After my wife starts her new job on the 23rd, I will be in the market for a pistol for concealed carry. I want a gun that issemi auto, a 9mm or better. has a couple of safety options on it, and is small enough to conceal with an inside the waist holster. I am very interested in the Springfield XD 3.8 compact, any other options?
A springfield would be my first choice. A small walther would be my second. Both reliable and proven. And then. If your willing to sacrafice the semi.... the judge is my favorite.
I Really like the new Sig Nightmare. Its a single stack 9 that is the size of the 380 mosquito. It also is a 1911 pistol in a sub compact frame. Take a look. http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/p938-equinox.aspx
My constant companion is the XD 3.8 in a Crossbreed holster with mix of Tap and Hydroshok ammo in 115 grain. Another favorite is the Beretta Cheetah 84 in .380 Note Crossbreed Holster for Cheetah has combat cut.
You know, Ron Pincus, who teaches handgun courses says that compact 1911's are unreliable. He just kind of hates on 1911s altogether... but I have read not-so-nice things about the compact 1911s elsewhere. Kimbers in particular. To be fair, at handgun courses and out on the range I've seen all sorts of failures from many different guns. Our XDm will fail on wimpy 9mm rounds. My Beretta 92F will cycle everything like a champ but is most accurate with really hot loads. (and it's hardly a compact pistol) Kendall's Paraordanance .45 double stack runs through everything except for certain hollow points. I saw a Glock jam so badly it had to be taken apart. Mostly it's ammo or limp wristed shooting that is the problem... but it's something to keep in mind. Make sure you shoot the ammo you're going to carry so you know that your gun and the cartridges get along. I do like the XDm but I don't love it. I really liked it when I dry fired it at the gun shop... out on the range it does fine but I just don't love it. I tried a guy's S&W M&P 9 the other day on the range. That's a gun that didn't do much for me at the gun shop (trigger was just 'meh') but boy, it's a shooter. I think that will be the next gun I buy. Check out the M&P 9c, it's a compact. If you can find a pistol range that rents guns or a defensive pistol class to go to, you can often try out other people's guns. It's a good way to really get a feel for the different ones.
I like my mini firestorm - same as bersa thunder compact in 9mm for Good Info on ammo and some gun quality ranking -Check this out: http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_by_anonymous.htm from the article: First Class pistols are ultra-reliable and high-quality new guns than can feed any hollowpoint and tolerate +P loads with no problems: SIG/Sauer P220 series. Czech CZ75 and CZ85. Walther P5, P5C, and P88. Heckler and Koch USP and P7 series. All Glocks. All Ruger 9mm pistols. Taurus PT-99, PT-92 and PT-92C. Steyr GB. Beretta 92 series. Browning BDM and Hi-Power (if it says "Portugal" on the slide). All Smith & Wessons with a four-digit model number (e.g. 5906, 3913, 6904, 5903) and the Smith & Wesson 900 series. Star M28, M30, M31, and all Firestars, Megastars, and Ultrastars. Second Class pistols are high quality guns that may not feed all hollowpoints reliably. Remington 115 gr. hollowpoints are recommended for these guns: Smith & Wessons with two or three digit model numbers (e.g. 659, 39-2, 469, 59, 39). Heckler and Koch VP70 and P9S. Beretta "Brigadier" M1951 and the Egyptian copy, the Interarms "Helwan." Colt M2000 "All-American" (now discontinued, for good reason), Colt Series 70 Government Model, Series 70 Commander. Astra A-70, A-75 and A-100. AMT "On Duty." Daewoo. Bersa 'Thunder 9'. EAA Witness, and all other CZ-75 copies (e.g. Tanfoglio, Tanarmi, Springfield Armory P9). Taurus PT-908. Walther P4. Star BK, BKM, Model B and 'Super.' Browning Hi-Powers without the word "Portugal" on the slide. Llama Model 82. IMI "Jericho" and "Kareen." Third Class pistols should generally be loaded with ball for best reliability - experiment with your gun extensively before carrying JHP: Walther P38, P4 or P1. Luger. Llama. Maverick. MKS Model JS. Intratec CAT-9, DC-9, KG-9, etc. SWD Cobray Model 11/9 and similar models. Scarab Scorpion. Kimel AP-9. Bryco Jennings Model 59. All KBI Hungarian pistols (e.g. GKK, PJ9C, P9HK and other "FEG" products). "Norinco" or "Sportarms" Chinese Tokarev pistols. Lahti. Radom. MAB P15 and Model 1950.
