Conceal Carry weapon choices

[Holladay]

Probably a re-post, didn't see it after a quick search.

I am buy no means a gun expert but know my way around them (ex-military)

My wife is seriously looking to CC. That thought alone shocked me. She is quite against guns. She is German and with all the issues Germany has now and stuff here in the states, wants to pursue this privilege. I will as well.

Another thought is what is the best way to figure out which states allow. I have surfed the web and it is a bit confusing. She will be house sitting in SC for a month. Thus a long trip by herself through many states. As I understand, KY will prove the hardest state.

I have taken her out in our back 40 to practice. I have a 9mm CZ 75 that I bought while stationed in Germany. It is similar to the Beretta 9mm. She is a natural. The practice and repetition is the key as we all know. It is to big for CC. She will be carrying in her purse..eer er "hand bag" ( I got corrected from a female fashionista).

We are on a budget and not into an elite weapon. Something that goes bang and scares the would be bad guy. I was hoping for less then $400.

We have tried a few different types. Revolver vs Semi. Revolver is simpler but limited ammo. Semi is harder to operate but has more "bangs".

My parents have a Makarov 9x18. I thought it was junk, but find out it is quite decent. It is a Walther PPK variant. Cheap ~$300. I read a review about women and hand guns. The author stated that a point is the strength/size of women's hands. Thus semi is not a good option unless she is a masseuse. I giggled, because she is. Her hands are as big as mine which are medium/large guys paws. She has had a little problem pulling the slide back and on another old (S&W Defender) revolver the trigger squeeze.

I will use the Defender, not necessarily CC, in my car. If I can find ammo for it. That is another problem. The CZ stays at home.

Thoughts?

[nychief]

Wow this is like a virtual leather bar.

[Frazod]

Don't carry anything less than a 9mm. This means DO NOT CARRY A .380. It simply doesn't provide enough stopping power. Real life ain't the movies - generally you're not going to drop a bad guy with one shot. This advice comes from a variety of people I know, shoot with or have gotten training from, including my CC instructor who is an ex-Chicago tactical cop. He won't even let people use .380s in his class.

Unless you are a regular shooter, I also strongly recommend that you don't carry a gun with an external safety. You don't want to have to remember to flip the safety off while somebody's trying to kill you.

I would also stay away from 40 caliber. Most common 40 cal. guns are originally designed for 9mm rounds. As a result, these weapons tend to wear parts out faster and be less accurate. If you want a bigger round, stick with 45 ACP.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a Glock 19, a Springfield XDm or a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, as long as it doesn't have an external safety. I'm not a fan of guns that take single stack mags, just because more bullets is better than less bullets. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Ruger for a carry gun. I wouldn't trust my life to a ****ing Kel-Tec. This is not an area where you want to cheap out.

My daily carry gun is a customized CZ 75 D Compact. Roughly the same size as a Glock 19, but all metal, dead nuts accurate, high reliable. 14+1 or 16+1 depending on the magazine. It's a little heavy, but I'm used to it, and using an IWB holster it disappears. Pricier than the average carry gun to be sure, but I work in Chicago, so I don't **** around when it comes to personal protection. If I'm going someplace where I might be forced to leave my gun in the car or otherwise unattended in a non-secure environment, I carry a little 7+1 Ruger LC9s, which is adequate, but just barely.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Chief_For_Life58

I wear dress clothes to work everyday. I pocket carry a ruger lcp380. Never leave home without it. Wish I could cc something larger though. Any options for dress clothes?

I'm a big fan of 5.11.

http://www.511tactical.com/mens.html

[booger]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Don't carry anything less than a 9mm. This means DO NOT CARRY A .380. It simply doesn't provide enough stopping power. Real life ain't the movies - generally you're not going to drop a bad guy with one shot. This advice comes from a variety of people I know, shoot with or have gotten training from, including my CC instructor who is an ex-Chicago tactical cop. He won't even let people use .380s in his class.

Unless you are a regular shooter, I also strongly recommend that you don't carry a gun with an external safety. You don't want to have to remember to flip the safety off while somebody's trying to kill you.

