Pretty cool stuff. I started carrying 30 years ago but based on what I'm seeing here, I don't think a Gen2 G19 qualifies as old school...

I still strap on te old beater P229 40S&W from time to time.

I guess I'm just an old school 45ACP guy.

Back in the day it was a full sized 1911 Government model with 45ACP goodness. It was replaced with a Commander sized 1911 with its slightly shorter slide. Over a decade ago I downsized even more with a 1911 CCO's more compact grip. It remains my go-to unless my wardrobe mandates something more concealable which is when my P238 gets the nod.

Way back in 1957 while I was a student at Michigan
State University, a campus police officer who was on hard times had two handguns for sale; a Walther PPK and a Colt .357 revolver. I bought the Colt,
and really enjoyed my times at the range with that
Colt. Then came my military service (Army Counter
Intelligence Corps) and a 1911A1-.45ACP. Next came
my 28 year career with the U.S.Secret Service where
during two counterfeiting cases I was involved in
two shooting situations. The date was December 23,
1964, at Chardon, Ohio, where I exchanged gunfire
with Alfred Oponowicz. Since the USSS had issued
a number of agents with US Marine Corps rejected
Colt Commando revolvers, and mine shaved lead so bad that during qualifications, I was always positioned at the extreme right end on the firing
line. The agent in charge then authorized me to
carry my Colt .357, and it was a Super X semi wadcutter .357 round to the left shoulder that knocked Oponowicz down. That experience of seeing
a man turning blue lying in the snow asking me and
my partner to "please finish me" really took the
wind out of me. That experience, as well as a second shootout in Cleveland, Ohio, taught me to
STICK TO ONE WEAPON IN YOUR CARRYING, and DON'T
ALTERNATE.

My present carry weapon is a P365 with Wilson Combat grip frame. I pocket carry during warm weather months, but right side DeSantis leather
holster with snap strap during cold weather.

When I got my first CWP in WA in Nov. 1973 I carried this Model 38 (shipped: Oct. 1972) that I bought new Jan. ’73.


The pocket holster shown is from 2018 and probably #5 as I wore out the others. I have other models and types of pistols that I have carried over the last 48 years, but this one is my ‘old school’ favorite. It is now my wife’s favorite and she carries it when out and about.

^^^ I’m sure that’s a fine gun but MAN, that is the ugliest revolver I’ve ever seen!

My first CC pistol was also my first BUG. A S&W Model 60 purchased new in 1985. The only gun I've owned that I regret selling in 2012.

quote:

Originally posted by TheMan:
^^^ I’m sure that’s a fine gun but MAN, that is the ugliest revolver I’ve ever seen!

If the guy on the right could vote I know he would 100% agree with you!

-photo credit: Eddie Adams-

@Z06, the Tyler T-Grips were a game changer back in the Day!

quote:

that is the ugliest revolver I’ve ever seen!

When I bought my 639 years ago, it was advertised as the "ugly duckling" of revolvers.
You know what? Ugly shoots very well in close quarters and at the range out to 50 feet!

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I carried a G19 off duty for a decade.
Last year I went to a G43X..that lasted less than six months and I’ve been carrying a Ruger commander sized 1911 since.
I had a ss colt commander in 1990 and eventually sold it for the next thing.

I’ve ad several 1911s but we weren’t allowed to carry single action by policy.
Last year it clicked that I’m no longer bound by policy and I can carry what I want.

So I’m back to the 45 and I’m OK with 8 rounds (Wilson combat makes a nice magazine)



Usually IWB kydex, but some clothing requires the OWB

Mike, it seems you can I think alike. I too carry a Ruber CMD in 45acp because I walk for exercise and Rotwieler's and Pit BUll's are very popular in the area. I also carry a Spyderco Delica 4 and Streamlight Stylus Pro is always present in my left front shirt pocket.

Late 80's HK P7

In my youth I had to have glocks, sigs, P7s and even went through a 10mm phase for many years. Now I alternate between a J frame or a Kimber k6 snub. All the other stuff are range toys these days. I just find plenty of comfort in my snubs.

ZO6, while I do have to admit that the shrouded hammer bodyguard J-Frames are kinda hunchback ugly, yours is old school cool, and I love the wear that looks like it got there from years of honest carry.

I use that same Galco leather pocket holster on a daily basis, but mine usually carries my Model 640 Pro. I've been very happy with the holster...no unecessary bulk, protects the gun well, and stays in the pocket on the draw. It wan't terribly expensive, either..a great piece of kit.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92fstech,

Neither of my Eighties handguns, that I still have, are in condition suitable for carry. My S&W Model 58 revolver, that served as my duty handgun, 1985 to 1990, needs some moving parts tightened-up, by a talented ‘smith, or perhaps replaced. I could still shoot it, in single action, but would rather not subject the moving parts to fast DA fire. My Seecamp LWS-25 would need a replacement firing pin. I took advantage of its totally inert condition, using it as a training aid, to occasionally see if my rookie trainees were really thoroughly searching the patrol car, at the start of each duty shift.

