How has your every day carry changed over the years?

Lohman446 said:
Spats McGee said:
In spite of my better judgment, I finally settled on a Gen 4 G19, which I bought in April or May of 2013.
I find this amusing in that I have been looking at 1911 10MMs . . . .
Believe you me, I've been incredibly amused at my own foolishness for disregarding Glocks out of hand for ~25+ years. :o
 
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.

With the +0 pearce pinky dongle on the mag (9 round mag for the .45 acp) the 30/29 is sure one fine shooter and belt gun. Makes it hard to justify the weight of a 1911 when I'm deciding to carry .45 acp (or 10mm, when I get around to buying another 29).
 
Loved all the responses on this thread so far. Always great to see how someone changes their EDC according to the changes that life brings. Also gives direction to anyone else with similar questions.

Makes it hard to justify the weight of a 1911 when I'm deciding to carry .45 acp (or 10mm, when I get around to buying another 29).

Nice, my counterpart of this is the HK USP 45 compact at 8+1.
 
Always a 1911. The only variation is size (officer or commander). I've carried and competed with 1911s for years so it's the gun I know best.
 
I went to all single stack guns for carry. All DA\SA, so no safety. The 3 I carry are either poly or alloy frames.
Use to carry all steel double stacks.
Carried mostly .40S&W, now, all 9mm.
 
first carried..

Colt Combat Commander, in Bianchi #6, unuaslly under the seat, that changed to a M39 Smith, riding in a Binchi #19, then to a J-frame, carried in a Bianchi #3, have switched to a Uncle Mike;s "inside the pocket" holster,

do to recent incident back to the M39 in a Bianchi 2000 shoulder carry.
 
Well, I haven't had the chance to test out the HK USP 45 Compact with the LEM trigger yet. So I've been carrying either my custom Glock 19 Gen 4 or my bone stock Glock 19 Gen 3.

All loaded with Corbon DPX Gen 2 bullets. 115gr of all copper.

Starting to feel a little more comfy with the idea of 15+1 again vs 8+1. Uh-oh..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
Most of my Army Career I carried a 1911 . As a civilian a snub 38spl or a 25 auto (no guns allowed at work) Now retired Ive went back to my 1911's Colt Commander Colt Officer 3 1/2" or Colt Defender 3" Around home its a 380 PPK/s or my 9mm PF-9 . I have others but these have become my grab and carry pistols .
I have never owned any hicap pistol and have no interest in them Don't like the thicker grip and will never own a Glock . Shot one years ago and didn't like it at all.
I carry a spare mag going to Louisville or Lexington . They have about 1000% more crime than my close small town of 200 people or the bigger one 10 miles away of 320 people .

I do try hard to stay out of those 2 start with L bigger cities. only fools want to live spitting distance from next house or stacked on top of other. . I like my woods and open fields I can walk out my door and shoot any time I want . If raining I can sit on porch and shoot . Can't do that in a city.

I don't pay in a year the property tax. My brother property tax would be for a month in Lexington. And our gas is cheaper also.
 
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My carry hasn't changed much over the years.....S&W J-frame in the pocket on to a P938 in the pocket. I would love to comfortably carry something bigger, but being built somewhat like a beach ball makes that difficult.
 
Has my EDC changed over the years?

Yes, they have become smaller, more compact and definitely lighter in weight. For instance, back in the day I might carry on all steel Colt Combat Commander or an all steel S&W Model 36. Nowadays it's more likely to be a polymer frame Kahr CM9 or else an aluminum alloy frame S&W model 638.
 
My carry gun keeps shrinking... I started out carrying full sized autos - Beretta, Glock, etc. As I get older I keep finding smaller and smaller handguns to fill the roll as daily concealed carry weapon. I'm in my 40's now, and down to a Glock 43. At the rate I'm going, by the time I'm 60 I'll probably need a tweezers to draw my sidearm.:D
 
I went from a 5 shot J-frame to a 8 Shot N frame (Both 357 magnum)

I also got a back up gun. NAA mini revolver in 22
 
As an oldster who keeps getting older, I know that carrying a gun involves compromises. If one knew when trouble was going to happen, they would likely carry a long-gun. However, such is inconvenient considering trouble may never come. So, I carry what I started with when it first became legal in Michigan...a model 36 S&W, in my right hand pants pocket. Being old and decrepit, it is the compromise I am willing to make.
 
