[jtg452]

It depends on what I can wear to hide it and what I'm going to be doing when I get there. I carry as much gun as I can get away with.

This time of year- unless I know that I'm going to be crawling around on the floor or something at a service call- it's either a Rossi 720 (DAO 3" .44 special 5 shooter) or a Para P.13/45. If I know that I am going to be crawling around on the floor or under a counter, I carry a Beretta Tomcat.

Unless there's a reason not to, the Rossi or the Para is what's on my hip when I leave the house.

 

[olfarhors]

The issue that I find is that the gun has to come off the hip and into the coat pocket as trying to deploy it quickly from beneath 2 or 3 layers is almost impossible.

well WHEN you get down here you won't need to wear all that heavy stuff!

 

[olfarhors]

Been a while since I've posted here but since ~ October 1 I've been carrying my Sig P320 compact in 357 Sig. Still open carry.

whats with you and them weird calibers that you like so much???

 

[Czechbikr]

^^ Must be Georgy thang! I may resist that if/when I transplant.

 

[Old_Sp5]

^^ Must be Georgy thang! I may resist that if/when I transplant.

Come to SE Texas where is it currently 73 degrees !! It can be said there are two seasons in SE Texas...Summer and August !!

I have carried service size handguns for over 40 years. I've never understood how some say a 1911 five inch is difficult to carry in the Summer months of the southern portion of the country. These days I tend to grab the S&W M&P 2.0 9MM with a 3.6" barrel IWB in TT Gunleather. I change depending upon mood to Glock 22 and Glock 30.

 

[CJS3]

I've always been loath to carry an expensive SD pistol. If you have to use it, it just gets put in an evidence locker and you have to have another. I've mainly stuck with Taurus, Ruger, S&W Revolvers or MilSurp (Makarov & clones) pistols. The MilSurps got retired to the safe because some are no longer replaceable. 380, 9mm, 38, or 357. I have carried 45s, but not for a few years, and occasionally a 44 spl. I use pocket holsters, paddle holsters, shoulder holsters and IWB holsters. Shorts, long pants, T shirts, button down shirts, jackets, and even a suit once for a wedding in a seedy part of Houston. First time I'd worn it in years and it was seriously out of style.

Oh, and that should be Summer and January.

 

[texastaurusguy]

My PT145 has been relegated to range duty. My carry guns are, in the order of usage:

1. S&W Shield 9mm - by far the gun I carry the most, with two spare 8 round mags
2. Springfield XD Mod2 45acp - a close second, I carry with two spare 13 round mags (this gun was purchased to replace the PT145 for carry duty)
3. Citadel Officer 1911 45acp
4. Taurus 617 stainless 7 shot, carried with 3 spare 7-round speedloaders


About a year ago I made a resolution to not carry my Ruger LCP except in situations where the other guns could not be carried. There isn't really a situation like that, so I don't carry that gun much anymore.

 

[Ickthus]

The line share of my carry has been my 84bb Beretta. A great defensive carry for me.
14 rounds and my confidence of accuracy and function are as high as it gets. I can pocket carry it if i need too. but i have more than a few that can fill the carry needs. I use them like i use my shoes.
I have dress shoes, running shoes, shoes for yard work, hunting boots, boots for the motorcycle ...
I can wear any shoe but why wear dress shoes hunting? My 84bb is like my tennis shoes.
S&W snub, SP101 3", PT92, PX4 .40, GP100 4", Blackhawk 6 1/2"... hey, my S&W 40VE strike fire is my kayak fishing gun.
I can say I have more guns I can carry than shoes i can wear. Lucky me!

 

[olfarhors]

^^ Must be Georgy thang! I may resist that if/when I transplant.

yea but now lets be honest --Carrol County is NEARLY Alabama as well!!

 

[olfarhors]

Come to SE Texas where is it currently 73 degrees !! It can be said there are two seasons in SE Texas...Summer and August !!

I have carried service size handguns for over 40 years. I've never understood how some say a 1911 five inch is difficult to carry in the Summer months of the southern portion of the country. These days I tend to grab the S&W M&P 2.0 9MM with a 3.6" barrel IWB in TT Gunleather. I change dependijg upon mood to Glock 22 and Glock 30.

I can carry the Govt 1911 , but honestly I seldom carry any of my 1911.
when I do its just way to easy on the body and pants to carry my alloy framed officers model or one of my commander alloy framed 1911.
the 1911 do carry well being nice and flat, and if they are light thats even better.

 

[olfarhors]

I've always been loath to carry an expensive SD pistol. If you have to use it, it just gets put in an evidence locker and you have to have another. I've mainly stuck with Taurus, Ruger, S&W Revolvers or MilSurp (Makarov & clones) pistols. The MilSurps got retired to the safe because some are no longer replaceable. 380, 9mm, 38, or 357. I have carried 45s, but not for a few years, and occasionally a 44 spl. I use pocket holsters, paddle holsters, shoulder holsters and IWB holsters. Shorts, long pants, T shirts, button down shirts, jackets, and even a suit once for a wedding in a seedy part of Houston. First time I'd worn it in years and it was seriously out of style.

Oh, and that should be Summer and January.

HMM?
different trains of thought I guess?
see IF I must use my firearm to protect myself then I had MUCH rather have one that I am totally confident on it performing than to rely on something that I think is less reliable.
so to me its an expendable purchase if it should be called on to do its job.
Kind of like buying a cheap none reliable parachute to jump out of a airplane with to me.
see i haven't yet put an exact VALUE on my life.

 

[mark7mod0]

Although I have been carrying my Springfield XDe a little more, my favorite is still my Glock 43x.

