P230, then
P228, then
P245 for quite a while, then
M&P 9c for quite a while, then
SP101, now
M&P Shield 9.

Will still trade out with the M&P 9c on weekends.

The VP9sk is very appealing, though...

365, nothing else comes close for me.

Perfect is subjective and relative to the users criteria. To me, perfect is carrying concealed with minimal feedback from the weapon. I can carry a J Frame 642 or Kimber K6S just about anywhere and both are great close contact weapons.

SIG M11-A1. Compact, reliable, accurate to shoot, aesthetically pleasing, low recoil. Get One!

Compact Glock. Getting close to 29 years with one. Currently carrying one in .40 (G23). It works for me, I work well with it, and that's all that matters.

My EDC is a G42 in my strong side pocket with an Elite
pocket holster. If I belt carry, I use a G43.
I just prefer Glocks and the G42 is a sublime .380
Pistol IMHO.

Well if I could only have one to carry, I would go with the P365.

Thankfully I don’t have to limit myself to one and can choose between several based on mood, weather, clothing, and destination.


My main carry guns include:
P938 (soon to be retired/replaced by P365 once I get more rounds through it)
P30SK
P320 X-Carry

Former carry guns:
SW M&P 340 - filled the need for a pocketable gun in a “real” caliber. NOT fun to shoot, replaced with P938 and never looked back
Glock 23 - just got tired of Glocks and decided to move to more recent striker options
Glock 33 - not really that much smaller than the 23
LCP - was a novelty I just never warmed up to or got comfortable with wanted something that could pocket carry but was next to useless between anemic caliber and worthless sights. Replaced with M&P340 in .357Mag

Now that I look back, I think the majority of the time my main carry gun was a reflection of whatever pistol I was shooting competitively at the time (or vice versa to a degree.)

When I first got serious about consistently carrying, I picked a M&P Compact 1.0 - then decided on a M&P Pro for IDPA.

After getting pissed at the Pro because of the lack of accuracy out past 15 yards, I jumped on the Glock train for awhile.

Eventually I picked up a 320 Compact after it has been out awhile - then ended up shooting one for the Team.

After 3 years of the 320, I felt the pull to get back into DA/SA guns. After shooting most of my DA/SA guns in matches, I decided to stick with a Beretta.

Currently I shoot a M9A1 with Wilson Combat/Langdon Tactical upgrades. I plan on sticking with it until I make Master, or someone pays me to shoot something else LOL
My main CCW is a WC Centurion Tactical, and I've recently picked up a PX4 Storm to test the Appendix Carry waters...

(Of course, there's the ever-present 642 & LCP for when the wardrobe dictates discrete carry.)

S&W 342, S&W Shield 9, Glock 26.

Rotate as the attire and weather changes.

Because of my work clothing and need to be very well concealed, I'm really limited to a micro-compacts during the work week. Weekends when I'm out and about I tend towards sub-compacts when clothing permits.

For that reason my search has gone something like this:

HK P7 - This was my first carry gun and may still be my favorite. Thin, conceals well, shoots incredibly well, safe to carry chambered, extremely accurate. 8+1 capacity. My father bought one of the first imports in 1981. I doubt he put more than 500 rounds through it over his ownership and then handed it down to me about 5 years ago. It's in immaculate condition. I carried it for a short time until one of the RSOs at my range pointed out that if I ever had to draw it, it would be held as evidence and engraved with a number. I couldn't bring myself to carry it anymore and my search began.

Springfield XDS 9mm - Good little gun. Trigger is ok. Base capacity is 7+1. Carried it for about 2 years.

Walther PPS M2 - Similar to the XDS only a bit better in my opinion. Slightly smaller, thinner and lighter. Base round count is 6+1 but the extended 7+1 made it about the same height as the XDS. I didn't like the trigger as well as the XDS. It concealed a little better though. I don't shoot it quite as well as I do the XDS, but it's a good gun. Got a great deal on it at the time.

