Carry Piece

[ts0100]

I'm looking for a good carry piece. I was thinking along the lines of a ppk. any thoughts on favorites?

[plop]

YMMV.

[surbat6]

The PPK ought to work fine. It's a bit anemic in power (that's the opinion of more experienced gun-toters than yours truly), but compact and light.
IMO, the small, light, low-powered gun you're carrying is MUCH better in a self-defense situation than the big, heavy, powerful gun you left in your gun safe because it's too hard to conceal.

[rocky40]

I favor my Taurus pt 140 millinium. A little thicker than a ppk but at 24 oz. unloaded it is light and compact. A .45 compact would be a good option too. Nothing wrong witha ppk either.

[Boondock Saint]

well my everyday carry piece is my HK USP .40 Variant 4 (yes, i am left handed) and i love it so much. i have an uncle mikes holster that i put inside my pants on my left side and when i put the gun in you cant see it at all. the only thing that sticks out of the pants is the very bottom of the grip. seeing as how its not a small gun, i guess it just depends on how well you conceal it. mind you, i am 6'1 260lbs, so i dont have much NEED for a gun anyhow,as id rather fight with fists, but its better to have a gun and not need it than it is to need a gun and not have it. thats just my $2.50

Jason

[rocky40]

hey! Thats what else I carry. My first large caliber pistol was my HK USP in .40 s&w . Ansd I'm a lefty too! Found that summer carry the HK was just a bit big and haevy to carry for me. I'm only 5-10 165 lb. But man can I shoot with my HK. :D

[punchie]

One of the little Kel-Tecs in either 380 or 9 makes for a nice small, dependable, light and easily concealed carry piece. Absolutely horrendous trigger but pinpoint accuracy is not so important in a 'up close and personal' situation. Reliabilty, to me is much more important and I have seen just too many PPKs that were too finicky about what they ate. Another good choice may be the SIG 230/232 series.

[mbott]

Although my preference is for something just a bit larger, like my CZ P-01 or my CZ RAMI in .40, I've alway though that with the right ammo, the Makarov would make a nice carry gun.

--
Mike

[SCCogswell]

Criteria for a carry pistol:
1. Reliable. Nothing is perfect, but it should be as close as you can get
2. Something you shoot well. Only good hits count.
3. Chambered for .380ACP on up (although I carried a Kel-Tec P32 for a few years). They all work about the same, regardless of the hype.
4. Light weight (a good holster and belt help mitigate weight greatly, though)
5. Flat (probably the biggest pain -literally- in carry guns is bulk)
6. Short gripped (barrel length isn't that big an issue, but butt length IS).

Ideally, something like the now-discontinued Colt Lt. Commander: a Commander slide on an Lwt Officer's Model frame.

You don't need to carry a half-box of ammo in the gun unless you plan on missing a lot or engaging hordes of mutant zombie clowns. A single-stack mag is lighter, flatter, and holds all the ammo you're likely to need. If you feel under-armed without a box of ammo on you, spare mags on the off-side let you balance some of the total weight.

As far as the PPK goes, there are PPK-style pistols that are better and cost less, like the SIG P230/232. The Kel-Tec P3AT and P32 are perfect pocket pistols as backup or when you can't carry more, but they do take concentration to shoot well, and are more prone to operator-induced malfunction because of their very light weight. I don't like their P-11 because of the double-stack mag: too thick. Same goes for any of the double-stacks and blocky-slided things like Glock. The lightweight Kahrs are very nice, if a bit pricey. Bersa makes a sleeper .380: inexpensive, very reliable, fairly light. Could be smaller and maybe flatter, but they are easy to shoot well. Makarovs are a bit heavy, but cheap, point well, and are stone-reliable. The huge advantage of them is ammo: since only good hits count, and good hits only come from practice, you need to shoot a lot. 9mm Makarov is cheap enough that you can buy the pistol, a good holster and belt, a fistful of spare magazines, a nice set of hi-vis sights, and a case of ammo for what you'd pay just for the PPK/H&K/SIG/Colt/Kahr.

[txfyrguy]

Might want to look at the CZ 83, its a ppk style and my wife loves hers.

[nagalfar]

As far as the PPK goes, there are PPK-style pistols that are better and cost less, like the SIG P230/232. The Kel-Tec P3AT and P32 are perfect pocket pistols

SMOKE OR PASS..



