Advice needed: Best guns for concealed carry and best ways to carry

Vanity

[Jean S]

As you may know, concealed carry is now legal in Wisconsin as of today, finally!

I found this article at Human Events: Top 10 Concealed Carry Guns

My husband and I have had some training with our revolvers, I have a 38 S+W and my husband has two .357s. We've had some professional training and some training from experienced friends on how to shoot, clean the guns, etc. but not enough to satisfy Wisconsin's new law. We'll be taking a state required 4 hour class next week - with 98 other people. I am not expecting much from the class, I except it will cover basic gun safety and the new laws more extensively than anything else.

I know these questions are a bit vague but I'm not sure exactly what questions I should ask!

Thanks for any advice.

[Uri’el-2012]

Make sure that in a pocket or purse
that the gun is in a holster.
it will keep it tangle free and keep
the barrel free of obstructions.

[Jean S]

I like the idea of a cc handbag. I remember seeing some in a magazine several years ago.

[Mr Rogers]

Clothing permitting, I prefer a 686+ w/ 3” barrel. I love shooting it, and am completely comfortable shooting it with 357 ammo. It doesn’t matter if one prints in Arizona, so I can get away with bigger.

Otherwise, my Model 60 LS works OK. I use 38+P ammo, but it just doesn’t point as well in my hand. I use it in a cross carry holster.

If I was a woman, I’d probably carry the 686 in a purse. As a guy, I haven’t found anything that doesn’t just scream, “He has a gun!”

I do not pocket carry without a holster.

[Smokin' Joe]

Go to a gun show where they let you handle the pistols. (Always ask first! It is good form.). Point the pistol at something fairly close, then check sight alignment on that object. When you point without aiming and the sights line up too, you have one that 'fits'.

That natural fit will make training with your firearm faster and easier, and you will be instinctively more accurate with that pistol than one with which you have to make a concious effort to get sight alignment.

[MHGinTN]

The article you linked lists the NA .22 magnum as #1. There is a 'folding grip' version which works well with a pocket holster so the shape of the gun is not 'painted'. I have one, carry it even if I have my 'belly bage' CZ82 on me, or my Glock 22 in the courier bag, and I find I can carry that little weapon loaded with five hollow-point rounds all year round without hesitation wearing any outfit except a bathing suit.

The other vital thing the article lists is proficiency. I used to carry a Phoenix Arms .22 semi-auto which held eleven rounds of hollow point ammo. I practiced with that weapon to the tune of thousands of rounds fired and automatic dealing with any glitch in firing (a glitch might happen once in fire or six hundred shots, usually due to dirty mechanism or a bad round from the magazine). The only reason I switch to the CZ82 is the size and impact of the rounds the gun fires. Tha CZ82 is a double action (just squeeze the trigger to fire the first round, then subsequent rounds are single action auto feed shots) single action semi-auto which holds twelve int he mag and one up the spout. It is extremely reliable, shoots the 9x18 round (equiv to a .38 special impact) and can be reloaded quickly with a magazine and provide an additional 12 rounds of fire.

No matter what you settle upon, practice shooting the ammo you will carry and practice often. Practice drawing and dry firing right out of the carry you end up relying upon. You can buy dummy rounds for such practice, to save the firing pin on your weapon, or use a spent round in the firing chamber for practice purposes.

[Big_Harry]

I ran across the inventor of the “Gun Tee” for concealed carry at a show in Charlotte a few years back. There are quite a few different ones on the market now, but the original is used by several of the under cover cops in Charlotte for their backup piece. The shirt does a nice job of hiding the carry under a regular shirt, especially if you have a sport coat on and open.

[c-b 1]

If your revolvers Have a 2" to 3" barrel that is the ideal carry gun. I carry a .357 with a 2 and a half inch barrel in my front pants pocket in a pocket holster. M wife carrys a .38 special in a pocket holster in her purse, I sould prefer she had it on her rather than in the purse but that's her choice.

We've both carried semi autos, but we always go back to keep it simple, a revolver doesn't jamb.

[Squantos]

Bump for later read....

[WOBBLY BOB]

.357 airweight hammerless.

strong hand side, front pocket, pocket holster.

[SJSAMPLE]

I’ve got the two Glocks (19 and 22) and I’ve got the smallest Kel-Tec, the P-32 in .32Auto.

The Glock 19 is great for hip carry, both IWB and OWB, but the smaller Kel-Tec P-32 (and the P-38 and P-3AT) are great for “deep carry”, when you don’t want anything visible, even if your shirt comes up/out. It won’t ‘print’ as much, either.

[Uri’el-2012]

A woman's resource is anything by Paxton Quigley

[Kolb]

Usually winter carry is a Glock 21 .45 and my backup/ summer carry is a Kahr MK40, .40 caliber stainless. The Kahr is super small and fits easily in a pocket holster or IWB holster. Can hardly tell it is there, the Glock not so much...

[Jean S]

I’d like to figure out how to carry without using a handbag also. My problem is I’m 5’6” and 125#. Not a lot of places to hide a gun on my person without an odd bulge showing. (I suppose I could pretend I was a guy.)

Maybe I’ll learn more from the class than I am expecting. 100 people in a class with two instructors. These are NRA certified instructors which makes me somewhat more comfortable about the class.

[gitmogrunt]

Glock 23 40mm. FBI’s standard issue for their agents.

[frog in a pot]

Bingo! IMO. your’s is the best summer carry advice.

Cargo shorts front pocket, doesn’t matter how large or small the carrier’s body frame. Although I have reservations about cutting the hammer. If mine was not hammerless, I would just use the hammer with the thumb over it as a means of orienting the weapon as it is withdrawn.

We no doubt agree that whatever is carried by a new user, withdrawal and firing should be well practised at the range.

(Your tagline is another bingo! Robert Duval had an instinct for selecting acting roles, perhaps not a perfect instinct but a great one.)

[Samogon]

My favorites are Sig P229 in 40S&W and RIA 1911 Officer clone. The Sig is bulkier, but has higher capacity (12+1) and built like a tank. RIA has crappy factory sights, otherwise well made, reliable and cheap; conceals well under light closing.

[EdReform]

See reply #37 posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2791001/posts?page=37#37

[07Jack]

The Bond Arms “Snake-Slayer”
Very well made Derringer style .410, definitely something a little different. Not as sexy as some of the other choices but an awesome little gun.

http://bondarms.com/bond-arms-guns/snake-slayer

[Uri’el-2012]

Small but deadly Kel-Tec P3AT .380

Carried daily in the hip pocket of my jeans
in unprintable pocket holster .

[Pollster1]

It's a tricky balance. You want something small enough that you are comfortable carrying it all the time but large enough of caliber that it has stopping power and long enough in the barrel for some accuracy (but not all that much range is needed for most concealed carry situations). It really depends on how much you mind the weight, the bulk, and the more or less permanent bruise you may get where that big heavy thing is carried, compared to how much risk you perceive.

The second worst concealed carry gun is the one with too little power or accuracy for an unexpected need (I like cute guns and light snubbies, but . . .). By far the worst is the one you don't carry because it's too heavy/bulky or not sufficiently concealable (The Barrett or the S&W 500 are nice for range and stopping power, but . . .). Listen to the excellent advice you get here and then make a decision using that guidance but based on your own situation and your build/health. [I'm intentionally omitting my personal favorites because what matters is how the factors match your needs more than the specifics of a firearm.]