Gun purchases thread.

[Yournamehere]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Alright, fine, it's all about body size and your right, a good holster. Might I recommend Raven, or Bravo Concealment. For cheap, there's a newish company I got mine at "On Your 6 Design". For kinda more expensive HTC makes some pretty good holsters where you CAN fully IWB a full size gun.

I think for those fully committed, it's about how much you are willing to spend and what you are willing to wear. For IWB of a double stack gun, you might have to get a pants size 1 bigger to fit the gun inside your pants.

For concealment, it's about how the holster gun functions while being hidden. If it isn't hidden well, it's not really concealment. That's kind of the point of hiding your gun.

I've tried a Raven Phantom with IWB loops and don't like it overall, but I do use them for OWB holsters. I actually got a Phantom XC1 holster for my P229R and it's literally perfect in every way for OWB. They redesigned the sweat guard so it covers the slide and controls in their entirety, though I don't know if they've done this with their standard Phantoms. If they have, I might buy a new one for my P228.

I've been considering the HTC holsters for a while because they make a dedicated IWB for an XC1 equipped gun, their sweat guard is excellent from what I can see in their pictures, and they have a belt loop option instead of a plastic clip.

My current IWB is an RDR Holster which is phenomenal for the 35 bucks I paid for it, and it works just fine, but it has a plastic clip and a meh sweat guard, and I've been looking for something better to replace it.

Oh yeah, P229R with XC1:

[Excalibur]

Me personally, I've never been a fan of DA/SA guns. For beginners, I've always advocate a gun with 1 type of trigger pull, not 2. Be with DAO, SA or Striker fire.

[StanTheMan]

I've always personally liked calling ones like the SIG P228/P229 'intermediate' pistols as 'compact' just seems a bit misleading and exhaustive for me (anything not as big as a full-size is a compact? Bah, tell that to car companies). That said, I'm personally not into Glocks, not because I think they are bad (on the contrary) but because every one I've tried, NONE have felt good in my hand, just can't get confident with drawing and wielding them. Of course I have stubby fingers so any hi-cap is going to be a problem. As Excalibur said, physical attributes come into play for sure.

Some of the single-stack Glocks caught my eye but I still don't prefer that aesthetic or striker fire. I actually like the rebooted P225, but I do agree the overall size might be a tad large still, even if it is a bit flatter. I agree generally that an IWB and/or pocket gun is likely going to have to be something more on the smaller side. Not everyone can hide a larger gun so well, no matter how much they try.

I do think you make a fair point about not limiting yourself YNH and personally like your choice (beautiful SIGs by the way) but I think Excalibur said it mostly. It's all about what concessions you want to make where. And of course, mindset, your evaluation of things. Me, I'm not looking to be any hero, so I'm not looking for a larger piece with 15 rounds at the ready. I'm the guy that would happily carry a snub at this point. As I go forward that might change, but not the mindset I have right now nor going into the near future.

[Excalibur]

Carrying a gun for me and a lot of people is never about "being a hero" or being a cowboy. It's plain and simple. I carry because it is my right. To be able to defend myself. It doesn't matter what I carry because I have a right to choose.

I don't wake up in the morning, put my gun on and pray for a gun fight. It's just part of my everyday attire and has become second nature. Sometimes I forget I am even carrying a gun, but whenever I feel in danger, I know it is there ready to go.

[StanTheMan]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Carrying a gun for me and a lot of people is never about "being a hero" or being a cowboy. It's plain and simple. I carry because it is my right. To be able to defend myself. It doesn't matter what I carry because I have a right to choose.

I don't wake up in the morning, put my gun on and pray for a gun fight. It's just part of my everyday attire and has become second nature. Sometimes I forget I am even carrying a gun, but whenever I feel in danger, I know it is there ready to go.

No, I got ya. I would think all of us on here are like that, because we're not mall ninjas and armchair warriors - Which I have to say I've been around too many of those in the past and still see that type from time to time. Can't stand that shit. Anyway, not meaning anything by that statement, just that I like keeping things simple, and that weighs in to most things, this included. Here, as you said, just looking to defend myself should the need arise. That's it.

[StanTheMan]

Back to business then.. I like your recommendations and tips. I've checked your holster suggestions for the IWB stuff and they mostly look good - Admittedly I lean a bit toward to OWB, though. I often wear two shirts (undershirt and a button down short sleeve - Dickies work shirt or similar) so I think concealment on an OWB isn't too hard, while IWB I might have trouble with effectively deploying when the need arises. That and again, I might go for a not-so-small carry piece. Been looking/thinking about it a bit more seriously in recent months.

While I admire Yournamehere's method, I don't think I'd be able to pull it off. And people carrying full-sizes IWB? I've seen it done, but.. Bah.

[Excalibur]

OWB is the most comfortable because you don't change your pants size. You can OWB carry pretty much ANY handgun. Hell, if open carry wasn't so much of a social problem, I'd be cool with open carrying from a drop leg holster (the holster will still need to be a kydex type because I hate the old school pouch type with a belt strap.)

Concealing OWB depends largely on the holster, what kind of gun and your shirt. I said it before, I wear a button shit when I OWB my G19 and it hides pretty well and I have a large body. But a button shirt lacks variety in your everyday attire if you care about fashion. I kinda like to change my literal tone every time I go outside instead of the same types of shirts I rely on.


The popular holsters of the "tactical crowd" seemed to be :

Raven -
Bravo Concealment
High Threat Concealment

The store bought every man type:

Blackhawk Serpa - Had a Serpa for a while
Safariland - I really like it's GLS holster
Fobus

Com-tac seemed to be nice

With a bunch of minor ones like:

On Your Six Design (I mentioned this as my G43 holster)
Contact Concealment


Some guys want to carry ALL the spare mags with them. I'm just happy with 1 spare mag, a full size G17 mag with a +2 extension. I'm going to try out other brands like Taran Tactical but they are expensive at 30 bucks a baseplate.

I don't carry my gun with a weapon light attached. I prefer a hand light in my other pocket. Also holster choices and clothing are limited even more with a weapon light attached.