Not to hijack the P2000 thread, but it got me thinking of my own, "Evolution" of my carry guns. My philosophy is not a one size fits all, different circumstances may require different guns. I'm just thinking about my, "Primary" carry gun, the one that gets carried most of the time. So this is my evolutionary timeline starting in 2003 with my AZ CCW Permit;

Kimber 5" 1911 Government
Smith & Wesson 642
Glock 23 and 36 (Got them both at the same time and switched between them)
HK P2000 in .40S&W
Sig 239 in .40S&W
Smith & Wesson 1911SC
Sig 1911 C3
Colt 1911 Defender
Sig P365

Carry evolution? In some cases I vacillated between options depending on the situation.

P239 .357sig VM2
P229 .357sig VM2 (early, no-rail)
Dan Wesson Classic Bobtail 1911 10mm VM2
SP2022 9mm (just considered, never happened) Ozark Holster Company (OWB)
P365 9mm (early version) Clinger No Print V3 (IWB)
P320 Carry .357sig w/Wilson Combat grip module Clinger No Print V3 (IWB)
Future: P229 Legion 9mm Town and Country II (just ordered holster)

I bought a holster for my early P227 but have never carried it except a few times to the range.

I’m too old to have “evolved” as you have.

I carried a 1911 Colt Commander that I bought new in 1966, like forever. Until I didn’t. Went to Sig DA/SA’s and never looked back. Only got a 365 Mscro a couple months ago, but still don’t carry it a lot.

My personal philosophy is similar...different guns for different applications. At least that's the way it is these days as I have the options. Starting out I was more limited.

2006-2008ish: Beretta 92FS full-size. This was my first gun, and the only option I had. Great gun, but it's probably the reason for all the back problems I had in my 20s.

2008-2010: Sig P6. Bought it and quickly discovered that it was WAY easier to carry than the Beretta, even if the DA trigger pull was atrocious. That, combined with my skill level at the time...let's just say I'm very grateful that I never had to use it.

2010-2017: I started as a reserve at the PD in 2010. Got issued a P229 in .40, and bought myself a G26 as a backup. The G26 replaced the P6 as my off-duty carry gun, and got carried EVERYWHERE. That was a great little gun. Somewhere during this timeframe, I also picked of an S&W360J as a deep-cover concealment option, and a Ruger SP101 3" .357 as a woods/camping/backpacking gun.

2017-2021: a couple of years into being full-time at the PD, we switched to the P320 as a duty gun. Carry-size, iron sights. They also bought me a P320 subcompact as a backup, which replaced the G26. Somewhere in here I picked up a P245, and started carrying it some off-duty because I really like the size, grip, and shootability of the gun.

2021-present: somewhere in here we switched from the P320 carry with iron sights to a P320 full-size with a dot. The doc also told me I was diabetic and that I was going to lose my feet from bad circulation, and carrying small-ish versions of a duty pistol strapped around my ankle seemed like a bad thing to continue doing, so the subcompact got replaced by an S&W 640 Pro in the pocket. Somewhere in here I found a deal on a 3" S&W Model 60 which replaced the SP101 for backpacking, as it's smaller and lighter with the same capabilities, and shares holsters with my other J-Frames (although if I'm brutally honest, even when I have an opportunity to carry the 60 I unusually end up just taking the 640 instead because that gun is so good). I also got a Model 69 to carry in places that have bigger critters. A P220 compact is now serving as an off-duty gun to save wear on my P245. Depending upon what I'm doing, off-duty I'm either carrying that P220, the dept-issued P320 subcompact, or my 640 Pro.

I also have been dabbling with Berettas again...a PX4 and a 92X compact, and while I'm enjoying them on the range I've found that when it comes to carry I always end up grabbing one of my Sigs instead.

Started out with a PPK at 21, carried a Colt DS for many, many years, now 365X.

LCP - Glock 26 - Glock 19gen4 & LCP - Glock 19gen5 & LCP. In that order for me.


I only have about 8-9 years of carrying. Started with the intention of carrying a Glock 26, but ended up carrying a Ruger LCP in a pocket holster for a little while since I couldn't quite narrow down the holster situation for the G26.

Figured out a holster setup that works for me and carried the 26 for years.

Eventually worked my way to properly concealing a G19 gen4 and carried that for a few years.

Got a G19 gen 5 about 3 years ago, sold the gen4, and been carrying that to this day.

As for the LCP, I still carry that for situations where I can't/won't want to carry in my waist like when wearing dress clothes, riding my bike, working in the garage/around the house etc.

Being in California, we have to be very selective on what we carry since we can only carry what is listed on our license.
I basically have only 3 guns listed - G19, G26, LCP, but I really only carry the G19 and LCP. Those 3 guns can cover everything for me.

Mine isn't too exciting. I've had a PTC for almost 30 years, but only 4 pistols that I carried regularly.

I started with a Colt Defender. That didn't last long due to off and on reliability issues that could never really get resolved.

