new gun

[mmarino]

hello guys and girls, i'm looking for a little bit of advice/direction on purchasing a new gun for EDC. currently i'm waiting and my permit should be here anyday now, but i run into the problem that of the ghuns i currently have they don't really facilitate carrying or i'm just not a fan of them. my beretta 92 is too big, chunky and akward to carry and the G19 is a great gun accurate and reliable but for no particular reason i just don't like it. so that has me on the hunt for a new gun looked at .380 and thought i wanted a S&W bodyguard 380 until i saw all the problems they have, and also i would like to stay on the 9mm or bigger, dont want to break the bank on a gun (although the little kimbers shoot great and feel great) so any advice, suggestions anything....

[monschman]

Thunderjohn has a great deal on a Kahr CW9 at the moment. Great little carry gun.
Alternatively, go someplace and rent different types and see what you like, both bills rent guns. Also if you want to meet some of us at the range, I am pretty sure none of us would bite (hard) if you asked to try before you buy.

[Snowgun]

I just got a walther pps and LOVE IT. I'm still playing with all the different ways I can carry it since it's so thin and light. Hell, if I grew my hair out it would probably fit in there as well.

Best of all I can frickin THREAD NEEDLES with it at the range!

[mmarino]

i have been trying out quite a few guns lately but everytime i think i decided i either find on forums people saying everything that is wrong with it or i'll shot something else that feels good too. that's why i'm trying to get ideas/advice on people that either has the gun or has shot the gun. so far my top ones (at the moment) are the S&W M&Pc and the srpingfield XDc just not sure between 9mm or 40. but i also like the looks and feel of the citadel 1911 3.5b but i've read from some people saying that they are not very reliable and that the finish is pretty cheap

[monschman]

The xdc and m&pc are both solid guns, I am a bigger fan of 9mm in subcompacts, easier to shoot and cheaper to practice with. I personally find them a little heavy for the size but thats just me and I hate the hangy pinky thing that they both force me into doing.

[Snowgun]

I am a bigger fan of 9mm in subcompacts, easier to shoot and cheaper to practice with.

+1

.40 is overrated. A quality 9mm defensive round put into the right place due to practice and ease of handling will have a negligent difference of effect compared to a .40.

[EJSG19]

i have been trying out quite a few guns lately but everytime i think i decided i either find on forums people saying everything that is wrong with it or i'll shot something else that feels good too. that's why i'm trying to get ideas/advice on people that either has the gun or has shot the gun. so far my top ones (at the moment) are the S&W M&Pc and the srpingfield XDc just not sure between 9mm or 40. but i also like the looks and feel of the citadel 1911 3.5b but i've read from some people saying that they are not very reliable and that the finish is pretty cheap

one thing about researching firearms via web forums. Eventually you'll find 500 people who love the gun, and you'll find 500 people that don't like the gun.

The key is, if you can't find a strong trend to lean either toward, or away from the current gun on your mind, just go with your gut. If you like it, thats all that matters. I've listened to people stand and tell me why my current carry gun isn't a good choice, and I really don't care what they think. You buy a gun, you test it for your own satisfaction, you end up liking it or not liking it. Worst case, you sell it and try something different. Best case, you like it, keep it, and buy another gun later anyway.

My two cents, for the quoted above: The XD line and the M&P line are both excellent pistols (excluding the possibility of getting a lemon, which can happen with any model or brand of firearm). The difference between shooting someone or something with a 9mm and a .40 is so small I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Personally I'd go 9mm out of the two. Easier to reload if you get into reloading some day, common consensus is that its recoil is more manageable, and I personally feel it can do anything that the .40 can. I wouldn't volunteer to catch either one...

Good luck, have fun shopping. Try before you buy if possible.

