The longer you carry ... the bigger it gets.

F

FUD

Moderator
Has anyone noticed that when you first start out, you think that even the smallest gun is "printing" but the longer you carry, the more comfortable you are with carrying fuller size firearms?

I've been carrying concealed for only a couple of years (I recently moved to a "shall-issue" state). I originally started out with a Kahr MK9 -- as that was the smallest, full-power pistol around and I was able to carry it in complete concealment.

I felt uncomfortable carrying anything bigger because subconsciously I felt that the bulge would give it away as a firearm and I would be "printing". However, after about a year, I moved up (with regard to number of rounds) to a {pre-agreement} 3913TSW and while this causes more of the bulge than the MK9, I now feel that it is well concealed -- I didn't think that way a couple of years ago.

I'm now actually thinking about moving up to something even a little bit bigger (either a {pre-agreement} 4013TSW that I invested in or maybe a SIG229 in .357SIG that I've had my eye on) because I'm not so conscious/concerned about the gun "printing" as I first was when I started carrying.

Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
fud-nra.gif
 
I think this is a inverted U shaped function. These data are purely anecdotely.

I know some very professional folk who downsize and are happy with the compact 40s and 9mms after carrying the big honker.

Also some who are happy just to go out with a 642 or other pocket gun.

They realize that they will probably not get into the thousand round fire fight, that placement of a quality round from 9mm up is more important than the big gun syndrome and the comfort factor surfaces again.

Now I do see some of the compact 45 ACPs around as they do have the big bullet and are comfortable also with the right gear.

I went through mouse gun, middle gun, big gun, now compact 9mm or 38 SPL.

YMMV
 
I have just never been a mouse gun kinda guy. Never felt comfortable relying on anything smaller than a 38 special and finally wound up, at present, carrying a full size 1911. It isn't the caliber as much as how well I shoot with it. I figure it's gonna be hard enough to shoot well under stress with a gun I shoot well with normally, much less with one that I shoot poorly with, such as an airweight revolver or an alloy framed 45.
 
Rik - excellent point. When I carry, it's almost always my USP40. I make the neccessary adjustments to my dress to make it work.

I've got a wonderful, tiny, easy to conceal MK40, but I take the USP because I'm good with it - not for caliber (obviously), and not for capacity, though 14 instead of 6 is obviously an improvement.

I'm getting better with the MK, but due to its design I don't think it's possible to shoot it as well as a full size pistol.
 
Having been CCW for seven years, I wonder when this will take effect for me. My most frequently carried gun (unless using a carry purse) has dwindled from a G23 to a G29 and now frequently a G33. There are some times when all I carry is the Tomcat. I'm not out to "win a firefight", just to survive a hostile encounter. Most people I know who have been CCW all their life (those old enough to be my parents; who have seen, and sometimes bagged, the elephant, and whom I look up to as mentors) are the ones with J-frames, Glock 26's, Tomcats, Kel-Tec P-32s, & etc...

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"..but never ever Fear. Fear is for the enemy. Fear and Bullets."
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
The turning point is the discovery that most people wouldn't recognize the most blatant print if they looked right at it. They don't expect it, their brains aren't trained to look for it, and they can't equate the shape of bumpy clothing with that thing they so desparately fear. Usually I carry a Glock 26 due to my small size, but occasionally I'll "splurge" and carry the G17 with extended mag, just because I can.
 
Greetings To All; I choose between three firearms depending on the occassion:

1) Smith & Wesson J-Frame model 60 .38 Spl
2) Glock 27 sub compact in .40S&W
3) Sig-Sauer P220A in .45ACP

I am very proficent and confident with either
of these firearms; along I own several more.
As you can see; the more serious the business, the larger the caliber!!! :)

Regards,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
I started off carrying the Para Ordnance P13 45 and migrated between it and P12 45 for a few years then slowly migrated to the Colt Defender.
Lately I`ve narrowed it down to a full size Kimber and the glock 31 ,but I am now considering of going to either a Glock 33 or a Para P10 40 , depending on which way i go.My only concern is that I have this strange concern that I should only carry my regular range gun with me since it is the one im the most accurate with. Course a close friend of mine carrys a mouse gun which i been ribing him about for a while now.

killer45
 
Gee, I started out with a 1911A1, went to a M-66 for a while and I'm back with the 1911A1. Seen the elephant and bought him peanuts. I'll stick to the 1911A1, I shoot it best of all the pistols I have and being pudgy I can hide it quite well.

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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
"If there be treachery, let there be jehad!"
 
This is a great topic.

Before my permit, I used to carry just about anything from two taurus pt92 clear through a little .22 NAA revolver. I didn't feel any of that was going to be a problem. I was of course younger and stupider then though.

When I got my permit I started out with a Glock 26. Wasn't happy so I went to the Glock 30 almost right away. Now I am forced due to new job to carry the NAA revolver again but am hoping to switch to a guardian next week. What a mess.
 
"Has anyone noticed that when you first start out, you think that even the smallest gun is "printing" but the longer you carry, the more comfortable you are with carrying fuller size firearms?"

Yep.