I would also stay away from 40 caliber. Most common 40 cal. guns are originally designed for 9mm rounds. As a result, these weapons tend to wear parts out faster and be less accurate. If you want a bigger round, stick with 45 ACP.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a Glock 19, a Springfield XDm or a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, as long as it doesn't have an external safety. I'm not a fan of guns that take single stack mags, just because more bullets is better than less bullets. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Ruger for a carry gun. I wouldn't trust my life to a ****ing Kel-Tec. This is not an area where you want to cheap out.

My daily carry gun is a customized CZ 75 D Compact. Roughly the same size as a Glock 19, but all metal, dead nuts accurate, high reliable. 14+1 or 16+1 depending on the magazine. It's a little heavy, but I'm used to it, and using an IWB holster it disappears. Pricier than the average carry gun to be sure, but I work in Chicago, so I don't **** around when it comes to personal protection. If I'm going someplace where I might be forced to leave my gun in the car or otherwise unattended in a non-secure environment, I carry a little 7+1 Ruger LC9s, which is adequate, but just barely.

Solid advice. Thanks I was looking into those CZ 75s.
Found one of these https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...er_16+1_9mm_45

Looks very similar and priced well. I don’t know anything about EAA though

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by booger

Solid advice. Thanks I was looking into those CZ 75s.
Found one of these https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...er_16+1_9mm_45

Looks very similar and priced well. I don’t know anything about EAA though

This is the exact gun I carry, as well as the seller I got it from. I've upgraded it with night sights and had a little extra work done. These are custom orders, so they sell out very quickly.

https://oakhillguns.com/pistol/cz-us...mm-custom.html

This one's mine....

[Skyy God]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Don't carry anything less than a 9mm. This means DO NOT CARRY A .380. It simply doesn't provide enough stopping power. Real life ain't the movies - generally you're not going to drop a bad guy with one shot. This advice comes from a variety of people I know, shoot with or have gotten training from, including my CC instructor who is an ex-Chicago tactical cop. He won't even let people use .380s in his class.

Unless you are a regular shooter, I also strongly recommend that you don't carry a gun with an external safety. You don't want to have to remember to flip the safety off while somebody's trying to kill you.

I would also stay away from 40 caliber. Most common 40 cal. guns are originally designed for 9mm rounds. As a result, these weapons tend to wear parts out faster and be less accurate. If you want a bigger round, stick with 45 ACP.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a Glock 19, a Springfield XDm or a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, as long as it doesn't have an external safety. I'm not a fan of guns that take single stack mags, just because more bullets is better than less bullets. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Ruger for a carry gun. I wouldn't trust my life to a ****ing Kel-Tec. This is not an area where you want to cheap out.

My daily carry gun is a customized CZ 75 D Compact. Roughly the same size as a Glock 19, but all metal, dead nuts accurate, high reliable. 14+1 or 16+1 depending on the magazine. It's a little heavy, but I'm used to it, and using an IWB holster it disappears. Pricier than the average carry gun to be sure, but I work in Chicago, so I don't **** around when it comes to personal protection. If I'm going someplace where I might be forced to leave my gun in the car or otherwise unattended in a non-secure environment, I carry a little 7+1 Ruger LC9s, which is adequate, but just barely.

So the .380 was inadequate to shoot through the refrigerator, I presume......

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

So the .380 was inadequate to shoot through the refrigerator, I presume......

In your case, I definitely recommend a .380.

[booger]

Originally Posted by Frazod

This is the exact gun I carry, as well as the seller I got it from. I've upgraded it with night sights and had a little extra work done. These are custom orders, so they sell out very quickly.

https://oakhillguns.com/pistol/cz-us...mm-custom.html

This one's mine....

Very nice!

[booger]

Originally Posted by Frazod

In your case, I definitely recommend a .380.

[Hoover]

This is what I carry around.

https://hk-usa.com/hk-models/vp9/

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Don't carry anything less than a 9mm. This means DO NOT CARRY A .380. It simply doesn't provide enough stopping power. Real life ain't the movies - generally you're not going to drop a bad guy with one shot. This advice comes from a variety of people I know, shoot with or have gotten training from, including my CC instructor who is an ex-Chicago tactical cop. He won't even let people use .380s in his class.

Unless you are a regular shooter, I also strongly recommend that you don't carry a gun with an external safety. You don't want to have to remember to flip the safety off while somebody's trying to kill you.

