CCW options?
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SwampYankee
New member
Umm, like a million. Seriously, there are so many options for CCW you really need to know what your customer requires. I just started carrying a Sig P232 but I regularly carry a Ruger Speed Six, a Kahr P380, a Keltec p32 and a S&W 4053. There are literally dozens of options and there is no such thing as the perfect CCW.
........Ahem....... (step up on soapbox)......
One of my pet peeves is the very reason I have a holster and belt business. I would go to a gun shop, buy a gun, maybe a scope or other accessory, then ask about a holster.
As often as not, there would be a box marked "your choice $X.XX ea". It really gave me a case of the jaws.
First: choose your target market - high end, big $$$$, select clientele, . . . above average earners, good to better grade weapons, medium $$$$, . . . average earners on down to poor folks, bottom line of weapons, cheap.
Then offer them like minded ammo, . . . accessories, . . . and include a line of belts and holsters.
The folks who find you a "one stop shop" will be more likely to come back than the one who has to buy his gun from you, . . . ammo from another place, . . . and go on the I'net to get his holster.
Just my experience, . . . YMMV.
Step down, . . . (put away soap box for now)
May God bless,
Dwight
One of my pet peeves is the very reason I have a holster and belt business. I would go to a gun shop, buy a gun, maybe a scope or other accessory, then ask about a holster.
As often as not, there would be a box marked "your choice $X.XX ea". It really gave me a case of the jaws.
First: choose your target market - high end, big $$$$, select clientele, . . . above average earners, good to better grade weapons, medium $$$$, . . . average earners on down to poor folks, bottom line of weapons, cheap.
Then offer them like minded ammo, . . . accessories, . . . and include a line of belts and holsters.
The folks who find you a "one stop shop" will be more likely to come back than the one who has to buy his gun from you, . . . ammo from another place, . . . and go on the I'net to get his holster.
Just my experience, . . . YMMV.
Step down, . . . (put away soap box for now)
May God bless,
Dwight
FoxtrotRomeo
New member
Glocks, Rugers, S&W, Para Ord, Colt, Wilson Combat, Sig, Springfield, H&K, IMI/IDI/Magnum Research, Kahr, Kel-Tec (PF-9s are great lil guys for deep concealment), Kimber, Taurus (great for starting out, more on the affordable side and less on the high end side), STI
Those are off the top of my head. The Ladies seem to like .38s, .22s, .25s, .380s, .9mm, stuff like that. Some women will go for the other stuff too. That's just what I've observed as a "regular". A lot of women starting out with almost no experience don't seem to care for recoil or maybe sometimes as one lady put it the "loud bang".
Some guys like smooth shooting, some guys like brute force power, some guys like both. I like to play with both and in an SD pistol I like concealability, decent mag capacity, power, accuracy and smooth shooting. I wanna be able to dump a mag and accurately. I have found that in the .45 ACP, .40 S&W. Both excellent for me. I also like 9mm but prefer a .40 and a .45 over all
That's just me. I also like stronger recoil springs for the felt recoil and mag dump part. I find it works well and I shoot well to boot.
Those are off the top of my head. The Ladies seem to like .38s, .22s, .25s, .380s, .9mm, stuff like that. Some women will go for the other stuff too. That's just what I've observed as a "regular". A lot of women starting out with almost no experience don't seem to care for recoil or maybe sometimes as one lady put it the "loud bang".
Some guys like smooth shooting, some guys like brute force power, some guys like both. I like to play with both and in an SD pistol I like concealability, decent mag capacity, power, accuracy and smooth shooting. I wanna be able to dump a mag and accurately. I have found that in the .45 ACP, .40 S&W. Both excellent for me. I also like 9mm but prefer a .40 and a .45 over all
That's just me. I also like stronger recoil springs for the felt recoil and mag dump part. I find it works well and I shoot well to boot.
All the Kahr polymers... The whole CW line is one of the very best values in handguns and the PM9 is VERY popular for CC.
Ruger LCP & LCR.