Seems only natural that when first carrying, a certain sense of paranoia follows. I first started to carry a PPK/S and was concerned about that size gun. Today, I don't leave the house without either my USPc 9mm or my Sig 239 9mm.

I have no problem at all concealing, and being totally comfortable with, either of these weapons.

You could also say that my dress code has evolved to accommodate CCW. This factor is very important - dress for CCW.

CMOS

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GOA, TSRA, LEAA, NRA, SAF and I vote!
 
Definitely true. I used to worry about printing but now I think most people don't have a clue. I carry either a Glock 23 or 27 and have just purchased a 34. When I'm carrying the 27 the spare mag and sure-fire have more of a bulge than the gun. Guy I shoot with sometimes carries a 6" S&W revolver in 45. Course he's also about 6'3". To each his own, byerly.
 
This is an interesting topic. I had a CCW from 1969 until 1983, and again from 1986 until 1990, and now again in 2000 ( I move around a bit chasing thoise good ol' yankee dollars).

My present CCW ( two moths old) is filled with either a 3" 66,a Kahr K9, a Speed Six, a 1911 of one sort or the other, or a S&W 4506., dpending on my frame of mind and environment. Life is good! This whole debate is an excuse to buy another handgun.
 
I've carried for eleven years now, and my carry guns have been everything from a NAA Mini to a Desert Eagle in .44Mag. Funny thing is, when I was young and full of it, the gun could not be big enough. Traded my Browning HP for an army buddy's DE .44Mag, and carried it in a vertical shoulder rig for about a month until it dawned on me that it felt remarkably like wearing a car battery, and that the DE was most likely ballistic overkill in a firefight.

For the longest time after that, I graviated towards wondernines, alternating between a Beretta 92F and SIG P225. Somewhere along the line came a HK P7M8, my favorite carry gun to this day. When I moved to the US and a gun-friendly shall-issue state, I built on my previous experience and bought a SIG P239 as a main CCW gun until I became a Glock convert. Now it's my G26 most of the time, with the occasional G32 when the weather warrants a jacket.

One thing I did notice is that I found myself adjusting my clothing style and purchases towards concealment of handguns. I like the sleeveless v-neck sweaters for IWB concealment, and I usually buy my pants one size too wide for holster space. Smaller guns are more comfy and convenient than full-size service autos or Israeli-made dinosaur repellers, but I have enough concealment experience now to hide anything up to a six-inch N-frame on my body in all but beachwear. People are mostly clueless when it comes to gunspotting.
 
FUD,

Good choice of firearms. The 4013 is a real sleeper, and the 229 is one of my favorites. Let me know how you like 'em.

Ben

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Almost Online IM: BenK911
ICQ # 53788523
"Gun Control Is Being Able To Hit Your Target"
 
I used to carry a Taurus PT-111, but I traded it in for a Glock 27. On accasion, I also carry a Ruger SP101 or even my makarov. The glock is definitely the best suited for carry in the hot/humid Houston summer.
 
"Traded my Browning HP for an army buddy's DE .44Mag, and carried it in a vertical shoulder rig for about a month until it dawned on me that it felt remarkably like wearing a car battery, and that the DE was most likely ballistic overkill in a firefight. "

LMAO! :)

I have carry guns that vary in size from a Kahr MK9 up to a S&W 645. I decide which one to carry depending upon wheather and activities for that day. Sometimes, I've changed guns during the day.

I'm the most comfortable when I'm carrying a gun! It really doesn't matter what size gun, as long as I have one! :)
 
One more for the full size USP .40. Just dress around it-I like the big gun and shoot it well. There are times were I have to "dress up" and cannot carry the gun. I solved that by getting a compact kimber. But that will be as small as I will go. I thinks its more what you shoot well not how light/small it is.
 
The important thing is to carry something you can rely on, and that has enough downrange gotcha to stop the agressor with proper shot placement. There are a hundred choices that fit this description (just look at any buyer's guide) and are concealable if you choose the right holster and clothing. A tall guy in a suit jacket can carry a full size H&K USP in a shoulder holster, and another IWB for backup, and you'll never see it. A short guy in a hot climate, like me, is a bit more limited in choices. Still, a Kahr carried IWB under a guyabera shirt is not noticeable, and a belt pack will tote a full size 1911. A Kel-Tec P-32 with the belt clip can ride all day at the waistband of your Dockers.

Being self-conscious about carrying is more a state of mind than an actual risk of accidental display. If you do the homework and prepare ahead of time, you'll KNOW you've got the weapon properly concealed and won't need to worry.
 
Having carried a full size "guv'mint" model 1911 for many years, I migrated to the Glock 23 in an attempt to go "smaller".

Well, I never really cared for the Glock 23 and I really missed the big 1911 and .45 caliber.

So about 7 months ago, I retired the Glock 23 and moved to the Glock 30 in an attempt to recover .45 caliber and to go "smaller"
again.

So far, I'm pleased with the Glock 30's size and I prefer it to the Glock 23 that I used to carry.

But... I still miss the big 1911.

So recently, I've found myself strapping on my Springfield "loaded" 1911 that I use for IDPA in place of my usual Glock 30.

Call me crazy, but I actually prefer carrying the bigger 1911.

But due to sweat issues, I have to carry the Glock. *shrug*
 
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