Best carry gun

[VN Vet]

My best carry and recommended pistol is a Kahr, regardless of the model or caliber. My Winter time carry now includes a light jacket, my TP45 in my shoulder rig and my P9 in my appendix carry holster. Life is Good.

 

[NightmareOne]

The best carry gun is the one you carry.

Dont get a gun you wont carry. If that means you carry a .22, carry it...

Figure out how large of a gun you can wear all day and still be comfortable with. Thats key, because if it causes discomfort, you will eventually chose to not carry it.

Also, pick a caliber you can shoot well. If you cant shoot a .45 well, dont carry it. Same with a .40 or a 9mm. Theres nothing WRONG with a .380, or hell, even a .22, if its the only caliber you can comfortably carry everyday and are accurate with. I heard someone once say, the .22 you have in your pocket, is a million times better than the .45 you left at home, when your life is at risk.
Now, dont get me wrong, Im not suggesting you carry a .22. Carry the LARGEST caliber you can carry all day, and hit accurately with.

THEN, and only then, should you decide other things, like brand and type. I think too many people get a brand name in their heads, before they have the important stuff figured out.
When picking a brand and type, dont think about how cool Glocks are, or how beautiful Kimbers are. Ask yourself, do you want a mechanical safety, do you want ambi controls etc. etc. Those are the important things. The rest is all in the way to train with it. If you decide you feel safer with a mechanical safety, you BETTER train to disengage it. Also, if your left handed like me, you have to decide, are you gonna let that be a crutch, and demand left handed controls? Or are you going to train yourself to use right handed controls?

There are alot of variables in choosing a carry gun, the LEAST important, IMO is the brand name. Assuming you go with one of the established brands that all make good products.

Man, there is a lot of very good info/advice being given here... The same or better than what you would hear at a seminar/class that cost you money. Listen to these guys, they know their ....
Col

 

[never2big]

Ruger lcp w/ pocket holster and m&p sheild w/iwb hoslter

 

[WestSider]

Don't carry any gun as your primary that you wouldn't want to get in a gun fight with.

Yes pocket rockets carry easy but you are at a disadvantage to someone with a bigger pistol.

 

[danielson]

Yea, but they have their place. I wouldn't say carry one, if you could carry something larger.

 

[Birds Away]

Don't carry any gun as your primary that you wouldn't want to get in a gun fight with.

Yes pocket rockets carry easy but you are at a disadvantage to someone with a bigger pistol.

 

[Birds Away]

If at all possible you should carry what you shoot best. I doubt if one of those pocket rockets qualifies. Get a good Smith snubby.

 

[danielson]

If at all possible you should carry what you shoot best. I doubt if one of those pocket rockets qualifies. Get a good Smith snubby.

LOL, ok... So a revolver with a 2" barrel is SOOO much better than an auto with a 2.75" barrel???
Or is it that the .38 special has so much more stopping power than a .380 or a 9mm?

Sounds like your spouting alot of opinion here, and not alot of fact...

There is nothing wrong with a "pocket rocket" just because you don't like them.

As I stated before, and you agree, you should always carry the biggest gun your comfortable with... But there is a time, and place for a small, concealable handgun. Be it a revolver, or an auto.

 

[bluehdflhrs]

My gun to carry is a Kahr P9.Don't like the why Glocks feel in my hand.I shoot much better with my Kahr or 1911.So I never leave home with out my Kahr.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

A .22LR may kill with one shot. A .380ACP may kill with one shot. A 9x19 may kill with one shot. A .38spl may kill with one shot. A .40SW may kill with one shot. A .45ACP may kill with one shot. Etc. The level of may, however, changes with caliber. I'll go with the .45ACP, myself, because I can handle it, and the "may" is a lot higher with that than with the .22LR. Get yourself a 9x19 at least.

 

[gdkaiser]

Yes a 22lr can kill, but firing 11 rounds will do you no favor with your county prosecutor, my carry is a lcr ruger and 125 gr 38spl+P loads, I'll take the chance with one shot or two stopping the perp...between the hollow points and the powder flash i'm pretty sure it will defend me and my wife...