Walther PPS: 9mm & .40S&W
Think light, thin, reliable... That's the direction nearly everyone eventually ends up going for CC... Light, thin, reliable.
Ruger LCP & LCR.
Walther PPS: 9mm & .40S&W
Think light, thin, reliable... That's the direction nearly everyone eventually ends up going for CC... Light, thin, reliable.
I'd offer the usual assortment of plastic sub compacts...they're popular with guys into automatics...but I'd also keep a selection of revolvers in .357 and .38 Special for both men and women. S&W, Ruger, and Charter offer good examples...and they're American made.
I don't operate a shop but I'd suspect that a goodly portion of the CCW market is made up of women who need a defensive handgun (whether the idea came from themselves or their male partners). Without exception, the guys who've come to me for advice on this subject feel that their wifes...gf's need some sort of compact automatic. But when said wife/gf comes out to shoot, they invariably like my short barreled revolvers a lot more than the little .380's...I'm 10 for 10 so far in that regard.
Revolvers are simple...pull the trigger and bang...vs the slide rack, safety, magazine release, complications etc of an automatic. Some of these guys felt that their female partner's smaller hands needed a smaller gun..but found out that the slide on many sub compacts is just too small to offer much of a grip and the recoil from that small grip made 2nd shots problematic. Too, when you get that small, you're into the .380...not much if you really need to stop an attack.
So, I like the S&W's...642; 637; 36 and not necessarily with the lightweight frame. The heavier piece absorbs recoil and feels more substantial in a woman's grip, and even the airweights have good grips right out of the factory now.
Yeah, I know it's a training issue, using and depending on an automatic..but realistically, how many woman compared to men are going to train more than once or twice a year. In my experience, it just doesn't happen. For that reason, the simpler gun makes more sense. Hell, I shoot daily and my night stand gun is a M-36 Smith just for the simplicity of use...my wife's is a 637.
Dwight's comments are on the mark by the way especially regarding holsters and carry paraphernalia.
My wife for the most part refuses to carry but does have a plan for the house and its defense and she'll practice actual shooting only if I make a PITA of myself.
Best Regards, Rodfac
I don't operate a shop but I'd suspect that a goodly portion of the CCW market is made up of women who need a defensive handgun (whether the idea came from themselves or their male partners). Without exception, the guys who've come to me for advice on this subject feel that their wifes...gf's need some sort of compact automatic. But when said wife/gf comes out to shoot, they invariably like my short barreled revolvers a lot more than the little .380's...I'm 10 for 10 so far in that regard.
Revolvers are simple...pull the trigger and bang...vs the slide rack, safety, magazine release, complications etc of an automatic. Some of these guys felt that their female partner's smaller hands needed a smaller gun..but found out that the slide on many sub compacts is just too small to offer much of a grip and the recoil from that small grip made 2nd shots problematic. Too, when you get that small, you're into the .380...not much if you really need to stop an attack.
So, I like the S&W's...642; 637; 36 and not necessarily with the lightweight frame. The heavier piece absorbs recoil and feels more substantial in a woman's grip, and even the airweights have good grips right out of the factory now.
Yeah, I know it's a training issue, using and depending on an automatic..but realistically, how many woman compared to men are going to train more than once or twice a year. In my experience, it just doesn't happen. For that reason, the simpler gun makes more sense. Hell, I shoot daily and my night stand gun is a M-36 Smith just for the simplicity of use...my wife's is a 637.
Dwight's comments are on the mark by the way especially regarding holsters and carry paraphernalia.
My wife for the most part refuses to carry but does have a plan for the house and its defense and she'll practice actual shooting only if I make a PITA of myself.
Best Regards, Rodfac
On findarticles.com there's a huge pile of magazine articles advising gun shop owners on what to carry, written by Mas Ayoob. You'll have to play with things for a while to find them all.
Quote --- I'm a new FFL --- Unquote
Find out of there is a Trade Magazine or Association for FFL Dealers.
On this forum you'll get a lot of great information about using/shooting weapons.
