First 9mm carry gun. Need input!

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bm303

New member
Hey everyone. I picked up my first firearm a few weeks ago. The CZ-75 SP-01 tactical. It's amazing. By far my favorite gun and I rented and shot everything that's been popular in the last dozen years.

I am now looking for a gun to carry concealed. I am 5'11" and 140lbs. A thin, lanky guy.

I have gone back and forth between the manual of arms I'd want on a carry gun. First off, I don't know if I am particularly comfortable carrying a striker fired gun with a 5.5lb trigger and no safety. This may be an irrational fear of mine but I can only assume that having a light trigger, having no external hammer to press while reholstering, and having no external safety is less safe than DA/SA or cocked and locked.

A few people have told me that they prefer consistent triggers on carry guns and I can understand why, so I am conflicted. Striker fired seems less safe than a decocked DA/SA, but follow up shots will obviously have a different trigger weight on a DA/SA. I certainly respect both sides of the argument on this topic.

Regarding attire, I live in Florida and so the biggest I am considering would be a PCR sized handgun. I will be wearing a jacket or sweatshirt at all times when carrying.

I'm compiling a list of handguns to check out next time I am at the range. Here's what I have so far:

DA/SA:
CZ Rami 2075 D (Shot it and love it)
HK P30SK LEM
HK P30SK V3 DA/SA
CZ PCR

Striker fired:
M&P Shield
Walther PPS M2

Any input/suggestions would be much appreciated. I am fairly new to firearms and have never carried, though I have had my permit for a few months. I guess the real decision I need to make is how large of a firearm I want. If I want a compact/full sized firearm I will just buy the PCR. But I don't know if I want to go that big or that heavy, especially since I already own a SP-01 tactical. I do love the platform, though. That's for sure.

Thanks guys.
 
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Interesting, but tough personal choice. First of all, da to sa transitions are hard to learn, but not impossible. That is probably overblown a bit. Of course, there is my mindset which is why struggle with it at all.

I carry cocked & locked. I find it an easy and safe manual of arms.

I have had striker fired CCW pistols and never had an issue, but like so many, I've seen the videos.

I'd probably be thinking RAMI in your shoes.
 
bm303 said:
. . . . I don't know if I am particularly comfortable carrying a striker fired gun with a 5.5lb trigger and no safety. This may be an irrational fear of mine but. . . .
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I wouldn't worry about whether that fear is rational or irrational. If you're not comfortable carrying a striker-fired with no thumb safety, then don't. There are too many solid choices in 9mm carry guns to carry one you're not comfortable with. If you like your thumb safety, you can keep your thumb safety. ;)

Beyond that, I don't know enough about the guns on your list to offer an educated opinion, so I'll leave that to those that do.
 
Like you, I'm not a fan of striker fired with no safety. I understand the mantra of "keep your booger hook of the bangswitch," but I'm just accustomed to and comfortable with a manual of arms that includes a safety.

Out of what you listed, I would lean towards the RAMI and the Shield. My two firearms for when I get my carry license are a CZ P-07 and a S&W Shield. The Shield is SO much easier to conceal due to how thin it is, but the P-07 has much better capacity and is a lot easier to shoot accurately. The other bad thing about the Shield is the safety. It really seems like it was just thrown on as an afterthought. It really is tiny and you have to be very deliberate in operating it. I can't believe nobody has made an extended aftermarket one yet.
 
I've carried the SAR Arms B6PC. It's a Turkish polymer compact cz75 clone. It's a great fun and affordable. You can carry cocked and locked or even in DA with safety on. It's been 100% reliable, tough, and accurate. I also think you are on the right track with S&W shield or CZ Rami. The ruger LC9s is also a popular option that has a thumb safety
 
The PCR is my favorite puny bellum accurate and 100% reliable and relatively easy to conceal but when it gets really hot outside T-shirt & shorts weather I switch to a Kahr P9 which has also proven to be reliable. I too am not a fan of striker fired handguns and this is the only one I plan to own.
I carry it in a Galco bellyband with a loaded magazine and an unloaded chamber, my preferred choice as I'm just not comfortable with the striker concept, seen to many reports of cops with a hole in their leg.
Remember never buy a gun with a springy thingy on the trigger.:p
 
I'd go with the 2075, it's a little shorter, since the barrel locks up in the ejection port. I replaced mine with a Sphinx SDP Subcompact, just a little lighter and also worth considering.

I say like what you like. I appreciate all the new shooters in the last 10 years, but I'm really getting tired of the Glock and also the AR-15. I've never like either design, despite having lots of experience with both.

The CZ is probably one of my favorite designs. I didn't see the SIG on your list, though, they're certainly worth considering if you're a DA/SA fan.
 
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None of my striker fired pistols have manual safeties and I have alwYs been totally comfortable with that. However, I agree that the Shield is an excellent choice for concealed carry and is available with or without a manual safety.
 
I use original Walther PPS and HK P30SK LEM for CCW and both are superb.

PPS does not have a safety however it does have a striker indicator that you can put your thumb over while you holster and you will know if the trigger is moving. With the HK P30SK LEM you have the hammer you can put over your thumb when holstering and the LEM trigger has a long but light and smooth takeup for the first shot.

