Concealed Carry Questions for a newby

[Lakenut]

Hi all,

I have been hanging around the site over the past month...great resource! My wife and I are both waiting for our liscences...hopefully the mailman will bring them in the next few weeks!!!

We are both looking for carry guns. At least that is my current thinking. I have a 4.25" 1911. I am assuming it will be a lot of gun to carry, especially in the warmer months with lighter clothing. Am I on track with my thinking? Or will the 1911 disappear in a good IWB holster? With shorts and a polo shirt?

My wife has been trying/picking up/looking at a lot of smaller 9mm guns. Recoil from a small pocket sized 9 hasn't been an issue for her. Heck, she shoots my 1911 better than I do...she just complains that it is such a heavy gun. She really likes the sig 938...although she hasn't shot it yet. Hoping to get to shoot one soon. She is also looking at the M&P Shield and the Kahr CM 9. Is she headed down the right road? She will likely carry with a belly band holster a majority of the time.

I am anxious to gear up so we are ready. However, I don't want to go spend $$$$ on what i THINK will work only to find out that reality dictates something different. I am looking for you all's opinions since there seem to be a lot of folks with CC experience.

Thanks in advance!

 

[carlstretch]

My suggestion before you buy any gear is to realize that if it's not comfortable to carry,.. you just won't carry after the newness wears off. That being said,... you need to asses what you wear everyday to work and after work. For instance,.. I wear business casual clothes to work every day and jeans on Friday. On the weekend, it's t-shirts and shorts. After carrying a few different pistols,.. I finally settled on my Sig P238 in a pocket holster M-Th and my HK45c IWB with a Galco King Tuk for Th-Sun. I tried carrying a few of my other pistols and it just didn't work out.

Next would be to go to several shooting ranges and rent as many guns as you can. Several ranges will apply the rental fee towards the purchase of a gun if you buy it there.

Congrats on getting your application in. Hope your experience here on this forum is a good one. I don't post very often but I read everyday.

I can't stress enough about the comfort factor. You'll put up with discomfort for a couple of weeks,.. then you'll change your mind.

Good luck.

 

[gillman7]

Several ranges have rental guns. I can't tell what side of the state you are on. H&H has some in the OKC area, as well as Heartland. Medlocks has some on the Tulsa side, I am not sure about 2A, but think they do also.

 

[AtomicTango]

I have a CM9 for carry and like it. It will disappear in a belly band like your wife might be using, or in something like the Remora Holster, which I use.

I've never shot one, but people I trust say awesome things about the M&P Shield too.

 

[vvvvvvv]

About the gun disappearing - it depends on if you dress around the gun. I've carried a Springfield XD45 w/ 5" barrel for a few years now inside the waistband. Definitely had to be careful about what I was wearing before open carry passed, but it passed the office test and church test IWB.

Even outside my waistband, my Ruger LC9 mostly disappears. Since November, I've spent at least one day most weeks at a client's office in a room full of other developers - as far as I know, no one ever noticed the LC9. On a few occasions when it was pretty cold and I knew I wouldn't be uncomfortable keeping my Carhart jacket on, I carried by XD45 OWB there. To this day I don't know what their policy was/is. Shoot, the LC9 even passes the church test OWB.

Smaller guns are definitely more comfortable if carrying IWB. Both of the guns I mentioned I've been thoroughly satisfied carrying IWB in a Crossbreed holster.

 

[bigkev84]

M&P Shield 9mm or XDS .45 conceals perfect IWB and OWB. No one can tell at all. I use multi-holsters IWB & OWB and i like it alot. Very comfortable.

 

[bettingpython]

I carry a full size XD IWB, It's not as comfortable as a 1911 IWB but it's not bad either. Or I carry OWB in a blackhawk Serpa if I have fewer concerns about staying deeply concealed.

I'm gonna say one thing about compact guns like the Shield or XDS. They really suck to hit fast reloads with, your strong side support hand often prevents the mag from dropping free, you might as well get used to stripping the empty when training with it.

More important than your selection of gear is training, training and more training. Limit your selection of gear don't have 15 holsters and 5 different methods of carry for every outfit you have. Find what works for you.

I'm going to recommend TDSA for your training needs, but I am personally biased as a student thats taken 3 different classes from them I obviously like their training method and Marshall has become a good friend of mine as well. Dollar per level of instruction I think they are the best available.

Like Veggie I have a Crossbreed, but I have switched to a comp-tac m-tac(minotaur) and prefer it over the crossbreed. It's more comfortable IMHO.

 

[WessonOil]

Like Veggie I have a Crossbreed, but I have switched to a comp-tac m-tac(minotaur) and prefer it over the crossbreed. It's more comfortable IMHO.

I carry a full sized M&P Pro in a Comp-Tac Paddle Holster.

 

[druryj]

Consider Airweight J-Frames...lots of us love 'em for carry.

 

[Lakenut]

Consider Airweight J-Frames...lots of us love 'em for carry.

She got to shoot one last night. She shot it REALLY well but didn't care for the long heavy trigger pull. I think it's the heaviness of the trigger that turns her off. Her favorites have been the keltec 380 and PF9 so far...and they have long trigger pulls also. Go figure. She also shot a G17 and a G27. She shot the 27 about as good as anything else she has touched. Her comment was "those glocks are REALLY fun to shoot." but she also commented that she didn't see herself carrying something "that big". The SW Shield is on our list to look at/try, but they have been pretty hard to find. Does it have a "safe action" trigger similar to glocks/springfields/full size M&p? Is the trigger simialr to the trigger on the full size M&Ps?

I am totally a try before you buy type person. Luckily we have some friends that have been REALLY generous with time, guns, and ammo and she has gotten a chance to try many options out. However, the last few guns on our list are hard to track down as rentals at ranges in the OKC metro area. Does anyone know of a range in central ok that has a shield and/or a Kahr CM9 as a rental gun?