What is the caliber of your Every Day Carry pistol?

[CDW4ME]

Normally my primary is a 1911 IWB in either 45 acp or 10mm (didn't vote) plus my 2nd option in front pocket in 9mm.
If I go jogging, bicycling, mowing the yard, then the 9mm (Kahr PM9/Glock 43) in pocket has to suffice.
I do not carry (bet my life) caliber less than 9mm.

Primary pistol should be the one you own that would prefer to defend your life with, if not why you carrying it.
Work attire, jogging, ect... are valid reasons to carry less than preferred pistol, most other are rationalizations (ex: cause "good" area).
No reason for carrying less than a 380 - LCP/P3AT are small enough to fit in the pocket of jorts. (Not me)

 

[C0untZer0]

I think 9mm is a pretty good cartridge. It can be fired out of a gun as small as the Rohrbaugh R9. A 40 S&W can only be made so small, and the gun ends up being a little too big for pocket carry (IMO). I think the .380 ACP is barely adequate, but i do carry a .380 as my BUG to the 9mm primary.

 

[MedWheeler]

Boarhunter writes:

Apparently I am the only one in the crowd that openly admits to carrying a 22LR.... A Smith 43C is ALWAYS in my front pocket. Always. Now I usually also carry a 9mm or 38 special on my hip, but the Smith 22 is always with me.

Though I haven't routinely carried only a .22 in probably three decades, I have left the house far more recently with my NAA mini or my Beretta 21A backing up a bigger gun.

 

[fastbolt]

I voted .38 Spl, because that's been my usual choice for the past week.

However, when I wear some pants that have smaller front pockets, I shift to one of my LCP's.

When I'm not pocket-holstering, but revert to one of my belt guns, it's one or another of the smaller 9's, .40's, or .45's I've used for many years (which means I've used them when working range sessions as an instructor). Now that I no longer have to wear belt gun for work, I'm less inclined to carry and dress around a belt gun. Doesn't mean I don't invest range time with them, as I've owned and used them for many years. I simply don't care to belt on most of them for EDC retirement CCW.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

I carried a 45 Auto for some time, but then switched over to 9mm. Most often I have one of two guns on me, Glock 43 or Glock 19. I do have a few other guns that I carry from time to time.

 

[Hunter86004]

I rarely carry, but on occasion It's either a S&W 686 or S&W 57. The 57 is when I'm in the woods and the 686 is when I'm forced to spend time in the jungle (Phoenix).

 

[MikeInOr]

115gr Fed ball mostly. Have shot some Gold Dot 124gr, and some HST micro 124gr along with a cpl mags of 115gr Tula.

I've read they are not built to shoot anything over 124gr but im not sure how much truth there is to that? Its fine either way because i carry with 124gr Gold Dot anyway. I'll use the heavy 147gr HST and the hot Buffalo Bore 115gr +p+ in my bigger 9x19's. That little DB9 is enough of a handful with standard velocity 115gr-124gr.

Good luck with yours. It's so simple to just grab and slip in your pocket when you are in a hurry yet still feel adequately armed. Let me know your opinion when ever you get a chance to try it out!

I made it out to the range after work today with my new DB9 and 100 rounds of white box 115g Winchesters (first time I have purchased 9mm ammo in 25 years). To be honest I like my Kahr CM9 better in every way... except one... the DB9 fits in my front pocket quite nicely with a Desaints holster, the CM9 is just a bit too big for pocket carry for me. The DB9 wasn't as bad recoil wise as I had feared... but it also wasn't a lot of fun to shoot either. It really lets me know that I shot something. The DB9 isn't as bad to shoot as my NAA Guardian which beats the heck out of my fat trigger finger with its little trigger guard. I put 80 rounds of the Winchester 115gr through the DB9 without a single failure to feed. This was MUCH better than I had expected. For the last 2 days I have racked the slide on the DB9 a few hundred times, too the point the factory lube had a little black in it. I did the same thing with my Kahr CM9 when I bought it and I have never had a failure with it either... my understanding is that failures should be expected in the first couple hundred rounds through a CM9 until it is broken in and I was expecting similar with the DB9. I am very pleasantly surprised.

I like to appendix carry my CM9 when I am doing chores around town... but this doesn't work too great for at work where I am sitting all day. I think the DB9 is going to make it into my daily carry line up. Currently I go between my P32 and LCP depending which pants I am wearing, the weight of the fabric and the depth of the pocket. I can see the DB9 working nicely with looser pants with bigger pockets. I am very pleased with my DB9 purchase and would not try to dissuade any interested person from considering a DB9.

The DB9 isn't up to the build quality of my other pocket guns... LCP. P32, NAA Guardian, CZ45 or NAA 22 mag revolvers and Kahr (not quite a pocket gun) CM9. This doesn't mean it is a bad gun though. When I say the build quality is lower what I mean is the slide is looser, the magazine is looser when seated, the magazine doesn't slide in as easy and the magazine doesn't drop free. I would say that my AK isn't up to the build quality of an AR, likewise I wouldn't call an AK a bad gun either. To me the number one quality I look for in a carry gun is that it goes bang when I pull the trigger. Number two is that I can carry the gun comfortably and easily. So far the DB9 meets these requirement. For some reason many people like to make a fuss over the trigger in their carry gun... don't fret... the DB9 has one.

