HistoryJunky
New member
My LCP is about the largest gun I'd want to pocket carry, dimension wise. I used to have a Shield in .40 that I pocket carried, but looking back it was a pretty ridiculous endeavor. It's not a pocket gun.
Best small concealed carry gun?
- Thread starter keithdog
- Start date
diggler1833
New member
I have a S&W 637 and absolutely love it. Goes everywhere with me.
I also have a Beretta 21A, and while it is even easier to stuff somewhere the lack of firepower concerns me too much to carry.
I also have a Beretta 21A, and while it is even easier to stuff somewhere the lack of firepower concerns me too much to carry.
Good Morning, ed308,
I do like your gun. If it's made by Sig, I like it. Your P-238 is one good looking gun.
I'm not much a real small (mouse) gun guy because bad guys can come in big sizes and under the influence of zombie intoxicants like myth & PCP, but if I were able to get my hands on a P-239 in .40 S&W and a new Colt Cobra, I'd be a happy small gun dude.
I do like your gun. If it's made by Sig, I like it. Your P-238 is one good looking gun.
I'm not much a real small (mouse) gun guy because bad guys can come in big sizes and under the influence of zombie intoxicants like myth & PCP, but if I were able to get my hands on a P-239 in .40 S&W and a new Colt Cobra, I'd be a happy small gun dude.
there are many levels of experience, many different people, and many different guns. there is no best small concealed carry gun unless you reduce it to the simplest terms to fit the lowest common denominator. a J frame is a real option, as is a DAO semiauto like a Seecamp or kel-tec, or one of the various poly "safe action" mini guns.
Sure like my S&W 642. Small, lightweight, and totally snag-free.
https://snwcdnprod.azureedge.net/si...earms/images/163810_01_lg_0.jpg?itok=_pEWgsGu
https://snwcdnprod.azureedge.net/si...earms/images/163810_01_lg_0.jpg?itok=_pEWgsGu
ShootistPRS
New member
As far as I'm concerned there are only a few necessities in a carry gun.
1. You have to be able to put three rapid fire shots on target.
2. the rounds you use have to be able to stop the BG.
3. You have to be able and enjoy training with it.
If a pocket 22 LR works for you then that is great. If a tiny little 9mm recoils to the point where you don't like to shoot then get a heavier gun or lighter ammo.
I started looking for a 3 Gun pistol about two years ago. My requirements were that it had to be accurate. It had to carry 15 rounds. It had to be as reliable as my revolver. and it had to be all steel - there is no place in my mind for plastic in a gun that is going to be used as much as a competition gun. I wanted adjustable sights and some weight for less recoil and faster follow up shots.
The biggest difference between this gun and a CCW is the caliber. If I was going to carry an auto, I would want at least a 40 caliber. The 9mm is an auto version of a 38 special +P and I don't trust the potential of the cartridge. A 40, 45ACP, or a 10mm would be much better than the 9mm. The 40 and 45 are ballistically close enough to be twins and the 10mm is a ballistic twin of my 357.
Other people have differing views and they are as valid as mine are. You have to choose a caliber you trust and can handle. You have to do the same for the gun. It should fit your hand and be comfortable to shoot so you shoot it a lot.
1. You have to be able to put three rapid fire shots on target.
2. the rounds you use have to be able to stop the BG.
3. You have to be able and enjoy training with it.
If a pocket 22 LR works for you then that is great. If a tiny little 9mm recoils to the point where you don't like to shoot then get a heavier gun or lighter ammo.
I started looking for a 3 Gun pistol about two years ago. My requirements were that it had to be accurate. It had to carry 15 rounds. It had to be as reliable as my revolver. and it had to be all steel - there is no place in my mind for plastic in a gun that is going to be used as much as a competition gun. I wanted adjustable sights and some weight for less recoil and faster follow up shots.
The biggest difference between this gun and a CCW is the caliber. If I was going to carry an auto, I would want at least a 40 caliber. The 9mm is an auto version of a 38 special +P and I don't trust the potential of the cartridge. A 40, 45ACP, or a 10mm would be much better than the 9mm. The 40 and 45 are ballistically close enough to be twins and the 10mm is a ballistic twin of my 357.
Other people have differing views and they are as valid as mine are. You have to choose a caliber you trust and can handle. You have to do the same for the gun. It should fit your hand and be comfortable to shoot so you shoot it a lot.
Pond James Pond
New member
This thread needs more pictures!!
(hint, hint!
)
(hint, hint!
