good carry gun?

P

pjcs92

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
7
Likes
0
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
i am looing for a good carry gun ? any suggestions? i was told this is the place to ask,also what kind of price range am i looking at? i was hoping to stay around $300.is that wishful thinking?
 
You can get a Smith and wesson VE for cheap cheap money. Or some older ruger semi-auto's or sometimes a beretta 9000s if you can find it for under $350.
 
You can get a police S&W trade in for that money. Loads of 3913 and 6906 (9mm) are usually floating around in very good shape.
 
Any gun is a better carry gun than no gun. There are a lot of choices near the price you're thinking of, and your decision should be made on seceral factors:
caliber
concealability (for you)
comfortable carrying (again, for you)
ability to feel comfortable in shooting and handleing it
what other uses will you will have for it

The bottom line is that the best carry gun in the world is useless if you don't carry it because of discomfort or being uncomfortable with the gun for some reason.
 
Cross-X said:
Get yourself a gently used S&W snub revolver, and a matching DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster.
Click to expand...


+1.... IMO if one is on this kind of budget you can't really
beat a used snubby for the money.

-Mike
 
Cross-X said:
Get yourself a gently used S&W snub revolver, and a matching DeSantis Nemesis pocket holster.
Click to expand...

+2 A used S&W 642 will easily fall within your budget and the pocket holster is short money for it. It's a +p 38 Special, which to me is powerful enough to stop just about anybody aiming to do you harm.
 
Another Snubby owner (642) I love it - right in and around the budget you can't go wrong.
 
Borrow as many different firearms as you can and see how they work for you. The best carry gun is the one you will have with you all the time.

You have gotten good advice so far as far as a S&W snub nose but make sure you can hold it, point it, shoot it, and carry it or you will not be happy.

What works for me may not work for you. If you want to try some of my carry guns, my e mail is in my profile and I have access to a range on Cape Cod.
 
After you have yourself a snub, start saving your pennies for a Crimson Trace laser grip. Wonderful for ventilating bad guys during those nightime closeup lethal encounters.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
+2 A used S&W 642 will easily fall within your budget and the pocket holster is short money for it. It's a +p 38 Special, which to me is powerful enough to stop just about anybody aiming to do you harm.
Click to expand...

Can't agree more. I have a pile of "carry" guns, and the ONLY one that makes it out of the house is a 637 S&W Airweight in .38 Special +P.

Comfortable to carry, a fair amount of "oomph", very reasonably priced and the ammo is plentiful and fairly cheap to shoot.
 
Wonderful for ventilating bad guys during those nighttime closeup lethal encounters.
Click to expand...

Crimson Trace is useless unless combined with a lighting source to identify the target. Don't want to make a mistake and fire on a family member.

But back to the original question. The best carry gun is the one you can successfully hit your target with and comfortably and securely carry. The new line of j frames are great and easy to carry and conceal. However, without a lot of practice, they are difficult at best to score center mass hits with at anything other than short ranges. In many cases, this may satisfy your requirement for a carry handgun.
 
rscalzo said:
The new line of j frames are great and easy to carry and conceal. However, without a lot of practice, they are difficult at best to score center mass hits with at anything other than short ranges. In many cases, this may satisfy your requirement for a carry handgun.
Click to expand...
I'm going to respectfully disagree.

I am by no means a great pistol shooter, but at the distances where a non-leo civilian is going to be involved in a gunfight, hitting decisively with a snubby is not all that difficult. At 5 to 7 yards, I can empty my 637 into CoM as fast as I can pull the trigger.

Handgun skills are perishable, and it requires frequent practice to be effective with any handgun.

As an aside, the sight radius of a snub nose revolver (one big reason why they are harder to shoot) is just about the same as comparably compact semi autos.

And then there's the not so trivial fact that revolvers point more naturally, compared to semi autos, for most people (myself included). Being able to extend your arm as if pointing and having your handgun pointing at your assailant's chest is a decided advantage.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GBnKyCvJ3V1wx8LlZ5f7xgi5B4kwWMcu0300.jpg
 
Add one more for the S&W J-frame. Model 638 with the shrouded hammer.

Also add one more for plenty of range time with whatever you get, it doesn't take long to become familiar and comfortable with your carry gun. Familiarity and confidence in handling and shooting your gun allows you to focus more on whatever situation is necessitating its use.
 
