All posts tagged pocket pistols

Still not in love with the LCP

I got to the NRA convention a few weeks ago and the LCP was all over the place.  I saw  holster makers show up that they made gun  holsters for the little .380 pistol, Crimson trace laser grips had a big section devoted to concealed carry, and numerous other companies devote products to the Ruger LCP in .380.   The .380 is  a ballistically inferior caliber, but the durability of small pocket firearms has dramatically improved and people are wanted to carry less of a gun for more comfort.

Unfortunately for the rest of us that have seen the wrong side of society, carrying a firearm with a caliber that is not adequate for hunting just about anything, the .380 should really be viewed as a purse gun.  I have a stock pile of Galco holsters in my  house because they are the best and easiest way to get a good IWB or OWB holster for CCW.   I have an ankle holster for all of my j-frame revolvers and IWB are the best method for CCW.  I still have a hard time taking a .380 with me knowing that the gun won’t kill the worst in society.

Top

NAA Guardian, pocket gun options

Many of my shooting buddies have been CCW for 1-2 decades longer than I have.    I have watched the evolution of weapons they have carried over the years and they have all ended up carrying guns and calibers that I would never have wanted to carry before.   In my opinion it was always about how much damage the bullet could do, followed by reliability, and finally durability.   I was always turned off by some of the pocket semi-autos that I cam across because the recoil tended to be pretty nasty.   I am not afraid of shooting 50 BMG rifles, but I don’t like shooting too much recoil in a handgun.   I know an individual that actually has developed nerve damage from shooting too many heavy handguns and if it hurts after I shoot it, I don’t want to carry it as a CCW gun.

My first adventure into CCW was with a friend that had 20yrs more experience than I did.   He showed me he had evolved to the NAA guardian .380 pistol and that in his opinion, it was the only gun he could carry at work with any level of comfort.  My only issue with some pocket guns is that they are so small that I can’t feel them, and I like to know I can feel the gun on me at all times.   The real issue I have noticed with NAA Guardians is that you have to really pay attention to the round counts you have put through your gun and how many you put through your NAA Guardian gun magazines and rotate out the springs before you have any issues.   The NAA Guardian is strictly a CCW gun and will handle some of the hotter loads for the .380 compared to some of the Kel-Tec counterparts.   I was fortunate enough to test out some of the Rohrbaugh R9 pistols next to the NAA Guardian and the only thing the R9 had over the NAA Guardian was the trigger pull.

Top

Don’t burry your weapons under clothing

I think there is a point that people really can get carried away with the CCW point of view.   There were a few wacky incidences that occured over the years where a gun owner got himself or herself into a gray area and really invited trouble.  The whole open carry debate can be a powder keg amonst many on our side of the aisle, but not invited problems is something we should be trained to think about.   Don’t put yourself in a situation where the method in which you are carrying is going to make you stand out.   For example, we have a lot of customers that carry full size autos that want to carry their firearms in jackets and they always want to know which vests or jacket it will work in.    If this is what you want to do, go ahead and do it, but if you are standing out on a football field at your kids football game and you are the only person wearing a jacket and it’s 70F out, you are going to be out of place, and may invite problems from a smart ass anti-gun person that knows you may be in a grey area by carrying a gun on school property.

I have stated several times that some of the toughest people I know don’t always carry firearms, and many of the best trained shooters are carrying j-frame revolvers.   This has slightly changed in the last few years since there are some reliable .380 pocket guns coming into the market.   I really don’t have much experience with these, but since many of them are new, it’s sometimes a good idea to just sit back and see how well the products hold up and what their reputations are.   There is not always a real need to get too exotic with gun holsters.   A good pocket carry gun could have 6 or 7 rounds of .380 or 9mm and depending on your body size, you may even be able to get a .40 S&W gun in there.  Pocket carry is probable one of the most comfortable ways to conceal a firearm and won’t restrict much of your movement.

Top
Page 1 of 1