I would also stay away from 40 caliber. Most common 40 cal. guns are originally designed for 9mm rounds. As a result, these weapons tend to wear parts out faster and be less accurate. If you want a bigger round, stick with 45 ACP.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a Glock 19, a Springfield XDm or a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, as long as it doesn't have an external safety. I'm not a fan of guns that take single stack mags, just because more bullets is better than less bullets. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Ruger for a carry gun. I wouldn't trust my life to a ****ing Kel-Tec. This is not an area where you want to cheap out.

My daily carry gun is a customized CZ 75 D Compact. Roughly the same size as a Glock 19, but all metal, dead nuts accurate, high reliable. 14+1 or 16+1 depending on the magazine. It's a little heavy, but I'm used to it, and using an IWB holster it disappears. Pricier than the average carry gun to be sure, but I work in Chicago, so I don't **** around when it comes to personal protection. If I'm going someplace where I might be forced to leave my gun in the car or otherwise unattended in a non-secure environment, I carry a little 7+1 Ruger LC9s, which is adequate, but just barely.

I love my XDM but every once in a while that extra saftey gives me fits.

I stopped carrying in because I doubt I'll have the perfect grip in an emergency.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Hoover

I love my XDM but every once in a while that extra saftey gives me fits.

I stopped carrying in because I doubt I'll have the perfect grip in an emergency.

Prior to the CZ I carried an XDm. I never had a problem with the grip safety, but I know that's a common concern.

[Randallflagg]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Don't carry anything less than a 9mm. This means DO NOT CARRY A .380. It simply doesn't provide enough stopping power. Real life ain't the movies - generally you're not going to drop a bad guy with one shot. This advice comes from a variety of people I know, shoot with or have gotten training from, including my CC instructor who is an ex-Chicago tactical cop. He won't even let people use .380s in his class.

Unless you are a regular shooter, I also strongly recommend that you don't carry a gun with an external safety. You don't want to have to remember to flip the safety off while somebody's trying to kill you.

I would also stay away from 40 caliber. Most common 40 cal. guns are originally designed for 9mm rounds. As a result, these weapons tend to wear parts out faster and be less accurate. If you want a bigger round, stick with 45 ACP.

IMO, you can't go wrong with a Glock 19, a Springfield XDm or a Smith & Wesson M&P 9c, as long as it doesn't have an external safety. I'm not a fan of guns that take single stack mags, just because more bullets is better than less bullets. I wouldn't recommend anything less than a Ruger for a carry gun. I wouldn't trust my life to a ****ing Kel-Tec. This is not an area where you want to cheap out.

My daily carry gun is a customized CZ 75 D Compact. Roughly the same size as a Glock 19, but all metal, dead nuts accurate, high reliable. 14+1 or 16+1 depending on the magazine. It's a little heavy, but I'm used to it, and using an IWB holster it disappears. Pricier than the average carry gun to be sure, but I work in Chicago, so I don't **** around when it comes to personal protection. If I'm going someplace where I might be forced to leave my gun in the car or otherwise unattended in a non-secure environment, I carry a little 7+1 Ruger LC9s, which is adequate, but just barely.

Actually, I have to disagree (but only slightly). I carry either a Sig P226 or a Springfield .45 (but that's me). My Wife, on the other hand, carries a Walther PPK with hollow points. We went out in the country one day and she shot up a few milk jugs with water....

That little pistol DESTROYED the jugs...

I agree...usually a .380 is NOT the best choice for carry - however, it WILL stop someone who is attacking you. And, for her, it is the right size. She says that the 9mm is too bulky (and heavy) for the purse and the .45 (well, it's a 45)

[Eleazar]

Sig Ultra Compact, HK P30, Glock 19

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by BiStateNo

Actually, I have to disagree (but only slightly). I carry either a Sig P226 or a Springfield .45 (but that's me). My Wife, on the other hand, carries a Walther PPK with hollow points. We went out in the country one day and she shot up a few milk jugs with water....

That little pistol DESTROYED the jugs...

I agree...usually a .380 is NOT the best choice for carry - however, it WILL stop someone who is attacking you. And, for her, it is the right size. She says that the 9mm is too bulky (and heavy) for the purse and the .45 (well, it's a 45)

Don't PPKs kick like a mule, for such a small cartridge?