Bump for the 642! :) It is very light and small.

I have a Walther PPK too, but I usually grab the 642 since it is much lighter.
 
S&W sigma series used for about $319.00 (i hate em) berreta 92fs about $400 Gun and Sport North in Lawrence has the best prices I've sen yet.

I am lookin for a glock 17, 19, 26 whenI get my LTC.
 
rscalzo said:
Crimson Trace is useless unless combined with a lighting source to identify the target. Don't want to make a mistake and fire on a family member.

But back to the original question. The best carry gun is the one you can successfully hit your target with and comfortably and securely carry. The new line of j frames are great and easy to carry and conceal. However, without a lot of practice, they are difficult at best to score center mass hits with at anything other than short ranges. In many cases, this may satisfy your requirement for a carry handgun.
Click to expand...

Jose said:
I'm going to respectfully disagree.

I am by no means a great pistol shooter, but at the distances where a non-leo civilian is going to be involved in a gunfight, hitting decisively with a snubby is not all that difficult. At 5 to 7 yards, I can empty my 637 into CoM as fast as I can pull the trigger.

Handgun skills are perishable, and it requires frequent practice to be effective with any handgun.

As an aside, the sight radius of a snub nose revolver (one big reason why they are harder to shoot) is just about the same as comparably compact semi autos.

And then there's the not so trivial fact that revolvers point more naturally, compared to semi autos, for most people (myself included). Being able to extend your arm as if pointing and having your handgun pointing at your assailant's chest is a decided advantage.
Click to expand...


I think the post and the reply missed each other: the comment was that hitting much of anything is difficult with a "J-frame," and I tend to agree. It has to do with the short trigger face-to-backstrap dimension and the usually less-than-ideal trigger let-off that is endemic to the small frame Smiths. However, "J-frame" and "snubby" are not synonymous; there are 2" barrelled Model 10s out there with which (with some practice) one can do most of what you could do with a 4" revolver.
 
Last edited:
I have a S&W 442 with Hogue Monogrips for concealed carry. Very easy to carry and the grips make shooting pretty comfortable. I also have a 3914 that I'm going to start carrying as soon as I get a good holster (Mike Holster) for it. That too has the Hogue Monogrip.

RGS suggested that you try out as many weapons as you can and that's a great suggestion. Something that is easy to conceal and that you are comfortable shooting will make a good combination.

Gary
 
I got a Walther P99 9mm that was the best fit for my hands and the most comfortable to hold. Nice trigger pull too. I compared it with a Sig Sauer, Para Ordnance, and I think S&W.

I think like any brand, Walther has it's detractors. Some say German made firearms are over engineered.

Still haven't had a chance to shoot it, my range is being renovated - I think it's supposed to reopen on Saturday though. Plus, I just got it yesterday and haven't finished reading the manual.

I got the 9mm due to the cost of ammo compared to .45 caliber. That was the only reason, The less expensive the ammo, the more practice I can get in.

Personally, I will always have a soft spot for the S&W model 10 I originally learned on. There's something about a revolver...
 
I have been looking for a decently priced Model 19 or 66 with a 2 1/2" barrel for some time but I think the ship has sailed on that. Everyone I've seen in decent shape have been in the 500 dollar plus range. Bigger than the j frame but still nice.
 
rscalzo said:
I have been looking for a decently priced Model 19 or 66 with a 2 1/2" barrel for some time but I think the ship has sailed on that. Everyone I've seen in decent shape have been in the 500 dollar plus range. Bigger than the j frame but still nice.
Click to expand...

I don't think adjustable sights are all that important in a short-barrelled revolver; S&W once had a production run of 3" round-butt Model 65's with Pachmayrs, which I think was a non-catalog item for the MSP (designed so that a single gun could be used for either uniformed or off-duty purposes). A number are floating around; I have one and agree with everything said in

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=98389

With either a pancake or Yankee slide holster, this is an eminently practical carry revolver.
 

Similar threads

Good guys?
Replies
4
Views
335
pastera
pastera
Maine Constitutional carry question
Replies
12
Views
479
Asaltweapon
Asaltweapon
Migrants can carry guns
Replies
23
Views
791
KBCraig
KBCraig
Carry in Post Office
2
Replies
58
Views
2K
StevieP
StevieP
Liberty Arms Pen Gun
Replies
8
Views
298
tuna
tuna
Back
Top Bottom