 

[88E30M50]

It really does come down to what works for you. You need to shoot a couple to see what pistol fits you the best. I've owned both a Glock 19 and a Glock 23. Those are near identical pistols that should be nearly identical except for caliber. Yet, while the G23 worked really well for me, the G19 did not. I even bought a second G19 thinking I'd get used to it, but I never did. The G23 clicked from the very start but as much as I wanted the G19 to, it never did. On paper, it should have been nearly perfect, but was not.

The point is, you never know what will click and what will not. I love my G23 and it's going to be in the collection for a long time, so that gets my vote, but it's really an individual thing. You never know what works best for you until you spend some quality time with it. Rental guns might just help you figure out what it is that clicks with you.

 

[duboismd]

Agree with everyone who says find what works for you. It's a good idea to also think about how you will cc. IWB, appendix, cross draw, on your hip... There are two that I have found that work for me. XDSC9 with crimson trace and Sig 938. Try as many as you can.

 

[rugertoter]

Once in a while, I'll pocket carry, but only do so when I absolutly need deep concealment. I have ran the gamut of carry methods, and after years of trial and error, I primarily carry OWB, in one Kydex type and a number of fine leather types.

 

[IndyGlockMan]

The right holster can make a big difference too.
my Glock 91 is much more comfortable for me to carry & conceal in a Milt Sparks Versa Max 2 holster.
I had it on all day today with shorts and an untucked t-shirt

 

[GeorgiaBoy]

I carry a m&p shield in a belly band 75% of the time. I have to dress business casual during the day. Weekends I carry on the same position with kydex IWB at 2:00. Every once in a while I carry my fullsize m&p.

 

[output]

I love how you ask a specific question about two guns, and get a ton of other recommendations.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one. I have both. Buy whichever you shoot best first...then later buy the other. The 23 would be slightly smaller and easier to carry/conceal in the grip area. Both are reliable in my experience. I have found that new shooters that I take to the range seem to be able to shoot the Walther better. Just my $.02! Good luck!

 

[88E30M50]

In threads like these, the OPs question had been answered long ago and he's probably been carrying whatever he decided on for close to 18 months now. The thread lives on regardless as more folks chime in with other ideas, not so much for the OP, but more in a general response to the title of the thread. This thread has the title 'Best Carry Gun', which is just the sort of thing that will live on as more and more people add input. Had it been called 'Should I get a G23 or PPQ?', it would have died long, long ago.

Now, in response to the thread title and not so much the OPs original question, I'd offer up the CZ P01 as a contender for best carry gun. Why? It's small enough to carry all day concealed and comfortable. It's accurate and reliable and point shoots very, very well. It has a great resale value should a person want to go in a different direction. With the new Omega triggers, it can be changed from a safety to decocker in minutes with no tools. There are lots of good holster options for it. Plus, the capacity can run as low as 14 round mags with the smaller baseplate to 17 or 18 round mags that fit beautifully with just a bit of added grip length. Also, with the NATO stock number as evidence of the tested performance, it can be trusted.

So, what other pistols would someone offer up as 'Best Carry Gun'?

 

[Tomahawkman]

The best carry gun, is the one you have with you.

And im sure thats been said in the other 8 pages of this thread as well.

 

[88E30M50]

That's certainly true, but what if you have a choice of what that should be? Buying the wrong gun up front can mean that it's at home in the safe while you are out living life. For instance, a SAR K2 sure looks like a winner as a carry handgun. Who would not want 14+1 rounds of .45 in a smooth, easy to shoot platform? The reality is, if that were the only gun I owned, there are times when I'd have trouble carrying the 50+ oz gun. It's a fantastic nightstand gun, but when I'm out biking, it would present issues. In this case, I'd say a PF9 would be the better gun, even though the PF9 sucks by most any measure.

Not being argumentative, just trying to see what folks would vote for as the best carry gun they've had actual experience with.