Second the MTAC recommendation, works beautifully on my Kahr PM45.
http://www.comp-tac.com/product_info.php?products_id=95
Viper GTS
Go rent a 9mm, .40, and a .45 and see what you think. Typically for new shooters the .40 is the hardest to handle. It is snappier with a more pronounced muzzle flip that makes follow up shots more difficult. The .45 has more of a lateral shove. The 9mm is by far the easiest to handle. For a CCW for a new shooter I would go with a Glock 26. 9mm being easier to handle, and most importantly cheaper to feed. For a new shooter you need lots and lots of trigger time. Size is very easy to conceal, it's not the smallest thing out there but isn't an issue. I CCW a Glock 27 off-duty and it's not a problem with a quality IWB holster. I personally use a Comp-Tech M-TAC. The S&W M&P 9C with no safeties would be my second choice. The XD's would also be a fine choice reliability wise, I just hate the damn safeties.
Now if it was a dedicated CCW piece and not doubling as a home defense weapon then I would take a serious look at a wheel gun.
It doesn't matter if you are shooting a 9mm or 45, if you shoot the bad guy in the leg instead of center mass you are still screwed. Shot placement is more important than caliber. Reason I like Glocks is they as reliable as anything out there and there is no safety. In the heat of the moment you don't need to be trying to flip off a safety, don't even get me started on grip safeties.
Open carry is retarded. Only reason I will accept open carry is if your state doesn't allow CCW, then I am OK with it. It does nothing to deter crime. If your OCing in areas with real crime then you are just making yourself a target. It doesn't make the news but people get jacked of their open carry piece more than you would think.
Open carry is CA is the most retarded thing ever. Open carry an unloaded weapon, what the hell is the point?
Other than glocks explode if you look at them funny, yes.
Please...
Glocks are excellent guns. I've owned one for 16 years now and put many thousands of rounds through it and rarely have I even had a failure to feed. It is probably the most reliable semi-auto handgun I've ever owned.
Can't go wrong with Glock or Sig Sauer IMO.
What if the criminal came up from behind and stole his gun?
Well hopefully if you are going to carry a gun you at least take a few classes on weapon retention!
I use the term open carry lightly. I open carry all winter. That doesn't mean I have a tactical 45 strapped to my leg. It means I move from my nice easy to conceal PPS IWB to a larger Walther P99c on my hip. I take minor effort to hide it because I wear jackets, coats, sweaters, etc in the winter. It is open carry however because it is not 100% concealed. Unlike my IWB which is invisible, OWB means that you can sometimes see my weapon.
My state does not require me to be concealed, so I see nothing wrong with being more comfortable (OWB is much more comfortable than IWB) and occasionally showing off my weapon.
I do however think that carrying your weapon on display is a douche thing to do. This is why I carry IWB in the summer time. I can wear shorts and a t-shirt without flaunting my firearm.
I'd say that I'm concealed most of the time, but I don't concern myself with keeping it concealed. Technically the police would probably consider it open carry. It's on display if you were to be staring at my ass, or I bent over. 95% of the population has no idea it is there.
And for the record, I spend a lot of time training to use and retain control of my firearm. Awareness and training are the two most important skills you can have to carry. Anyone not willing to put in the time shouldn't be carrying.
All modern handguns from major manufacturers are great.
Just pick one that fits your hands the best and take it to the range to practice.
Make sure to practice bringing the weapon up from a holstered or side position.
Some ranges won't let you do that though.
Stopping power is overrated and overstated.
With that said, with your life on the line, why chance it when a .45 is so standard and king?
The more you conceal a weapon the harder it is to get it when you need it.
I personally carry IWB at 4 o'clock. I use a tuckable holster so it takes me a second longer to draw then it does in the winter when I carry OWB with a jacket.
Seeing as how I'm getting my CCW soon, I figured I should start looking at firearms. Since it'd be used virtually exclusively for home defense I wanted something that wasn't too unwieldy, but also with enough stopping power. I think a .40 would fit the bill, based on weapons I've fired in the past. As for brand, is there any reason to look at anything other than a glock?
