First handgun: CC options

N

nanney1

New member
Plan was to get a Taurus 85 at a great price. But, the more I read, the more I realized it wasn't for me. Some are great, some aren't, and the lifetime warranty may take a lifetime to get back.

So, I looked at S&W but their revolvers weren't much different in price than some good 9mm pistols. Hmm, maybe get a 9?

Decided that a Shield would be great for CC now that the price has come down a lot on those.

So, now, I'm looking at either the 9mm Shield, or a 637 airweight .38 spl. Price is negligible between the two.

I prefer the look and simplicity of the 637. I have shot both and like both very much. And think the conceal options a wash between the two.

I am a very low risk for finding myself in bad situations where the need would arise.
 
Tough choice but being a revolver fan you can guess my choice. I plan on selling my Kahr CM9 and replacing it with a 642(I don't want a hammer on my CCW). The Kahr has been excellent but I just don't care much for poly framed firearms.
 
That's really the choice... revolver or auto. I'm the opposite of Targa... I carried a Smith model 60 for a while, but found I don't handle revolvers well drawing from a holster, particularly the little J-frame. My daily carry is either a Kahr CM9 or CW9...

Targa is on to something... you might want to consider a hammerless design, one of the problems I had with my 60 was that darned hammer spur either poking me in the gut, or hanging up on my clothes.
 
I use a 637 now when ever I carry (I OWB holster carry it). I like the shield, but I really do not like the way it feels in my hand. I also do not want such a light trigger pull for a first shot from the draw. I would suggest you try a Kahr CW9. It fits within the same price range, but has a very nice DAO trigger pull. The trigger pull is similar to the 637 but nicer. If I ever move to an auto pistol, the Kahr CW9 will be the one.
 
If I was going to carry a single stack auto I would carry 45 acp. I mean, there is little, "advantage of capacity," in single stack 9mm. I believe the Shield comes in 45 acp.

I can't say anything bad about Smith and Wesson. I've got two. I like my auto pistol way more than I like my revolver - I still carry my revolver. My pistol is a full sized M&P though..

One thing to note: How are you going to carry? Condition 1? New to guns? Not much training? Better off with the revolver - IMHO, a lot of people will say different. YMMV

The Smith and Wesson revolver trigger is going to be a lot more heavy, and more forgiving. The revolver will also be more kind to your carry ammo in terms of loading and unloading. You will not have to cycle magazine. You will not have to learn to clear jams.

Now, you can get "up to" 4 more 9mm rounds in the Shield before you have to Reload. And reloading an auto compared to a wheel gun is night and day. Especially cause its hard to find speedloaders for those airweights. You have to essentially get good with the speedstrips.

Another thing you may want to consider is printing. I find my revolver hides well underneath a Hawaiian shirt. If I'm not wearing a Hawaiian shirt, I feel like my snubbie can print - and forget pocket holsters, those really print.

I tried out a Crossbreed holster for my snubbie.. While I still like the Crossbreed brand very much, and its a great holster.. I'm just back to slipping my 442 in a remora and sticking it in my waist in some position - usually depends on what I'm wearing. I usually go for 5pm or 10:30am crossdraw.. mostly cause I think appendix carry is kind of thuggy

I will also add that, "whatever you buy now," you will probably be less than happy with in the beginning, and you may in fact wind up purchasing both guns.

Just to give a quick sum up: Its two things;

capacity, and which gun reloads more quickly. And the trigger + are you adept at clearing a jammed up round
 
Stick will the revovler first for CPL and as you get comfortable, then consider a autiloading pistol.

KISS is best here.
 
I suggest a DAO revolver ..... Maybe a 642 or a Ruger LCR.... Easier for pocket carry..

Shields are great pistols .. High quality at a fair price ....

Welcome to the Forum !!!!
 
Here, "Google" these words (do a search):

choosing a concealed carry handgun

First, have a gun, rather than not. Is there a wrong choice? Probably, but it does depend on the person and his/her attire and lifestyle. Carrying a handgun is definitely a lifestyle change.

Revolver or semiauto? Folks have been carrying either or even both for years. There's no right or wrong, usually, but it will depend on what the owner wants.

A related issue, do try to outfit oneself for the perceived threat. Some threat characteristics might be: number of assailants; possible/probable distances to threats (the bad guys); number of rounds anticipated, along with spare ammo to reload; one's own expertise with a given platform (revolver or semiauto); depending on attire & lifestyle, perhaps there needs to be more than one concealed carry gun from which to choose, but do choose something to start.

Everyone will have his/her favorite and carry what works for them. Also remember, "analysis leads to paralysis" as the old saying goes. Feel free to narrow down your choices and even make up a poll on one of these forums, if that helps. I might carry a different gun everyday and even change from one carry gun to another in the same day, so I'm no help unless you want me to make a decision for you even though I know nothing about you. In other words, only you can make the decision.
 
First Handgun: CC options

Note: This is the same post that I put in the revolver forum yesterday. Just looking for more opinions.

