Ryan,
I live in Arizona, shorts and t-shirt year round. About a year ago, I bought my first CCW gun, and it was a 9mm Shield (Crossbreed Minituck). Eventually, I decided it was too big and bulky for everyday use (and it's a small single stack) and got the Bodyguard 380, which I now carry every day all the time (Crossbreed Appendix).
All this baloney about wearing a Hawaiian print shirt, fanny pack, baggy clothes, etc??? NO WAY dude. I'm 27, wear a regular tee shirt (not oversized), jeans or shorts (not baggy, in fact Levi 501), and the pistol DISAPPEARS in my waistband. I carry in an appendix holster at 2 or 3 o clock.
Why did I move away from the SW Shield ?
1) Most larger pistols (anything except seecamp, bg 380, lcp, etc) are usually carried at the 4 o clock or 5 o clock position, assuming you're going to carry IWB. I didn't like the pistol being behind me. What if you're disarmed? What if you need to keep your hands in front of you in a struggle? What if gun gets caught in shirt on the way out of holster? Lots of room for error.
2) Bending over or reaching up to get something would often expose pistol. Now, anyone nearby may know I'm packing. It was also REALLY annoying. Gotta grab items on bottom shelf at grocery store? Hello, exposed pistol. Old lady asks you to grab item on top shelf? Better hope you can grab it with 1 hand, because other hand will have to hold shirt over pistol or hope grandma doesn't mind when your gun becomes exposed.
3) My gun is behind me!!!!! See number 1!!! ugh!!!!!!!!!
4) I wasn't comfortable carrying the Shield without the safety being on. The trigger was a little light for my taste, but I worried that I may not take safety off in a defensive situation.
why BG 380:
-Trigger is heavy enough to carry w/ safety off
- very compact, no one ever knows I'm carrying.
-No worrying about gun being exposed in day to day life
-gun is in FRONT of me
I will say, unfortunately you need (at least) 2 guns, because no single gun is going to be perfectly concealable and fun to shoot. You will not find the BG fun to shoot at all, but you need practice. The BG (or LCP) can be painful after 50 or so rounds. 380 ammo is hard to find, and more expensive than 9mm. So, in addition to it not being fun to shoot, it's HARD to even have the opportunity to shoot it. I haven't tried the G42, but it's a little big for my taste.
The Shield wouldn't be a bad choice (9mm, not 40), but I do think it's a bit big. I wanted a gun that I would always have with me 100%.
You need to put lots of rounds down range. I shoot 3x a week, usually with my 22 buckmark camper and rotate out between my shield (now my nightstand gun), my bodyguard, and my 12 gauge (under bed gun) with the 22 so that each gun is shot once per week.
I know it's lengthy, but I just wanted to share my experience because there are a few similarities between my situation and yours.