My first carry gun was a Mauser HSc 380
I started working in a gun store and got the “Why are you wearing a pip squeek of a gun.”
For the next couple of years an N frame S&W that was hand build in 44 special.
Then after getting sick of the weight I went with a charter arms bulldog.
That lasted for over 15 years.
Then for several year a Kimber Royal Carry in 45 ACP
Then my wire purchased a Glock 26 for carry. That lasted for several months She stole my S&W 60 and I became a fan of Glocks.
Now almost always the 26 but every now and then I strap on my 69
 
When I first started carrying in the 1980s, my first carry gun was a Charter Arms Off Duty .38 Special. Nice little .38, not expensive, and quite light.

Then I moved to DC, and then to Virginia, where carry was out of the question until Virginia passed shall issue around 1995.

I continued to carry the Charter occasionally, then picked up a Colt Detective Special with a factory hammer shroud. Couldn't get used to the pull to unlatch the cylinder, so I ended up stupidly getting rid of it.

Around that time I also picked up an S&W Model 19 2.5" that I've carried on and off in a shoulder holster.

In the middle 1990s I picked up a Taurus PT-22 that I've carried on and off for years as a pocket pistol. Really slips away easily, and with Winchester Wildcat ammo it's been 100% reliable.

Not long after that, I retired the Charter when I got a Smith & Wesson 042 Centennial hammerless. It's now my primary carry gun. Love that critter.

Over the years I've also thrown in a few automatics as the situation allows -- a P7 PSP, a Kahr (later sold that one to a friend), a Beretta 92 (also later sold), and a High Power.

First and foremost, though, I consider myself to be a revolver guy, and I consider revolvers to be my primary carry guns.
 
Pardon the length, but I’m getting old and I started carrying a handgun when I was younger than I will admit anywhere in public. Not that I suspect this is any kind of record for EDC changes.

The first was a nickel plated (maybe chrome) .25ACP. I don’t remember the brand, likely Italian. It was given to me by a friend whom I did not ask from where it came. I returned it to him when I departed that part of my life. I probably fired it fewer than a dozen times. It was reliable, but not very accurate. I carried it in my jeans pocket.

High-Standard Citation M107 .22LR. The first handgun I ever bought with my own money. Not really a concealed carry much (and not an EDC) but I did keep it in my car once I bought a car. I started to add “rich enough” to buy a car, but my first car cost less than the Citation :eek:. I kept this pistol for many years until it was taken in a burglary about 30 years ago.

High-Standard Sentinel revolver .22RF I did not carry it often as I bought it for household use by my wife who had earlier (in 1968) used the Citation to scare away a prowler. She found the revolver easier to use.

1927 Argentine (Sistema) Colt .45ACP. My first 1911. I carried it for several years, “Mexican-carry” style before I learned better and before good holsters were easier to find. I let it get away from me once, but got it back. I still have it.

Star PD .45ACP. The first production “compact” 1911-style pistol, I believe. I bought this one used about the time some custom-makers were beginning to experiment with short-barrel 1911s. I carried it for quite a while and was well-satisfied.

Star BKM 9mm. A remarkably accurate and lightweight carry with either IWB or OWB holster.

S&W Model 19 .357 Magnum. Shot a lot, carried only a little.

S&W Model 66 .357 Magnum. Ditto the above.

Colt Mustang .380ACP. Didn’t keep this one long. I didn’t like if for some reason (it has been too long for me to remember why).

Star DK .380ACP. Carried it some. I still have it but it rarely leaves the safe.

Springfield V10 Ultra-Compact .45ACP. I loved this pistol. Easy and lightweight to carry, accurate, and was a lovely bi-tone finish with blued slide and alloy frame. I carried it regularly until I did some experiments concerning the porting. I don’t own it anymore.

Charter Arms Stratford Bulldog .44SPL. This has been an occasional carry since I acquired it. I like it.