Bersa makes a sleeper .380: inexpensive, very reliable

Ok you have had to much to smoke.. now pass

[BlenderWizard]

Originally posted by nagalfar@Oct 14 2004, 11:05 PM
As far as the PPK goes, there are PPK-style pistols that are better and cost less, like the SIG P230/232. The Kel-Tec P3AT and P32 are perfect pocket pistols

SMOKE OR PASS..



Bersa makes a sleeper .380: inexpensive, very reliable

Ok you have had to much to smoke.. now pass
WTF?

[Taquito971]

Originally posted by SCCogswell@Oct 14 2004, 02:16 PM
Bersa makes a sleeper .380: inexpensive, very reliable, fairly light. Could be smaller and maybe flatter, but they are easy to shoot well. Makarovs are a bit heavy, but cheap, point well, and are stone-reliable.
I've heard that from more than one source. Pick up the PPK and the Bersa. You'll discover the Bersa has softer corners, is lighter, and feels more refined. I'm serious. I never would have guessed but that's what I would go with. At the gun store at least pick it up. Hold it, rack the slide, and see what she feels like. You may like it.

Brian

[swill269]

:o
i would prefer a hammerless, snub nosed, 41 mag from S&W in stainless. i will settle for the 38 spl. w/+P right now. :lol:
:cool:

P.S i have autos (rugers and colts) in my vehicles, but i like to carry a hammerless big bore revolver. hope that's ok here. :(

[ts0100]

Wow,

Great responses. Thanks much, all you guys. For the sake of consolodating ammo, I am thinking .40 cal, because of my p229 SIG. What about a p239 SIG. I found someone that carries with that and loves it.

Anyone have any positive or negative on that one?

thanks all

[Bongos]

PPKs from my experience have to have a reliability job, 007 was lucky to have his gun feed in his adventures. I personally like the Kahr Series, preferably the Mk9 and K9. It compact and super reliable, not bulky like the Sig 239 and Glocks 26; and much smaller. :2guns:

[cabdmd]

I personally like the Kahr Series, preferably the Mk9 and K9. It compact and super reliable

My friend swears by the Kahr for these reasons.

I had a Glock 19 that I liked, but I replaced it with a Glock 30. My competition pistol is a .45 so I wanted that caliber. The Glock 36 is slimmer and lighter, but I am used to a double stack.

[cjgemm]

Kahr PM9 or PM40.

[Bullmoose]

PPK = heavy, bad trigger, 380 (you don't want a 32acp).
I don' t like heavy guns with bad triggers. An ER doc in SantaAna told me a few years back that the only advice he had concerning a carry gun = don't carry a 380. He saw up close and dirty what the bullet was capable of and it wasn't STOP. Newer bullets do work better, but why a heavy 380 when you can have a lighter Kahr PM9 or PM40 (could be rather brutal recoil, but who would notice when the SHTF. I know the KelTec 40s were discontinued because of too many recoil complaints and limp wristing feed failures. (Don't know why you wouldn't use a death grip on such a light gun in 40. I sold all of my Keltecs 32-9-40 when I got tired of reading about the malfunctions and multiple returns for sevice and lost my confidence in them about 4 years ago) I decided I would not carry anything but a Glock because I am sold on their reliability. But I now find myself putting on the PM9 more often as not. It is just so light and thin compared to a Glock 26 or 27. Seems to be as reliable. My PM9 wouldn't go into full battery consistantly when doing a mag change unless I was to slingshot the slide. I got in that habit so I have not ckecked it to see if several hundred rounds lossened it enough. But they are accurate, so much more than a stubby rev for me and again reliable.

PS: I can fairly well clean IDPA stages with my PM9, but it requires slowing down a little and getting real good sight pictures and trigger let offs.

[gossman]

At different times in my 15 years of having a Concealed Handgun License, I have carried at different times a 1911, a PT 145 Taurus, Sig 226, and a S&W 637. I like the firepower of the Sig, the slimness of the 1911, the 12 rounds of .45 in the Taurus, and lightness of the S&W J frame. I had a Colt Mustang, several .380's and other assorted pistols but the my favorite carry gun is the little S&W. With .38+p hollow points it is very accurate at 25 yards ( most verifiable self protection shootings happen within 19 feet, majority at 3 yards). It can be carried and concealed easily in the summer, lightweight, and since it is a revolver it is realiable. What ever you get, shoot it a bunch. Practice when you can. Being aware of your surroundings is the best defense. If you are prone to speeding tickets, then you are not aware of your surroundings. Be aware. Take a stress fire class. You will learn a lot in 8 hours and 300-500 rounds shot in a day. Good luck!