A high quality holster IMO is really important for CCW and I prefer all kydex which has adjustable retention, is easy to holster pistol, and completely covers the trigger guard. I use single clip kydex for my PPS and HK P30SK as it is easy to put the holster on and off the belt while you are wearing it with the pistol in the holster. If I can no bring my gun in somewhere I take the holster/gun off my belt and secure in the car and then put back on when I am done. A high quality gun belt is also essential to effective and comfortable CCW. I use a leather Beltman bull hide belt.

The PPS shoots very well for a subcompact and feels like shooting a compact for me and being a thin single stack is very comfortable. The P30SK is a wonderful shooter and I can use 10, 13, and 15 round magazines in it. I also find I can shoot it very well with the standard 10 round magazine even though I can not get a full grip with the 10 round magazine but I typically CCW it with the 13 round magazine. HK quality at under $600 is nice.

I prefer the PPS over the Shield but the Shield is an excellent pistol also.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/19/gun-test-hk-p30sk/ -- good review of P30SK



 
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I will be wearing a jacket or sweatshirt at all times when carrying.
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96 today, heat index of 102; been this way for a week and going to be for a while. Just saying, unless you NEED to wear such attire for work, you might want to rethink some of your possible options. For ME, in this heat, that means an LCP or even a J frame in my front pocket. The G26 gets too heavy when wearing very light clothing.
 
I don't know anything about the guns you mentioned. Never even heard of most of them, I'm a revolver guy at heart, but I carry a Ruger LC9S, a striker fired compact with a thumb safety. It also has a Glock type dingus in the trigger. Personally, I'm comfortable with it with the safety off in an OWB holster, but if you're not, all it takes is a "click" and the safety is on.



I'm in Central Virginia. Not quite Florida, but a long way from cool in the summer. An untucked T-shirt and nobody notices it. Much better trigger than any small revolver I've ever used, and I shoot it a LOT better than I do anything smaller than a Smith & Wesson K-frame. And it hurts for an old revolver guy, and a guy who basically looks down his nose at Ruger products, (and I mean that in the nicest possible way...:) ) to admit that.
 
I don't know anything about the guns you mentioned. Never even heard of most of them, I'm a revolver guy at heart, but I carry a Ruger LC9S, a striker fired compact with a thumb safety. It also has a Glock type dingus in the trigger. Personally, I'm comfortable with it with the safety off in an OWB holster, but if you're not, all it takes is a "click" and the safety is on.
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I forgot to mention the LC9S! With the pinky extension it is pretty manageable even for someone with bigger hands like me. The main reason I personally went with the Shield over the LC9S is the magazine safety on the Ruger. You can get an LC9S Pro that doesn't have one, but that also means no safety. You can also remove the magazine safety on an LC9S, FWIW, but it's more hassle than I care to deal with. It's a shame, because IMO the trigger on the LC9S is better than the Shield.
 
You are not going to carry often if you must wear A jacket or sweatshirt here in Fla. I am 58 160. I carry A Full size 1911 in A strong side belt holster covered by A shirt tail. never had A problem.
 
SIG P320

SIG P320 COMPACT. Would put it up against anything. Then Glock 19 4th gen. Then Canik TP9 V2. All my in my opinion thee best.
 
If your not opposed to single action only, you might look into the Sig P938 as well. It's really a very nice gun.
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Bah. If you're going to get an SAO, then look at a Browning Hi-Power. New ones are expensive, but there are lots of decent shooting condition police trade-ins now at reasonable prices.
 
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I have the HK P30 V3 DA/SA and the Walther PPS M2. Two excellent pistols. The P30 is one of the most reliable and accurate 9mm compact pistols that I have tried, but it's a little too big for a good EDC SD gun. I now have 500 rds. through the PPS M2 and I can't say enough good things about it. It's not important whether you call it a large subcompact because of the frame size or a small compact because of mag capacity. What's important is that it's a smaller thinner gun that carries and shoots great. That PPS M2 trigger on either my Glock 17 or 21 would be a nice improvement!

But based on what Sigarms228 stated I would say that the "best" possible EDC SD option that I know of would be the HK P30SK with the V1 LEM trigger. You do have the option of the P30SKS with a thumb safety, and I like the HK thumb safety so I wouldn't hesitate to configure it that way.
 
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Ive gone back and forth on carry guns, and trigger pulls over the years, and finally settled on Kahr. They are striker fired, but unlike most striker guns, are DAO, with a somewhat long, but reasonable light trigger pull. I think for a carry gun, they are about perfect. If you are looking at 9mm, the CM9 or CW9 are great, if you want 45, I'm very happy with my CM45.

Check into the Kangaroo Carry. Its a great option for carrying a medium size pistol, no jacket required
 
The shield out if the box has closer to an 8lb trigger. It can be had with a safety, but I am not a fan of it. I do like the safety free version.

The M&P compact can be had with a thumb safety that is easy to use.

The FNSc also has a safety, it's lower profile but still usable.

Those are lighter than metal framed pistols, makes for more comfortable carry.


For your size, you can conceal most pistols with a T-shirt so long as it isn't tight. Skinny guys have an easier time of it.

A single stack may carry better depending on the clothes you wear.

There are some single stack DAO pistols that may work for you as well.

Cocked and locked carry works well, but it requires a bit more diligence on the part of the user, so I steer new shooters away from that route.

Many people new to firearms find the idea of carrying a loaded pistol intimating, and having no manual safety compounds that unease. It will probably subside with time.
 
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