Gun for conceal / carry

I own Springfield XDM one in .40 caliber and on in 9mm. However i wouldnt recommend a ful frame pistol for concealed carry. There are alot of good subcompacts that will fit your needs perfectly but as far as brand thats a ford/chevy debate. i personally like springfield glock and sig sauer.

Our police don't carry guns , except in exceptional circumstances . I've lived in cities with serious gun crime in South Africa but never saw the point in carrying a gun . I also don't think this is the place to discuss it

If you didn't think this was the place to discuss your anti-gun opinions than you should have stayed out of the thread. The great thing about all of this is that no one forces YOU to carry a gun. It is a choice. More people carry than you realize. I know this because my husband is a gun dealer. And lives are saved all the time when non-criminals have a gun on them. My own husband had his gun in his pocket just to go check the mail last summer and a large dog came out of the woods and went for my husband at full force with teeth out. He saved himself by firing a couple of warning shots into the ground and his next shot was going to be for the dogs head (and he would not have missed) if the owner didn't drive up at that moment and yelled out. If he had not had that gun my husband would have been majorly injured.

Glock 19 is a good choice if you dont mind a 9mm. I'm assuming you're wanting to carry for self protection in which I've always felt safer with a larger caliber. I prefer .40 or .45 caliber's and used to own a Glock 38 .45 G.A.P. The new Gen 4's are very nice and would suggest a Glock 23 instead of the 19. Also, a 1911 is tried and true for over a century.

Something you can aim and shoot comfortably. (everybody seems to think that the bigger the caliber, the better the gun. Be honest with yourself. If you don't shoot a tight fast group with a .45, there is no shame in a 9mm. Get the RIGHT GUN FOR YOU)

I have a lot of ligament and joint damage in both hands from cage fighting... ok, softball, basketball... but still I have weakened hands unfortunately. So that is good to consider.

I did my CC training with my dad's S&W .38 Special from the 70's. It was a lot for me to handle after 40 rounds. My hand was worn out.

I have a S&W .38 Airweight revolver that I carry. It hurts the **** out of my hand to shoot it though. I do practice with it on occasion at the range so I stay proficient with it. I'm female so it's easier for me to conceal, smaller & lighter but I feel sure it will get the job done. I did get a laser for it as well, just to assist. I also have the Sig 9mm. Love love love that gun, but it is much heavier to carry. It's the one I shoot most when I go to the range but it's heavier and bulkier to carry. I'm an ED nurse and have seen quite a few people come in shot with .22. They usually come in a private vehicle with not a lot of damage. I love shooting a .22, but I don't trust them to STOP someone coming at me. That's why I chose the .38 ( plus it was recommended by PD). DH carries a .380, but it's a lot like the .38 - hurts to shoot d/t the light weight of the gun. Would recommend going to a range that rents guns to experience different ones (or if you are lucky and have a friend with a variety spring for ammo and talk them into taking you to a range).

just curious: Why would a person feel the need to carry a concealed weapon? It's such a foreign concept to me. I realize that people will probably be upset by my questioning it but I just do not get it.

Do you fear attack all the time?

In the space of 6 months I was almost kidnapped by 2 men (who later that same day DID kidnap another woman), my house and motorhome were broken into when I was home alone. I will not be a victim. It is not the police department's responsibility to assure I am safe every moment of every day. I am responsible for that.

Lots of great info here. We (wife and I) finally decided on a Judge for home protection. Personal defense rounds should clear the hall just fine without too much trouble. Haven't decided on cc weapon yet.

Come to Indiana. We offer lifetime license to carry concealed for about $100.00, we also have legalized open carry as long as you have the LTCH. No state run training required.

We have very little gun crime except in Indy, Ft. Wayne, Gary, and maybe Terre Haute and Evansville and about 95% of that is gang or drug related.

In Indiana it is legal to use deadly force to protect your property and life. Home invasions don't happen around here very often. possibly because the bad guys know they're likely to get shot.

If I only had one handgun, I would want a revolver. They don't jam, ever. My wife likes her hamerless 38 special Tauras. No pesky hammer to catch on things in your purse. When i carry, which isn't that often, it's a full frame 9mm Ruger P89.

This whole post is surreal! ... And scary! It's generally unheard of to carry a gun in Australia unless your a Police Officer or a criminal!!

I agree that it's scary. People's minds seem to go right to deadly force. It's such a foreign concept to me, and I am an American, born and raised.

Actually, both of you make excellent points.
"Unless you are a police oficer or a criminal".
This means that your averalge, law abaiding citizen is at the mercy of the gun carrying criminal UNLESS there happens to be a police officer standing right next to you.
Since that is usually not the case, I feel that I have the obligation to protect myself and my family against these gun toting criminals.
However, not worry ladies, IF I see a criminal attacking either one of you, I can assure you that I will do everything in MY power to stop the attack.
We will both give statements to the police once they arrive on scene.

Quick note on your decision to carry (true story this weekend).
As I mentioned, I carry buth a "mini" .22 revolver and a S&W full size 9MM.
Now, the semi automatic has kind of a heavy slide. I never have it much thought until Saturday night.
(Bear with me as this is long winded).
I brought my little Chevrolet to my shop to install a trailer hitch (to carry a bike rack = fitness related).
While I was waiting for the exhaust to cool down, I decided to go ahead and break down/clean the 9MM as it needed it.
So, I unloaded it and went ahead and broke it down, cleaned it, and put it back together.
I put the magazine back in however, I did NOT put one in the chamber yet.
So, I started to work on the car and, in the process, I dropped the stupid trailer hitch I was installing. It caught my left hand between the hitch and the car lift, basically crushing it. No broken bones but in instantly swelled up and made it VERY painful to move at all.
Anyway, I had to call a friend to help me complete the install.
Once it was done and I was ready to leave, I grabbed the pistol and tried to slide the chamber in order to have it ready to fire and, I could not grab it hard enough to load it.
Because of the damage to my hand, I was unable to load my semi automatic.
I tried to switch hands but I could not hold it with my left.

