Picking your conceal weapon

[RandallC]

What are some things that you look for when choosing to purchase your concealed carry weapon?

price, brand? Ect

 

[Rubicon]

What are some things that you look for when choosing to purchase your concealed carry weapon?

price, brand? Ect

Age:
While I'll admit I got excited for the hellcat. You don't want an early production of a design because there may still be some kinks.

Reviews and testing:
For pretty much any weapon you can find some guy on YouTube who put 1000 rounds and a pound of mud and sand through it. I like to know how a guns reliability will compare to others before I buy. This also allows you to see why design age matters. Sometimes early production weapons fail miserably (cracked frames and what have you) while later production weapons of the same design thrive.

Size:
I dont want people to know I'm carrying so I've been going with subcompact pistols like the xds. However, I plan to go up in size to a compact since I run the extended mag on the xds anyway. I think I can conceal a little more width.

 

[Bamahound]

I agree with Rubicon on all that he said. Proven quality, price and choices of quality mags/ capacity available. Some don't feel right even high dollar so I know by holding it if I'm going to like it

 

[RandallC]

This is an article I wrote.

How does someone pick their pistol they are going to conceal carry?

Picking and choosing a firearm as your concealed carry weapon can be a quick decision, it can take a moment to decide what you need for your self defense. When I am selecting a firearm to go on my side I am looking for a few characteristics that I think are most important to me. You may have different ideas than I and that is ok. Situations are different for everyone and what you like is different then what I like. However, If you are trying to choose a firearm as your concealed weapon. I will give you food for your thoughts when looking and choosing a firearm.

Reliability

When I am shopping for a firearm (every firearm of mine has to be proven and tested) reliability is the most important item on the agenda. If I pull my firearm and it fails to feed, fails to eject, stovepipes or any of the other 100s of things that could go wrong with a firearm in an instance. This is speaking to the firearm itself not human error, or lack of training. I want to know that people have put thousands of rounds in these firearms. I want to know the ins and outs of this firearm before I put it on my side and walk out the door with it. Glock 19s are a prime example I have carried the Glock 19 Gen 4 9mm for months on it without cleaning it. You can watch stress test on youtube of the Glock 19 shooting in adverse situations.

These firearms from Glock have been put though the paces over the last few years. They continue to run even after being under water, dirt and other situations. When I purchase a firearm I need at-least a few days of a range time and 500-1000 rounds of ammo to put down range and see how its going to hold up to dirty, under-oil/no-oil conditions. This is not to say I do not properly clean after each range visit but it need to perform flawless at the range.

Capacity​

In this category, most of the time I only have the single magazine filled with hollow points in my firearm. Minimum for me to carry a firearm in a self defense situation or concealed is 12 (notable Taurus PT-111). For me persoanly usually carry a semi-compact or compact pistol but it is all the same. The firearm needs to have the capacity to eliminate the threat or threats that may encountered. As noted, the Taurus PT-111 is a 12+1 capacity firearm carrying the one magazine. Previously, carried the Glock 19 which is your typical compact 15+1 capacity. The current pistol in testing is the Sig p320c which is going to be 15+1 capacity and ordered a extra mag holder.

Ease of Use​

The concealed firearm should be easy to use no more bells and whistles then it should have to make you have the advantage in a situation. Building firearms of the highest fanciest is great but not in everyday use for the practical person looking for self-defense and deep concealment. Avoiding the extras, like red dots, flashlights, your trigger jobs, milled slides allow for you to conceal deeper and not have as much bulk on your person in a time of need. Deep concealment has a open meaning depending on the person, to define by my terms only would be shallow so this is just for me and may be different for you. I want to make sure no one know I have a firearm like the pistol is not even there in the present.

Manufacturer​

Does manufacturer play a role in the decision to carry the firearm? Yes, major brands tend to be test and true Sig, Glock, S&W, FN, HK and many others are the ones to carry, not your off brand as you may call them. Tristars, Jemision, hi-point, and many more have a place and time just not in my arsenal.

 

[Rubicon]

I agree with Rubicon on all that he said. Proven quality, price and choices of quality mags/ capacity available. Some don't feel right even high dollar so I know by holding it if I'm going to like it

I agree feeling it is important too. You don't even realize how important the shape of the grip is until you pick a pistol up and it feels like you were born holding it. Sure, you can train around anything but having something that feels natural to you is really nice. For me, the cz p10 feels perfect. It will be my next purchase one of these days.

 

[Dfalt]

This is an article I wrote.

Good article. I would say that a light, or at least night sights, is something to consider even if you end up with a little extra bulk. Being able to see your sights and target in dim light where most attacks occur is a huge plus and you can blind your attacker with the light as well.

