Beginner Searching for a CCW

Firstly, hi my names pretty obvious, im pretty lazy when it comes to screen names.

So i was not raised shooting, or around many firearms...
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Welcome Ryan. I don't have the time I used to, so I'm not around that much, but I am still a member of several firearms forums, and this is one of the best (and may be the best). There is a lot of good information to be found.

As for not raised shooting, me too. My dad is a member of all the big anti-gun groups (he was raised in a house with firearms, go figure), so my first time shooting was in Army basic training.

There are two handguns i have in mind right now, the ruger sr40c and the glock g27 gen 4
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While I don't own either, both are certainly good guns and good carry guns. I have not been a huge fan of Ruger autos in the past, but the current crop of newer Ruger autos are interesting (I can see owning an SR40C and one of their 1911s in the next few years myself). I'm not a huge Glock fan, but they do make very good guns (they just don't do it for me, and I've considered them several times in the past).

Some here have suggested the larger Glock 23 over the 27. In general, a larger gun holds many (non concealment) advantages over a smaller gun, but the Glock may be the exception. I've heard from many different owners on multiple gun forums that they find their G26 (9mm version of the G27) shoots as well or better than their larger G19 (9mm version of the 23). I don't know if that would translate to the G27/23 though due to the greater recoil in .40S&W. Usually though, a larger gun means greater recoil control and the longer sight radius should mean greater practical accuracy. However, the larger gun is also harder to conceal than the smaller gun (a major consideration with Florida summers I would assume).

Personally, I'd suggest going with a 9mm instead of a .40 for a first gun. With proper defensive ammo it is still a good defensive caliber, yet it is a good 10-30% cheaper than .40 allowing more practice time and with 10-30% more shooting for the money you will quickly become a better shot. 9mm has some advantages for all shooters (new or not) as well: quicker follow up shots due to less recoil, and greater capacity in comparably sized firearms being the main advantages. BTW- I am a fan of .40S&W so I'm not just trying to steer you away from .40, nor am I trying to start a caliber war, I'm just trying to suggest what I think is the better choice for a new shooter (and suggest some considerations you may or may not have thought about).
 
yeah i never wear belts especially with shorts (i hardly wear pants, im pretty much always in a set of shorts called Chubbies) so im not sure if there is any holster that would work for that type of short like a belly band or small of back holster. in the colder months i usually wear a zip up hoody, with shorts lol and i think a shoulder holster will probably work and be most comfortable during those months.
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While the two guns you mentioned are good candidates for the one gun to do it all/only gun role (range, home defense, and carry), given your usual dress you will probably need to re-examine either the gun you intend to buy or your mode of dress.

If you want the guns you mentioned, or any gun that is big enough to be reasonable for all duties (range, home defense, CCW), you will probably need to consider changing how you dress (it can be as little as going to shorts with belts). There are a wide range of styles of shorts that take belts. Then, with a good gun belt, an IWB holster and a tee shirt you could conceal just about anything you are comfortable carrying, even in shorts.

If you are not willing to change your wardrobe at all then you'll probably need to go smaller on the gun. The new micro-9s are nearly as small as the small .380 pocket guns of the past, and certainly no bigger (and often smaller) than the PPK and snub-nose revolvers that were the deep concealment options for not all that many years ago. Some, like my SIG P290RS, are actually as comfortable as a much larger gun making extended range trips possible with the gun. Others, like my Kel Tec Pf-9 are not very comfortable after a box or so of 9mm. There are quite a few good options in 9mm: S&W Shield, SIG P938, SIG P290RS (I love mine), Ruger LC9, Kel Tec Pf-9, Kahr P9, Kahr PM9, etc. There are even a few good ones out there in .40S&W if you really want to go with a .40 (though a pocketable .40 will not be fun at the range). If you want to go even smaller, the new crop of small .380s completely disappear, my Ruger LCP is barely bigger and heavier than my cigar and pipe lighters (I usually pocket carry it when I carry it at all- I'm more likely to have my P290).

Try the bellyband of course, but many people who start with them find they don't like them and move on to something else (they can be slow on the draw, and they can be uncomfortable). Of course, other people swear by them, so if they work for you, terrific!
 