This is just one more thing to think about when making your decision I suppose.
Now, I spoke to my Dad about this last night and he had mentioned that the 1911 .45 does not have that problem. He was actually able to slide it back with two fingers AND with only using one hand. He would put his index finger BEHIND the trigger and then using his thumb and middle finger, he could work the slide.
Anway, when shopping for a semi, you might want to consider how "heavy" the action is and if you could load it with a damaged hand.

This whole post is surreal! ... And scary! It's generally unheard of to carry a gun in Australia unless your a Police Officer or a criminal!!

I agree that it's scary. People's minds seem to go right to deadly force. It's such a foreign concept to me, and I am an American, born and raised.

Actually, both of you make excellent points.
"Unless you are a police oficer or a criminal".
This means that your averalge, law abaiding citizen is at the mercy of the gun carrying criminal UNLESS there happens to be a police officer standing right next to you.
Since that is usually not the case, I feel that I have the obligation to protect myself and my family against these gun toting criminals.
However, not worry ladies, IF I see a criminal attacking either one of you, I can assure you that I will do everything in MY power to stop the attack.
We will both give statements to the police once they arrive on scene.

In uk police don't carry guns, its illegal and very difficult to get a gun. As a result firearm deaths per year averages about 40 as oppose to the U.S. which has more than 36000 firearm related deaths per year

Wow....
I don't know where you got your numbers but, in 2009, (the latest I was able to find), there were 138 firearm homicides in the UK.
While that is a low number I suppose it would suck if your family member was one of those 138.
Even worse if there was some way that YOU could have prevented it.
By the way, your homicide rate is still at 1.3% but, I guess good old stabbings and beating to death is the way to go.

This whole post is surreal! ... And scary! It's generally unheard of to carry a gun in Australia unless your a Police Officer or a criminal!!

I agree that it's scary. People's minds seem to go right to deadly force. It's such a foreign concept to me, and I am an American, born and raised.

Actually, both of you make excellent points.
"Unless you are a police oficer or a criminal".
This means that your averalge, law abaiding citizen is at the mercy of the gun carrying criminal UNLESS there happens to be a police officer standing right next to you.
Since that is usually not the case, I feel that I have the obligation to protect myself and my family against these gun toting criminals.
However, not worry ladies, IF I see a criminal attacking either one of you, I can assure you that I will do everything in MY power to stop the attack.
We will both give statements to the police once they arrive on scene.

In uk police don't carry guns, its illegal and very difficult to get a gun. As a result firearm deaths per year averages about 40 as oppose to the U.S. which has more than 36000 firearm related deaths per year

Wow....
I don't know where you got your numbers but, in 2009, (the latest I was able to find), there were 138 firearm homicides in the UK.
While that is a low number I suppose it would suck if your family member was one of those 138.
Even worse if there was some way that YOU could have prevented it.
By the way, your homicide rate is still at 1.3% but, I guess good old stabbings and beating to death is the way to go.

Figures quite a bit out for U.S. still a lot though . what staggers me is in 2005 there were 789 unintentional gun related deaths in the U.S.

41 homicides in 2009 in the u.k. - http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/england-and-wales
Figures taken from, - UNODC. 2011. ‘Homicide in 207 Countries - England and Wales.’ Global Study on Homicide 2011: Trends, Context, Data; Statistical Annex (with online datasets), pp. 103-125. Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 6 October.

Can we get this thread back on track? He was asking for information about which firearm he should choose to carry for CCW. I hate it when people hijack threads. He has already made the decision to obtain a CCW permit, as is his right in the USA. He was not asking for opinions on why he should carry. Don't make this into a political platform or give personal opinions on gun control.

If you want to discuss those things make a new forum topic.

It shouldn't be on a fitness website anyway

Sure it should.
Bullet holes are bad for your health.
Protecting your family is GOOD for your overall fitness.
But, if you don't want to read about Americans protecting themselfs from criminals, simply don't click on the link.

Can we get this thread back on track? He was asking for information about which firearm he should choose to carry for CCW. I hate it when people hijack threads. He has already made the decision to obtain a CCW permit, as is his right in the USA. He was not asking for opinions on why he should carry. Don't make this into a political platform or give personal opinions on gun control.

If you want to discuss those things make a new forum topic.

It shouldn't be on a fitness website anyway

Sure it should.
Bullet holes are bad for your health.
Protecting your family is GOOD for your overall fitness.
But, if you don't want to read about Americans protecting themselfs from criminals, simply don't click on the link.

But by carrying a gun you are 4-5 times more likely to get a hole in yourself possibly a few stray bullets for your family. I have reported this thread so hopefully a moderator will see fit to remove it.

Maybe YOU are more likely to get yourself shot however, I am considered "trained" in firearm useage.

And trying to get a thread locked because YOU don't agree with it?
Way to go sport.
It looks like living in a nanny state agrees with you.

I carry a Taurus model 605 .357 she is always with me and is a really nice shooting gun. With the shorter gun barrel it is easier to conceal. With a .357 I can target shoot .38 rounds out of her and carry with a stronger .357 round.

I prefer a revolver, because in a gunfight, I had an auto jam, and it's something a man never, ever forgets.
That's your life!
Give me a revolver and a pistol gripped shotgun for the car.
PERFECT!