)Guess I decided not to get involved in this thread late last year, as I didn't see it listed as something to which I'd contributed.
Okay ...
The idea of a "pocketable" defensive handgun is not without a lot of variable definition, usually because it's considered differently from the perspectives of different people. Not uncommon, right?
So, from my perspective and experience ...
If I don't feel the day's risk assessment merits belting on one of my 9's, .40's or .45's, or one of my .357 or .44 Magnum revolvers ...
... I've typically, over many years, settled on one of my several 5-shot J-frames.
Starting back about 2012, however, I reconsidered the newer plastic .380's, and the newer ammunition, and decided to add a Ruger LCP to my retirement CCW stable. Then, I later added a stainless version of the LCP.
The LCP's fit in a number of shorter & tighter pants front pockets in which I can't carry or conceal one of my .38/.357 snubs. Since I've reached the point in my life where I'm no longer quite so ready to "dress around" a handgun (having carried one with one or another badge for just over 34 years), the little LCP's suit my occasional needs for a low profile, easily pocketable small caliber defensive handgun.
Sure, I prefer the heavier bullet weights of the .38 Spl, but this is one of the "choose your own compromise" situations and choices.
Additionally, in recent years I've pulled an older NAA .22LR from the safe, which I'd not carried for close to 20 years ... and I've added a short 1 1/8" NAA .22MAG, and a Black Widow 2" .22MAG w/.22LR convertible cylinder.
I consider the NAA mini revolvers to be mostly a supplemental, last-ditch "Onion Field" hide-out gun. (Look up the Onion Field incident, if you're unfamiliar with it.) Other folks look at them more as gentlemen's pocket jewelry, or a novelty. Easy to understand those perspectives.
I also grew up learning to shoot revolvers using SA revolvers, so the added manipulation of the NAA's doesn't seem bothersome to me, although other folks can certainly have other opinions and experiences. That's what makes a horse race, after all.
FWIW, there are some interesting modern ammunition developments in the .22MAG that offer some edge in utility, such as the Speer .22MAG Gold Dot, specifically designed for a 1.9" barrel.
Handguns are a compromise. Where you want to start making the compromise is up to you.
Personally, I'm not interested in a .25 ACP or .32 ACP, but that's me. I'd also not care to carry a .22LR semiatuo pistol, as I've seen my than my share of them fail to function during normal range training quals over the years, even the best makes/names. Granted, most stoppages seem to be related to poor owner maintenance practice (dry/no lube & dirty), but QC of .22LR ammunition can be variable, too. (Lacking enough power to cycle a slide isn't a problem with the mini revolvers, of course, but poor priming/manufacture QC can still be a problem.)
I sometimes use a LCP as a secondary to a snub or larger belt gun. Sometimes one of the NAA's is the 2nd or 3rd gun being carried (that 'hideout' for an Onion Field scenario).
The snubs and LCP's had to demonstrate their practicality, controllability & accuracy in the same off-duty/retirement qual courses-of-fire as my larger handguns. The NAA's are used within the ability of their slow rate of fire, but not out to much more than 7-10yds. Mostly I envisions their usage at 1-3yds. Extending the range of a punch, so to speak.
If I were to return to working uniform or plainclothes, being freuqnetly placed into high risk situations throughout a day/night, the smallest secondary weapons I'd consider to back up my primary handgun would be one of my J's or LCP's.
Then "best" in category? Not something that's definitive across the board. Going to be up to the individual. It' still just a handgun, after all.
Just my thoughts.
Okay ...
The idea of a "pocketable" defensive handgun is not without a lot of variable definition, usually because it's considered differently from the perspectives of different people. Not uncommon, right?
So, from my perspective and experience ...
If I don't feel the day's risk assessment merits belting on one of my 9's, .40's or .45's, or one of my .357 or .44 Magnum revolvers ...
... I've typically, over many years, settled on one of my several 5-shot J-frames.
Starting back about 2012, however, I reconsidered the newer plastic .380's, and the newer ammunition, and decided to add a Ruger LCP to my retirement CCW stable. Then, I later added a stainless version of the LCP.
The LCP's fit in a number of shorter & tighter pants front pockets in which I can't carry or conceal one of my .38/.357 snubs. Since I've reached the point in my life where I'm no longer quite so ready to "dress around" a handgun (having carried one with one or another badge for just over 34 years), the little LCP's suit my occasional needs for a low profile, easily pocketable small caliber defensive handgun.
Sure, I prefer the heavier bullet weights of the .38 Spl, but this is one of the "choose your own compromise" situations and choices.
