Help picking a carry gun

A million different people will give you two million different recommendations. I guess I'd ask a few questions, or suggest you ask yourself if you haven't already.

Will this be your first handgun, or just your first one for concealment? If you're new to shooting, you'll want to shoot around with some rentals to see what seems to fit more naturally in your hand.

Unless you're already quite experienced at shooting, I'd echo the advice to not make your first carry gun a pocket-sized pistol. The little Bodyguards (which I have, and like), and LCPs and the like are NOT easy to shoot well, nor pleasant. I probably only shoot 10 rounds of .380 for every 100 of 9mm (and every 200 of .22). Saves money and lets me practice more rounds with guns that don't leave my hand sore.

If you are already experienced with a particular type of pistol, then a smaller version of that is probably your best bet. Keep it consistent and stay with what your muscles already remember. Used to shooting a 1911? Then a "mini-1911" sort of gun from Sig or Kimber might be your best (and most expensive?) bet--same feel, same proportions, same safety, etc. Or the Springfield XD line--grip safety and similar proportions to a 1911, and will feel pretty familiar.

Already shoot Glocks? Get a smaller Glock.

Used to a DA/SA gun like a Sig 226 or Beretta 92? Get a smaller version of the same, like a Beretta PX4 Subcompact.

If none of this applies and you're new to shooting, my advice would be to get more practice and more training before you carry a gun anyhow. A lot of ranges have classes that let you try multiple guns while also practicing some skills, so you get familiar with what fits. At least try the major striker-fired players, like Glock, S&W, Springfield and Ruger. These guns all have lots of aftermarket support and are easy to find parts for, and are not terribly expensive. Try out the larger sizes first to see what fits, and when you've found something that sings to you, then try the smaller variants and work from there.

In the end it really won't matter much whether you walk out with a Glock, Beretta, Springfield, Sig, Ruger, whatever. They're all well made and will last forever. They all shoot bullets and reliably go "bang" when you pull the trigger. So long as you've found something you'll enjoy training with, you'll be fine.

*** Last note ***

Don't automatically think that you MUST have a single-stack gun in order to conceal it. Most of the single-stack 9mm's are about 1" wide, and their double-stack brethren are barely 1/3" wider and not much heavier (unloaded), but have twice the capacity and usually are easier to shoot because they fit your hand better. My XD Mod.2 Subcompact is 0.3" wider than the comparable single-stack XDs and just as easy to conceal, so long as you get an unobtrusive holster that pulls the grip in close to your body.
 
There are things that make a difference and need to be taken into account. Such as your size. Are you short, medium or tall? Skinny, medium or huge? Younger or older with a bit of arthritis in your hands? These things can help you decide. Larger folks can conceal easier than smaller folks. Myself I am 5'6" tall, medium build with smaller hands. I am only going to tell you what works for me. My normal carry is the 9MM S&W Shield. Love the gun, but I have developed some arthritis in my hands and racking it is tougher than others. But it's a damn good gun. And for summer carry in shorts and tee shirts, I have a Ruger LCPII .380. Very nice little pocket gun that no one knows I am carrying despite what I wear.
 
Depends entirely on you and what fits. My personal favorites/suggestion would be the Glock 19 or 26 if you like striker fired and the CZ P07 if you want hammer fired DA/SA.

Light, accurate, reliable, easy to carry.

Now, those fit me. Some need smaller carry guns, or single stacks. I can (and currently am) carry a Glock 21 with little issue, so I can basically carry anything. YMMV, naturally.
 
If you are looking at 9mm then ask yourself some questions

How many rounds make you "comfortable" -

that will determine if you want a single stack or a double stack.

There are plenty of good single stacks and double stacks out there.

S & W Shield, M & P 9c, Springfield, Glock, etc.

