quote:

Originally posted by Beretta92:
One of these days soon I am going to get a small pocket pistol of some kind = Ruger LCP or small 1911 .380 = Springfield 911, SIG P238, Colt Pocketlite, Kimber Micro 380 etc.

My brother got a Ruger LCP for pocket carry. He kept having failures. I commented on it in another thread where a youtube home "gunsmith" did some things to his LCP to make it more reliable, which helped him (my brother), for a bit. It lessened the failures but he still couldn't got through a box of 50 w/o multiple failures. This is AFTER sending the gut back to Ruger...twice. (The home gunsmithing was last resort after sending it back to Ruger x2.)

He liked the LCP so much he bought a second and it worked great for a few hundred rnds and that one is having failures. You really have to like a gun to be that dedicated to try twice.

I have not more to add to this sad story.
Oh. He picked up a Sig P238. It failed on the very first shot but has since been perfect. My brother is just a little put out that it doesn't fit his regular pants pocket as well as the malfunctioning LCPs did. Size vs. reliability.

I have a Shield 1.0 that I carried for about the last 8 years and recently got a P365XL that I carry now.
Both are excellent. If I was getting the Shield now I'd get the newer version (Plus) but all are excellent choices.

Subcompact DA/SA with a full sized magazine on the other hip as backup.

I have 2nd M&P Shield Performance Center Plus I picked up last week + The Glock 43X, Shield 2.0, SIG P365XL & Springfield Hellcat OSP
Not that what any of you SAY will sway ME one way or the other, I just wondered what the public was using for CCW...
The reply about the Ruger LCP on the other hand will keep me from even looking at one ever again = same as the M&P Bodyguard 380 = Trouble

The 7 rnd single stack "made in Italy" mags are probably the best aspect of my Lc9s Pro. I have several other carry options but this is my primary go to.

I have heard good things about the Taurus GX4 too.
BUT the only Taurus in my life is a 1993 85CH
And it's in a kitchen drawer right here in a Blackhawk Polymer Holster

quote:

Not that what any of you SAY will sway ME one way or the other, I just wondered what the public was using for CCW...

Well if you wanted THAT info...for ME it would still be my decade-old Gen4 G23. Fo-tay for the win, baby! Frankly I really don't have any trouble concealing with a G19-size pistol...been doin' it for most of the past 33 years, after all. But could I honestly call it the "best"? It works for me, but among our customers that proclamation would be deemed very questionable. I've heard so many customers complain just how their Glock 19 is "just too damn big" to "convenient carry".

However my op/ed stands about the Shield Plus when it's specific to the micro 9 crowd. I really like that lil' bugger over everything else so far.

 
It easy to conceal any OWB holstered gun with just an untucked overshirt. Being retired has its advantages for my dress code. Here in AZ, in the summer, I will wear a Coolibar ultralight sunblock long sleeved shirt for this. In the winter, any long sleeved shirt. Of course, we do not need to conceal in AZ, but concealing is my preference. I like to carry my Ruger GP-100 10mm (the Wiley Clapp model with the 3" barrel), in an OWB saddle style holster with widely spread belt loops.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:
My brother got a Ruger LCP for pocket carry. He kept having failures. ...

He liked the LCP so much he bought a second and it worked great for a few hundred rnds and that one is having failures.

Plenty of people here own LCPs and haven't reported problems. I'm one of them.

Then again: I haven't run "several hundred" rounds through mine. I've "qualified" it with a couple hundred and I'll run a few through it now-and-again to remain familiarized, but "several hundred" through a little pistol like that seems excessive.

Another LCP fan here, I have several including the Max but the one in my pocket everyday is a Custom. It's been 100% reliable but I still dump a couple mags on each range trip and then a quick clean. Regardless of what I might have on my waist the LCP is always on me.

I've tried most all of them in the 26 years I've been carrying. Tiny little mouse guns all the way up to a P226 and 1911's.

Until recently, the best trade off I've found was the G43. Not great capacity, but thin, light and easy to carry. Then along came the P365 series and the game changed for me. I bought an XL, then picked up a P365 complete upper to make a faux P365x sans the optic cut and that's what I carry these days with the WC grip. I can't bring myself to sell the G43 because it's still great, dependable little pistol and I've done a fair amount to customization to it that I probably wouldn't recoup if I sold it.

I've changed out my carry pistol quite a few times and will probably switch it out again and again. From my own knowledge and skill evolving to firearm technology evolving it's hard to say what is the best CCW. As other's have said its all in the eye of the beholder! Right now I love carrying my P365X.

G26 for belt carry or PM9 for pocket carry. Haven't been swayed by the newer options despite having tried them (single stack Glocks, Shield2.0 or P365), as these still work well for me.

I dont much like the little pistols, much as they've got their place, perhaps for back up. I've never considered guns like Browning High Power or my favorite, the non railed P226 to be too large as their slides are rather trim. The P226 would be my choice. Were I concerned about size, Sig P228 would win hands down. The ability of the P228 along with its mid size yet full capacity is 2nd to none for me. One or two P228s will definately be carry guns for me. I'd probably shoot myself in the ass with a baby Glock and I simply dont like most of the baby poly guns.

I did some comparison pictures a few years ago of a G26 with a 12 round Magpul mag and my M&P 2.6 3.6".

striker: Mossberg MC2sc
da/sa: CZ P07

Also, the new Masada looks promising.

The CZ P-07 is just about identical in size to a P228. Great compact that shoots like a full size.
Whatever anyone decides on for a caryy pistol I feel they should shoot it a couple times at a USPSA or IDPA style match. It really shows you how well you can perform with that equipment under a little pressure and stress. A lot of fun too.
I tried a G26 and a G43x at a steel shoot a while back and that's where I lost confidence in my ability to shoot that size of gun to my satisfaction. If I moved up to a G19 size carry pistol my performance went up drastically.
I'd put it like this. If I shot my full size pistol at 100% then a G19 would be around 90% and anything smaller is closer to 60%.

After years of carrying a Glock 17, then transitioning to a G19 I have muscle memory around that manual of arms. I did pick up a Shield but gripping it like a Glock gave me way too much finger on the trigger and pulled all my shots. So, back to a Glock 26 for every day carry. It feels just like the other two and shoots nearly as well. I do use Glock 12 round mags. but it doesn't seem to change my accuracy over the flat bottom 10 rounders.

I am not a fan of a small edc. I want a gun that is big enough to fight with and small enough to carry. For me that is the HK P 2000, with replacement Trijicon sights and an action job done by Lazy Wolf ( about $400 today and a long wait - but well worth it - gives you a super smooth da pull and a 4lb sa pull). That is my favorite edc!!

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:
My brother got a Ruger LCP for pocket carry. He kept having failures. ...

He liked the LCP so much he bought a second and it worked great for a few hundred rnds and that one is having failures.

Plenty of people here own LCPs and haven't reported problems. I'm one of them.

Then again: I haven't run "several hundred" rounds through mine. I've "qualified" it with a couple hundred and I'll run a few through it now-and-again to remain familiarized, but "several hundred" through a little pistol like that seems excessive.

That's a good point. What is excessive for a pocket pistol?
It was probably me who told him that I've not heard about any problems w/ LCPs that got him to thinking a purchase of a second LCP would be the fix.
But once you get several failures in a box of 50, you wonder if there is a brand that is more reliable. Boxes of FMJ and JHP are purchased for testing and before you know it the guns is around 500 rnds and still counting.

I know years ago that S&W had a .380 that was only meant to be good for about 200 rnds. I wouldn't think the LCP would be classified as a "best before 1k rounds".

Maybe my brother just had a bad roll of two dice.