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Handgun Recommendations and Advice...

I cannot get my wife to carry.

She is a small gal, and she was attacked many years ago, so I don't understand her reluctance.

Maybe I need to get her to try out some different guns. She really likes the Ruger Mark 3 but it's nearly the size of a Luger: just too big to carry for her.

But it'll have to be something used, when she finally comes to her senses. because importing DA pocket rockets to California is strictly Verbotten.
 
Chief Special, or Centennial, or Bodyguard.

No manipulation, no complicated manual of arms, proven......
 
Hey guys, I know this is a Mossberg forum but would like your valuable input. I recently received my NYS pistol permit after almost a year of waiting for the application to get approved (2 weeks shy of a year) and have begun shopping for a pistol. I currently have a Springfield XD40 subcompact but want to buy something else. I've looked around and held a few different brands, and think I've settled on a Sig Sauer 1911 in .45 ACP.
Not a fan of kimber although they seem to be well made, but does anyone have experience with S&W 1911? What do you all prefer for carry? I know the sig may be a bit big for conceal, but figured that would be good for wintertime with heavier clothing. Complete noob here when it comes to selecting the right one, so any and all input is welcome!
 
I have a Kimber Ultra Carry II, officer sized frame and 3" barrel. It conceals easily enough. The commander sized 1911s are popular for carry guns too.

The only other 1911s I have any personal experience with are Springfield and Rock Island. Some are better than others for carry, I'm thinking of one of the Rock Islands I've shot. My friend carried it but where my Kimber has rounded edges on everything, his had what felt to me like sharp corners by comparison. I wouldn't expect that from the Sig though. I would think it's smoother.

The 1911 in either commander or officer sized frames, isn't really that much larger than some single stack compact guns.

That's really all I can offer here.
 
I have the XDS 9 which is ideal if you don't have a lot of clothing or body mass to conceal it. It's just a rock solid little gun.

Now when wearing a lot of winter clothes it's pretty easy for me to conceal my Combat size 1911 or my 5" .357 revolver.

But Winter doesn't really last long around here. When wearing summer clothes I'm sort of reduced to the XDS 9 or the NAA .22 mag mini-revolver .

All I know about Kimber is that they're expensive and everybody is complaining that the quality has fallen off. Every experienced shooter I know says "get a Glock".

I didn't buy one because I really don't care for plastic guns that much. Eventually I bought an XDS 9 instead (which is half plastic) because I wanted something smaller and I just didn't like the way the Glock fit my hand.
 
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My current EDC is a G19. Prior to that it was a S&W M&P 40C.

Grip length is more of a factor for conceiled carry than barrel/slide length.

I also really like the Sig P320. Its very customizable to the task at hand.

A lot of people like the Springfield XD's. I do not like grip safeties so I have not spent much time with this one.

A lot of people also like the 1911 style pistols but my personal experience is that they can be very finiky and I do not like that. Just my personal feelings, try one if you want and decide for yourself.

Ultimately what I like to tell people that ask this question is to just go shoot as many different models and styles as you can. The gun will pick you. Regardless of what you think looks good, etc you will find one that just feels right when you shot it and you will shoot it better than the rest.

Don't worry about caliber, they will all work equally well if you put them where they need to be.
 
Thanks guys! I did some reading up on the p320 and it does seem like a very versatile pistol. Being a lefty as well I need to consider an ambi safety and not sure if the 320 has one. Again, just need to put hands on one and check it out.


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The P320 does not have an external safety, nor does the G19 or the M&P model that I had.

If that is a requirement for you I believe they do make some models with a safety.
 
Boy this is going to be a very interesting thread.

There are so many correct answers.

What is your experience level with handguns (both semi and revolver)?
 
590guy said:
Thanks guys! I did some reading up on the p320 and it does seem like a very versatile pistol. Being a lefty as well I need to consider an ambi safety and not sure if the 320 has one. Again, just need to put hands on one and check it out.


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Gratuitous gun porn coming at you!!

SIG_P320_006_zpsig3xwimj.jpg

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Sig P320 - Full size 9mm

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GlockStippling_002.jpg


G19 with beaver tail and custom stippling.

Here are some I have owned:

MP40c_002.jpg


M&P 40C - I wish I had kept this, it was a heck of a gun.