How are you going to carry? That will determine what you need to be looking for. I carry OWB. Currently a 9mm Shield or a Smith Model 36. I am moving up to 45 ACP so will be going with a Glock 30 or similar. But, I'm retired and I "dress down" - usually jeans with either a jacket or a shirt tail out that makes it easy not to print. Your situation may be different.

Don't fall in to the trap that a handgun needs to be full sized to be accurate - accuracy comes with practice and practice on a regular basis. Go and look at different models/makes at a LGS and see what feels good and if it will fit your carry needs - i.e. the way you are going to carry. A single stack like a Shield is thinner, light weight but at SD distances, accurate and dependable. A double stack will be thicker - such as a G30 or a G19. Get what works for YOU and what you are comfortable carrying in regards to caliber, # or rounds and reliability.
 
He logged in yesterday afternoon.

I enjoy reading these kind of threads, but I have found myself making recommendations less and less. I can tell people what works for me, but the simple fact that the other choices are still on the market means that other people chose, and continue to choose, differently. My advice to OP is to pay more attention to "why" than "what."

My primary carry is a Glock 26, because I like the spot it fills in the inevitable compromise between capacity and concealment. Plus it shoots well, and I am personally comfortable with the Glock trigger when protected by a holster and conscientious handling.

My sometimes carry is a Sig P238. I give up some capacity and move down in power from 9 mm to .380 ACP, but on some occasions I need more concealment. It still shoots real well - I value reliability, accuracy, and recoil management highly. I understand the criticism that the two pistols have different operating characteristics, and I hope that my extensive familiarity with both pistols overcomes that problem if I ever have to use either.

They also have the advantage of being paid for.:D
 
Springfield XD9

G26

G43

Ruger LC9 or LC9S

S&W Shield

Sig P938

Those are all great and reliable pistols in my experience.

But if I were going to buy one right now for myself, it would be the...

S&W M&P Shield in 9mm.


I've fired a couple and to me they are the best balance for a small easy to cary 9mm out there. Good sights that can be upgraded to night sights, decent trigger, slim and small, best ergonomics as far as still being small but fitting your hand well enough that you can keep a consistent grip shot to shot (for me anyway), reliable, decent capacity, it even looks good through my eyes, and for the price they are going for these days they really cant be beat.

I've messed around with enough small 9mm pistols to say that I'm very comfortable recommending the 9mm shield.

Whatever you buy, just be sure to get plenty of good practice with it.

There are other guns I might recommend instead depending on the weather and your preferred method of concealed carry. But to me the shield does them all and does them all quite well.

Makes me wonder why I haven't picked one up yet???
 
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Glock 26 you can use 10 round mags with a +2 extension grip and have a G19 or G17 mag as a backup if your worried about printing put the standard 10 round mag on it and it will be a nice small grip.
A S&W shield 9mm or 45 would suffice also as a good carry gun if you want a nice slim profile and a good all around gun for the money.
 
So heres where I sit. I know its probably been beaten to death by this point and I didn't care to read all the previous comments but heres my take nonetheless.

I have three guns in mind for you

shield 9mm (You could substitute the glock 43 or the XDS here but my preference when price and accessories are all added up the shield wins out by a $100+)
Glock 26 (you could substitute the m&p9c here if you wanted)
Glock 19

So if your dead set on only having one gun that you plan to carry all the time as well as enjoy on the range get the 26. It is a great shooter and will hold its own at the range compared to larger firearms. And is relatively easy to conceal.

The shield is the easiest to conceal out of my list and I find myself putting it on more than any of my other conceal carry weapons. Even though I carried my g19 for 3 years. its nice to have the smaller gun for carry in these Texas summers.

The Glock 19 is by far my favorite gun made on the market. It is a tool that just does its job and does it well. The 19 can be carried and will even hold its own in competititive shooting. IT is one of the most well rounded guns out there.

My strong suggestion is buy a shield and a g19 down the road. If you want to just have one, go for the middle ground and get the 26.

Hope this helps!
 