S&W Model 38 .38SPL. Coat-pocket gun. Still carry it but rarely. It was mostly replaced by the next one down:

S&W Model 340PD .357 Magnum. Same coat-pocket size but significantly lighter. I often carry it in the winter with .38SPLs.

Para-Ordnance Slim Hawg .45ACP. This was a really nice EDC. I highly recommend it if you can find one. I no longer have it. I carried it frequently until I found this one:

Para-Ordnance LDA Carry 45. IMO, closest to the perfect EDC in large-caliber. Reliable, accurate, lightweight. I carry this one quite frequently.

Kahr PM9. I sometimes carry this one but usually think that the LDA Carry is not that much bigger/heavier.

Colt Mustang Pocketlite .380ACP. I carry this one occasionally just because I like it. (I don’t know why I like it now when I didn’t like it so much back in the 80s).

Kel Tec P32. This one goes in my pocket most days.

The last four listed are among my usual choices for EDC. All four carry well in the same Don Hume JIT Slide holster. The P32 is the only one I routinely put in my pocket.

Thanks to the OP. Love reading everyone's contributions. Keep on posting.

w
 
Started out with a G23.
Went through a "revolver phase" that started with an M37 J-frame, followed by a variety of J, K, one L (586) and several N-frames.
Eventually traded the G23 for a G19 and tried that for a while...pretty much cured me of carrying double-stacks permanently.
Went through a Kel-Tec phase (two P3ATs, one P11, one P32)...cured me of Kel-Tecs permanently.
Bought a Kahr PM9 about 12 years ago, and carried it EDC until i convinced myself I needed something bigger. Went to a Kahr P45, and then a PM45...
Went through a 1911 phase, and given my druthers, I would still be carrying a 1911 daily. But after three spine surgeries, carrying a 1911 is something I do far less frequently.
So...the Kahr PM9 came back to being my EDC.

Note--there is some overlap between the various phases, and a lot of other guns that I did not mention. My safe also contains an LCP (the third of that model) but I just don't have confidence in the cartridge.
 
This has been an enjoyable thread. Bob Wright, though, gets my vote for coolest, most retro progression from a succession of DA revolvers to his single action beauties! Not as random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. :D
 
I'm 70 now and believe me, it's been one hellofa trip.

Early on it was a home made sling shot and the earliest model used choke cherries for ammo. Later I made 'em up out of clothes hanger wire twisted and bent to shape...all of the above fit into my hip pocket and I was way short of 10 years old when I made my first one.

I didn't carry through college, but packed a Ruger BH in .357 whenever I packed back over Colorado's Front Range on foot or horseback.

Then off to pilot training in Del Rio where the same .357 served me well on weekends...but was augmented by a '68 vintage Browning Hi-Power. This last one fit me to a tee but couldn't keep it's shots in a 3" circle at 25 yds...I sold it after a year.

I drew an Air Force Birddog O-1E (an L-19 for you Army types), and was issued a Smith M15 in .38 Special enroute to lll Corps in Vietnam. I rarely carried the Smith, preferring instead a 1911a1 on loan from the Special Forces guys in the camp. Later in my tour another Browning Hi-Power showed up and was a tack driver...it kept me company in all places...bed & bunker, shower points, the bird, the jeep...and a lot of slit trenches on the perimeter.

Home from Nam, I reverted back to that aged Ruger, carrying it in an open top Tom Threepersons rig for all of my off base activities in the fields and woods of eastern Washington.

Since then, and for true CC, it's been a cpl Smith J frames, a Sig P290, a cpl 1911's of the Commander size, and a Smith Bodyguard in .380.

Given the choice, however and clothing permitting, I'd opt for a Lt Weight Commander sized 1911. That equates to power in a convenient weight, adequate capacity, flat and relatively easy to conceal, and a control system that's 2nd nature to me after almost 50 years of use. There may be better, lighter SD pieces around, and for some who train on them and are comfortable with their manipulation..good on you...but for me, it's the old reliable 1911 and make it in the original caliber too, if it's all the same to you.

Rod
 
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