Pick my carry gun, Expat

The magwell forward edge doesn't have to be chopped off like on the 19x (has a more Gen5 like flared well) and it has front cooking serrations. That's pretty much it.

 

Just curious, but is “Pick my carry gun, Expat” code for something? I feel dumb, but with this forum you never know.

 

I'm looking to add an extra 9mm, and I figured Expat may have insight on how to do that.

Wait, that just makes it worse

 

James Bond packed a .Barretta 22 until MI6 forced him to go Walter PPK. Just sayn’

 

Glock 19 or FN509 in Winter
Glock 26 or SIG p385 in Summer
And stop this madness.

 

I was just joking around @ThreeRidges

It's interesting to see people's personal preference as they respond to this, but the majority seems to agree about sticking to a 9mm platform. I always preferred the .40, but I can see the benefit to having a larger capacity of 9mm.

 

That helps a lot, @Andy the Aussie

Around here, most of the gun shops are selling the .40 version of pistols far cheaper than their 9mm/.45acp counterpart. I was tempted to jump on a deal on a 27 because the one place has them for $380 NIB. No pun intended, but I'll probably bite the bullet and just get a 9mm anyway.

Although that same shop also has a used 36 for $399...

 

@Andy the Aussie not to keep bugging you specifically, but how do you feel about the concealability of the 19/23 size? I have no illusions that there's no way I can continue to appendix carry with a pistol that size.

 

I started competing in handgun matches in my teens and immediately fell in love with the .45 I've always felt that anything a small bullet could do a big bullet could do better. The capacity issue is legitimate in some circumstances but rarely as a civilian carrying concealed IMHO. Depending on the weather and clothing I am wearing for concealed carry I typically carry either a
Glock 36,
Glock 30s,
Sig P245
They are all great firearms and incredibly reliable. It's really not a matter of everyone else thinks or what the latest gun magazine fad is it's more about what you shoot well and what makes you the most comfortable when things go really bad

 

Agreed 100%. We make WAY too much of the details, when time and time again, studies of real-world incidents involving civilians reinforces that equipment choices, caliber (within reason), etc. are very rarely ever a deciding factor. Carry what you shoot most accurately and be able to put it where it needs to go, quickly and under duress, when the time comes.

Personally, I really like .40 S&W (when shot out of a proper platform). That said, I mostly shoot 9mm for practical reasons. But from a self defense perspective? I don't think the choice between those calibers truly makes a whiff of difference, or at least I've never heard of an incident where one or the other was in any way a deciding factor.

 

The agency I worked for issued me guns in .357 Mag, 9mm, 10mm, .40S&W and .45acp in the thirty years I was there. We had a few shootings but three Interstates run thru the county. Plenty of opportunities to put down injured deer. IMHO The 9mm and .40 were interchangeable except that the .40 is harder to shoot well and held less rounds. The .45acp worked marginally better and the 10mm (180gr bullet @1,200fps, not the FBI lite load) was the hammer of Thor.
For all intents and purposes the 9mm with good ammo works and most everyone can shoot it well. I think it transcends just carrying a couple more rounds due to shootabillity.

I don’t like the aesthetics of Glocks for a bunch of reasons that are only important in the space between my ears, but the Glock 19 is about the right size to carry 365 days a year, has a lot of aftermarket support and the silly things are just easy to shoot like you know what you’re doing.

 

I think the M&P Shield is a fine carry gun, and available in 9, 40, and 45. The Sig P365 is a fine choice, but I’d buy a new one and stay away from the earlier ones. The Glocks are great, but I’m just not a Glock guy. The VP9SK is another sweet option.

 

Cz p07.... carry a glock everyday for work, but carry the cz off duty shoots flatter and smoother that da/sa trigger is perfection

 

I had a state police pistol instructor tell me this with regards to choosing a carry weapon: "If you knew you were going to get into a firefight in your driveway when you walk out the door, what pistol would you pick up? Carry that one."

Personally I carry a gen 3 G19 whenever I can actually hide it and a G43 when I'm in too tight t-shirts or other hard to conceal in clothes.

 

So I took a little trip to the LGS today, trying to physically interact with some of the handguns I had been eyeing up, as well as some of the ones that yinz have recommended to me here. I narrowed it down to a 9mm before I left home, and knew it would probably be a single stack. Due to the fact that I've never personally owned a Glock, I definitely wanted to get the G43 in my hand as part of the line up. So after wasting about 2 hours of the clerks time just gabbing and seeing different guns, I ended up with... a Glock 36...

I got a really good deal on it, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted my new platform to be a caliber I've never owned. I stayed in the realm of the single stack, and within the dimensions I wanted (minus the weight, loaded). Ultimately I was weighing the option of having a 9mm with a capacity of 6 or 7 rounds +1, or a .45acp with the same capacity -1

I also feel like this pistol won't fall into my immediate 9mm comfort zone, which will force me to train more with it.

 

I think that's a great choice, I love mine. Accurate, compact and reliable. Several of my friends have bought their own after shooting mine.

 

That looks like a good sensible carry piece. I’m interested to see how it works out for you.