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The Quest to Find the Perfect Carry Gun: The Sheriffs Take

That about sums it up. This is part of the reason I eliminated a sub compact right away. They just do not feel right in my hand for starters, which is going to make drawing and getting on point weird for me, but also I do not want to give up barrel length. Fit is a big one for me. It has to feel good in the hand, it all starts there. Then barrel length.
 
….”it has to feel good in the hand“

Amen, brother…long guns and pistols are two different creatures. To be really, truly good with your very own pistol, its got to feel right.
Sure, you can train to anything. But when the chips are down, that pistol works best if it’s an extension of yourself. That’ll compliment your training more than anything.
 
One twist. The gun that is perfect for my hand and the one I shoot the best won't work very well for me when it comes to concealed carry because it is too thick - the Glock 30.

As a result, it has become a car gun and I am now back to carrying my .45 XDs after a brief detour with the Hellcat. I just couldn't give up the .45.
 
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Back when I shot in local competitions regularly I decided that I would try a Glock after years of 1911's and a grip reduced 2011 I custom fit to my liking.

The Glock felt bad in my hand, I never got comfortable with the grip. To my surprise my scores improved. The improvement was not much but it was measurable.

After two years I tired of competing with and carrying the Glock and went back to the 2011.

Nowadays, I don't compete and for carry it's a Hellcat. I'm still getting used to it.
 
Annihilator said:
Another fine read from the sheriff, the quest to find a carry gun. Good reading.

www.shootingillustrated.com

An Official Journal Of The NRA | The Quest to Find the Perfect Carry Gun

A friend of mine is on a quest to find the perfect—for him—carry gun.
www.shootingillustrated.com www.shootingillustrated.com
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Thanks for posting Anni,
Am not sure there's a perfect gun for everything out there, close, but not quite.
Usually look at intended purpose, function, materials used, fit, price and then looks.
When getting in the 8 range on them all in 1 - 10 scale, I get more serious. Most don't come close.
Hellcat for example, came close enough to 10 for small backup CC when found. It isn't an all purpose pistol and not intended to be. But, that's just me. Everyone can have different needs.
 
Oddly enough The handgun that shoots like Harry Potters wand felt to him, you know the world just lights up and angels sing, is an East German Makarov. I bought it on a lark after Y2k from one of those jokers who panicked and bought 10,000 rolls of Tp and a number of handguns and longarms, and boat loads of ammo. Afterwards he had buyer remorse and I got the Mak, and a Witness Cz75 clone in 45 acp along with all the ammo for $200. I even hardballed and got some tp, and buckets of freeze dried food for cheap too.

I never shot the Mak until the day when an opening suddenly happened in Michigan's CCP class and I took it with me to the class along with the handgun i was going to use. Tried it and ended up doing the shooting with it. It ran like crazy, ended up with the top score the first time I popped caps with it. The instructor was so impressed he went and orderd one the next day for himself after shooting mine.

I carried the Mak until last year when I finally found something close to it. Over those 20 years I probably bought or borrowed 20 different handguns and tried to replace the cheap "commie gun" but nothing shot like it in my hand and I always went back to it. I still keep it stashed in my GHB I carry everywhere.
 
Sld1959 said:
Oddly enough The handgun that shoots like Harry Potters wand felt to him, you know the world just lights up and angels sing, is an East German Makarov. I bought it on a lark after Y2k from one of those jokers who panicked and bought 10,000 rolls of Tp and a number of handguns and longarms, and boat loads of ammo. Afterwards he had buyer remorse and I got the Mak, and a Witness Cz75 clone in 45 acp along with all the ammo for $200. I even hardballed and got some tp, and buckets of freeze dried food for cheap too.

I never shot the Mak until the day when an opening suddenly happened in Michigan's CCP class and I took it with me to the class along with the handgun i was going to use. Tried it and ended up doing the shooting with it. It ran like crazy, ended up with the top score the first time I popped caps with it. The instructor was so impressed he went and orderd one the next day for himself after shooting mine.

I carried the Mak until last year when I finally found something close to it. Over those 20 years I probably bought or borrowed 20 different handguns and tried to replace the cheap "commie gun" but nothing shot like it in my hand and I always went back to it. I still keep it stashed in my GHB I carry everywhere.
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I have two. A Russian ( Soviet) and a Bulgarian. They are both great shooting pistols and nearly bulletproof. I think you could drag them through a swamp with the action open and they'd still fire without missing a beat. Very accurate.
 
the obsrver said:
That about sums it up. This is part of the reason I eliminated a sub compact right away. They just do not feel right in my hand for starters, which is going to make drawing and getting on point weird for me, but also I do not want to give up barrel length. Fit is a big one for me. It has to feel good in the hand, it all starts there. Then barrel length.
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I never thought about the subs either until a buddy of mine let me shoot his Shield. With the extended mag my .40 and .45 feel real good in my hand and shoot really well.