But as a dealer you also need info about:
Reading about the Group size obtained when shooting weapon XYZ is always nice to read; but finding out how quickly/reliably you can obtain additional magazines for a pistol that is popular with your customers is more than nice, its $$$.
It would not surpise me to find out that staying in business as an FFL could turn out to depend upon your 'markup' on cleaning kits, magazines (reading + Pisto), holsters, and possibly reloading supplies.
I've always heard that modern movie theathers break-even on admission/movie rental costs; and that their profit margin is in popcorn and 64oz sodas.
That might be the case with an FFL - if it is, you need to find out sooner rather than later.
.
Find out of there is a Trade Magazine or Association for FFL Dealers.
On this forum you'll get a lot of great information about using/shooting weapons.
But as a dealer you also need info about:
- which distributors to use/avoid
- which manufacturers provide you worthwile support and which don't
- Which distributors/dealers offer quick refunds/exchanges on 'bad-guns'.
Reading about the Group size obtained when shooting weapon XYZ is always nice to read; but finding out how quickly/reliably you can obtain additional magazines for a pistol that is popular with your customers is more than nice, its $$$.
It would not surpise me to find out that staying in business as an FFL could turn out to depend upon your 'markup' on cleaning kits, magazines (reading + Pisto), holsters, and possibly reloading supplies.
I've always heard that modern movie theathers break-even on admission/movie rental costs; and that their profit margin is in popcorn and 64oz sodas.
That might be the case with an FFL - if it is, you need to find out sooner rather than later.
.
Amin Parker
New member
A 38 snub is a really good carry gun
concealment models, styles...
For the general concealed carry market, I'd suggest small powerful DA only revolvers & semi auto pistols.
Top brands like HK-USA, SIG-Sauer, S&W, Ruger, Beretta, Glock, CZ, Springfield-Armory.
New designs like Ruger's LCR revolvers, S&W's Bodyguard .380acp & .38spl(with Insight laser aimers). The SIG Sauer DAK P229/P239 would work well. The compact HK P2000/P2000sk LEM designs & the Beretta PX4 C or subcompact 9mm/.40S&W conceal well.
Compact Glock, XD and Kahr models could be popular too.
I'd stock well made self defense/carry ammunition too; Winchester Ranger T, Speer Gold Dot, Corbon DPX, Buffalo Bore, Hornady Critical Defense-TAP, Magsafe. Quality pistol/handgun rounds are hard to find and you should endorse-sell high quality brands.
Cleaning products; Mpro7-LPX, Weaponshield, Gunzilla, Eezox, Hoppes #9, Boresnake Vipers, Otis kits, etc should be stocking items also.
Too many gun shops & FFL retailers want to make a quick buck and treat gun owners/shooting sports-2A supporters like dirt.
Learn & understand the industry. Train your sales staff and clerks.
For the general concealed carry market, I'd suggest small powerful DA only revolvers & semi auto pistols.
Top brands like HK-USA, SIG-Sauer, S&W, Ruger, Beretta, Glock, CZ, Springfield-Armory.
New designs like Ruger's LCR revolvers, S&W's Bodyguard .380acp & .38spl(with Insight laser aimers). The SIG Sauer DAK P229/P239 would work well. The compact HK P2000/P2000sk LEM designs & the Beretta PX4 C or subcompact 9mm/.40S&W conceal well.
Compact Glock, XD and Kahr models could be popular too.
I'd stock well made self defense/carry ammunition too; Winchester Ranger T, Speer Gold Dot, Corbon DPX, Buffalo Bore, Hornady Critical Defense-TAP, Magsafe. Quality pistol/handgun rounds are hard to find and you should endorse-sell high quality brands.
Cleaning products; Mpro7-LPX, Weaponshield, Gunzilla, Eezox, Hoppes #9, Boresnake Vipers, Otis kits, etc should be stocking items also.
Too many gun shops & FFL retailers want to make a quick buck and treat gun owners/shooting sports-2A supporters like dirt.
Learn & understand the industry. Train your sales staff and clerks.
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