My "out of town" carry is a Glock 19 Gen 4 as well, all stock except for a Surefire X300U light and my "in town" carry is a Sig P365. I keep the P365 in a wallet holster so I don't have to make any special considerations for concealing it like I do my Glock but it comes at the cost of a slower draw. I think the big consideration everyone needs to make is that every choice is going to have some trade-offs and you need to figure out what works for you.

 

[RandallC]

Ya, you are right I didn’t take the opportunity to talk about night sights but they are a great stock-alike upgrade. This was mainly meant/geared toward deep concealment for me. Discussing on how I want to avoid anymore bulk than I have too to be undetectable and in the shadows so to speak.

 

[Rubicon]

Ya, you are right I didn’t take the opportunity to talk about night sights but they are a great stock-alike upgrade. This was mainly meant/geared toward deep concealment for me. Discussing on how I want to avoid anymore bulk than I have too to be undetectable and in the shadows so to speak.

I dont really see the purpose of night sights. If it's too dark to see your sights, isn't it too dark to identify who/what you're shooting at? If you're running a flashlight, shouldn't that allow you to use your standard sights at reasonable pistol ranges?

 

[RandallC]

I dont really see the purpose of night sights. If it's too dark to see your sights, isn't it too dark to identify who/what you're shooting at? If you're running a flashlight, shouldn't that allow you to use your standard sights at reasonable pistol ranges?

Yes, I usually do not have a flashlight and usually do not have night sights either.

 

[Dfalt]

Night sights are for low, but not no, visibility situations where you can see but getting a good sight picture would be difficult without them. A light is always going to be better for low light/no light situations, but if form factor won't allow (or you have no no attachment points) night sights are better than having no kind of illumination.

 

[MarkW]

Hard to be a hammerless snub 38. With the right set of grips, there is no rub with an IWB holster. A must for some of us who are blessed around the mid section.

 

[Bypass]

First I check to see if it is a Glock 19 then I carry it.

 

[robertamcvay]

I get asked this question occasionally and my answer is always the same; a quality firearm that you can shoot! There are several quality firearms out there that I just cannot shoot quickly and accurately to save my life. Can I use them to defend myself, sure, but I am unable to shoot them as accurately as I prefer, so I carry a pistol I am comfortable with and can shoot accurately. Additionally, I am one of those people that believes in purchasing, using and carrying the same "platform" to ensure that I am more than capable of operating the platform without thinking about it or having to look at it. I also am a firm believer in carrying the pistol in the same place, everytime. Some don't believe in this, but having been in sticky situations before, you will always revert back to what you know when there is no time to think about it (ie.. always carry on your right hip?? That is where you will go to under stress, even if you decided to carry in the small of your back that day..oops).

 

[madmyk]

I dont really see the purpose of night sights. If it's too dark to see your sights, isn't it too dark to identify who/what you're shooting at? If you're running a flashlight, shouldn't that allow you to use your standard sights at reasonable pistol ranges?

There are low light (not really no light) situations where you can easily identify a entity apart from their surroundings and not have enough light to see your sights. It is possible that entity could easily be determined to be a threat. It is also possible you would still want to be sure of keeping on target - sight picture would aid in that endeavor.
That said, one would hope we all have enough trigger time practice to not need the sight picture at self defense distances.

Yes, I am talking about hypotheticals. But isn't that basically what being prepared is about? "If there is an intruder...", "If the mugger/carjacker/blah/blah/....attacks". All of those "If's" we all hope we never have to deal with but pray we are ready for. For the low price of a set of night sights, and the "what if...." they provide you preparation for... why not have them?

 

[Panxerox]

What are some things that you look for when choosing to purchase your concealed carry weapon?

price, brand? Ect

I like the Polish p64, good cartridge, super accurate (consistent 100 yd minute of paper plate), small and slim with enough weight to handle well and I like that it has a heavy first round trigger pull so I can carry decocked round in but with a very light 2nd round trigger pull.

 

[daveinalabama]

Lots of really good replies here. I find that familiarity is probably one of the more important factors. For example, similarly-sized Glock 9 mm, 40 SW, or 45 ACP will give you the same feel which equates to consistency of presentation and fire. That's important to me and the reason I'm trying to narrow my carry inventory to one, maybe two manufacturers.

 

[CoastForce1812]

Stuff is blown out of proportion with ccw pistols I think. Just buy what you can shoot, will carry frequently, is safe, and is reliable. I run a G26 or a G42 depending on my outfit everyday, but there are hundreds of options that aren't glocks. If you're willing to do IWB, I'd say check out the Shield plus, the Max9, the p365, or the Hellcat.

 

[Bolts Rock]

1- How does it shoot? If it shoots like crap we're done.

2- Is the brand known to be reliable with good customer service?

3- How easy is it to conceal and carry.

That's it.