I just feel like putting in a word for single-stacks... As a non-LEO ordinary citizen, I don't feel a need to carry more than a 7-shot piece unless there's a high-risk job involved. "Always carrying" is the key for me, and as the years pile up, the increased comfort and concealability of single-stacks has won out. I can always pack an extra mag if I'm feeling a need...

So, consider an S&W Shield in .40, a Walther .40 PPS, or a Kahr CW40 or P40.
 
Ryan,

I moved to central florida from seattle a few years ago. My carry gun in seattle was a glock 19 and it concealed easily year round under a light jacket or flannel shirt. I discovered in florida that with shorts and light fabric shirts that the glock 19 was too much gun (bulk & weight) to comfortably carry and keep reliably concealed. Since moving to florida i acquired three other guns for ccw: 1) glock 26, 2) kahr pm9, and 3) a seecamp .32. Of the four pistols i carry the kahr and seecamp the most - the kahr in a milt sparks executive's companion leather inside the waistband (iwb) holster and the seecamp in a leather pocket holster from grizzle gunleather. I carry the glock 19 and 26 sometimes during the winter months and/or when i feel a need for greater magazine capacity than the kahr. (Im going to replace the kahr with a Sig p290 soon.) (All my defense guns use the same manual of arms.)

You can try a bellyband holster but its probably going to be hot, sweaty and uncomfortable. I recommend against small of back (sob) carry because if youre shoved and fall onto your back you can seriously injure your spine.

If you're going to ccw you better get used to the idea of wearing a belt.

For what its worth i wear shorts almost year round. I wear a muscle t-shirt with a short sleeve button up shirt as a concealment garment. (I'm considering an outside waistband (owb) holster with a size "tall" t-shirt as a concealment garment for those days when its windy outside.) Where im going with this is your method of ccw will evolve as you gain experience and experiment. Ive been ccw'ing for 30 years.

Like many others i suggest some training by a certified instructor. I suggest you check out titusville rifle and pistol club, about 5 miles east of I-95 on highway 46. You can find their website by searching google. They offer NRA classes for a reasonable price.

Good luck!
 
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Go to the range and rent

Look outside those two guns at others. Most things come down to personal preference. Having many different guns to choose from will make you a more informed buyer.
I recommend a revolver as a first gun. They are simple and pretty much universal to learn on.
 
Welcome to the forum. Lots of good experience from members here that will help you.

Excellent choice in G27, imo. It's an awesome first handgun. It can be ccw easily, although a bit heavier/wider than some. It's a great night stand gun. Great for practice, recoil-wise. Great caliber & ammo is generally available. Super reliable. Very accurate.

The magazine capacities are super versatile too, allowing to use supplied mag or ones that hold tons of rds, for different purposes. So, no reservations here in that being your first handgun.

With that said, buy that one or similar gun now, based on your research, gut, feel of gun, comfort of caliber, your body size/shape for IWB, etc. but expect that you'll most likely wanna buy a 2nd one down the road that might offer lighter/smaller ccw option for comfortable routine carry. I dig my G27 but still use smaller ones often based on comfort/clothing.

Good luck and always keep 'em pointed "down range"!
Big
 
Heresy, I know! but...

I carry a Bersa Thunder 380.
I've had this pistol for 18 years and have run about 6000 rounds through it.
It shoots flawlessly.

Fixed barrel accuracy, fairly small and light weight, almost straight-in feed
angle, excellent ergonomic fit (even in my big hands), SUPERB trigger, and
one of the best factory warranties in the industry.

But my trusty little friend is getting a bit old and I'm shopping around for a
worthy replacement. I'm looking to upgrade some in the process.

So I selected a new Bersa Thunder 380 with the satin nickle finish and Crimson Trace grips. :p

Google around for reviews of the Bersa line. from .22 to .45, they are great
guns and excellent values.

Really hard to beat - for the bang or for the buck.
 
Lots of great posts here and you will see we all have a different opinion.....slightly.

I hear you say:
- first gun
- first handgun
- no formal training
- need CCW and HD gun
- have support buddy
- not sure how/where to carry

Questions to you:
- live alone or shared housing?
- HD or CCW more important?