Second pistol was a P239 in .357Sig. I chose that specifically for the bottle neck cartridge feeding reliability. In reality, the reliability may have been as much from being a 239 vs a really short barreled 1911 with the cartridge being secondary.

Number 3 was a Glock 27. Nothing wrong with it, but a better option came along.

Fourth and current is a P365

My primary carry, duty, off duty, and BUGs since 1985 for me (as best as I can recall…)

1985-1988: Primary EDC Walther PPK/S .380, primary range/competition gun Browning Hi Power 9mm (Assigned gun during my 3 years at Ft. Knox, 1911 for 2 years and Beretta 9mm for 1 year)

1989: LEO duty gun Beretta 92FC (13 round version), off duty gun S&W 669 or Walther PPK/S

1990 – 2002: Duty Gun SIG P226 9mm or SIG P220 .45, off duty assorted guns – primarily used the SIG 225, 228, 229, 239, 230 or 232. BUG was always a S&W J frame snubby – different models during those years.

2003 – June 2004: SIG P239 9mm primary EDC, sometimes carried SIG P220.

June 2004 – 2015: Primary EDC gun Glock 19 (Played around with a Springfield EMP 9mm for a while in 2009 & 2010)

2016: Primary EDC gun Walther PPS M2

2017: Primary EDC gun Glock 43

2018: Jan: Glock 43,
Feb: Glock 19,
March: back to Glock 43,
April – June: Glock 26 with custom grip reduction & stippling.
July: Gen 4 Glock 19 Front Slide Serrations

2019: Primary EDC Gen 4 Glock 19 with Front Slide Serrations, my travel gun is my Grip Reduction Glock 26

2020: Jan: Gen 4 Front Serrations Glock 19
Feb: Glock 26 with custom grip reduction & stippling (While breaking in Shadow Systems MR918s)
Mar 2020 to May 2022 the Shadow Systems MR918

2022: May: Glock 26 with custom grip reduction and stippling
2022: June: on the 13th, started carrying my Wilson Combat Vickers Glock 19

I honestly don’t know if I could possibly list them all. These are the ones that I remember carrying for long periods of time.

Sig P228
Walther PPK/s
S&W 686 2”
S&W 642
Seecamp 32acp
Colt 1911 Officer
Glock 23
Glock 36
Wilson Combat 1911
Wilson Combat 1911 Compact
Kahr K9
HK P2000 357 Sig
HK P2000SK 357 Sig
HK P2000SK 9mm
SiG P938
Glock 19
S&W 66 2 1/2”
Sig P365

My current roster

Sig P365 (XL Wilson frame)
S&W 642 Pro
Glock 19/SS MR920
S&W 66 (2.5 P&R) when it strikes my fancy
Seecamp 32

I didn't actually start carrying until 2007, it was a PM9 until a couple of years ago when a P365 replaced it

Outside of issued stuff or things for occasions:
In order

1911
FN5.7
1911
Kahr K9
Sig 226
HK P7
HK P7M10
Glock 19.4
Glock 19.5
G19.5/Glock 48 MOS (winter/summer)

I'm considering a 1911ds/2011 which would likely do colder carry.

Man, we don’t have the bandwidth to list all of the guns I’ve carried over the years. I’ve actually changed a lot of the way I think in the last couple of years, which has led to me rethinking things yet again.

In the past two years, I have got out and trained a bunch with a lot of different dudes. I’m shooting as much as I did in the late 90s, which was the most I ever shot. This and the evolution in how I think about problem solving has led to yet another change in how I view carry guns.

My steadfast “rule” was to never drop below 31 rounds on my person, and never drop below a Glock 19 sized pistol. And always carry a pistol with a dot on it. I’ve noticed performance wise that I’m getting really similar numbers on canned drills with a plain Jane standard 365. With irons. Yes, the 19 with the RMR always wins. But, from 5 yards to 50. Stationary and on the move. I’m turning really respectable numbers with the 365. Ive actually found it to be impressive. Taught a class on Wednesday and drew the 365 from concealment at 50 yards. Cranked off two rounds and scored 2 Alpha. Shooting a dot a lot has really made my iron sight shooting better.

If I need a bigger gun at work, I always have one on a gun belt. And more often than not I just take a rifle.

I’ve stopped making “rules” and tried to be modular in equipment and thinking.

I guess I'm very boring, since there's nothing that evolutionary about my primary carry choices.

- G19 Gen2, 18 years
- SIG P229R, < 6 months
- G19 Gen3, 2+ years
- G23 Gen4, 12 years and counting, though I also toyed with a G26 Gen4 for about a month+ about 6 years ago.

There's a slew of G19 Gen4s in my safe (and a G19 Gen5 as well), for that day when I finally tire of 'fotay' as my round of choice. Real Soon Now, as Jerry Pournelle used to say.

The SIG was a learning experience about the annoyance of carrying such a girthy pistol, so I suppose that I 'evolved' some from that.

