Favorite conceal carry choices

[Sytes]

Your likes/dislikes about your carry gun, accessories (grip/sights/holster/etc)? Likes/dislikes you have for other carry choices, etc.

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We've been in the market for a conceal carry the past month for my wife.
Thankfully, with friends - military, LEO's, and store owner gun nuts, it's helped narrow down the gun that works best for her. With those contacts we were able to somewhat overcome the current gun/ammo "crisis" for her testing.

I still carry a Gen 4 G27. I have far, far too much ammo in .40 to not carry such and well, I like it. Drawback? A bit thick. Original sights are generically good though I swapped to tritium at purchase and mainly use an earlier model Minotaur Comp-Tac IWB.

After this conceal carry adventure of the options for year 2020+... we really enjoyed our review of the choices and settled on Sig Sauer P365 SAS (not ported). We have a top firearm gunsmith friend who plans to sass it up a tad
In fact, After breaking down, handling, and shooting - it has me considering a change to the 9mm side and surprisingly, the same gun.

The sleek design is based on SAS, "Sig Anti Snag" features. In other words, no front / rear sights, etc. I found it a bit hindered w/o a practical thumb slide release, instead it leans towards racking the slide (Probably my main peeve). An old dog with typical sights, I probably had more challenge than my wife with quickly getting the "front" sight on the picture - even with this, I really liked how the sights work including our night shooting trials of the different firearms.

As with most quality conceal carry firearms, there's a plethora of YouTube videos and we ran our share of the various choices.

Sig Sauer P365 SAS info:

 

[VikingsGuy]

Great buy. I went through 7 or 8 different carry 9mms over 15 years or so trying to find the perfect one - none stood the test of time. And then I found the P365 (standard, not SAS). It is a wonderful gun. Great fit and feel, fair price, very accurate for its barrel length, somehow really drops perceived recoil (which with a 9mm doesn't start out as much to begin with), small on the belt but big in the hand (especially with the optional mag extender), more rounds per mag than its competition (although they are now catching up). Just all around a near-perfect firearm. I put it up with my p229s, my p210, my Tikkas, and my Bergara premiers for overall owner satisfaction. This one is a keeper for sure.

As for the SAS variant, I looked at both and wasn't a huge fan of the sights or the slide release. But if folks like those features, it's a great gun

 

[TOGIE]

G43

and

S&W .380 Body Guard for summer clothing and running in and out of the gas station

honestly nothing i dislike about the g43, could use more rounds in the mag off the shelf but you can fix that if you want. i kinda prefer the concealability factor over more rounds anyway. The problems with the .380 are obvious: too tiny for my hands and double action sucks, but it's a pocket gun so is to be expected.

i like never carry anymore though to be honest. at this point the g43 just lives on the nightstand (we don't have kids).

 

[338 win mag]

Carried a Glock 19 every day for 6-8 years. Hard to make a switch. Small enough to conceal but still large enough to shoot very accurately, 50, 75 yards and beyond. Way outside the realm of most deadly encounters

 

[pre6422hornet]

My conceal carry has been a G19 since 2003-2004. The only things that have changed is the holster (s). Show me a conceal carry holder and I bet they have a box of holsters laying around. Milt Sparks VM2 was the go to rig for many years, but then I tried a Crossbreed and never went back.

Every so often I will get the itch to carry the G30 and I do, in a Crossbreed as well.

Sorry... pretty boring I know. But it goes bang when needed, hits where I want it, and after all these years it literally feels like an extension of my hand.

Oh yeah I did change out the stock sights to Nite Sites. There.. not so boring.

 

[MTLabrador]

I have two guns, one for each of you.
Glock 43 and Glock 19. No complaints with either one. The 43 is my every day favorite, but that P365 looks like a great pistol too.

 

[NDGuy]

43X all the way. Shield Arms makes a 15 round flush mag for it too.

P365 and Hellcat are also fantastic choices. The latter getting a lot of buzz from guys I know.