[BlenderWizard]

My wife and I were just looking at Kahrs... they're kinda pricey. We settled on a Springfield xd subcompact.

[sig357gunner]

Originally posted by ts0100@Oct 8 2004, 07:59 AM
I'm looking for a good carry piece. I was thinking along the lines of a ppk. any thoughts on favorites?
If that is the line of gun maybe you should look into the Sig232 in .380. DONT USE HOLLOWPOINTS in it use FMJ(not enough penetration). My .02 I personally carry the SIG-Pro2340 in .357 sig for my carry weapon. I am a bigger guy @5'11" and about 235lbs so I can conceal it a little bit better on my person. :cannon:

[2CoolChris]

Sig is a very nice gun. A bit pricey for me for a semi auto pistol. But a professional, dependable gun you can count on.

My dad got a 9mm Keltec SAO for concealed carry. You can send it to factory for trigger job. They also sell a 2.5lb trigger pull kit. Very nice.

I carried a Star Firestar 9mm stainless. Inexpensive with all the features of pricey counterparts. Even a few extras, love the feed ramp and ejection port. Never had a hang fire, jam, hiccup, nothing. I since sold it for 100 bucks more than I paid and kicking myself ever since. Gotta get another one.

But the Keltec is very very light, great on summer days with thin shorts and Hawiian shirts. Most guns will pull your shorts down.

Small frame Taurus and Baretta in 9mm is always a wise choice.
(I wouldn't fool with .380 in anything. Most .380 guns suck eggs and bark at the moon. Jam alot too. Go ahead and step it up a notch and get 9mm.)

Surprise of the day:
A Norinco (or similar) Tokarev. Used to be easy to find for 89 to 139 dollars. Orig chambered for 7.62x25, my old one was converted to 9mm. 8 rd mag. At first it jammed (slide closed on a spent case) After I shot it more, broke it in, it worked for years trouble free. Thousands of rounds later I sold it. I should have never done that. It is very flat, not too heavy and conceals easily. Believe it or not, that was a damn fine combat handgun. And given a choice, I'd take one Tokarev over three Makarovs.

I like the new Walther P99 lineup for pistols. Not PPK, these are new, and affordable too.
I'm thinking about this one for my next purchase...check it out.
http://remtek.com/arms/walther/model/p99/index.htm

(In the mean time I'll stick with my S&W 44 Mag 6"bbl Stainless Steel Hand Cannon)

[Long Ranger]

I kicked this round and round too. Picked a Colt 1911 full size Gunsite, and am very happy with it. Carried it around the house for two weeks in a leather IWB holster getting use to it. Now if feels like I've had it on my hip all my life.

I'm able to conceal this full size pistol very easily, not even my family knows when I'm packin. ;)

[swill269]

:o
need a little input;

i have the opportunity to get a "makrov" (spell ?) 9mmX18mm for less $50. it has had 50 rds put through it.

i do not know the first thing about these pistols, any dialog would help me decide.
thanx in advance,
:cool:

[darjeeling]

Makarov, yeah they are supposed to be pretty lovely pistols. Actually one of the few made soviet pistols which isn't a complete POS. The cartredge straddles the line between the .380 and 9mm Parabellum. Its also around as accurate as the PPK (very accurate), and uses a fairly similar OS. Well, its actually a Walther PP copy. I don't know if it'd need a reliability job for JHP's but my guess would be yes. But its a fine gun and I've only heard good about it.

[Tyr]

need a little input;

i have the opportunity to get a "makrov" (spell ?) 9mmX18mm for less $50. it has had 50 rds put through it.

i do not know the first thing about these pistols, any dialog would help me decide.
thanx in advance,



Mak's are great pistols very reliable and very close in power to the 9para. I have 3, 2 Russians and an East German, theyre quality and performance far exceeds theyre modest price.

Tyr.