Plan was to get a Taurus 85 at a great price. But, the more I read, the more I realized it wasn't for me. Some are great, some aren't, and the lifetime warranty may take a lifetime to get back.

So, I looked at S&W but their revolvers weren't much different in price than some good 9mm pistols. Hmm, maybe get a 9?

Decided that a Shield would be great for CC now that the price has come down a lot on those.

So, now, I'm looking at either the 9mm Shield, or a 637 airweight .38 spl. Price is negligible between the two.

I prefer the look and simplicity of the 637. I have shot both and like both very much. And think the conceal options a wash between the two.

I am a very low risk for finding myself in bad situations where the need would arise.
 
You are asking about capacity preferences, and those are debated endlessly. Personally, I went from a 5-round revolver to a semi some years back, because of capacity. I considered that, because handgun rounds are not reliable one-shot stops, I needed to plan for at least 2 good hits for a stop. Then I considered a number going around at the time that LEOs had hit rates in the neighborhood of 20%. The math says that a 5-shot revolver has enough ammo for one stop if everything goes pretty well, and not enough if anything goes south of the averages. The south part includes an extra miss, an assailant that requires more than two hits, or more than one person to defend against.

If you still want a revolver, you need to consider two things about the 637. The first is that the hammer can snag. A lot of people prefer the 642. The other thing is, from experience with my 642, I can tell you that the light weight makes recoil a bit tiring, and the heavy trigger affects accuracy for some folks. I practiced enough to be decent with my 642, but I can't honestly say that I enjoyed the practice. And my wife and daughters wanted nothing to do with that revolver because of their frustrations with the heavy trigger and the accuracy.

Lots of people recommend a revolver for a first handgun because of the simplicity. I'm not one of them. I am of the opinion that it is a lot easier and less frustrating to learn how to run a pistol than to learn to be good with a light snub-nosed revolver. Pistols aren't that complex, and the light revolvers are tough to shoot well.
 
nanney1 wrote:
...Taurus 85 at a great price. But, the more I read, the more I realized it wasn't for me. Some are great, some aren't, and the lifetime warranty may take a lifetime to get back.
Click to expand...

To add a little clarification regarding Taurus customer service; pistols that are covered by the class action lawsuit will not be repaired or replaced until after a settlement is finalized and sufficient parts are on hand to repair the guns. These guns have languished at Taurus pending the outcome of the lawsuit. Going by the Taurus users group (Taurusarmed.net) regular warranty repairs generally experience a turn-around of between 3 and 5 weeks depending on model.
 
If this is your very first handgun, have you ever fired any hand gun? Suggest you go to your local gun shop and try a bunch, in your budget range, on for size first. Any handgun must fit your hand for you to be able to shoot it well.
Factory trigger pulls don't matter as all new firearms require a trigger job out of the box.
The warrantee/customer service is a valid consideration though. Taurus, for example, has a customer service horrible reputation. Ruger automatically returns any of their stuff to factory specs if sent in for warrantee work. So a $100 trigger job will be ruined.
Don't hear much, if anything, about Smith. Mind you, a 14.3 ounce .38 Special will not be fun to shoot. If it's not fun, you won't practice with it. If you don't practice, you might as well have a sharp stick.
 
Taurus revolvers are pretty good. If you have a bad QC issue, they will fix it, but they are more rare than the internet makes it seem.

Look at the Taurus 905. 9mm sister to the 85s.
 
Yes, I have fired a handgun. Recently I went to a range and tried two .38 special revolvers, a S&W 637, and a Taurus 82. I also tried the M&P Shield out. I took my concealed carry class last weekend and used a Ruger SR22.

If I thought the Taurus 85 was good to go, I would get it as my first just because of price. Just looked a bit over at Taurusarmed.net and it looks as if the 85 will be discontinued.
 
I've looked at Charter Arms but haven't really considered them. Price is too close to what I would pay for a S&W. Smith has a $50 rebate on revolvers now. So, I could get the 637 for $50 more than an Undercover.
 
Not all that long ago one of my usual carry guns was a S&W model 60, so I know how you feel about possibly transitioning to a semi-auto. That said, a couple years ago I decided to switch to my Shield in 9mm, as it holds a couple more rounds, and it's just easier to shoot quickly and accurately, especially at longer distances.

The 1st gen S&W Shield9 is a very good CCW gun. Not saying it's the best one out there, but it's very very good. I've run at least 8-9 different brands of ammo, as well as at least 1,000 rds of my reloads through mine without a single failure of any kind. This includes a couple hundred rounds of Hornady Critical Defense/Duty rounds. I have four friends that also have first gen Shields, including one in .40 and another in .45, and they're all reliable and accurate.

Good luck in your search.
 
Last edited:
If I go with a 9mm it will be a Shield. After a quick browse of Charter Arms discussions, it looks as if their current offerings are of good quality and their customer service is excellent. So, I may ponder the Undercover .38 after all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top