Best .40 S&W to carry

[gguess66]

I am fairly new to the gun community and I am growing to like it. I just bought my first gun this past spring, a Mossberg 500 18.5 barrell. I am now looking for a gun that I can carry with a CHL. I have friends who are police men who suggest a glock 27, or 23. I have others tell me that Sig is the way to [abbreviated profanity deleted] a P226 or P229. The only hand gun I have shot is the Sig P229, and oh loved it. Please let me know, the new kid on the block, what is a good weapon to carry for purchase and what is to much to pay?

[garcia946]

I have both guns and love them both. My main carry is the glock 27 with the plus 2 extension but I really like my Sig P229
thinking about going to my Sig time to time. Granted the Glock in the lower in price gun to the Sig.So good luck in what you deciede in..

[gguess66]

I know that there are several P229's which one is the better one for a beginer like my self. I have seen the P229r and really liked the way it looked. Any suggestions?

[Carrots]

the "r" designation just indicates that the pistol has a light rail. I believe that the 229r is the standard 229 these days. Look over the models on the Sig website. I carry a H&K Usp Compact in 40.

[smasraum]

I'm still a newb too, to this gun thing. Based on the reading that I've done, and the gun "testing" (borrowed several and fired them back to back to back).

I tried a Sig in 9mm, a Glock in 9mm and a Springfield XD in 9mm (as well as a compact Kahr, a BHP, and a couple of others). I found that my groups were tighter with the Glock and XD than they were with the Sig. I doubt it was anything wrong with the gun. It's just a function of which guns works best with me (my ergonomics). I figure that a gun that I'm more accurate with initially, will probably be a good gun for me. I tried the XD and Glock back to back several times switching back and forth to see which felt better. In the end, they were VERY close, but I decided I liked the XD better. I have no idea why, it just felt better somehow (nothing that I could put my finger on). So I ended up getting a 9mm XDM (new and improved XD, basically).

I'd advise you to go out and shoot as many guns as you can, borrowing guns, renting guns, etc.... Decide which you prefer based on which feels best, shoots best, and has the best reputation. That's what I did.

[hheremtp]

I know that there are several P229's which one is the better one for a beginer like my self. I have seen the P229r and really liked the way it looked. Any suggestions?

I have the p229r, love it would highly recommend it.

[Purplehood]

Full-size, compact or semi-compact?

I really like my XD40 and my G27. My G22 pretty much stays in the safe or is used for target-shooting.

[gguess66]

Compact to maybe subcombact, not full size.

[Keith B]

First off, welcome to the forum.

I know you mentioned some specific models in your post, but asking this question on a CHL forum is going to get you about as many different opinions as asking someone what kind of car should you buy.

It really boils down to several factors just like buying a car: Your budget, your size (what fits you to carry and how you want to carry it), and what do you like to drive that looks and feels good to you.

There are many different models out there that are top notch carry weapons. Some with separate safety's and some with trigger safeties. There are Single Action and Double Action, polymer vs. steel vs. aluminum frames, etc, etc, etc.

My suggestion is to go to the gun store and cruise the lot to see what model looks good to you. Sit in it (try it in your hand) and see if it 'fits' and feels comfortable. Try the trigger, the safeties, etc and make sure you can reach them and they feel natural to operate. Then, if they have a range and will rent you one, try it out. If they don't have one, see if another range or forum member close to you will let you test drive theirs. Run 50 - 100 rounds through it and make sure it drives like you want. Once you feel good and comfortable with your selection, you will be a lot happier in the long run than just getting input on what other's have found is right for them.

[joe817]

totally. good post Keith!

[tesla]

I have a Glock 23 and a Kahr PM40 and I carry both of them regularly since they have different strengths and weaknesses.

I love the Glock 23... It is super easy to shoot, reliable, and has a good magazine capacity. I carry it IWB in a Comp-Tac Minotaur holster. Although I find this combination very comfortable, the weapon is a bit thick so I tend to carry it in casual clothes where it is easier to conceal. I also don't carry it at work since I am *really* uninterested in being "outed" there and want deeper concealment than an IWB holster can offer.

My deep concealment carry is the Kahr PM40. The Kahr works for me both as a pocket carry with a Disantis superfly holster or in a Smartcarry holster when I need the greatest concealment. To be honest, the Kahr is probably not an ideal weapon for a first pistol... Recoil on the Kahr is snappy, although I found it easily manageable with a little practice. The recoil spring is also quite stiff, and a shooter with weaker hands might find it difficult to rack the slide. These haven't been issues for me, though, and I really love this little gun. After about 200 rounds "break in" (which are recommended by the manufacturer, and I highly recommend you take their advice), mine has been completely reliable. Magazine capacity is low compared to the Glock, but I usually carry a second magazine since they are so small anyway. The Glock is easier to shoot and carries more rounds, but if I didn't have the Kahr there would be plenty of days when it just wouldn't be feasible or prudent for me to carry a weapon at all, and 5 rounds of .40 beats throwing paperweights at the bad guy any day of the week.

I tested the Glock 27 and the Springfield XD40 subcompact and enjoyed shooting them, but the Kahr is much thinner with its single stack magazine and thus is much easier for me to conceal on my frame.

Bottom line, the Kahr is practically invisible, doesn't require any special cover garments, and is ideal when I need the highest level of concealment. When I can wear better cover garments and am not as concerned about being potentially "outed", I prefer the G23 with its larger magazine and lower recoil.

[splitcheck]

Size matters as well as weight. You will definately notice every ounce you carry but don't sacrifice stopping power. I carry a Khar CW40 and love it. It's light, accuracte and most important of all, it's RELIABLE.

[A-R]

Keith's response above was superb. Great advice.

I've owned/carried a Glock 23 for 11 years now. Just recently did a bunch of updates to it - new springs, new night sights, new connector, etc. But none of this was NECESSARY. I could've kept right on shooting and carrying that same ol' Glock. All I do is shoot it, clean it, put 5 drops of oil on it, and carry it. You cannot go wrong with a Glock, unless it doesn't fit YOUR HANDS or doesn't feel right to you.

Sig? Same thing, from what I've heard. Never owned one. Fired a rented P239 once and was impressed (though still prefer Glock trigger).

Point is, you can't go wrong with either a Glock or a Sig. And your police friends know what they're talking about. These are two of the most prevalent "cop guns" in existence.

Just pick which one fits you best and go for it.

Also, like Tesla mentioned above, think seriously of having a smaller backup handgun too. Not necessarily that you will carry as a second gun/BUG (though, you certainly could and many do), but have a secondary smaller gun that you can carry when situation doesn't allow you to carry your larger main weapon. I've owned a Kahr PM40 too (basically had Tesla's same two-gun set up about two years ago). I had problems with mine and am thus not a fan (won't go into details, as they've been documented on this site before). But don't let that sway you. I know plenty of people who swear by their Kahrs. All I'll say is to consider a small 5-shot .38 or .357 revolver as a secondary gun - S&W, Taurus, Ruger are all good choices.

[gguess66]

I noticed that Glock has a 23c model would this be a better choice than the Glock 23? If I do decide to carry a secondary weapon would the Glock 27 sub compact be a good choice better than a revolver? I also looked at a Sig 229 today with a light at the end of it, it had a optic and a strobe for $979.99 @ Cabela's and is a $1,000 to much to spend rather than the $500 on the glock and for a thousand I can buy the Glock 23c & 27?

[gguess66]

One other question I noticed that I had, I noticed that the Sig P229 you can convert to a .357sig cal with a barrell replacement. can you do that with the Glock 23c or the 27?