It is one of the pistols that I carry, a CZ82 9mm Makarov.



I have a bunch of Taurus pistols with the Millenium Pros being my favorite. My TCPs see a lot of use and my 25PLY is always in a pocket. That little bugger is one of the few pistols that I've seen designed for a jean pocket.

FNX40 IWB Alien Gear

Kahr PM9 Crossbreed Minituck

I second this....I've had a P938 for several years and it's easy to shoot for its size, it's accurate, and yes it is very compact.

I would also add to consider using the "Sticky" holster if you don't have a shirt tucked in. I've got several IWB holsters and have found the Sticky Holster to be the most comfortable and easy to use, and it absolutely does not move once you have your belt tightened down.

I second this....I've had a P938 for several years and it's easy to shoot for its size, it's accurate, and yes it is very compact. [/q6uote]

I third this!

Walter pps m2 in a dara or waste band holster.

The main thing is buy what you WILL carry. I know a lot of shooters who buy a cool gun or a gun too big and don't end up carrying it.

Here lately I have been carrying a G23 in 40 cal. I like the size of the pistol, and I think it's a perfect size pistol for a CCW. I carry 3 o'clock IMB in a nice leather backing with kydex holster. It fits and carries very well. Previously, I have been carrying my G20 a lot. It's a full size, and yes, a little big. But I don't care about that. I'll still carry it all day.

think i'm going back to an all revolver stable, for all the reasons many are doing the same thing.

Concur with Chad, there are two critical must have criteria.

1. Will it actually be carried; and,

2. can a shot be reliably made.

The bottom line to consider is, what pistol do you want in your hand if you are in a fight for your life or worse that of your wife or family. That is the starting point to consider, then work backwards to the question of comfort and concealability as secondary factors.

Reliable shot placement is a huge shortcoming with some pistols that otherwise are comfortable to carry.

A reasonable standard has been described as 3-3-3 - the ability to reliably place three shots on a paper plate at three yards in three seconds including draw time.

For me, the accuracy requirement rules out subcompacts and revolvers. Using a revolver for this application means firing it double action. A revolver often will have a double action trigger pull weight of 10 pounds or more, which is going to require substantial commitment to attain modest proficiency. I know my own reality is I shoot a semi-auto far faster and more reliably than a revolver, but that is just my own limitatation.

For comfort, thinness matters more to me than weight most of the time. Occasionally, a smaller pocket carry such as a G36 fits the situation the best, but most of the time a full size Les Baer SRP is my go to choice. I use a Crossbreed holster or Milt Sparks VM2 on a Wilderness Instructor's belt worn against my skin. Then a tucked in dress shirt is "bloused" with pants and my usual dress belt on the pants. That setup holds the pistol firmly in place and avoids the pistol weight pulling my pants waist down or bunching up. The pants and outer belt need to be 2" larger in size.

In carrying almost everyday since 2005, twice someone has noticed printing. Both times were with a Glock 19 due to the thickness. No one has ever seemed to notice or done a double take with the 1911.




For a bit of humor-

G29. IWB 5 o'clock. 11 rds of " Devestation"

Glock 43 with +1 mag extender for my pinky, in a pocket holster. Potent little package, reliable, comes to bear quickly, and surprisingly accurate.

either my glock 43 or kahr cm9 in a pocket holster but i still have my S&W scandium .357 that I carry occasionally.

Ruger 380LCP literally slide it right into my pocket BUT I never keep a round in the chamber since it doesn't have a safety. Biggest downfall unfortunately

Get a shot timer and check your first shot times with a round in the chamber and with an empty chamber. You'll be at least a second faster loaded. That may not seem like much, but if you need to use your pistol, that second or two could make worlds of difference.

I'd advise either buying a holster that you feel comfortable carrying a loaded pistol in, or buying a gun that you feel comfortable carrying loaded in your pocket.

Walther PPS for me.
Very thin, very accuarate.

