First Carry Weapon - Ideas Please

[CLASS3NH]

Of course I would say shop around for a nice Colt Lightweight Commander as being dang near ideal for Every Day Carry.

QK's got a real good point...........A Lightweight Commader is a great idea.........plenty of stopping power, good quality gun if you trade up or down, and easy to hide..
<Pssssssssssttt QK?> I'm still not giving up my old 50s Commander with the ivory grips to anybody LOL.....

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[broknindarkagain]

I love 1911's...I've shot a few of them and they are very comfortable to hold/shoot. My only worry about them though is how the hammer sticks out...I would be worried about snagging it on clothing if I ever needed to pull it out.

Who carries a 1911? Do you have this problem or is it something I shouldn't worry about?


EDIT :

I was just at the local gun shop and a Bersa Thunder .380 caught my eye...I took a look at it and it seemed like a pretty comfortable weapon...it fit well in my hand. I wasn't too fond of it being a .380 but the guy working assured me that a .380 will be perfect for a CCW. I haven't shot one, so I don't know how it will shoot. Has anyone shot this pistol before? How is it?

[JTODD]

Check out hammerless or bobbed hammer snub-nosed, ultra-light revolvers by S&W and Taurus--pick your caliber. Some may quibble about the number of rounds vs. autoloaders, but you get mechanical reliability, reasonably easy concealment, and fairly easy shooters.

[kentuckycarry]

If possible , shoot what you can and try them out. I have the XD 40 SC and love every shot.......

[Ship A'Hoy]

I CCW my SIG P220 or a P239 in 40S&W. I'm looking at a smaller lighter gun myself for warm weather carry. Probably a Springfield compact XD. But I really like the Walther P99 Compact too.

[broknindarkagain]

Well, I've decided to go with the Bersa Thunder .380
I made this decision for several reasons

1. The Thunder is a pretty cheap pistol ($218 at the gun shop). It won't hurt my wallet as much as some of the others out there.

2. I have heard almost nothing but good stuff about this pistol. The few bad things I have heard have been from faulty parts that the mfg will replace free of charge.

3. The Thunder fits pretty good in my hand. I'm a small guy (6'1 135lbs) so I don't have very big hands...the Bersa fits perfect in my hands

4. All the controls are easily accessible with my right thumb. There is no need to finagle the pistol around to take off the safety or drop the clip.

6. I love the action on this gun. DO or SA is pretty smooth and feels just right.

7. The size makes its extremely easy to conceal. That was one of the biggest things I was worried about. Being the first time I have ever gone CCW, I don't want to have to worry about if someone can see it or not. I would much rather just strap it on and not worry about it.

[swiftyjuan]

You have received a lot of good, actually great, suggestions. I would throw in the Witness too. Not expensive, very reliable, accurate, ande not bad lookin' either! You can switch calibers on each frame, and it gives you several choices with one frame.

[MD45]

My first CCW was a Colt Defender 45acp- I really like it.

[fatboy97]

For your first carry weapon, I would suggest that you go as small as possible and yet have as much capacity as possible.

If I was to start from scratch I would start by looking at the SIG P239 in a 40 or 9mm. Next might be S&W M&P 40c or 9c, and then I would look at the Springfield XD 40sc and the 9sc. These are all excellent choices.

Final suggestion: Go to a range that rents and shoot a couple of your top choices and see which one feels the best for you - not me or anyone else - WHAT FEELS BEST FOR YOU!!!

[gopher]

wrap your had around a Bursa
comes in all the above Cals


I see you chose before I posted ... you will like it

[incredipete]

Even as a newbie, I have had no problem concealing a Beretta 96 FS - even when wearing business casual. Personally I'm in love with my G27 now, but if I were gonna go full size, I'd definitely recommend the Beretta line - very nice guns.