 

[Trial153]

I have several handguns however my EDC is down to only two choices. They are dictated mostly by my clothing or the time of year...which dictates the nothing.
First is a Glock 43 when its shirt weather or my pants are tight...and my fall winter carry is FN FNS 9C

 

[Don Fischer]

I have not gone through a lot of gun's looking for the right gun but like what I have. I like the small size as it's a S&W Shield c9. Only carrys 8 rounds but I'm not planning on wiping out half a village with it With the extension on the 7rd magazine, the gun fit well in my hand, just like the 8 rd. It's short and light weight and I seldom notice it when I'm carrying which is all the time. Short enough that all I need to hide it in the holster on my belt is a a shirt with a tail on it, easy to hide. Has just enough weight to be comfortable to shoot with my own handloads. been wearing it to our Wed night card game here in town about ten years now and someone finally noticed it. And the biggest plus of all, I could afford it!

 

[deer_shooter]

My go to carry gun in any weather is a Walther PPK 380. Every once in a while, I'll carry a M&P 9mm or a 38 snub but the little Walther is the most comfortable.

 

[Jc2020]

I like my xds 45 it’s thin a fits my hand nice bu I have been thinking of switching to the hell cat

 

[turbobrick]

I've tried quite a few over the years. 1991a1 Officer .45, Glock 36, M&P Shield 9, P365 SAS. This was over a 16 year span with the G36 and Shield being carried the most by far. But, the P365 is my favorite, and I don't see any changes coming. Its the first that I've carried that doesn't feel top heavy, and the grip is a perfect fit for me. I'm not overly enamored with the SAS sights, and would just as soon carry the standard P365, if I hadn't found this one for a song. The ported barrel doesn't bother me at all, I see no reason to avoid it, but I did have a Glock 19C for a long time and absolutely loved shooting it.

 

[JLS]

G43 or G43X are both really hard to beat. The P365 is darned nice too.

 

[44hunter45]

What day is it?

The sleek design is based on SAS, "Sig Anti Snag" features. In other words, no front / rear sights, etc. I found it a bit hindered w/o a practical thumb slide release, instead it leans towards racking the slide (Probably my main peeve). An old dog with typical sights, I probably had more challenge than my wife with quickly getting the "front" sight on the picture - even with this, I really liked how the sights work including our night shooting trials of the different firearms.

I have big hands and I prefer double stack 1911's.

That said, even big hands can have trouble reaching a slide release with their thumb. I was discussing this with a ParaOrdnance rep years ago. He had me completely rethink thumb releasing the slide, especially during a tactical reload. The idea is to pull and drop the slide with your weak hand.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Well I like winter because I can get away with a commander size 1911. Also been known to carry a glock 19, 27 and a 43. Carried a PPK on my vest for quite a few years. But when it failed to feed during qualifications one year it got relegated to the safe. Colt Diamond Back has been my favorite revolver to carry but she’s been retired for years. I have at least two book boxes of old holsters.

 

[PNWGator]

Has your wife figured out a holster?

My wife has been through a bunch and currently has two preferred boosters. She carries the Fabriclip Wingman the VAST majority of the time. Works well with a woman’s wardrobe. Other holster is an Alessi Shoulder holster. The fabriclip has been her ‘go to’ holster since finding it. Not sure she would buy the shoulder rig if she’d have found the fabriclip first.

 

[WNC2500]

I switched from the Sig P938 to the Springfield Hellcat for my carry. For me, the feel is better, it fits my hands better, and of course has more capacity.
When it is winter time, my favorite carry weapon is my Ruger Alaskan in 44 mag.

 

[Sytes]

She carries the Fabriclip Wingman

So far she likes this for pocket carry and her purse slot. I'll mention the Fabriclip when she carries on her personal clothes.

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She has a specific slot/pocket for each purse and the sleeve minimizes other purse items interfering with trigger, etc.

 

[Wildabeest]

I had a P365 SAS and just never could get used to that sight. It was also too small for me to get comfortable with. I don’t really concealed carry much, so I sold it and plan to replace it with a full size M&P.

 

[Sytes]

That said, even big hands can have trouble reaching a slide release with their thumb.

This P365 SAS is designed w/o single hand thumb slide release. The intent is to streamline if from snagging. I would have thought some form of thumb tab could have been rounded to conform with the intent to not snag though they went with the basis, the person has to use other means to rack the slide.