All posts tagged concealed carry gear

Streamlight flashlights and CCW

I am finding harder and harder to not justify carrying a flashlight all the time now.  I finally found a light that doesn’t take up much room and has been holding up to lots of dropping and fumbling.   And the best part about the flashlight I settled on is that I’ve had it for over 2 months and didn’t lose it.   I’ve been seeing NRA specials on flashlights that cost close to $200 and with my luck, I’d just loose one of these things in a movie theater or camping trip and wish I just brought my Every ready radio shack flashlight with it’s clumsy D batteries.

The Streamlight Professional Series tactical light has a whopping 180 lumens which has more blast than my Streamlight Scorpion LED and it’s a lot smaller.   I could have gone with the PT 1AA but I thought that would be too small.  There are key chain flashlights, but  I have used my cell phone as a flashlight in really dark situations and if I’m going to carry a flashlight to spot wild animals or ID threats, I want Streamlight flashlights with 125-180 lumens.   I also love the strobe feature because it really does give you a good option for drunks or assholes that you might run into.

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Are there bigger 9mm than the Beretta 92FS?

I’m trying to think here, but I can’t think of too many.   The Sig 226 is the closest firearm that I can think of.   There are always trade offs between firearms and if you want the power of a +P 9mm with 15rds,  you really can’t beat the Beretta 92FS.   The gun has a long enough history of being proven to be reliable, and in my many years of owning a shooting them, I have never had any problems with it.   Finding used 92FS magazines is easy and there will probable be as many of them laying around 20yrs from now as there are 1911 magazines.

I have a few family members that have served in the Military and each and every one of them has mentioned that the gun is so darn big.   If you are carrying a loaded M9 pistol, and you are 5’6″  I can understand the gun is probable big for you, but do you really want to do guard duty with a Walther PPK when guarding the entrance of a base?  Having a good gun holster like Blackhawk holsters or a Galco shoulder holster might help offset weight.  I have no idea why the US Military is still afraid of putting hollow point ammunition in sidearms, but the 9mm +P does not have a good reputation.   Private contractors are a different story and it seems that the 92FS still has a good reputation with them.

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Revolvers and magazine capacity

I guess I’m getting old when I have to refer to my  years of chatting on gun boards because they seem to be something from so far in the past now.  Blogging and tweeting and Facebook seem to have replaced the discussion forum format.  I have watched so many of my friends transition from full size autos to small Kahr semi-autos and the Ruger LCP.   The .380 is still revered as underpowered, but when most people think about the likely hood of dealing with a threat and how much firepower they will need and how much weight they want to tote around, people are going with smaller firearms.

I’m not in the camp that thinks that the smallest caliber gun is fine, but if that’s what you want to carry, I won’t condemn it, but you better train to be able to fight with it.   One discussion that still rings in my ears from the gun forum years was that the 1911 pistol was out dated because magazine capacity was only 7 or 8 rounds while most modern 9mm service guns held 13-19rds.  Wilson Combat magazines have made the firearm more reliable, but it’s still a very heavy gun. Magazine capacity was the big thing in the 1990s but not so much anymore.   Most Police now have quick access to an M4 and over loading a handgun seems to be a thing of the past.   Do people still look down a 5 shot revolver now that all of those .380 pistols only  hold 5 – 7 rounds?

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