How has your every day carry changed over the years?

Heh, in the days of undocumented carry, it was a FIE Titan 25 or NAA Mini 22.
Documented carry saw a P32, then a P11, then a 608 or a 617. These days is a combo of a G27 or G22 w/P32 as BUG or P3AT w/P32 as BUG.
 
Mine has been very consistent for the last 20 yrs.../ always a full sized 1911, 5", all steel gun....for a long time it was in a .45 acp ( Wilson CQB model )...and in the last year or so, I have switched it to a 9mm ( Wilson Protector model ). I don't expect to change it again - the 9mm Wilson will be there a long time.

Prior to that ...it was S&W revolvers.../ a pre-model 10 in .38 spl a Victory Model ...and then later on it was a model 19 ( .357 Mag ) 4" gun.
 
I've actually only carried 3 kinds of guns since I got my permit.
I started out with a CZ75B chambered in .40S&W. I quit carrying it because the idea of having to decide if I was going to engage the safety or manually decock the pistol was too complicated.

I transitioned to Third Gen S&Ws until a brain fart on a training range convinced me that the simpler my carry gun is the better off I am.

I currently only carry striker fired pistols with no manual safety.

Now, it may be because I started out with that great big, heavy, all steel CZ and went from there to a 4006 but an M&P9 just doesn't seem like an awful lot to carry to me so I don't often feel that I need to downsize for comfort if I do I switch to an M&P9C
 
Constantine said:
How has your carry gun setup changed over the years?
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In guns, I've moved from heavier to lighter.
In gear, I've learned the value of having different holsters for different activities.
 
Always DAO with no safety.

I have switched around back and forth. It's usually hammerless j frame 38, CA Bulldog 44 special, LCR 38, or P3AT. I intend to get an LC9s pro before long.

It depends on weather and clothing.
 
I don't live in a carry state so I don't carry regularly, so I debated whether or not to participate in this thread. I do carry around the home often (what good is a home defense gun if it is on the other side of your house/apartment/room when you need it), and I carry when in a state where I can carry on my UT non-resident permit. Because, my carry experience is more limited, my evolution is probably a bit different than it would have been if I was in a shall-issue state. Actually, just had this conversation with the guy at the gun store today when I picked up my CZ P01 (how my choices may have been different if I carried full-time and not part-time). I do believe that if I lived where I could carry everyday, my reservations about Glocks would have dried up enough that I would have picked one up years ago (when shopping for carry, they are usually in the top 2-3 compared to similar sized guns based upon capacity and measurements), and if I ever do move or MD becomes shall-issue a Glock 26, 27, 19 or 23 will likely be one of my first purchases.

So, that said, my first "carry guns" around the house were my first guns. I started with a Ruger KP89 and a Taurus 82 and carried them around in Uncle Mike IWB holsters. When those were replaced by a full sized 1911 (Charles Daly) and a S&W 65LS, those were what I carried. Even as I started buying smaller guns, those two were still the ones usually in my holster around the house (when I occasionally was able to carry outside the home I'd carry the 65LS IWB). When I had it, I carried a Bersa Thunder .380 in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster from time to time. I've carried J-frames (or equivalent) both IWB and in a pocket holster (Taurus 605, then Taurus 85CH, and a S&W 442), and for a while I often had both the 85 IWB and the 442 in a pocket when carrying out of state/outside the home (and sometimes in the home). For a number of years my Taurus PT140 Millennium Pro was my primary IWB carry and HD gun until it died (once it is finally fixed I have enough great CCW guns I doubt it will take that duty again though). Even before my PT140 died, after a couple years, it took turns with my S&W 1911SC, which then replaced it after the PT140 died. Over the years, I have had a few that were bought to be carry guns but have never been carried outside the home (or only once or twice) and have rarely been popped in a pocket inside the home- including a 2" Rossi 461, an LCP, and an Pf-9. My current carry guns are the aforementioned Taurus 85CH (rarely used due to preferring something bigger now), a 9mm SIG P290RS, and a SIG P250 Compact in .45ACP. I have had a 3" Rossi 461 for a few months now that needs some range time before it gets holster time, and I just picked up my CZ P01 today which I intend to make (along with the P250) one of my 2 primary carry guns. On rare occasions outside the home, and often inside the home, I carry a N-frame (S&W 625MG), first in an OWB holster, and lately in a Summer Comfort IWB.