Accuracy?... with some what careful aim EVERY SINGLE BULLET hit in front of where I was standing!

I feel comfortable carrying my P32 (32 ac) and my NAA 22 mag revolver and even my CZ 45 (25acp)... but I do like the idea of carrying 9mm when possible. I think the DB9 will make it possible to carry a 9mm more often.

 

[TN Outlaw]

I'm glad to hear you got the DB9 in and that its been 100% reliable so far. I agree it's build quality is not on par with the others you named. I guess that's why they are so inexpensive though. I think mine was $219 +tax so I didn't expect much for fit and finish. It does feel nice in the pocket though. Like a phone.

As far as function I do believe mine is getting broke in and starting to up it's reliability and therefore starting to earn my trust. I too have worked the slide and fed some dummy rounds through it since we started talking and it has cycled fine so far.

Although you sure know it's there, those 115gr WWB and 115gr Fed and the like are pretty mild compared to hotter 124gr JHP. The trigger guard hits the front of my trigger finger with the 124gr whereas the Fed 115gr wasn't so bad. Seemed to be a really big difference in felt recoil based upon what ammo I put through it. More so than most guns. Just a little increase in power or bullet wt really shows itself in the hand.

I hope you continue to have good luck with it

 

[Choctaw]

.40 S&W.

 

[C0untZer0]

I did the slide-racking with my CM9, I manually racked the slide 500 times over a period of 4 days - kept a log of it and everything. I did almost everything that Jocko on KahrTalk recommends doing for break in. I cleaned the CM9, including using non-chlorinated brake cleaner in the striker channel. The brake cleaner partially erased the paint on the rear sight. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought Testers Bright White paint and repainted the rear site with a toothpick.

Jocko at KahrTalk recommends using FMJ at first and I had noticed on the KahrTalk forum where users had trouble with some 115gr ammo during the "Break In" phase, and read where guys who were using hotter ammo didn't have problems, so I decided to use "NATO" ammo for the first few hundred rounds. When I say NATO - I mean 124gr FMJ rated at or near 1200 fps from a 5" barrel. That is a little hotter than the average and quite a bit hotter than the rather anemic 124gr Blazzer Brass rated at 1090 fps. I shot fifty rounds of the Winchester Ranger RA9124N (NATO) and 200 rounds of the Georgia Arms 124gr "NATO" I considered those 250 rounds the "Break In" rounds. and I began firing other stuff like 147gr Federal HST.

I've never had any problems to feed, fire, eject or return fully to battery with the CM9.

 

[box22]

45 acp during work hours and 9mm the rest of the time.

 

[Deus Machina]

.38 if I need to be able to slip it in a pocket or move it from pocket to glovebox, 9mm if I can carry holstered or plan to leave it in the glovebox already.
124 or 147gr HST in the 9mm, 125gr whatever in the .38, so pretty similar. The .38 just doesn't get the premium stuff; +P likes to jump crimp.

 

[SharpDog]

for me, it's a light .40 S&W 165 gr. (my vote) or a heavy 9 mm in 147 gr. HST +P.

 

[fastbolt]

The votes showing in today's current list are unsurprising, to me, at least.

They're pretty representative for the guys & gals I've known in LE, in my capacity as a firearms instructor (which allowed me to monitor the qual lists and the calibers maintained in the ammo inventory), and that's from a wide range of years including when there was no "minimum" caliber, as well as when a "minimum" caliber of .32 ACP was adopted for off-duty weapons.

 

[wickedsprint]

9mm, previously in a Glock 26 now a Glock 19.

 

[johnme]

I've been carrying a Shield 45acp IWB. Just love the big old round!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

You know, I just changed my vote. I've been carrying an XDs in 45acp for several years, and given the advancements in bullet tech, I am really thinking about trading it in for an XDs 9mm. When you have Federal HSTs expanding to .60" and larger in gel from 3" barrels, I kind of think maybe having more ammo might be a better choice.

Plus I just realized I carry a 9mm more often than a 45 anyway as my P30sk is my carry gun from fall until spring..

 

[mdThanatos]

9mm for me most of the time, although some times I switch it up to .45.

 

[Slamfire]

This gives me the most power in the smallest package.

 

[Springfeld]

A 38 revolver. But plans to get a 45 colt.

 

[Chevelle SS]

38 Special 642 here.

 

[Winkman822]

I've been rocking a 9mm in some variety since moving away from .45 ACP in a 1911. After the initial move away from .45, it was a 9mm P226, then a P229 for something a little smaller. I then transitioned over to a P30L for lighter weight while wearing the gun all day. Again in search of something with a small footprint but substantially the same manual of arms, I was splitting my time between a P2000 and a Walther P99. I have settled on the P99 because I just shoot it better, and incidentally the double action trigger pull of the P99 feels much smoother and crisper than the V2 LEM trigger of the P2000.

 

[tubeshooter]

I chose .38 in the poll. I normally carry a .38 snub.


Even my .357 carry guns are loaded with .38 Special over 95% of the time.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Gen III Glock 20 10mm Auto with TruGlo night sights loaded with Grizzly Ammo Co 200 gr XTP load. I carry it strong-side OWB in a Bianchi Shadow.

Open carry isn't a big deal in MT and you never know if that bump in the night is going to be a raccoon, a tweaker, or a black bear, so the extra umph is comforting.

 

[Texas10mm]

.45 ACP in a LW Commander sized 1911.