Just you. The rest of us believe in the US Constitution. Maybe you should move to Iran?Is it just me, or does anyone else sigh and roll their eyes when they see a non-law enforcement officer openly carrying around a gun in a place like a store or a movie theater?
Is it just me, or does anyone else sigh and roll their eyes when they see a non-law enforcement officer openly carrying around a gun in a place like a store or a movie theater?
Glocks in .40 have a terrible reputation of exploding, not to mention they are a little chunky, even in the compact models, to conceal carry. A popular choice in .40 is m&p since they kind of invented he cartridge, and are absolutely beautiful gun. Bersa makes a good mini .40. But honestly, any manufacturer will put out a fantastic gun these days. Its hard to fuck up, but they can't make everyone happy. I love my s&w sigma, but hate the trigger, which is enough to make people hate it outright. As far as the caliber goes, I think it is a very capable caliber. It combines the capacity of the 9mm with the power of a .45. It will penetrate and expand nearly as much as a .45, but some people say the recoil is too "snappy". Practice makes perfect. The only reason why I do not personally carry one is because of the price of practice ammo. $10 for 50 rounds of 9mm compared to $15+ for .40. I would strongly recommend carrying a .40 though, I know a lot of police forces are switching over to .40 or .357sig.
Cliffs: .40 is perfect for what you need it for. Just don't get a glock if you plan on concealing. Anyone who says their glock disappears when they conceal is probably a fatty or wears a XXL shirt (seiously, look at people concealing their glocks). I have a hard time concealing my M&P with a t-shirt that fits properly.
Glock's have a reputation for exploding? Seriously?!? They are highly regarded as the most reliable semiautomatic out there. Sub compact 9mm and .40 Glocks are not hard to conceal with a proper holster. I'm 5'10" and 170lbs, you can't tell I have it. A proper holster and belt make a world of difference. They aren't any more bulky than an XD, they are pretty much the same size. If you want something appreciably smaller you need to look into either a smaller caliber or a single stack.
I am not trying to say Glock's are the end all be all, they aren't. But I can't stand to see bull shit spread around. Most kaboom's, Glock or otherwise, are ammo related and have nothing to do with the weapon themselves.
357 sig is a nice round but it will never see wide spread adoption due to ammo prices and availability. .40/9mm/45 can be found anywhere. 357 Sig is hard to come by and expensive when you can find. When you add 25% to cost of ammo times a few hundred officers and the bill gets incredibly high.
Is it just me, or does anyone else sigh and roll their eyes when they see a non-law enforcement officer openly carrying around a gun in a place like a store or a movie theater?
If it's the only legal option in a given area then I wouldn't see it as such. If concealed carry is an option then yeah, kinda douchey.
That said, if you're a criminal are you going to fuck with the guy with a 1911 on his hip? :awe:
.40 is what I chose as my duty carry (Glock 22), so I wanted my concealed to be the same. I ended up going Taurus Millennium PT140 because compact Glocks are FAR too bricky for me, and I hate floating pinky. One caliber only...if I could legally own a p90 I'd switch a five-seven for both duty and concealed in a heartbeat.
Personally I'm a big fan of .40
You would really want a 5.7 as a duty round? The stopping power is a joke and the penetration isn't much better. I would rather have a 9mm with +p. If your wanting to defeat body armor with a handgun that's going to be your best bet but for an LEO weapon I wouldn't touch it.
Home defense really ought to be a 12 gauge IMO.
Actually I prefer the ballistics and characteristics on the five-seven to most other rounds. I realize in several studies it lacks the cavity causing impact of the larger .40 and .45, but the higher velocity and reduced recoil make it a more accurate round to shoot in my experience. The biggest downsides are that I couldn't legally carry the SS190 in my concealed, and they discontinued the 192hp, which leaves me few options for good rounds. I'm hoping to see a second wave of civilian rounds, including a hollow, with better performance.
Of course, it's all moot since I'm not going to be able to own a p90 any time soon. More's the pity.