I started with IWB holsters. I quickly moved to IWB/tuckable holsters. For a few years I thought I'd move to pocket carry, but I usually have a lot of other things in my pockets that I have nowhere else to put them, so pocket carry has (other than temporary/occasional use) gone by the wayside. I still prefer strong-side IWB, usually tucked, just around my hip (sometimes a tad ahead of my hip, sometimes a tad behind it). I am starting to consider maybe trying AIWB/tucked carry, tough with my gut size I'm not sure appendix carry is the best idea.

My biggest evolution is in manual of arms. It started that I'd carry whatever I had. It didn't take long to think some consolidation for training purposes would be smart. Because I loved 1911s, 1911s or guns with similar safeties were on my list (both what I used and theoretically for future purchases). But, I also loved revolvers and wanted to keep them on my list so revolvers, DAO autos or DA/SA autos with no safety to worry about were also on the list. I knew that was a little broad, but I wasn't willing to part with either my 1911s or revolvers for carry. However, as I got older, and spent less time every month practicing my draw, I decided that a 1911 style safety was one more thing that could go wrong. So now, anything that I can carry without a safety engaged and with a DA first trigger pull is theoretically on my list. However, until I just bought the CZ P01 today (DA/SA with decocker) I had been exclusively carrying (at home or out) either a revolver or a hammer fired DAO auto.
 
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I got my CHL the first year available in TX and started carrying a G26. I went through a few different style holsters and settled on a CBST. Still my carry gun and about 10 years ago added a .380 to my pocket. Mainly carry that at home, but use it when I don't have the G26 on me for whatever reason. Oh, the Spyderco C07 has also been my daily carry knife for just as long.

FAS1EDC.JPG
 
For the last 20 years I've carried 1911 Commander size guns. Because of back problems I've had to go with LW commanders the last 8 years. I have a STI all steel 45ACP Commander 1911 that's now my home defense gun. I have a Colt 45ACP LW Commander that I carry when my back is doing well. 3 years ago I bought a S&W Shield 9mm for carry when my back was giving me fits. A month ago I bought a Ruger LW 9mm 1911 Commander. When my back is really bad and I can't carry the Colt LW Commander, then I carry the Ruger 9mm LW Commander. If my back is really bad then I carry my 9mm Shield. Not carrying is Not an option for me!!
 
Been carrying a gun for 38yrs...started when I was 18...could get a permit in Ga at 18, back then. My first was an FIE of some type. It has covered the gambit since then. Mostly it has been jframes, 3rd generation S&W's and 1911's...but now it is a Shield and I don't see that ever changing.

But, what has changed the most in my carrying...is my attitude about it. Today, I truly resent the fact that I have to carry a gun...the novelty wore off years ago.
 
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EDC Changes?

Very little, I went from a Walther P5c to a Glock 26. Rarely will I drop a S&W model 60 in my pocket for short errands.
Being totally familiar is one step toward having a reliable defense when needed.
Just my opinion, but why would one rotate a bunch of pistols for self defense?
 
Due to differences in job duties, I have tended to go lighter and smaller with each pistol I chose to carry. I went from a full size XD45 or SA 1911, to my M&P .40sw full size and now to an M&P Shield 9mm. I also am picking up a 5 shot Charter Pitbull in .40sw soon.

As to gear, I changed from a hybrid CompTac MTac to custom leather OWB only
 
It seems counter to reliable self defense. But then again I'm not as wealthy as you all so running one handgun for carry is all I'm doing.
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I rotate carry as well. As long as you use and stay familiar with all of the weapons you carry whats the issue?

As to wealth, I myself am not wealthy. Doesn't take a lot of wealth to own multiple guns. I don't drink, I never go to movies and I stay out of the night life scene. That saves a lot of cash.

My guns were bought usually on a lay away plan paying a little at a time till I get them paid for. A couple were "built" over a period of time.
 