Additionally, in recent years I've pulled an older NAA .22LR from the safe, which I'd not carried for close to 20 years ... and I've added a short 1 1/8" NAA .22MAG, and a Black Widow 2" .22MAG w/.22LR convertible cylinder.
I consider the NAA mini revolvers to be mostly a supplemental, last-ditch "Onion Field" hide-out gun. (Look up the Onion Field incident, if you're unfamiliar with it.) Other folks look at them more as gentlemen's pocket jewelry, or a novelty. Easy to understand those perspectives.
I also grew up learning to shoot revolvers using SA revolvers, so the added manipulation of the NAA's doesn't seem bothersome to me, although other folks can certainly have other opinions and experiences. That's what makes a horse race, after all.
FWIW, there are some interesting modern ammunition developments in the .22MAG that offer some edge in utility, such as the Speer .22MAG Gold Dot, specifically designed for a 1.9" barrel.
Handguns are a compromise. Where you want to start making the compromise is up to you.
Personally, I'm not interested in a .25 ACP or .32 ACP, but that's me. I'd also not care to carry a .22LR semiatuo pistol, as I've seen my than my share of them fail to function during normal range training quals over the years, even the best makes/names. Granted, most stoppages seem to be related to poor owner maintenance practice (dry/no lube & dirty), but QC of .22LR ammunition can be variable, too. (Lacking enough power to cycle a slide isn't a problem with the mini revolvers, of course, but poor priming/manufacture QC can still be a problem.)
I sometimes use a LCP as a secondary to a snub or larger belt gun. Sometimes one of the NAA's is the 2nd or 3rd gun being carried (that 'hideout' for an Onion Field scenario).
The snubs and LCP's had to demonstrate their practicality, controllability & accuracy in the same off-duty/retirement qual courses-of-fire as my larger handguns. The NAA's are used within the ability of their slow rate of fire, but not out to much more than 7-10yds. Mostly I envisions their usage at 1-3yds. Extending the range of a punch, so to speak.
If I were to return to working uniform or plainclothes, being freuqnetly placed into high risk situations throughout a day/night, the smallest secondary weapons I'd consider to back up my primary handgun would be one of my J's or LCP's.
Then "best" in category? Not something that's definitive across the board. Going to be up to the individual. It' still just a handgun, after all.
Just my thoughts.
I don't pocket carry anymore, but when I did I was happy with a Ruger LCP. Hard to beat for $200.
Personally, I didn't like the idea that when I was sitting down, my pocket carry gun was pointing at whoever was across from me. The chances of it firing were so slim as to be almost impossible, but I still didn't like the muzzle pointing that way.
Now I just make it easier to carry IWB/OWB. I use a CYA holster to carry my GLOCK 19 IWB and I can carry it in elastic waist shorts around the house, dress slacks, and everything in between. OWB I use a Raven Phantom and it disappears under a t-shirt.
Granted, I am 6'2" and 250lb.
Personally, I didn't like the idea that when I was sitting down, my pocket carry gun was pointing at whoever was across from me. The chances of it firing were so slim as to be almost impossible, but I still didn't like the muzzle pointing that way.
Now I just make it easier to carry IWB/OWB. I use a CYA holster to carry my GLOCK 19 IWB and I can carry it in elastic waist shorts around the house, dress slacks, and everything in between. OWB I use a Raven Phantom and it disappears under a t-shirt.
Granted, I am 6'2" and 250lb.
Exactly, and a very thoughtful post as well.
Typically, I go full sized (5" 1911, 3" S&W 686+, 4" S&W Model 28, etc). But my back has been messed up lately (not permanent, a temporary annoyance), so lately I've been carrying a S&W SD9VE as well as my little J frame 642. That little 642 has been a gem for the last 11+ years I've carried it. It just works, and given a strong grip and good trigger control, those little .38s are actually surprisingly shootable.
I may yet get a pocket .380 for those days when the J Frame won't fit into some of my pants pockets, but the little 642 is just so dependable that it will always be in my carry rotation. In fact, other than my 5" Springfield 1911 it is the only gun I've carried for as long a time period (others have come and gone).
TheGuyOfSouthamerica
Moderator
Has anyone experience and considered the Beretta Pico 380 Auto?
Would be glad if you would share your experiences.
Would be glad if you would share your experiences.
TheGuyOfSouthamerica
Moderator
So the Beretta Pico 380 acp is a jammomatic?
Was it the gen 1 or gen 2?
Was it the gen 1 or gen 2?