My very-early Nineties Ruger GP100 is still with me, and, I will still carry it, when I feel a need to carry a 4” .357 revolver. I have acquired other GP100 revolvers, since then, and yes, I will carry them. That first GP100 served as a primary duty handgun, for a while.

I started buying my currently-owned SP101 revolvers in 1997, accumulated several, and still have them. They are still carried regularly.

Since some time in the Nineties, I had been on the lookout for a nice, locally-available S&W Model 64 snub-gun. In the 2019-2020 time frame, I finally got lucky, finding two of them, a 64-3 and a 64-4. I carried both of them, yesterday.

My S&W Model 642-based Performance Center revolver is still carried occasionally. It dates from the first-run Model 642 production. Some of that first run were pulled, due to cosmetic mismatch of the stainless and aluminum alloy parts, and sent to the Perfoemance Center to be refinished, given trigger jobs, and re-stamped with different model numbers. Mine is a “M460,” with a now-faded matte black finish, and Mag-na-porting. Notably, Mag-na-porting makes very little difference, in the case of such a short barrel, when fired with the very mild loads I use. I knew this, before I bought it. I simply wanted the black finish, and the smooth trigger pull.

My longest-serving duty handgun, a P229R DAK, was in my duty holster from late 2004 to late 2015. I would have gladly finished my LEO-ing career with it, but .40 S&W, fired from that high-bore-axis pistol, was getting to be a bit much for my right thumb, hand, and wrist. My then-chief authorized 9mm to be an alternative duty cartridge, in September 2015, and I made the transition to a Gen4 Glock G17 at my October duty pistol “qual.” Notably, DAK was my personal choice. Most of my colleagues, who chose the P229 duty pistol option, went with DA/SA. Eventually, I may convert this P229R DAK to 9mm, and resume using it.

In another back-to-the-Nineties nostalgia trend, I was missing an S&W Model 3913, that I had briefly owned, back in the day. In the 2018 to 2021 time frame, after retirement, I accumulated a 3913 TSW, a 908, a 3914 LS, and a 3913 NL, plus some spare springs, and some spare parts found on the evil-bay. My right hand has not aged well, and I like the S&W 39-series pistols, for one-handed lefty shooting. I was born left-handed, but right-armed. The draw felt more natural, right-handed, back in 1983, with the then-mandated, relatively heavy L-Frames duty revolver, working from the then-mandated, low-slung duty holster, and, long-stroke DA trigger pulling seemed to be relatively equal, right or left, so, I chose to carry “primary” on my right side. With my “smarter” left hand now being the healthier hand, the DA-to-SA transition, of a DA/SA pistol, is better-handled by my left hand.

To be clear, I appreciate the long-stroke DA first shot, whether the second shot is going to be single-action, as is the case with DA/SA pistols, or double-action, as is the case with DA revolvers or DAO/DAK autos. I spent plenty of time working on a smooth, consistent DA trigger stroke, with both of my hands, back in the Eighties. Whether I end up using my DA/SA Third-Generation S&W autos, for daily carry, or keep them as nostalgic collectibles, to be passed along to grandsons, etc., remains to be seen. The relative compactness, and especially the slimness, of these pistols, makes me think that they may become regular carry guns.

In the “occasional/niche” pistol category, there are our his-and-hers Seecamp LWS-32 pistols. The minimum handgun that I usually carry is the Ruger SP101, but well, there are those times…

Finally, there is the 1911. I may resume toting them, more often, but they are carried only rarely, these days. My first handgun, long ago, was a 1911, and a full-sized 1911 still points like it has radar. The short 1911 trigger stroke is easy for aging fingers, and the weight of steel, plus the low bore axis, and the slow acceleration of .45 ACP, is kind to aging hands. A 1911 is still a favorite, for these reasons, for a pistol kept positioned off-body, for home defense. My default, daily carry guns, lately, are relatively short-barreled revolvers, so, the 1911 pistols see little “primary” carry time. I certainly did use 1911 pistols, in the past, as carry/duty handguns.

I may type another post, to discuss one more carry handgun type, but I have simply run out of time.

My old school guns are actually new for me. I have a first version Colt Cobra 38 Spl and a couple of Colt Government Model .380's (both alloy and steel frame).

Lock N Load

Michael
USMC Ret

Still well within my comfort zone to carry would be the shown BHP, S&W M-49, Colt Det Spcl, Star PD, S&W M-39.

The second handgun I ever owned was a Colt Government in .45. Bought new in 1981, still have it but it does not get carried anymore.

My first was a Hi Standard .22 which was never a carry gun.

I retired this Hipower to occasional range use a few years ago in favor of a S&W Shield.