one spare mag and a knife. DA/SA suits me well. Oh, and a CTC Lasergrip.

My carry piece rotates through the year as my job function changes.

Most every day, always, I carry a Beretta Pico in my back pocket with the spare mag in my fifth pocket. It's light, it's rugged, it's accurate, and it has been the most reliable pocket .380 I have ever owned. Love this little shooter.

However, I prefer packing more gun if I can. When my job shifts in the fall from sales calls in tucked in polos, I go back to my more comfy tee shirt with unbuttoned over-shirt for my more casual months. I usually carry an FNS 40c in a kydex holster. 10 rounds in the magazine with a 14 rounder available. I love this gun so much. I am kicking around the idea of getting one in 9mm. For me, it's the perfect carry size. 26oz unloaded, 3 1/2"-ish barrel, robust and reliable.

I spend most of my day driving, though. So for me, my most likely used and thus most accessible is in my truck console. I generally keep a snub nose there for rapid response. Be it a 357 SP101, 642, or 9mm LCR. Chances are, if something goes sideways, that would be the first gun I would grab.

I live in a very low risk environment that is low population with a lot of quiet old people around. When violence happens here, it is extremely big news and very infrequent.

So I carry an XDs with the flush fit magazine in 45 acp. I doubt I'd have a need for more than 6 shots here, ever. It is also exceptionally easy to conceal, even under light summer clothing.

However, I am around a lot more people when I go to the city to the north, which is about every weekend. I have been thinking about picking up a 9mm version for more capacity, or perhaps a P30SK for even greater capacity. However that is a lot bulkier gun and will require wardrobe changes, or carrying OWB.

This winter, I may be trying out carrying my VP9 in a Stealth Gear Flex holster.

S&W Shield in 9mm. Why? Out of a number of different pistols I tried at the range, it felt the best in my hand and I shot it better than the other ones. It conceals well and I can put an extra magazine in my left hand pocket. I've put probably 1,500 rounds through it and not one malfunction. For other people maybe one of the ones I rejected would fit the bill for them. Different strokes for different folks.

Glock 26 in an Old Faithful IWB holster, plus one spare G19 magazine. (I however no longer use the Pearce magazine extension.)

My favorites are old school. A three inch heavy barrel S&W Model 36-1 round butt, and sometimes a 3 inch Model 60. For shooting and trips to the woods, I like a Colt Police Positive Special.

But...

Considering current events, I have taken to carrying a Gen 4 Glock 19 with 2 extra mags.

Regardless of whatever I have on my side, I always, always, have an NAA Black Widow 22 Magnum in my front pocket.