 

[CJS3]

HMM?
different trains of thought I guess?
see IF I must use my firearm to protect myself then I had MUCH rather have one that I am totally confident on it performing than to rely on something that I think is less reliable.
so to me its an expendable purchase if it should be called on to do its job.
Kind of like buying a cheap none reliable parachute to jump out of a airplane with to me.
see i haven't yet put an exact VALUE on my life.

You missed the point. As if the cost of something has anything to do with reliability. There are plenty of reviews on line, and on this website saying that HiPoint goes bang every time you pull the trigger. If that's true, I'd classify that as reliability. I have total confidence with my SD firearms because I'm intimately familiar with them, and I didn't have to take out a second mortgage to get them.

 

[edmaine3]

P365 w/ 10rd flush mag in a Sig OWB holster and one extra 12rd mag. Also, have used the DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster. Before the P365, a Taurus 605 with one or two speed-loaders or one or two speed strips or combination.

 

[olfarhors]

You missed the point. As if the cost of something has anything to do with reliability. There are plenty of reviews on line, and on this website saying that HiPoint goes bang every time you pull the trigger. If that's true, I'd classify that as reliability. I have total confidence with my SD firearms because I'm intimately familiar with them, and I didn't have to take out a second mortgage to get them.

ahh yea but i think you missed MY point-- I trust what I carry as well, and IF it cost a few bucks or even a few hundred more and makes me confident and warm and fuzzy then thats my choice.
the weapons that I carry are because I have thousand(s) of rounds through them with various projectiles and they work, the ones that i choose not to carry do not, have not performed.
For me to put a few bucks into not being comfortable with an instrument that may be called on to save my life is ridiculous to me personally, but we all have our opinions and thought.

 

[Dave]

After working in Gun shops for years, I’ve been able to try a lot of guns. I could have and carry anything I want. Snubs the size of J-Frames have always been my favorite. I have a 617 Taurus I carry once in a while but, the J-Frames are the most carried and shot. I always have Two on me.

 

[pegasus]

I think any gun that is carried or likely to be used for self defense, even home defense firearms, should be vetted for reliability, even if it's an expensive brand with a good overall reputation for reliability. One of the most expensive guns I ever bought for security and LE use was a Glock 17, and it had multiple factory defects and was very unreliable. After multiple trips to CS it was made reliable eventually but I never did trust it after that. Had I not vetted it first and simply relied on Glock's reputation and other peoples experiences it could've let me down in a defensive shooting. I test fired a couple of handguns even more expensive than the Glock and they were also unreliable. OTOH one of the most reliable handguns I've ever owned cost $35 and $50, and the PT111-G2 which I got NIB unfired for a little over a hundred. The Taurus has had thousands of rounds of all kinds of 9X19 through it, from 50 to 147 grains. The original owner paid $179 + 30 for transfer fee. That does NOT mean to imply that all cheap handguns are reliable and all expensive handguns are not, simply because of my personal experiences up 'till now. The old adage of "You get what you pay for" has not been my personal experience at all when it comes to guns.

 

[jtg452]

I think any gun that is carried or likely to be used for self defense, even home defense firearms, should be vetted for reliability, even if it's an expensive brand with a good overall reputation for reliability. One of the most expensive guns I ever bought for security and LE use was a Glock 17, and it had multiple factory defects and was very unreliable. After multiple trips to CS it was made reliable eventually but I never did trust it after that. Had I not vetted it first and simply relied on Glock's reputation and other peoples experiences it could've let me down in a defensive shooting. I test fired a couple of handguns even more expensive than the Glock and they were also unreliable. OTOH one of the most reliable handguns I've ever owned cost $35 and $50, and the PT111-G2 which I got NIB unfired for a little over a hundred. The Taurus has had thousands of rounds of all kinds of 9X19 through it, from 50 to 147 grains. The original owner paid $179 + 30 for transfer fee. That does NOT mean to imply that all cheap handguns are reliable and all expensive handguns are not, simply because of my personal experiences up 'till now. The old adage of "You get what you pay for" has not been my personal experience at all when it comes to guns.

First gun that I ever saw that came from the factory with a defect was a Kimber 1911.

Grip safety didn't work when we function checked it- just out of habit- before putting it into the display case at the shop that I worked at.

Never had a problem with the cheap pistols we carried.

After that, I function check any gun I'm considering as a purchase. Places that won't allow me to do so just miss out on a sale.

 

[Smokewagon]

Back when this thread was started in late 2014, my answer was my PT145. Times change, and for the last several years my carry has been my S&W Shield 40.

 

[pegasus]

First gun that I ever saw that came from the factory with a defect was a Kimber 1911.

Grip safety didn't work when we function checked it- just out of habit- before putting it into the display case at the shop that I worked at.

Never had a problem with the cheap pistols we carried.

After that, I function check any gun I'm considering as a purchase. Places that won't allow me to do so just miss out on a sale.

How ironic. When I mentioned more expensive guns than the Glock that were also unreliable, Kimber was one of them. I didn't own the gun, someone else did, but I mentioned to him how sad it was that he paid all that money for a unreliable firearm when I had a $50 dollar gun that was 100% reliable. Actually it wasn't even 50 for me because it was a gift, but the gift giver paid 50 for it. It was a Chinese Tokarev. It wasn't pretty but it went bang every time you pulled the trigger, and highly accurate too, even with the bad fixed sights. It was even more accurate than the Kimber, if and when you could get the Kimber to function, although some of that might've been the caliber it fired. (7.62 X 25) If you put in the 9mm conversion kit (barrel and magazine) it was equally as reliable but did not shoot as accurately or to point of aim. (although the 9mm groupings were still acceptable for common defensive use if you used Kentucky windage and aimed higher) If I recall correctly the 9X19 group was 6-8 inches low at 25 yards in my hands as compared to the 7.62 right on the X at the same distance. This was two handed standing not sandbagged.