Normally, I would say buy a 22 and get very proficient with it. That would slow your progress and 22 is stupid hard to get...

SO, GET A 9MM. Cheap, small, low recoil, lots of gun choices...

GET FORMAL TRAINING....I received informal training from my dad for 15 years....I needed formal training. 2 classes later, I was really ready for CCW.

GUN....Sure, we all want a micro compact to shoot 50 rounds a month out of and CCW daily...but actually, you need to shoot thousands of rounds to get trigger time in. So, I would look at a Kahr CW9, G19, or XDM service sized gun. The Kahr would be best for CCW.

What to carry in? Well, you have a decision to make. You need to adjust your wardrobe slightly...Just like a woman can't carry in daisy dukes and belly shirts, you need a belt and or a cover shirt.

In FL hot weather, I usually carry my P40 IWB with a "wife-beater" shirt under a short sleeve loose fit collared shirt...buttoned or not depending on mood/wind. Shorts are loose fitting and I only carry a wallet, small knife and a small light.

Some times I go shoulder rig with same clothes or worst case, I have a P32 for shirtless days...which are rare since I met food!
 
Welcome to TFL.
Finding a good gunshop/range would be a great first, or rather next step. One that both offers professional training classes, and rental guns. You can get a good basic education that might just include a point or two inadvertantly passed over by your informal training. Plus the oportunity to actually get a hands on feel for various guns before you lay out the cash. More training is never wasted, and the opportunity to try various guns can be a lot of fun.
Now, to some suggestions. With your year round warm weather, an easily concealable "Mouse gun" (How fitting for an Orlando resident. :D) like the Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP would be good. If you are uncomfortable with the power of tye 380ACP round, with a small loss of concealability you could step up to a mini-9 like the LC9, or offerings from other makers.
 
wow. crap ton of replies to read through. so, thanks for all the suggestions. i certainly have a lot of guns to look at. also, i remembered why i trusted my friend and his father so much; the dad was a handgun trainer for the police in texas, as well as the FBI after he left the police. That, said i realize that i do have to get formal training, and i will of course when i get nearer to obtaining my CCW permit in the next few months.

also a few specific replies.

Nathan said:
I hear you say:
- first gun
- first handgun
- no formal training
- need CCW and HD gun
- have support buddy
- not sure how/where to carry

Questions to you:
- live alone or shared housing?
- HD or CCW more important?
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I live with my girlfriend of 4 years, in a moderately safe area of florida, by that meaning there really isnt a SUPER safe part of florida, stuff happens occasionally just about everywhere.

i digress.

to me both are just as equally important, as i dont have boatloads of money to spend (im a recent college grad, might have forgotten to mention that.)

that said, i want something that will perform adequately for both purposes, something that i can keep next to the bedside for home defense, and something i can have on my person/in the car if we are out somewhere im not familiar with.

chaim said:
If you want the guns you mentioned, or any gun that is big enough to be reasonable for all duties (range, home defense, CCW), you will probably need to consider changing how you dress (it can be as little as going to shorts with belts). There are a wide range of styles of shorts that take belts. Then, with a good gun belt, an IWB holster and a tee shirt you could conceal just about anything you are comfortable carrying, even in shorts.
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I am not opposed to adding a belt to my off-work-attire, i just havent gotten around to finding a belt, my job keeps me pretty busy.

im liking the size (online) of the S&W shield. i think ill add that to my list of candidates. both 9mm and .40

i watched this http://us.glock.com/confidence/videos#DqmTiIBIFV8

i will have to keep this in mind.
 
"my friends father is definitely one of the few who knows what they are talking about. im not skeptical per se but if something seems off ill call someone out on it."
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How would you know the difference? How would you know if something is "off" or not? Don't play games with your life or safety. If the LE in question does not have some kind of certification as an LE trainer, or a NRA certification at the very least ... walk away, so far as getting instruction is concerned.
 
While I've never heard of any serious issues with the Ruger SR line of guns, I won't own one. The SR line has an internal key lock, magazine disconnect, and a manual thumb safety. To me these features are superfluous and I loathe extra junk on my defensive guns. ...
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Just fact-checking ...

