Good responses, thanks!
As I've migrated my carry position finally to about a 12:30 position, I've found that both length and thickness of the gun suddenly make much less difference than at other positions. I have an XD subcompact that's a full inch shorter in muzzle than a G19 but only 1/4 inch shorter in grip height. I started carrying around 4:00 and it still seemed to print no matter what I did. A thinner single stack printed less. I moved more to a 2:00 ish position over time and found the concealment was better, but I needed a short muzzle or else it just dug terribly into my thigh. Now at true appendix position, the muzzle clears my leg and the grip doesn't print at all. I suddenly find no difference at all between the double and single stack.
I like my XD just fine and doubt I'll trade it for anything, but we're I in the market I would consider the G19 size class. An AIWB holster with claw and/or foam wedge will make almost anything disappear!
I Echo some of the sentiments about the pistols that I've seen mentioned here. I'm not a huge fan of Glock, nor do I have anything against them, I find it to be a very utilitarian option which is kind of its whole selling point. I think I prefer almost everything about the new Smith & Wesson, especially in its compact size, but I agree that the texturing is just Overkill. If I were to buy that I almost certainly would end up putting Talon grips on it, which really defeats the whole purpose of having that texture at all. I found just from trying it out for a little while, that I could still feel that texture even through my thin undershirt. The CZ was good all around.
The only thing I can say I noticed that I do better with a slightly longer pistol, is I do seem to shoot more accurately when I'm being rushed. I guess it must be the longer sight radius. That goes for simply using a duty size Springfield pistol, same trigger and ergonomics and everything else, just a longer muzzle, and I do seem to do better with it. But the difference is fairly minimal, it makes a difference for target shooting and point-scoring, but I don't think it has any practical difference at defensive distances.
Anyway, whereas I started out looking at a Glock 19 and thinking who on Earth could possibly carry something that large, I now see that concealment is quite a lot easier than I thought it was.
As I've migrated my carry position finally to about a 12:30 position, I've found that both length and thickness of the gun suddenly make much less difference than at other positions. I have an XD subcompact that's a full inch shorter in muzzle than a G19 but only 1/4 inch shorter in grip height. I started carrying around 4:00 and it still seemed to print no matter what I did. A thinner single stack printed less. I moved more to a 2:00 ish position over time and found the concealment was better, but I needed a short muzzle or else it just dug terribly into my thigh. Now at true appendix position, the muzzle clears my leg and the grip doesn't print at all. I suddenly find no difference at all between the double and single stack.
I like my XD just fine and doubt I'll trade it for anything, but we're I in the market I would consider the G19 size class. An AIWB holster with claw and/or foam wedge will make almost anything disappear!
I Echo some of the sentiments about the pistols that I've seen mentioned here. I'm not a huge fan of Glock, nor do I have anything against them, I find it to be a very utilitarian option which is kind of its whole selling point. I think I prefer almost everything about the new Smith & Wesson, especially in its compact size, but I agree that the texturing is just Overkill. If I were to buy that I almost certainly would end up putting Talon grips on it, which really defeats the whole purpose of having that texture at all. I found just from trying it out for a little while, that I could still feel that texture even through my thin undershirt. The CZ was good all around.
The only thing I can say I noticed that I do better with a slightly longer pistol, is I do seem to shoot more accurately when I'm being rushed. I guess it must be the longer sight radius. That goes for simply using a duty size Springfield pistol, same trigger and ergonomics and everything else, just a longer muzzle, and I do seem to do better with it. But the difference is fairly minimal, it makes a difference for target shooting and point-scoring, but I don't think it has any practical difference at defensive distances.
Anyway, whereas I started out looking at a Glock 19 and thinking who on Earth could possibly carry something that large, I now see that concealment is quite a lot easier than I thought it was.