XDM 9 3.8 compact. Love this little gun!! Especially with the PRP trigger. Also I cannot read one bad review of the Tri Star c100. I'd like to get my hands on one of those some day soon.
 
I'd wait a few weeks and get one of the new albeit redesigned Boberg, now
Bond Arms Bullpups. Making America Great Again by Bond Arms. Concealed carry at it's best. Bang, bang!
 
I believe in keeping it simple for carry, DAO or DA/SA with a decocker only (or a decocker/safety with the safety always disengaged). A DA trigger pull as your initial trigger pull is your safety, and all you have to do to put the gun into action is pull the trigger. Less to go wrong. I can too easily picture someone forgetting to pull the trigger when fractions of a second count. The possible exception would be if you participate regularly in shooting games and use a SA gun in competition. Then you probably practice enough that you'll almost never make that mistake (though once could be enough).

I have recently (a year ago) joined the "always carry the largest gun you can carry" club. There are a few reasons. The biggest is that it is more capable. The longer sight radius will make it easier to shoot accurately (yes, you can shoot a shorter gun accurately with lots of practice, but with the same practice you can shoot the gun with the longer radius even more accurately, but no, it isn't a question of accurate shooting v. inaccurate shooting). The larger gun also will carry more rounds and with police only seeing about a 33% hit rate, and with it commonly taking 2-3 rounds to stop an attacker, I want as much as I can have (combined, that means you may realistically need 6-9 rounds to stop just one attacker). Also, the larger, heavier gun will simply be more comfortable to shoot. This will mean you will likely spend more practice time with it at the range and thus you'll shoot it better than a gun you will likely practice with less, but it also means quicker recovery between shots and thus you'll be able to get off repeat shoots more quickly. The second main reason (the others above are subtypes of "more capable") is that, in practical terms, it isn't really harder to conceal. If you often wear untucked shirts you can carry and conceal just about anything easily (especially in an IWB holster). If you don't, a tuckable IWB will let you conceal anything around 1.4" wide or under pretty easily (probably even a full size if it isn't too heavy for you). I recently (as in a year or so ago) realized, when carrying a SIG P250 Compact (a true compact, like a SIG P229 or Glock 19) on vacation in VA in a tucked IWB holster under only a tucked polo style shirt, that the only one who was aware I was carrying was me. You can have a bit of a lump on your belt line and no one will notice (and if by chance someone does, they won't put together what it is).


So, if you are willing to go with a larger gun, my personal choices are a .45ACP SIG P250 Compact, and a CZ P01 (I'd rather have a PCR but there weren't any available around here when I got the P01) in a hybrid tuckable IWB holster (there are a ton of good hybrids so I won't suggest one over another). I even sometimes carry a large-frame S&W 625MG (4" .45ACP N-frame revolver) in a nice custom OWB holster or a Galco Summer Comfort (IWB, not tuckable). I would also strongly consider a Glock 23/19, SIG 320, 3-4" XD or XDM, or SIG P229 (I really miss the .40S&W P229 I used to have), and there are other good ones I'm not listing that would be perfectly fine.

If you want to go smaller, consider performance and go as heavy as you will carry (in my experience, I don't really notice anything under 25oz in an IWB holster). You want something comfortable to shoot and practice with because you'll want to practice a lot. I have a SIG P290RS which I love, and it completely disappears IWB under a tucked shirt. I have shot several Kahrs and I'd love a K9 or K40 in the role (the smaller MK9 would be a possibility as well). Note, I would prefer the metal K series and not the newer polymer versions (they are heavier for more range comfort/time and faster follow up shots, but also seem to be more reliable). Something like the Glock 26/27 would also be nice with their small and easily concealable size and 10+1 rounds of 9mm or 9+1 in .40S&W. I have a Taurus PT140 M. Pro as well that I've had over a decade, it has been out of order for a few years and I haven't gotten around to sending it in to Taurus to fix (it was a good size for carry, and still pretty capable, when it worked).
 
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