Look at the AD rates for people who carry with one in the chamber vs without.

If the extra second is the difference between life and death, then it was just my day. The extra risk for an AD is too much IMHO.

But I don't even carry that often honestly. We can't at work, so that eliminates a lot of opportunity from the start. It's always uncomfortable to me, so I just do it when I feel the risk is the highest.

Do you walk around bird hunting with an empty shotgun?

You don't get to choose when it happens. "when the risk is highest" you are in the wrong place and you most likely could have avoided the situation .
carry how you choose to, but without a holster is almost always the wrong choice.

Carrying a pistol without a round in the chamber is pointless. "Hold on one second Mr. Bad Guy while I pull my pistol and rack the slide for you!" When you need a pistol, you NEED a pistol. It takes 2 hands (generally) to rack the slide, and you may need the other hand for defense already. You won't have time to rack the slide (and do it correctly!!) when under stress. It has been documented and shown that people who plan for this, have less of a chance of survival in a gun situation. Go to YouTube or LiveLeak and watch how many good guys tried to rack their pistol while being shot or had an issue with racking the slide under duress and couldn't get the pistol hot, and were killed. Sorry, but it's freakin' dumb and a bad idea!!! Carry a freakin' pistol how it was meant to be carried- HOT!!

A bad guy will ALWAYS have the drop on you, since they choose when to attack. You need all the time you can get.

And it's not an AD, meaning "accidental discharge". It's an ND= Negligent Discharge. Proper training and good firearm handling will prevail and prevent these.

I don't bird hunt.
Maybe we'll call it UD for "unintended discharge" since that encompasses any situation. Whether it was preventable or not, you or someone else might be dead because of it.

Before I make any more points, I'd like to politely suggest that it is possible for us to disagree on something and neither of us be "wrong".

I realize that it is a risk to carry without one in the chamber, although I'm not sure that you recognize that it's a risk to carry one in the chamber. I'm betting that I have one extra second to rack a slide. You're betting that you don't make a mistake or that you accidentally have a mental error and leave your gun somewhere the kids could get it. It's a game of risk - what is the risk my kids accidentally find my loaded gun and shoot themselves versus the risk of running into a bad guy with enough time to get my gun out but not enough time to get it out and rack the slide?

If I didn't have young kids, I might feel differently. But my main concern is leaving the gun somewhere and them getting it and something bad happening. Neither of them could ever rack the slide, so it's zero risk if I carry without one in the chamber, which allows me to sleep just fine at night. I don't mind you guys carrying with one in the chamber. I don't see why it matters to you if I don't. I would not carry at all before I carried with one in the chamber. I think the risk of an unintended discharge is too high for me to deal with - I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to one of my kids because I made a mental error. I make a hundred mental errors every day - I'm not betting my kids life against making one more.

There are basically zero shootings in most of the places I go. When I get outside of Rockwall to go to Dallas, or certainly when I go to visit my grandmother in oak cliff or go on any vacation in places I'm not familiar, then I'm definitely carrying. Going to the local wal mart, nah. Nobody is coming in there to shoot me.

You're welcome to carry wherever you'd like. I'll carry where I like. Deal?

My kids are 10 and 12. In my line of work, my kids are fully aware of pistols/firearms and have been instructed thoroughly about firearm safety and the dangers of such. With proper teaching and taking them to the range to shoot, it helps educate them on the subject and shine light on their questions about guns. What scares the crap out of me is when my kids go into someone else's house that has firearms, and their kids bring out a pistol (and yes, this has happened!!!)

The subject was having a round in the chamber. If having a pistol available to kids or children, then a simple gun safe is called for. I'm speaking mainly of a carry gun on your person in a holster or pocket. Keeping a pistol for defense without a round in the chamber, even in a gun safe adds time to getting the gun into the fight. I don't know of any instructors that recommend not keeping a round in the chamber. What I'm saying is, that's definitely not the recommended method to quickly get a pistol into the fight.