I'd say that I experienced more 'evolution' with my secondary (backup) choices. For about the first decade of my concealed carrying I didn't have a smaller backup to go to; if I couldn't carry the G19 for whatever reason, I chose to simply not carry. I ultimately rethought that defeatist mindset around 1999 or 2000 and subsequently added a G26, then discovered that it really wasn't that much easier for me to conceal over a G19. Since then it's been a litany of skinny, conceal-friendlier guns. Starting with the first:

- G26 Gen3, on and mostly off for about 10+ years
- P238, 2-3 years and overlapping somewhat with the G26 years
- Taurus 709 Slim, < 1 year on/off, overlapping with the P238 period
- Ruger LC9, 1+ year cold turkey
- G43, 5+ years overlapping some with the subsequent PPS M2 and even later P365
- Walther PPS M2, 2-3 years on/off during the G43 period until its damned barrel recall
- P365, 3+ years overlapping a bit with the G43
- S&W Shield+, 1+ years overlapping at first with the P365 for 6 month, now only itself and counting

And there's also a G43X in reserve, which I've yet to carry but I nevertheless like to shoot anyways.

I didn't think about it before, but in compiling these lists I notice that once I weaned myself off from an earlier carry gun, I never again went back to it as a carry choice, even for an old times' sake moment. I might consider breaking that habit at some point with the P365, since I do like that little puppy quite a lot and how super easy it is to carry. But I very much prefer shooting the Shield Plus so much more (and better).

My evolution kind of starts with DA/SA and comes full circle.

-SIG P239 this was my first serious carry gun.
-SIG P229 carried a bit but generally stayed P239
-HK P7M8, great carry gun but even back then prices started to sky rocket and I moved away largely for this reason.
-J-Frames, great pocket guns to this day.
-Glock/striker phase - Glock 19/26
-Back to DA/SA HK P2000/P2000sk

And that is pretty much where I am today. DA/SA, poly frame HK's.

Of course over the years I've carried a few more here and there "experimentally" if you will and OCCASSIONALLY carry a single stack itty bitty 9mm like a Walther PPS but generally speaking I've settled on a Glock 19 sized semi auto in 9mm or .40 as my comfort zone.

I would be lying however if I didn't want to try one of the "micro 9's and have been looking at them over the years but they ALL seem to have some issue or another. I might give a Glock 48/P365XL/Shield Plus or Hellcat PRO a go at some point though just.......well cuz gun guy, I guess.

There is just something about the "Glock 19 Sized Handgun" that really seems to work. They are big enough to be easily shootable, big enough to easily grip and draw, small enough to conceal fairly easily, hold plenty of ammo with 12-16 rounds and most of the guns in this size envelope are long proven.

Now I am so far from being an expert or gunfighter or talented shooter that my opinion is so worthless that I damn near should be paying you to listen to it, but I I have found what works for ME.

Started with a P229 in .40. IWB 4-5 o’clock or so.

3 gun had me going to 9mm for the extra capacity. Dabbled with the PPQ for a minute, and the VP9 for a second, but ended up settling on the P320 Carry.

Back pain and the P365 changed that for me. I was fine with 12+1 in the P229. Is 10+1 that much worse if I can pocket carry and not walk like an old man? I decided I was fine with it. I know, I could have 12+1, but then it stops being as pocketable.

I don’t love pocket carry, but it’s better than back pain and/or not carrying because of back pain.

Commander sized 1911
P226
G19
—became a cop and was restricted by policy
G19 &
S&W mod60 depending on clothing
-retired
G19
G43X
Commander 1911 & mod 60 depending on clothing

Sig 228 to Sig 239 in 357 Sig to Glock 26 with an optic to Ed Brown EVO 9mm. Also when situation called for deep concealment 1903 Colt in 32.

Depending on "how I think my day will go" may carry the Glock 26 or when going into a troubled crime infused part of a major city a Ruger 1911 in 10mm.

Good areas:

Not-so-good areas:

In 2001 I started with a S&W model 60. Then I switched to a Beretta 92fs in probably 2002 or so.

In the next few years I switched between that, a HK USPc in .40, an Sig C3 1911 in .45, an Sig P228 and then finally in around 2011 I switched to the Glock 19. I dabbled for about a year with the P365 and P365XL then went back to the G19.

Now for about the last year and a half I’ve been carrying a Beretta 92x compact.

Late 1970’s = S&W mod. 13, 3 inch .357

Early - mid 1980’s = Detonics Combat Master .45 and S&W mod. 60

Late 1980’s = Colt Commander .45

1990’s - early 2000’s = HK P7

Early 2000’s = Sig 229, Sig 220 and Seecamp .32

Since then another Colt Commander in .45, Dan Wesson Guardian in .38 Super, Glock 23, and now Sig 365.

Although it’s limited capacity by today’s standards and maybe not quite as reliable as Glocks, Sigs, and HK’s, I would still have to say the Commander sized 1911 remains my “sentimental” favorite, even though the 365 is what I now choose as the most practical for me.