Conceal and Carry Suggestion?

[Jessica Carlson]

This question is for the ladies out there or anyone with a personal opinion.... I'm looking to purchase my first conceal and carry pistol and my husband is adament I should carry either his Glock 9mm or a Taurus .38, neither or which I care to shoot (the taurus is way to snappy for my taste). I have shot and liked our Smith & Weston .45 but it's too big to carry concealed and have recently looked at a Smith & Weston M&P, Springfield XD, and a Sig Sauer P290 but have not shot any of them. I am not a fan of "snappy" guns, have long fingers (so a slighly wider grip and/or magazine extension is prefered), and I have problems with long draws (must strenghten those trigger finger muscles). Any suggestions?

[momstar]

I have an XD(M) 9mm that is really comfortable to shoot and not bad to carry. I have the medium size one, but there's a shorter barrel now too (though that will increase the recoil). It has a double-wide magazine, so slightly wider grip, plus comes with 3 different sized backstraps when you buy it, and they're easy to swap out to get a good fit. My LC9 is nice to carry but a pain to shoot - trigger pull is really long and recoil is no fun.

[thequeensarmory]

I carry an XD .45 myself. Have for about three years now. I prefer to carry from a purse a lot so it is perfect. The size isn't an issue since I don't carry on my person. I have become acquainted with a GREAT holster maker recently and am looking into smaller guns for carry on my person. The best options I have found are the mini baby eagle by Desert Eagle which is a .380 and the Ruger LCP which is a .380 as well. I never wanted something this small but after seeing the "flashbang" bra holster in action I am sold on a smaller gun for those days that I just don't want to lug around the .45 in my purse. Upon being acquainted with a whole line of concealed holsters JUST for us girls I am not only willing to find something small enough for carry on my person but excited about it. I wish you luck finding the right gun and if you need a holster take a look at Looper Leather, they are great folks.

[eagleeyes]

i feel the same about small 'snappy' guns
the ruger in the giveaway or the next sized larger might be a thought as far as easy to conceal and effective
hope you find a perfect fit as do i

[aviatorcharlie]

With all due respect.... your husband should NOT be picking the gun YOU carry. I took my wife to the gun store and she held any gun she liked. I went to look at shotguns while she shopped. I offered input ONLY when she asked for it. A gun is a very personal choice and what is right for one person might not feel right to another.

One gun store clerk put it like this "picking a gun for someone to carry is like trying to pick the person they should date or marry."

Your husband might be able to offer input about quality issues, but it has to be your decision!

[misledred]

My girlfriend is new to (consistent) shooting within the last 6 months but has since obtained her CCW and purchased her first firearm. Our primary approach was to let her take her time to decide, and secondly, let her shoot as many calibers and types of handguns from every manufacturer we thought reasonable and in as many different frame sizes. We did this using my collection and borrowing from friends collections. She shot .380, 38, 357, 9, 40 and 45. She shot revolvers as well as semi-auto. She shot expensive to reasonably inexpensive guns for a total of 24 different guns. Through the process she narrowed her focus to 9mm. She made this decision based on her own comfort and accuracy shooting the round. We then re-shot every 9mm she had tried and added the Smith & Wesson M&P shield I had just acquired. After running two mags through my new purchase she fell in love with the gun as I did. She continued by shooting another 150 rounds to confirm her decision. At the end of the day we ordered one for her and I ordered another for myself in .40. The Shield is now both of our carry guns and between us we own 3. In summary, I stand by our approach to handle (in guns shops and as many places and friends’ houses as possible) and shoot every one that feels good in your hand and let the performance while in your control make the decision for you. We both highly recommend the shield in your choice of caliber but the ultimate decision is yours. The whole process has been fun for us and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[Rayb]

With all due respect.... your husband should NOT be picking the gun YOU carry. I took my wife to the gun store and she held any gun she liked. I went to look at shotguns while she shopped. I offered input ONLY when she asked for it. A gun is a very personal choice and what is right for one person might not feel right to another.

One gun store clerk put it like this "picking a gun for someone to carry is like trying to pick the person they should date or marry."

Your husband might be able to offer input about quality issues, but it has to be your decision!

Can't phrase it better than above. Yo need to go and try as many as needed to find the right fit for you. As FYI my wife absolutely fell in love with M&P 9c, try it on for size. Good luck and have fun deciding!

[wuzfuz]

I have been shooting since I was a five-year old kid on an Indiana farm, which makes it an unbleievable, to me, 65 years of age. I have spent a total of almost 30 years in police and security work, and have held CCW permits in Arizona and Washington state. After firing numerous handguns over the years, I came across an article on the Springfield XD line. I rented one at a range and put a couple of hundred rounds through it. I finally settled on the XD 40, even though I really want the XD(M) 40. I don't consider it a 'snappy' pistol. the articel was written by a writer who bouight two XDs and put them through the famopus Glock torture test, and they passed with flying colrs. I have never had a FTF and only had two misfires, due to bad rounds.

[Jessica Carlson]

I recently saw the videos for the "flashbang" bra holster and thought it was not only a GREAT idea but amazing effective at concealing the weapon!

I carry an XD .45 myself. Have for about three years now. I prefer to carry from a purse a lot so it is perfect. The size isn't an issue since I don't carry on my person. I have become acquainted with a GREAT holster maker recently and am looking into smaller guns for carry on my person. The best options I have found are the mini baby eagle by Desert Eagle which is a .380 and the Ruger LCP which is a .380 as well. I never wanted something this small but after seeing the "flashbang" bra holster in action I am sold on a smaller gun for those days that I just don't want to lug around the .45 in my purse. Upon being acquainted with a whole line of concealed holsters JUST for us girls I am not only willing to find something small enough for carry on my person but excited about it. I wish you luck finding the right gun and if you need a holster take a look at Looper Leather, they are great folks.

[Jessica Carlson]

My husband means well when he suggests CCW's I should buy/carry (He's been in gun sales/manufactoring for years) and has a lot of valuable advice to offer when it comes to selecting one I might like (sometimes I think he's more excited about me buying a CCW then I am. LOL) but he knows I am very firm on my stand that I will not buy a CCW without having shot it first, and given all the advice on this thread and my own personal opinion on the matter, I see no reason to change my stance on that. It is a very personal choice and as I've told him numerous times "I'm not going to carry a gun I hate shooting". He's accepting of that but I think he's also frustrated that I just can't seem to make up my mind (typical woman LOL).

With all due respect.... your husband should NOT be picking the gun YOU carry. I took my wife to the gun store and she held any gun she liked. I went to look at shotguns while she shopped. I offered input ONLY when she asked for it. A gun is a very personal choice and what is right for one person might not feel right to another.

One gun store clerk put it like this "picking a gun for someone to carry is like trying to pick the person they should date or marry."

Your husband might be able to offer input about quality issues, but it has to be your decision!