TexasCHLforum.com

donh wrote:My summertime carry is my little LCP in a right front pocket holster; here in the Metroplex it just gets too hot to deal with belt holsters and the problem of covering it up (IMO). The little gun has eaten everything I've fed it, and (with regular practice) it's not a problem to hit center of mass at 10ft. I keep it loaded w/ Gold Dots, and have found .380 target ammo here for about $23/50rnd-box. Whenever it's cool enough for a jacket, I carry my Kahr PM9 in a Mitch Rosen OWB, right kidney position, and much of the time don't notice it is there. Of course the Kahr is much easier to shoot accurately, much higher quality, etc., but I have tried to carry it in a Kydex pocket holster and it does seem to print pretty obviously (maybe I'm just a little too paranoid...).

Yeah, you might be paranoid. I carried a PM40 almost exclusively in right front pocket for two years just in a basic DeSantis Nemesis and never had an issue (at least not with printing, with FTF & FTE with the Kahr .... well, my opinions have been stated ad nauseum).

But LCP certainly is an easier pocket carry no doubt.

wgoforth wrote:

gigag04 wrote:I wouldn't carry a Kel Tec if you paid me.

Out of those I would go with a ruger.

Interesting...so if a BG was after you and you found a KT handy I assume you wouldn't use it? LOL.

A better question would be if he'd turn in his badge if his department issued Kel Tecs to all officers

Gigag is not the first LEO I've heard say this about a KT. Opinions of some LEOs I know is what swayed me away from a KT. Not that LEOs are all-knowing gun gurus, but they have a higher likelihood than I'll ever have of actually having to use a gun, even a backup gun. So I take their advice seriously.

wgoforth wrote:NOTE: Sig has had several problems with the 238. So while it can be a great gun, don't assume given the name and price it is going to be a magically great gun. Mouse guns simply cannot be great guns. They can be adequate but not great. You simply cannot overcome physics.

I thought my Colt Mustang was a great gun. Never had a single problem with it, though only owned it about a year or so. And know some others had problems with the Mustangs. Sig is a carbon copy of that gun, so I'd think it will be a very good gun once they work out the first-batch kinks.

If I carried a 1911-style as my main gun, I'd certainly carry a P238 as a backup.

wgoforth wrote:Austinrealtor;
You said keep gun dollars in America? The TCP is made in the USA in Miami. The only Taurus that currently is with plans for more. There is a size limit on what can be imported so they built the plant for it here.

Good point. I didn't realize that. Of course, Toyotas and Hondas are often made in the US too. But in all three cases, a big bunch of the money you spend ultimately goes outside our borders. Of course, I am the ultimate hypocrit as we have a Toyota truck and Honda minivan.

I was just bringing up the USA vs. them as a point to consider amongst the three guns.

I've only fired the LCP. Didn't even consider a gun like this until Ruger made one. No offense to Kel Tec owners, but every time I picked up a P3AT (before LCP came out) I grimaced. They just seem "cheap". But as most have said, that is mainly just fit and finish and plenty of folks carry them and swear by them. I know nothing of the TCP. Just saw my first one today at a gun show. Very similar size. But might as well keep your gun dollars in an American company like Ruger or Kel Tec, right? (this coming from a guy who owns 2 Austrian guns and a German gun )

Also, don't let size envy or caliber wars scare you off either. Not everyone can walk around all day in untucked shirts or wearing a suit coat and never taking it off. There are other ways to conceal a larger gun on your belt or in a shoulder holster, fanny pack, etc. But there will ALWAYS be a time when those methods just wont' work and being able to slip something into your pocket is better than nothing.

I would also advise you to look into a snub-nose revolver as a pocket-carry alternative. Taurus snubs can often be had in your price range and they have a good reputation. But that's a personal choice about what gun works for you.

And eventually you should get something larger to go with a pocket gun for times when you can carry something larger. But I see nothing wrong with a pocket gun as your first gun if that's what you can carry and what you can afford. A modern .380 pocket gun firing modern .380 ammo (Hornady Critical Defense is the answer to the FMJ vs. JHP question in my personal LCP) is a huge improvement over similar sized true pocket guns available just 10 or 15 years ago - mainly .22 or .25 semi-autos with a few .32s mixed in. The smallest .380 in those days was still the 75-year-old Walther PPK design, or maybe an AMT backup or Colt Mustang (all fairly similar in size). The P3AT, LCP, TCP, and a few others have brought the LARGER .380 round into a true pocket gun size once only availabe in much smaller, weaker loads.

And remember, in the very first James Bond movie "Dr. No" he is given the much "larger and more lethal" Walther PPK .380 to replace his Beretta .32 - so if a .380 is good enough for 007 ...

Would I take my LCP if I KNEW I was going into a gun fight? Of course not. I wouldn't take ANY pistol. I'd take a rifle or shotgun. And I only carry my LCP as a last resort if my dress does not allow for carrying any of my other guns. If I have to wear a tucked in shirt, no jacket, and no "fanny pack" or other such concealment device, I have two options:

a) carry a larger gun in a "tuckable" inside the waistband holster
b) carry a pocket gun

The pocket gun often wins out in these scenarios. The tuckable holster, while wonderful for carrying a larger gun all day with tucked shirts, takes a while to put on and is a pain to put back on in public if you have to disarm in a car for some reason (walking into a school, post office, whatever). Plus I can draw from my pocket MUCH faster than I can draw from a tucked holster. In fact, there are some tactical advantages to pocket carry. If you perceive a threat, but it's not yet "go time", you can just casually place your hand in your pocket and on the grip of your pocket gun, ready to draw if need be (can't do that with a belt holster, shoulder holster etc.)

Anyway, you've got some great advise and varied opinions here. Just didn't want you to totally dismiss pocket guns, believe me there is nothing "fake" about pocket guns. And anyone who says they are "fake" or "toys" should offer to be shot with one to prove how ineffectual they are.

drjoker wrote:The recoil is even greater than a 357 magnum!

As my grandpa used to say, this is BUNK! I had never shot an actual .357 Magnum load until last week (had shot a .357 gun, but was shooting .38s in it). There is NO COMPARISON. Even in a stainless steel revolver with 4-inch barrel that weighs more than two pounds empty, the recoil from a .357 Mag is SUBSTANTIALLY greater than that of a .380 in a pocket gun. Heck, just the shockwave from the muzzle blast of a .357 is probably greater than the recoil of a .380. I'd even venture to say the "felt recoil" of my S&W 686 is greater than the felt recoil of my Ruger LCP - though probably the worst felt-recoil of any gun I've ever shot is .38 +P in a S&W J-frame airweight.

Please don't be scared off a .380 pocket gun because of perceived recoil. Are they as fun to shoot as a 1911 or full-size Glock? Of course not. But they're not going to sprain your wrists.

drjoker wrote:My wrist hurt for a week after shooting just 20 rounds out of these guns. I cannot stand to shoot more than 20 rounds out of these guns.

Were you shooting Buffalo Bore +P+ loads?