SayUncle shows his carry assortment. I have the requisite collection of holsters that never worked, but I only have two carry pieces. I tend to think everyone needs at least one “carry when you can’t really easily carry” option, and one “carry when you can actually conceal well” option. Beyond that I think it’s just getting too complicated, unless you get to the range enough with your carry rig to be proficient with all the options.
I have a Ke-Tec P3AT for very discrete carry, and a Glock 19 for when I can actually conceal. I sheepishly admit that I’ve never been big on carrying a spare magazine, so I actually have no holsters dedicated to that purpose.
What’s in your carry mix?
When I have to wear light clothing…. I usually carry my M41A1 Pulse Rifle. When I wear bulking clothing, that is when I carry “Old Painless” (my 7.62mm minu-gun). A good parka helps cover the backpack full of linked ammo.
Seriouly though, I have Glock G21 and a Blackhawk Serpa that I wear OWB. I don’t carry a second magazine. I don’t know what possible DGU scenario would call for more than 13 rounds of .45ACP.
P3AT for the “gun for when you can’t carry a gun”, gun.
I’ve also got a Para P12-45 that I rather like, but recently got a Glock 34 to test the IDPA/USPSA waters, and have been carrying that, and it probably won’t be long before I get a G19 for carry. (Assuming I stick with the plastic gun, or maybe I’ll sell off the G34 and stay with the P12/1911 pattern) The C-tac holster (tuckable IWB) I got for the G34 is remarkably comfortable, but it isn’t exactly small. (But I’m 6’4″, so it works)
You don’t carry a spare magazine because you need more bullets. You carry a spare magazine because that is a part that is both likely to break and is easy to replace in a hurry.
I carry the same thing every day regardless of season, environment, etc. A HK P30 LEM in a Dale Fricke JOAB AIWB holster, spare mag in a Dale Fricke JOAB horizontal mag carrier, a Ka-Bar TDI knife carried IWB behind my belt buckle, and a S&W 649 backup gun in a Galco ankle glove.
I’ve found tha AIWB carry at 1:00 makes concealing a mid size or full size handgun a lot easier than carrying at 4:00
My primary carry is a Kimber compact stainless II. Officers frame with a 4″ barrel in .45 acp. Carried IWB just behind my right hip in a Tucker or Crossbreed holster, tucked or untucked shirt. If I am driving my old convertible sports car, I use an OWB Crossbreed belt holster for my S&W 637, filled with Buffalo Bore +P 158 SWCHP, under a loose shirt. Both guns have Crimson Trace lasersights.
I carry two spare mags for the Kimber in a cut down soft eyeglass case in my back pocket, a speed strip for the .38.
Regardless of firearm, I always carry a swiss army knife, a Spyderco folding knife and a Streamlight 2 AA light.
Ruger LCP in pocket holster always
M&P full size 357 Sig in Crossbreed at 4:00 most of the time
Occasionally P7-PSP in Smart Carry instead of M&P(“Is that a banana in your pocket…?”)
Extra mag(s) for the biggest gun on me. The average gunfight is 3 seconds / 3 feet / 3 rounds. If we’re preparing for averages, don’t carry. Odds are something like 10,000 to one that the average American will be in a gunfight. However if you win the jackpot, it might not just be Saturday night pulltabs, it might be Powerball: Wisconsin State Fair flash mob, Mumbai, Katrina, Rodney King riots…
P3AT for pocket carry.
Sccy 9mm in a Bianchi IWB (soon to be an LC9) for when I need something smaller.
Otherwise, it’s a CZ P07 in a Crossbreed.
And always with a spare mag. Always.
Primary carry is a Springfield V-10 MicroCompact in a Don Hume IWB clip-on; when I can’t carry a pistol, I carry a Ruger LC9 in similar holster by somebody else. Back-up mags are in Don Hume clip-on carriers.
I like the clip-on option because it makes it easy to put the pisols and magazine carriers on and off without removing them from the holster first. Press-check before putting in, but then into the holster with the thumb-break for the 1911 and I’ve then got three safeties:
– The thumb-break strap between frame and hammer
– The grip safety
– The manual safety
And yet the drawstroke is relatively unimpaired by the break-thumb feature, and I end up drawing with my thumb in good position to take off the manual safety once I’m lined up on target.
I’ve managed to carry most days with my S&W1911Sc in a Galco Miami Classic II shoulder rig that has a double-mag carrier on the weak side.
If I suspect I’ll need to take my cover shirt off (like the office Flu Shot day) I’ll carry my Kahr PM45 in a pocket holster, and throw a spare mag into a shirt pocket.
Hot days when I’m shorts and T-shirt Its the PM45 and often no spare mag. Not ideal, but better than nothing.
There was a hilarious video floating around at one time that starts out as an apparently serious training video about the dangers of high school students carrying concealed weapons, as this clean-cut kid takes out a concealable handgun…and then it gets really bizarre as he starts pulling out long guns apparently from small of the back that could not possibly have been concealed in his pants.
G19 with a TLR-1 in a CTAC at night, G17 in a Blade-Tech Phantom during the day. I always have 2 spare mags in my pocket.
I switch between a Glock 19 and an H&K Compact .45 USP. The H&K is only slightly less compact than the Glock and I like it’s external safety.
http://pistol-training.com/archives/5586 – says it all.
Ole reliable is a Taurus 605 snubbie .357 in an IWB holster in front of my appendix
For urban expeditions, the choice is a Glock 22 IWB at 4:00.
Keltec P11 with 12+1 plus extra mag for times when I want to stay discreet or for drive time.
Ruger LCP for ultra discreet low threat areas.
Choice is good.
Colt Commander, strongside hip, in an ancient Bianchi #7, from when they made them in Commander length when clothing permits. Two spare mags. A Colt Cobra when it’s warm and a couple of Speed strips in the back pocket.