I finally got my CCW yesterday. I personally dont own a handgun yet, but both my parents have their CCW and a large assortment of guns for me to choose from. I carried my fathers .380 Kel Tec today with a pocket holster. I like the overall size of the gun, I like the size of the caliber as far as stopping power goes, and I like how there is no hammer which could potentially get caught while unholstering. But, I have heard some bad things about the Kel Tec .380's reliability. Apparently they just fail to fire sometimes although I haven't experienced it personally... And I didn't like using a pocket holster as I had to move my keys into the same pocket as my phone. So, that was my thoughts of my first day carrying. Who else carries/collects. What do you have and what do you like/don't like.
Ive moved on to strictly 1911's I have a SA champion on order which is a 4", that is replacing my XD45 compact, which is a very very good gun, but its double stack so its sort of a wide profile for a grip. What alot of my officer freinds are carrying are Kahr CW9s and the new M&P shield. My suggestion is get a single stack, that way the overall width is slim enough to carry without a bulky holster. As for Caliber, Im a .45 man, I know enough officers and military guys who have used 9mm in shootings and they are not the best round when it comes to certain senarios, but a 9mm is going to be light, low recoil and inexpensive to shoot. PM me if you have any other questions........... FYI, Keltec............. decent for the price, 380, a very very reliable round with substantial expansion. alot of officers carry 380s as back ups, so that should tell you alot.
.45 wow! Lol. I'm sure it's great for stopping power, but I'd be too afraid about the bullet exiting and possibly hitting someone else. I think .380 is great, but more expensive than the 9mm Today I decided to carry a Bersa Thunder .380 with a belt holster. I wanted to get a feel for a larger pistol and wearing one around the belt on the inside of my pants.... I find that I keep pulling my shirt down over it because I am paranoid about the handle being exposed haha.
I never liked Kel Tecs. If you are going to carry a gun, you want a very reliable gun that your life may depend on. Buy something that is reliable and you are comfortable with. As far as price goes, that shouldn't EVER be an issue unless you don't value your own life.
I have a Springfield XD9 Subcompact that I love for CC. I use a Comp-Tac Minotaur holster and don't even notice that I have a gun on me, very comfortable.
.45 wow! Lol. I'm sure it's great for stopping power, but I'd be too afraid about the bullet exiting and possibly hitting someone else. You are more likely to have this issue with a 9mm, versus a .45, a .45 generally is subsonic with a 230 gr. I use a 1911 for HD, with Hornady CQ which is a close quarters round, it is about 845 FPS, which will knock someone on their ass, and leave a gaping wound channel. chances of the round exiting are 50/50, but it will have slowed down enough not to penetrate the opposing wall. You can of course get 180, or 200 gr which obviously will be a faster round....... Different rounds, and loads for different purposes.
^^^^ very true, but I have seen 3500.00 les Baer's fail. In fact they were banned at the police academy when I was there, no custom 1911's were allowed. HOWEVER, most off the shelf brands like SA, Kimber, Colt, Para are all very reliable and you could bet your life literally on that. As are glocks, XDs, and M&Ps.............
Agree 100% I was mainly talking about the people that choose the $150 POS over the known good shelf brands!
