I don't know of any gun shops that have ranges in my area so I'm not sure it's possible to try before buying unfortunately. Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
Ha that last part about the 92f had me laughing. That's what we carried on duty in USMC and I believe you probably could beat a bear to death with one lol. Them things will definitely last. As far as a handgun I can only comment on what I have. S&W sheild and glock 19. Both are pretty good guns and pretty easy to conceal. The 19 will shoot about anything you feed it but the shield is a little picky and isn't really recommend for some types of "hotter" ammo. Havent ever tried it but seen a few that had some bad failures especially in the 40 model. Theres probably 5-10 that have blown up on another forum I check every no and then.
Here is my everyday carry setup Glock 32 - .357 sig I really don't even know I have it on most of the time. More then enough power to put anything in North America down... Except maybe Bigfoot.
as I've said about 100x on this forum, I am a Glock devotee. really can't go wrong with any of them, but a couple of standout models- G26 is as good as it gets for concealability G19 is my all time favorite to shoot and is still concealable. Will literally eat almost anything you feed it and ask for more. G23 the 19s bigger (.40 caliber) brother and the brand-new G30s .45ACP. I will be buying one prior to my western trip this fall. I have not shot one yet, but they are roughly the same size as a G19, which is small enough for an ankle holster or for me to wear IWB with shorts and a t shirt and not get made.
40's and 9's are on the same frame. 40 is just as easy to find, nearly the same price, and more powerful. No brainer for me.
I absolutely had that gun. maybe it was my iotv maybe it was my small hands maybe it was my grip, it was probably all of that. I qualified enough to pass but I sucked at shooting that. When I compare guns I don't want to be like, it's the 92f. anyways I have a g26. I will say I am most likely picking up a g30 for home and g36 for running. Both are .45 and one is single stack. I don't know price of bullets for .45 but I know 9mm cheapest is around .25 per round. I'm guessing 45 is .3 to .35. .22lr is around 10 to 11 cents but that's also double what it was 2 or 3 years ago = / you can find them for 6 to 8 cents a bullet but they sell out quick.
I have a ankle holster for my g42 and that's about as much gun as I woul want on my ankle. I couldn't imagine having a G19 strapped to it..
I think just about any reasonable pistol round even a .45 would piss off a bear. but glocks are the way to go for reliability. Here is a write about a torture test done to a glock 21. Its pretty amazing what they can go through. Glock 21 Torture Test - Theprepared.com
I dabble in part time work at a gun shop/range so this question is asked well nearly every day by nearly a different type of person looking for a different type of gun every single day. This is the sole reason you should go 9mm or .40. Why not 45? Well due to the fact that you also said you want it to be easily concealable. Now it is true, there are many different 45's out there that are concealable...but easily is a personal opinion and what some say is easy others would say "you kidding right?!". So my first question would be what is easy? And if this is to be a daily carry piece what is the typical clothing utilized by yourself when you will be wearing it? If you work at all in a office type environment like me where clean cut jeans or khakis and a collared polo style shirt (not usually tucked in) my recommendation would be a small single stack that dissolves into a IWB holster with very little chance of the grip stick out far enough to print or poke out enough to make people think "What the heck is that?". I own, love and strongly recommend the Glock 19 and yes depending on the shirt of choice for the day I will wear it into work but it simply doesn't do the job for not being noticeable when bending over or if the shirt rides up even a little like a single stack small frame 9mm would....hence why I am looking long and hard at a S&W Shield and/or a Kahr cm9 or cm40. Both will give me more dissolve-ability as I call it for everyday carry. Now if you work in a setting where noticing you are carrying carries less of a shock value or you are able to wear looser fitting clothes/t-shirts a double stack G19 or G26 type gun would be perfect. The G26 is a great gun and outside of range time I always wish I had one of them almost more than my G19. That slightly shorter height really does allow the dissolve-ability of the gun to go up without sacrificing many rounds available due to staying double stack. The first question to owning a gun is what is the main purpose or ability of it needed to be? (what does it need to accomplish) and Will I be able to carry it safely and easily as much as and where I want to? The first one you already basically answered and made 9mm or .40 the obvious choice due to you adding the small frame desire....now it all depends on the second question whether you need to go single or double and how large or small.....as always go try as many as possible.
Thanks for the great response. I won't be carrying at work due to company policy. at home I always wear jeans and a loose shirt or khaki shorts. With my body type my choices are probably alot slimmer than most. I have a size 30 waist lol. Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
Given your smaller frame I would honestly steer you towards single stacks to start...but some people don't feel they can control and not as comfortable and really like the palm filling nature of a double stack. I personally love the small frame single stack 9mm Kahrs but Sig, S&W and even Ruger has options in that pistol type.
I will definitely have to look into both double and single stacked guns. Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
Ultimately, as hard as this is to say infront of my boss (HUGE glock guy) any reputable manufacturer these days put out great guns that are dependable. S&W, Glock, Sig, Springfield, Ruger, Kahr are my favorite 6....there are more but those six I don't question I just shoot. Beretta has solid options as well....but they also have the Nano which I personally HATE.
Ya I'm not dead set on a glock. I will buy what feels best to me. I don't care if it's not the "best" brand. Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