Glock G43 - I really wanted a smaller, more concealable gun. The G43 fit the bill and I bought it despite the fact that, for me, it's just not as comfortable to shoot as either of the others. I don't like the trigger as much as the other 2 and I just don't like the grip. I bought it thinking I would get used to it and I just never did. I was looking into options to customize it, when:

The Sig P365 came out - I shot a rental gun and knew I was going to buy it at the first opportunity. I was driving from Wichita to Denver and stopped in at Joe Bob Outfitters in Hays, KS. They had 5 in stock at $499.00. Done. I bought it. Put 400 rounds through it and it went back to Sig for a broken striker. They fixed it and it has 600 rounds through it with zero failures. This is the best small carry gun I have found since my P7. It doesn't have the trigger of the P7, but I like the trigger better than any of the others. Small, shootable, 10+1 & 12+1 capacity. Very concealable. Light. I really do love the gun, but I'm going to hold off carrying it until I have 1000 rounds through it. I'm hoping to get there this weekend

On the Sub-Compact side it's really come down to the following:

H&K VP9SK - One of my favorite pistols. Good size. 10+1. Shoots really well. Fully ambidextrous. Night sights. I can conceal it under an untucked shirt or jacket with just slight printing. Nobody out and about would ever notice, but day to day at the office I had somebody ask about it. This is my around town carry. It came down to a comparison between the P320 and the VP9SK and the VP9 just edged it out. That being said, some version of the P320 will likely be my next pistol purchase.

I would say that the closest I've come to a perfect carry gun is the P365, once I'm comfortable that it is dependable. Of course, I should qualify that by saying perfect "for me". The 10+1 & 12+1 round capacity in a small, shootable package just elevates it above all the other micro-compacts. If I could carry a sub-compact more often I would probably lean more towards the VP9SK or a P320.

For the past 8 years it has been a P220 Carry Elite but I am leaning more and more toward my P226 Legion SAO. If Sig would make a P220 carry Legion SAO that would be it.

M&P 9c. Perfect for me. I would have bought a Shield if I did not already own the baby nine.

Steyr M357-A1 "gen 4"

It's the right size, the right caliber, and handles recoil better than any other gun I've shot in 357sig.

The perfect carry gun for me assumes I actually "need" to carry a gun. I've thought about what that would be if I planned to deviate remotely from my daily routine. So, if not my lcp/lc9s combo then what?

CZ 75 compact. iwb, owb or shoulder carry; 22lr Kadet conversion; cheap mags (not the 22lr mags tho) and a gun I could live with if war were declared.

Yes, perfection weighs more

Glock 19 or 43

Done

G32

My Evolution

Home State Carry: PX4 Storm FS 9mm or M11-A1, with Ruger LCR 22 WMR as BUG.

Occasionally: CZ83 15 round 7.65mm

Travel Carry: M&P 9, HK P30L

Range Gun: SIG 226-MK25

quote:

Originally posted by andronicus:
Gen 5 Glock 19. Never thought I'd be saying that. but I am. It disappears with a good holster.

I second this. It's really an amazing handgun for the money and the size. It conceals so very well in an IWB, and I'm a big guy.

For me, the Gen 5 19 and 34 I own are so good that I can almost forget the early Gen 4 problems.

Smith 360SS in the pocket most of the time. When clothes permit, G26 or G43.
Have tried virtually everything else, some 10x, and it always comes back to the above.

Started off with a P239, .357sig, then moved to a P229, .357sig. Currently it's a P320 Carry, .357sig for which I've changed out the grip module for an X-Carry grip and replaced the magazine retainer plates and base plates so they fit and work with the grip module.

I have thought that for a carry gun I need to find something, shoot and and train with it. If I'm going to carry it serious, it needs to be something with which I'm as familiar as my own hand and use at least as well. So, I'm trying not to cycle through different guns and different calibers anymore.

IMO, in a pinch, you use what you've got and being familiar with a variety of guns is a good thing, but given a choice for carry, it should be the gun with which I am most familiar through practice and training.

SIG does not currently sell or even perhaps make, .40/.357 magazines with the correct base plate to be compatible with the X-Carry grip module, even though they sell the grip module as being for all three calibers.