There is no "internal key lock" on the SR series of pistols from Ruger. Period.

The magazine disconnect is of questionable utility, but can easily be removed in about 5 minutes time without affecting the reliability of the gun. Removing it gives the additional advantage of lightening the trigger pull a bit.

The thumb safety is a judgement call. I am not a huge fan of external safeties on guns unless they have an especially light trigger. The SR safeties have a strong bias towards staying "off" when in that position. What this means is that it can be carried this way without any realistic fear of accidentally being bumped "on".
 
I am not opposed to adding a belt to my off-work-attire, i just havent gotten around to finding a belt, my job keeps me pretty busy.
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You may want to consider buying online. A good gun belt is a pretty heavy duty belt, the typical belts you buy at a clothing store won't cut it. Just about any major holster maker will also make gun belts. I've worn belts from Bianchi, Galco, Old El Paso Saddlery, and Gould & Goodrich. By far my favorite are Bullhide Belts:

http://www.bullhidebelts.com/Products_ep_45.html

They are sturdy, not overly expensive, better quality than the mass produced belts (like G&G, Galco and Bianchi), and faster than the custom belts from most smaller holster makers.
 
While heavy slugs and high velocity sound wonderful at first blush, maybe
think about how many layers of sheet rock such bullets can penetrate.
(Two layers per interior wall)
There was a very public murder trial last year about exactly that.

Second - you won't find many new handguns that don't have a key lock
of some kind. Lawyers...

I have nothing against the Ruger SR1911. Good gun.
But I'd take a Springfield Range Officer first (If I were going to have a .45).
The match grade barrel and bushing mean more to me than the flashy
exterior features of the others.

But I don't collect 1911s. To me they are too big and bulky for comfortable
carry, and can penetrate more walls than I'd want a round going through -
outside of the movies.

In 18 years of carrying my .380 I've never fired it in anger.
I've never pulled it out for cause.
And only 3 or 4 times have even been thankful it was within reach.

But it's always there.

A .380 in your pocket is better than a .45 in the car.
 
.380acp, NRA magazine, protection....

I can not understand some forum members & CCW holders support or use of the .380acp caliber.
In 2014, there are several sub-compact/lightweight .40/9x19mm/.45acp/etc semi auto pistols that are far better. :rolleyes:
About 3 years ago, I read a printed article in a NRA article about .380acp defense type pistols. None of the models were 100% reliable or able to cycle/feed defense type ammunition correctly.
A .380acp is better than nothing but it's not ideal.
You can learn to properly shoot or train with a .40S&W, .357sig, 9mm, .45acp the same way you use a smaller .380acp pistol.
Smart armed professionals or CCW license holders often carry a sub compact pistol in the same caliber as a larger main EDC(everyday carry) model then they use spare mags in either weapon. ;)
For example, you can buy a Glock 23 .40S&W compact & a smaller 27 as a back-up. Or a PX4 Storm pistol with a PX4 sub compact as a back-up/2nd gun.
 
Sorry to dispute something you read, Clyde, but that proves not to be the case
with my .380 Bersa

It HAS been 100% reliable - for nearly two decades!

I don't know what more to tell you.
 
Belt: Rick Garcia

I really like the belt I just got from Rick. The best I've used...way better than my bullhide. A bit thinner, but very supportive.
 
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rynjblajda said:
^^ read second page of posts. he is a certified instructor and taught both officers and FBI agents after retiring.
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Whoa!

Why don't YOU read the posts. Nowhere have you stated that he is certified by anyone, or what certification(s) he might hold or have held, and whether or not any certifications are current. Nor have you in any way identified the venues in which he was supposedly training LEOs in Texas and FBI agents. To be brutally honest, I ain't buying it. The likelihood of a Texas municipal officer or state police officer training FBI agents in firearms use is so ridiculously small that it's not even worth thinking about. It's more customary for state and municipal departments and agencies to send their officers to the FBI for advanced training.

Further, as has been mentioned more than twice, you do not have sufficient experience or knowledge to be able to judge whether or not what your friend's father is teaching you is valid or not. And without a lot more information about exactly who he trained for and what training he provided, nobody here can make that call for you.
 
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