P90_Box.jpg

RugerP90.jpg


Ruger P90 - .45 ACP . Really heavy, nothing plastic but the grips, but very reliable. This is the workhorse of handguns.

KelTecP11.jpg


KelTek P-11 Cheap and light but very reliable for me. Horrible trigger, but a heck of a gun for the price.
 
MikeD said:
My current EDC is a G19 . . . A lot of people like the Springfield XD's. I do not like grip safeties so I have not spent much time with this one . . .
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Color me confused, but I thought that the Glock and the Springfield had exactly the same safety system.

There's no switch at all, & you have to push the grip and pull the trigger simultaneously to fire.

I've shot several Glocks, but I'm not sure if I have shot that 19.
 
CaddmannQ said:
Color me confused, but I thought that the Glock and the Springfield had exactly the same safety system.

There's no switch at all, & you have to push the grip and pull the trigger simultaneously to fire.

I've shot several Glocks, but I'm not sure if I have shot that 19.
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There is no grip safety on a Glock. Only a small lever on the trigger. Nothing you have to consciously switch on or off. Same with the M&P I had.

The only safety is the operators ability to keep their booger picker off of the boom switch until which time it is necessary.

That is also why most striker fired guns should always be carried in a suitable holster and unholstered/reholstered as little as possible.

I like this mode of carry, I know others do not feel comfortable with it. A friend of mine carries with an empty chamber, and that is how he trains. It would take a lot of range time to retrain myself to hit a manual safety. Racking the slide is now an autonomous response but that is time lost when the first shot is arguably the most important, esp if you are fighting someone off with the other arm.

I won't presume to tell anyone what is right or wrong, we each need to find that level of security that we are comfortable with.
 
Thank you Mike. Clearly I am not a Glock guy.

I know how easy it is to snag a cc pistol on your clothing, and commit "an unintended discharge", so the safety is a big deal.

Of course on any gun it is the trigger you have to respect 100%, safety or no safety.

Aside from a mechanical safety lever, one thing about my 1911 that makes it (perhaps) safer as a carry gun, is that it takes much more effort to operate it. (assuming you carry both guns with a loaded chamber and cocked.)

In my mind, any firing of a 1911 (except maybe accidental drop-fire, where you actually break the sear and it shoots) must be a more deliberate action.

Does that make it any less useable as a CC? Probably not, once you've had enough practice.

As far as I know no Glock or XD will drop-fire, so there's a trade-off in safety with the striker system.
 
My Glock has been thrown off of a roof (unloaded) and has been dropped numerous times with no issue. The stress testing and internal safeties on these these guns has to be pretty substantial. The lawsuits if these things just started going off would bury the manufacturers.

Watch some of the torture test videos people have made. Some have been dropped from airplanes, runover with semis and pretty much anything you can imagine with no misfires.
 
The trade-off is, as you mention, that you are not comfortable to carry a live round in the chamber on these.
 
I'm not necessarily a Glock fanboy but I like the "compact" models and carry a 26 (9mm, 10rds) and sometimes a 30 (.45ACP, 10rds). I also had a "mid-size" 19 (9mm, 15rds) that I had traded a Ruger P85Mk2 for (9mm, 15? rds). While the 19 served me well, I sold it to finance the 30 which is about the same size only a bit fatter and heavier. I do wish I had kept the Ruger as I had done some trigger work and it was a smooth shooter although a little rough around the edges. All my Glocks have tritium sights and lower-weight triggers as well as extended slide releases. I had installed extended mag releases but re-installed the stock because the buttons could be inadvertently pressed. The extended mag release is more for competition.

I have enough extended mags for the 26 to be able to fire about 1000 rounds through mag changes but that is because I also have an AR-9 that takes the same mags...

I would consider an "Officer's Model" 1911 but a regular 1911 is still fairly slim. Your choices are only limited by mag capacity so I would stay at 10rds or under in your case... A "service" sized Glock 17 (for example) holds 17 in the mag in non-communistic states...
 
CaddmannQ said:
A "service" sized Glock 17 (for example) holds 17 in the mag in non-communistic states...
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Yeah, I don't think they would like my 33 rounder in those states.
 
Definitely not in NY 10rds max. Great info thanks so much. I just may have to purchase 2....


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