Handgun and holster selection

[milboltnut]

I know this is an old topic but here it is anyway.:man_in_love:

I've been researching and pondering for about 3 months now, and bought a couple of review magazines. There's so may options it's driving me crazy.:hang3:

Anyway, The last mag I bought cost me 10 bucks, dang. It narrowed it down to compact for concealed. I think a inside waist band holster would be good for driving a car? Guess a shoulder holster would be better to drive with?


Back to handguns. It was Sig, HK... back and forth back and forth.....:hang3:

Ruger, smiths, GLOCKS...:man_in_love: I have a friend who swares by them. Oh and another friend who swares by HK and Sig. UGH.... Ok, so then I try to find something Not so pricey, right? HK forget it. SIG, forget it, and to top it off are too heavy and bulky to conceal carry right? Right. Same with the HK's.

So then I looked into a revolver. Smith, Taurus, Ruger, I was told by a gun shop around me that Taurus' quality control dropped off dramatically, not so much with the revolvers, and he doesn't carry them anymore.

Back and forth back and forth.... semi's revolvers, semi's revolvers....:hang3:

Glocks is the perfect chioce, but to me the triggers are too light. Maybe a up grade on a trigger spring is the ticket, who knows. A NY spring, is it that bad?


THEN I saw Stoeger... decent price but the decoker stays on safe...:neo: now what do I do? So close..... Then I'm thinking, why single action a threat? Leave it be.... so it sounds like it'll be a Stoeger Cougar. The gun shop I deal with has no problems with Stoeger. He said, "it's a Beretta"... Cool.

Thoughts?

 

[jtg452]

My suggestion is go shoot some stuff and figure out what you like and dislike. You have friends that swear by this kind of gun or that one. Talk them into showing you WHY they are so in love with brand X or brand Y. THEN, once you've figured out what does or doesn't work for you, start considering how to conceal it.

When you decide what you want to conceal carry, do NOT go cheap on the holster just to save a couple bucks. I don't see the logic of carrying a pistol worth several hundred dollars, or more, around the the cheapest thing you can find. Oh, and buy the matching belt, too. Those belts are designed to take the weight, the ones you pick up at Macy's are made to look pretty. A good belt can make concealed carry easier AND more comfortable. Come out of pocket for a decent rig and you will be thankful for it in the long run.

As for how to conceal it, we don't know what you are built like. If you are 5'8" and 120 pounds, I really don't think you will be able to hide an N Frame Smith and Wesson wheel gun in a horizontal shoulder rig. Then again, if you are 5'10" and a biscuit under 400, using a crossdraw is out of the question since you can't reach the other side of your body. If you have a 'dunlap' (as in your belly's 'dunlapped' over your belt), appendix carry is kinda out of the question, too.

All you are gonna get are half baked suggestions or regurgitated personal opinions. You need to find out what works for YOU. I ain't gonna be there toting the pistol if YOU need it, so what works for ME is a moot point.

 

[eaccents]

Personal choice

My suggestion is go shoot some stuff and figure out what you like and dislike. You have friends that swear by this kind of gun or that one. Talk them into showing you WHY they are so in love with brand X or brand Y. THEN, once you've figured out what does or doesn't work for you, start considering how to conceal it.

When you decide what you want to conceal carry, do NOT go cheap on the holster just to save a couple bucks. I don't see the logic of carrying a pistol worth several hundred dollars, or more, around the the cheapest thing you can find. Oh, and buy the matching belt, too. Those belts are designed to take the weight, the ones you pick up at Macy's are made to look pretty. A good belt can make concealed carry easier AND more comfortable. Come out of pocket for a decent rig and you will be thankful for it in the long run.

As for how to conceal it, we don't know what you are built like. If you are 5'8" and 120 pounds, I really don't think you will be able to hide an N Frame Smith and Wesson wheel gun in a horizontal shoulder rig. Then again, if you are 5'10" and a biscuit under 400, using a crossdraw is out of the question since you can't reach the other side of your body. If you have a 'dunlap' (as in your belly's 'dunlapped' over your belt), appendix carry is kinda out of the question, too.

All you are gonna get are half baked suggestions or regurgitated personal opinions. You need to find out what works for YOU. I ain't gonna be there toting the pistol if YOU need it, so what works for ME is a moot point.

I am in agreement with jtg452: you should go shoot the guns to see what you like, and to find out what attributes of each gun are appealing to you.

I researched my first gun to death, narrowed it down to 3 guns, and after shooting a bunch at the range I came home with a totally different gun. The ones that I picked in theory just didn't feel right for me. I find now that the guns I use the most are the guns that fit me the best.

Even if we know what height and weight you are, body dimensions are different for everyone. We ALL have a drawer full of holsters that we tried...to avoid expensive trial and error, I suggest that you get one of these $25 Sleeping Dog holsters from JBP Holsters / Holsterama Home Page: Link Removed and wear it in different positions, as well as IWB and OWB, to see where your gun conceals best (btw, this holster comes in two sizes, so pick the best one for the gun you choose).

Once you find out where and how best to conceal, then spend the money to get 1) a QUALITY GUN BELT, and 2) a holster specifically designed for the location that works for you (based on material, cant, and retention level).

If there were a gun that worked for everyone, we wouldn't have so many choices. Find the one that FEELS right for you--it will invariably be the one you carry/use the most.

Best of luck finding the best fit,

 

[milboltnut]

thank you for your input

Alot to think about. Price is a major factor because of me being on unemployment and that's not going to hinder me from CCW.

I looked into renting and they're crooks.
I tried to hook up with a so-called friend with Sigs and a HK.... no luck.

So I'm on my own....

I'm medium build, weight 195 pounds and am 5foot 11 inches. Winter time is a no brainer to conceal. But the summer time might be a little nore of a challange.

As far as inner waist bamd holster.. it looks like if you have a little more insulation, it would dig in as much, on the skinner side the outer holster? Does that make sense?

 

[jtg452]

Yeah, 'love handles' can cause the pistol to dig into you when carried IWB. Many designs, particularly the leather ones like the Don Hume PCCH and similar, have shields (an extension of the back piece of the holster) to keep sweat off the gun (causes rust) and to keep the gun from digging a divot in your side.

OWB carry is more comfortable but you have to worry about concealing the whole holster and gun instead of just the grip and frame basically from of the trigger guard back.

Considering your basic size, you should be able to hide a pretty wide array of hardware if you take the time to choose your cover garments wisely. As a basic rule of thumb based on what I've learned over the last 20 years of CC, thicker material is better than thinner, a loose fit is better than tight, dark colors are better than light colors and busy patterns are better than solid colors when dealing with cover garments. Combine all those attributes and any bulge ('concealed' means nobody but you knows it's there as far as I'm concerned) that may happen in the course of normal movement will be hidden as much as is possible.

 

[milboltnut]

Great advice.. will save it to my favorites... thank you!!!!