How they feel in your hand is almost the most important thing to me. Right behind consistency and reliability. When I went out to buy a Glock I came home with an XD Mod 2 4" .45 for this very reason. I'm glad I did, that gun is ridiculously accurate and easy to shoot. Part of me still wants a Glock, but they just feel stupid in my hand for some reason.
 
Have I stated this before? The perfect carry gun is the one you are most comfortable, confident and capable with, and, the one you have on you at the time the stuff hits the fan. That means many different sizes and styles for a multitude of folks. TRAIN! with whichever one that is. A .22 derringer in the hands of well accomplished person may trump the .45 in the hands of a perp that is not well versed in its use.

Mindset + training + awareness = the best shot........usually.

Conversely, the unarmed person in his gated, guarded, alarmed home could be more safe than the best armed and trained packer who is traversing/living/socializing in the high risk environs.

There is always more to the equation than brand, design, and hole size of the piece.

Finally, whether the weapon is a firearm, knife, bow, stick or stone, the users head/nerves/muscle memory/confidence are the trump cards to a win.
 
BobM said:
Thanks for posting Anni,
Am not sure there's a perfect gun for everything out there, close, but not quite.
Usually look at intended purpose, function, materials used, fit, price and then looks.
When getting in the 8 range on them all in 1 - 10 scale, I get more serious. Most don't come close.
Hellcat for example, came close enough to 10 for small backup CC when found. It isn't an all purpose pistol and not intended to be. But, that's just me. Everyone can have different needs.
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Yeah, I am more than capable with my wifes sub compact shield. She loves it and it is a fine fire arm. She has pretty small hands compared to mine, so when we went shopping for her I told her that she would just know when she held it and that is the one she chose. Like I said it is a good shooter, nothing wrong with it at all, except I do not "feel it" like she does when it is in hand. She picked it up and has not looked back once and is getting pretty good with it. Totally different story with the sub2k. It was for her, but no matter what I do to it, she just is not a big fan. I like the little thing and am pretty good with it. I have a couple more things to do to it, but I know it is going to end up as my gun. Heck it shocked me, but she likes shooting the saint edge 100 rimes better than the sub2k. Just goes to show that it is just like a pet, it is part you picking it and part it picking you.
 
the obsrver said:
Yeah, I am more than capable with my wifes sub compact shield. She loves it and it is a fine fire arm. She has pretty small hands compared to mine, so when we went shopping for her I told her that she would just know when she held it and that is the one she chose. Like I said it is a good shooter, nothing wrong with it at all, except I do not "feel it" like she does when it is in hand. She picked it up and has not looked back once and is getting pretty good with it. Totally different story with the sub2k. It was for her, but no matter what I do to it, she just is not a big fan. I like the little thing and am pretty good with it. I have a couple more things to do to it, but I know it is going to end up as my gun. Heck it shocked me, but she likes shooting the saint edge 100 rimes better than the sub2k. Just goes to show that it is just like a pet, it is part you picking it and part it picking you.
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Hah, yah, just like looking for a pup. They're all different. You know which one's right when you hold it. Gun's same way.
 
As a young civilian officer after 9 years military law enforcement experience where everything was issued, I was long on want for revolvers and short on money. I needed a duty gun quickly and borrowed a Model 19 for a bit, but ended up with a S&W Model 27, 5", which was my second choice but it was available in my budget. For more than a year I carried that big iron on and off duty until I could afford an off duty gun (which ended up being a Model 19 2.5 inch). Now I am 6'5" so I can hide a lot of gun, but I learned from that experience that you can carry a full sized pistol if you can stand the weight and are willing to dress around it. I also from time to time carried such things as 870 shotgun, Uzi, and MP5 concealed for special occasions. You would be amazed at what you can hide if you are willing to look fat. Bottom line on carry pistols, you gotta hit the target.
 
the obsrver said:
That about sums it up. This is part of the reason I eliminated a sub compact right away. They just do not feel right in my hand for starters, which is going to make drawing and getting on point weird for me, but also I do not want to give up barrel length. Fit is a big one for me. It has to feel good in the hand, it all starts there. Then barrel length.
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My feelings exactly. That's why I went back to a compact frame and grip from a a subcompact. One other change needed is an addition of a red dot. It's time to make the change.
 
BobM said:
Hah, yah, just like looking for a pup. They're all different. You know which one's right when you hold it. Gun's same way.
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Meet The One !

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