Fifteen years of CCW, here’s what has worked for me

TL;DR: for appendix carry get a Glock 43 or a J frame, combine with a Phlster or the thinnest Kydex holster you can findI am pretty sure I have owned every major subcompact / CCW- freindly handgun at one time or another, ranging from .380 to .45, and I’ve been through enough holsters / carrying “systems” to bankrupt a small country. I was thinking I’d post my thoughts for others to benefit from (or not) with the caveat that this is all highly subjective and YMMV First off, I am 5’10” tall and about 190 pounds right now. My weight has ranged anywhere from 175 to 215 during this time. I would describe my build as “barrel shaped“ in the fine tradition of my Russian ancestors. I am in pretty good shape but tend to carry extra weight right around my middle like a belt. This makes it hard for me to carry at 4 o’clock because I’ve got love handles getting in the way no matter how good of shape I’m in, because until they stop making food and wine, I’m always going to have a little bit of fat back there. Thus I must carry appendix. some other things that are important to know before you read any further: first, I have to dress up a lot for work so I tend to wear suits / sport coats and my shirt is tucked in. Second, after reviewing a report somebody put together about the number of shots fired in the average defensive encounter, I don’t personally see the need to carry anything with more than six or seven rounds. Again, you may have a different opinion. finally, I decided that for me the best caliber is 9 mm / 38 special. .380 guns tended to be too small for my hand. I’ve carried all of these guns and I’ve decided that with autos, how thick the gun is is the most important consideration. I don’t feel the same way about revolvers which I will explain below. More recent carry weapons and my opinions are as follows: Kimber Micro: nice pistol but prone to jam at the range no matter what kind of ammo I said through it. Not confidence inspiringWalther PPK-S: also jammed too frequently for my tasteSIG P365: great carry gun except for one thing: there is a gap between the magazine and the grip that will pinch your hand when you fire the gun. The remedy is to put a rubber over grip on, but then that makes the grip too thick for my liking (even though it is just a fraction of a millimeter it makes a difference)Kahr P40: I had quality issues with my Kahr, and 40 is a snappy round to practice with in such a small packageKahr PM9: easier to practice with but I also had quality issues with this pistolSpringfield XD-S .45: nice gun but too thick for me to comfortably carry concealed / tuckedTaurus Slim 9: I actually loved this gun but they had a penchant for going off accidentally 🙄Springfield Hellcat: nice carry gun but mine had quality control issues Ruger LCP: too small for my handS&W bodyguard and Shield 9mm: I found the safeties on these really odd to actuate, again that just might have something to do with the size of my hand and the length of my fingers, your mileage may vary. I’m sure there are some forgotten, but these are the guns I’ve carried over the last five years or so. Now onto my two winners: S&W 642: even though the cylinder makes it thicker I have found this gun very comfortable to carry especially in a pocket holster. I think it has to do with the weight distribution, on a revolver, less of the weight is concentrated in the grip so it keeps it from splaying out awkwardly. this gun in a pocket holster is frequently my casual carry, I don’t wear super tight pants so it’s very concealable, it just looks like you have a wallet or phone in your pocket. It is obviously slow to draw but that’s the compromise. Glock G43 and G43x: I was not a huge fan of Glocks generally speaking, mostly just because I thought they were ugly as hell and I didn’t like their trigger. However, I finally came around and tried out both the G 43 and the G 43X. Ultimately I decided I didn’t need the extra bullets so I stuck with the regular 43. This gun, for whatever reason (again I think it has to do with the width and weight distribution) has been the easiest for me to carry. Also I think I could feed rounds made of tin and chewing gum through it and it would still go off, I have never had an issue with ammo and I feel like the reputation for reliability as well earned.As for holsters, like I said above I have literally tried everything and the conclusion I’ve come to is that you either want the thinnest possible Kydex holster or you want a Phlster. The Phlster takes a lot of dialing in, mine looks like it was cobbled together by a mental patient at this point. I used a yoga block to make a wedge and after much experimentation and some Velcro tape I managed to get that wedge in the right place. I also ended up going with a sport belt instead of a regular belt. Once I finally got it set up to my liking through trial and error there really is no better way for me to carry a concealed when I am dressed up for work. I can tuck my shirt in, go to meetings, do whatever I need to do and you cannot tell it is there. I actually used to carry my J frame in one of these until I got the Glock. When I just don’t want to mess with the Phlster, I use a Kydex holster with a “tuckable” belt clip. it’s quick to get on and off, doesn’t conceal as well, but again the main consideration is thickness. I also have one with a regular clip which is fine if I’m going to be walking around with my shirt untucked.I have never personally found that having a large leather pad or two clips instead of one makes much of a difference, and in my experience it’s usually detrimental. Like I said, I think you just want the most minimalist (but still safe) holster you can get your hands on if you are not willing to go with some sort of deep cover rig or a pocket holsterAnyway I hope this is helpful, if you have any questions let me know via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/IDVQMOG