In order from oldest to newest -

1911 Commander 45 acp
S&W Model 39-2 9mm
Sig Sauer P-229 (Still carry some)
Para Executive Carry Bob-Tail (Still carry some)
SA XDS 45 acp

All are great dependable weapons but have different features and benefits in different situations.
 
I quit trying to carry small guns that I had to think about shooting and have stuck with full size. Most people are oblivious th use who aren't usually comment about how they don't shoot their small guns as well as they would like.
 
I know that I've already posted in this thread, but I want to expand on it a little.

My carry history is oddly well-documented here. I joined TFL in 2010, which was right around the time I actually got my CHCL and started carrying. My first carry gun was like just about every other pistol I'd ever had: full-sized, and in parkerized steel. It was a gov't model 1911, which I carried in a Theis holster. I didn't even own a gunbelt when I first started carrying. It was hanging a 1911 and spare mags on a dress belt that made me a staunch supporter of proper gunbelts. Later, I switched to a DeSantis Speed Scabbard and bought myself an Aker B21 belt. That worked well until about 2012, when I sent my 1911 off for some new sights.

While it was gone, a buddy of mine loaned me a Glock 19. I'm not sure, but I think it was a Gen 3. I'd hated Glocks forever and a day, and had never bothered to learn much about them beyond that simple fact. Nonetheless, having nothing else suitable for carry, I carried that Glock while my 1911 was in the shop. When I got my 1911 back, I realized just how heavy it was, by comparison, and decided to give these newfangled polymer thingamabobs a try. Accordingly, I started Spats McGee's Search for a Polymer 9mm, Phase 1. I threw out a bunch of different options, and got some great information. In spite of my better judgment, I finally settled on a Gen 4 G19, which I bought in April or May of 2013.

Having grown accustomed to using OWB leather while carrying that 1911, I bought a leather OWB holster for the G19, a Galco this time. (Mainly because I could buy it in person, rather than online.) Somewhere around six months after I started carrying it, I posted A Grudging Review of the Glock 19. Over time, I added a DeSantis Econobelt and a variety of holsters to the mix. (You know, because you need the right belt & holster for every occasion, right?) I have IWB, OWB, leather, Kydex and a hybrid (CBST). I still toy with the idea of getting a different carry pistol (3.8" Compact XDM, I'm still looking at you! :p), but the G19/CBST combination gets far more carry time than anything else I have. It's a great combination for a guy like me who is: (a) in a suit 4 days out of the week, and (b) often in a sport coat when he's not in a suit.

Still, there are those days from late spring to fall when it's just too hot to wear a coat, so somewhere along the line, I also picked up a Ruger LCR in .357 for pocket carry. When I bought it, I thought, "I'll practice with .38s, and carry .357s." Yeah, . . . That lasted until the day that I thought I'd test a few .357s in it. I'm not overly recoil sensitive, but that sonofagun kicked like a mule! My groups? At 10 yards, they were roughly "minute-of-mammoth." I switched back to .38s that day. My groups are much better and I don't take near the beating that those .357s dished out. It's a great little gun for pocket carry.
 
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In spite of my better judgment, I finally settled on a Gen 4 G19, which I bought in April or May of 2013.
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I find this amusing in that I have been looking at 1911 10MMs and thinking about buying one to replace my combination of Glock 29 or Ruger SP101 as belt guns when I do more than pocket carry. Yesterday we were going towards the city and I wanted something a little heavier than my P938. So I clipped the G29 onto my belt and dropped a spare magazine in my pocket.

Stupid gun is about ideal for belt carry when one wants something a "little more" than the single stack 9s. I think my search for the 1911 might have been set back.
 
For years I carried a 9mm. Few years ago I carried a 40sw. Since this Summer I carried a 10mm and now have a gun for life, my G29. :cool:
 
Mine just depends on what I've been shooting at the range most recently.

If I'm practicing with my 1911's a lot, then I usually carry a 1911, or at least a .45 Glock.

Lately I've been on a 9mm Glock kick, so 19 or 26 it is.

Probably sometime this fall I'll shoot my DW again and go back to 1911's for a while.
 
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