You can't go wrong with Glock. The agency I work for had Glocks and switched to Sigs. I hate them. They are too high maintenence. You can drop a Glock in a puddle and it will still fire. Only problem with Glocks are there are no external safties on the weapon. Just the trigger safety. You can drop a Glock on the sidewalk and it will not discharge.
Second this, Im buying a sheild to carry when im on my bike in .40 and a m&p pro for truck and fun shooting. They are the best polymer pistols out right now.
Take a look at the diamondback series for CC pistols, they have a 9mm and .380, not much loot and similar to the glocks only smaller......Blake
I was reading a story on the M&P earlier today I was going to post it, but your comment brought it back to mind so here it is.... Detroit Woman Dead After Hugging Off-Duty Cop, Discharging Gun Godbee said that the officer had been concealing his department-issued .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic hand gun in a holster in his waistband when Miller placed her hands on his waist. A friendly hug at a Detroit house party proved fatal for a woman after she accidentally discharged an off-duty cop's handgun. Adaisha Miller, 24, attended a fish fry at the home of an off-duty Detroit police officer on Saturday and, at around midnight, began to hug or dance with the officer from behind and accidentally set off his gun, according to Detroit police chief Ralph Godbee, Jr. The police department didn't release the name of the officer but said that he has been cooperative with an internal investigation launched in the wake of the shooting and is shocked at what happened. Godbee said that the officer had been concealing his department-issued .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic hand gun in a holster in his waistband when Miller placed her hands on his waist. Godbee indicated that Miller had seemingly touched the gun in some way, causing it to fire. There is no safety switch on the weapon, he said. "I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying this but for the sake of transparency, it is possible for the trigger to be manipulated with that type of holster," Godbee said. "Typically the barrel is facing down, but the preliminary investigation indicates that there was some manipulation along the officer's waistline that he did not control and subsequently the weapon discharged." Godbee said that there was no indication from evidence or witnesses that the officer had placed his hand on the weapon. The investigation will include forensic analysis by the Detroit State Police and a medical examiner's report. "He is very remorseful of the incident and the tragic nature of this young lady losing her life in the manner she did," Godbee said. Miller's mother, Yolanda McNair, told the Detroit Free Press that she has been told different versions of the events leading up to her daughter's death and can't udnerstand why the officer was armed at his own party. "The story keeps changing. There's no logical reason," she said. "Why do you need a weapon with a round in the chamber?" Police department spokeswoman Cassandra Lewis said that the prosecutor's office would decide whether any charges would be pressed in the case. Amy Driver, a gun safety expert, said that it was "entirely possible" that if someone was placing their hands on the officer's waistband that the weapon could become loose from the holster and then discharge if it were pressed back down toward the holster. "It sounds like she pulled on his waistband, and if that shifted his waistband, the gun could have come up out of the holster a little bit, and his instinct could be to push the gun back in holster. If something got caught on trigger, it could have fired," she said. Driver said that investigators would likely find a hole in the side of the officer's pants, where the bullet left the gun and traveled to Miller.
There's gotta be more to the story I read somewhere it was a lung heart hit from a ND from a hip holster? I mean.... Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2
Have to be...and the other comment in the story was why carry a weapon with a bullet in the chamber. senseless..
this is definitley a scewed story IMO... but if this is an accurate description of the encounter, its a holster problem, not a gun problem.
If it were legal to carry here.... I'd have a bullet in the chamber. But there's more to that story. Bad holster and/or some serious touchy-feely grinding going on...... or someone simply pulled the trigger.
Also just doesnt make sense, I know in almost every state you are not allowed to carry a concealed weapon where alchohol is consumed, right? And being a cop doesnt exempt you from that when you are OFF DUTY. He messed up and should be charged, this is not just a simple accident, it makes all gun owners look careless. He should of stopped whatever was going on once she started messing with his pants or at least whipped it out before he whipped something else out.