[mmarino]

.40 is overrated. A quality 9mm defensive round put into the right place due to practice and ease of handling will have a negligent difference of effect compared to a .40.

that's what i've been hearing i just dont own any .40s thats why i was looking at them the recoil is just a little bit snappier than the 9.
but at the end of the day i figure (i still cant really read ballistic charts) that a 9mm loaded with federal 115gr jhp +p+ would't really be that much different than a 40

[gyrfalcon]

...the G19 is a great gun accurate and reliable but for no particular reason i just don't like it...

Does it matter if you like it or not? Its not like you're going to be showing it off.

...so that has me on the hunt for a new gun looked at .380 ....so any advice, suggestions anything....

Ruger LCP or Kel-Tec P3AT if you're okay with the trigger pull.

[RobD]

...the G19 is a great gun accurate and reliable but for no particular reason i just don't like it...

Does it matter if you like it or not?

+1... Reliability, Accuracy, and "Carry-ability" (Something you will actually carry every day) are all you need in a carry gun. You will "like" it just fine when it puts a bullet where you need it, when you need it.

[mmarino]

the thing with the glock is not that i dont like the looks of it, its the grip of it that just doesnt feel right it feels odd in my hands

[recoilguy]

Thunderjohn has a great deal on a Kahr CW9 at the moment. Great little carry gun.
Alternatively, go someplace and rent different types and see what you like, both bills rent guns. Also if you want to meet some of us at the range, I am pretty sure none of us would bite (hard) if you asked to try before you buy.

The CW9 is a great gun! Hides very easy, is light weight, shoots holes right were you want holes to be, and is inexpensive for such a fine gun!. Kahr is a very repuitable manufacturer and the CW9 is a great gun! It is a sub that your pinky wont dangle on too. I carry one every day and have it on my hip in my office at my desk and no one is the wiser here. Look at it, Many holsters on the market to fit it and it just keeps shooting. It doesnt cause you pain to shoot like the inexpensive light weight 9's from Florida do. Quality is evident in the gun!

RCG

[rugersol]

i either find on forums people saying everything that is wrong with it or i'll shot something else that feels good too.

I don't know that that'll ever change.

Personally, I think it's very much like buying a car, to commute to work.

On one hand, you want something with good gas mileage. On the other, you're gonna be spending a fair amount of time settin' in it (depending how far away, you live), and it's always nice to be more comfertible. And maybe yer concerned how ya'd survive a crash with some teenager texting her BFF whilst takin' the family Suburban to the mall. And no matter what ya pick ... ya can always talk yerself into somethin' else ... often times, jest by takin' it for a test-drive.

Way I see it, a lotta the new .380's are very popular for two reasons ... 1. they're very comfertible to carry (as they're in your pocket, and don't otherwise look like you're smuggling a phone-book) ... 2. for their size/weight, they don't recoil as much as if they were 9mm, or more.

My own favorite ... the P238 ... is certainly "heavier" than most of the new .380's ... but at 15oz, it's 'bout the same as a "lightweight" J-frame ... just slimmer. With my pocket-holster, I don't think it prints any more than a lighter .380 ... and I certainly don't notice the few extra oz., throughout the day ... but when it comes to shooting it, there's nothing anywhere near as small/light, that I'm nearly as accurate with.

I sure as hell don't wanna be shootin' in some parking ramp (or at home, for that matter) and not be accurate. It's very easy to say, ya'll only ever use it at arm's length. And I'd expect that'd be most likely. But since they don't make a gun the size/weight of a P238 in 9mm, .40, or .45, none of that really matters.

[Snowgun]

the thing with the glock is not that i dont like the looks of it, its the grip of it that just doesnt feel right it feels odd in my hands

Don't worry, it's not you.....

[fatboy97]

XD9sc... great gun and with the two different size magazines it's VERY easy to shoot. If you must have the really easy compact carry gun put in the compact magazine, if you have to have long pinky grip than go with the extended magazine and carry the other as a secondary magazine.

And I also shoot both the Glock 19 and 26... I think all three of these guns are some of the best and most reliable carry guns, and I stake my life on them day after day.