Concealed Handgun Selection

[txinvestigator]

1) The Para LDA of your choice. The ramped barrel and fully supported chamber make this one dead on reliable. The LDA trigger is the best around.

2nd best, next to a REAL 1911 :)

[Emmett]

Smith & Wesson M&P 9c. It conseals good and shoots great. In my opinion it is very reliable.

[frankie_the_yankee]

1) The Para LDA of your choice. The ramped barrel and fully supported chamber make this one dead on reliable. The LDA trigger is the best around.

2nd best, next to a REAL 1911 :)

I know where you're coming from.

With regard to the Para, I am thinking more along the lines of having the best "street trigger", if I may coin a phrase.

On a true 1911, you have to disengage the manual safety at some point of the confrontation before firing. And once you do, you then have to "manage" a 4 or 5 lb trigger with a very short stroke and let off. (My tuned Gold Cup breaks at around 3.5 lbs.)

This is great if you need to shoot someone holding a hostage in front of them, for instance, or for making any sort of precision shot. But it requires a fair amount of training and skill, IMO, to make sure that you don't make it go off when you might not want it to.

The long stroke of the LDA trigger, combined with the light let off weight, make it easier, for me at any rate, to manage under stress. It's a lot like a revolver with a very light trigger, even to the fact that you don't need to "manage" a manual safety if you don't want to.

So as a pure "shooter", I agree that the 1911 trigger is hard to beat. And for a highly trained and highly skilled person, I can see where they would prefer it on the street as well.

But I just think the LDA setup is best for me, and maybe for a lot of people who are less than highly trained or skilled.

[mr surveyor]

I carry depending on conditions:

Kimber Stainless Compact
Sig P239 .40
KelTec PF9
KelTec P3AT
Rossi J-Frame 38 (in the woods)
and sometimes nothing but a .22 revolver with snake shot in the woods

and as for ice cream, there aint nothing like good old home made peach and jalapeno vanilla

[Texasdoc]

Frankie, I went from a Glock to a Kimber 1911 and it only took me about a hour of drawing it to get use to the safety on it, and under stress if you practice with a 1911 you will have muscle memory and it will work every time. I am now a 1911 carrier and its just as easy to go back to a Glock or a LDA which I have had both but,I still like the Trigger on a 1911 over both .


IMHO a 1911 is the basic gun for Conceal carry.


Doc

[txinvestigator]

1) The Para LDA of your choice. The ramped barrel and fully supported chamber make this one dead on reliable. The LDA trigger is the best around.

2nd best, next to a REAL 1911 :)

I know where you're coming from.

With regard to the Para, I am thinking more along the lines of having the best "street trigger", if I may coin a phrase.

.

I was just messin with ya. Ice Cream baby!

[frankie_the_yankee]

Frankie, I went from a Glock to a Kimber 1911 and it only took me about a hour of drawing it to get use to the safety on it, and under stress if you practice with a 1911 you will have muscle memory and it will work every time.
Doc

It's the "under stress" part that is the ley element for me.

Haven't been there. Haven't done that. IDPA is fun, but I'm not worried about anyone shooting back at me. I can work a 1911 just fine under match conditions. But I don't think it's the same as having a violent BG in my face right up close.

That said, I'm confident and comfortable with the "keep it simple" revolver-like operation of a DAO type gun, and of those, the LDA has by far the sweetest trigger.

But don't get me wrong. I like 1911's too. If someone came through my front door right now, as I type this, they'd probably find themselves looking at the wrong end of an SXT currently chambered in my night-sighted Commander.

[Skiprr]

This is like asking what the best ice cream flavor is.

Stay with the brand names, try a few you like and pick what feels good to you and you can shoot well.

Ya know, the man is right. He absolutely is.

[txinvestigator]

Frankie, I went from a Glock to a Kimber 1911 and it only took me about a hour of drawing it to get use to the safety on it, and under stress if you practice with a 1911 you will have muscle memory and it will work every time.
Doc

It's the "under stress" part that is the ley element for me.

Haven't been there. Haven't done that. IDPA is fun, but I'm not worried about anyone shooting back at me. I can work a 1911 just fine under match conditions. But I don't think it's the same as having a violent BG in my face right up close.

Unless you are afraid you will "forget" to pull the trigger in such a scenario, why would a similar act with your thumb cause you any concern?

[frankie_the_yankee]

Unless you are afraid you will "forget" to pull the trigger in such a scenario, why would a similar act with your thumb cause you any concern?

I thinking more about after the safety is dropped. At that point, I have a very short stroke, very light trigger. It's conceivable to me that I could fire the gun unintentionally, at least in some scenarios.

Maybe I'm backing up to avoid an attempt at "grappling" or a step by the BG in that direction, or to improve my position when faced with multiple BG's. I could trip, stumble, accidently bump into someone who was with me, etc. Dozens of things.

Now someone could say that I dropped the safety too soon, and maybe I did. Who knows? That's what I meant by referring to people who are "highly trained" and/or "highly skilled", and not giving myself credit for being either one. With a DAO type of action, or a revolver, it's one less thing to think about.

On the street, there's no, "Shooter ready! Standby! Beeeeeeeeeeeep."

It's more like, "Draw, point gun, pull trigger (if/as needed).", all the time while under a huge amount of stress and adrenalin dump.

If I encountered situations like that every day I might have a different outlook. But as I stated, I've never been an LEO nor have I been in combat. So I don't automatically assume that I would fully keep my "cool" in a life-threatening situation.

It just makes me think that, "Keep it simple, stupid.", might come in handy at a moment like that as well.

At least for me.

[Luggo1]

Me: Either a Glock M30 or full size 1911
Wife: Glock M26

I have both a Milt Sparks Summer Special and a Texas Gun Leather IWB for the 1911. Both have worked fine for me. I have ordered a "Memphis" holster from Southern Holsters in Georgia for the G30, I expect to get it within a week. Otherwise I have carried the G30 owb in a Safariland retention holster. After going to classes with Tom Givens at Rangemaster in Memphis, I would have to say the G30 is my primary choice. His Tactical Pistol classes, there are 5 levels, are terrific.

[TX Rancher]

Frankie:

If your fingers on the trigger, it’s there because you are attempting to shoot the weapon. If that’s not your intent, then it should be indexed outside the trigger guard. That’s independent of single or double action.

The only pistol I’ve actually used in a gunfight was a 1911, and there was no problem with managing the safety, or having the weapon go bang only when I intended.

Having said that, I completely agree with your decision not to carry something you're not comfortable with...that shows maturity and I applaud it.

[txinvestigator]

Frankie:

If your fingers on the trigger, it’s there because you are attempting to shoot the weapon. If that’s not your intent, then it should be indexed outside the trigger guard. That’s independent of single or double action.

The only pistol I’ve actually used in a gunfight was a 1911, and there was no problem with managing the safety, or having the weapon go bang only when I intended.

Having said that, I completely agree with your decision not to carry something you're not comfortable with...that shows maturity and I applaud it.

I can't think of a thing to add to that!

[SkipB]

First I have to agree with KeithB on the Blue Bell. That man know's his ice cream. Secound I'll just tell you what I carry, a S&W 642.

[WildBill]

First I have to agree with KeithB on the Blue Bell. That man know's his ice cream. Secound I'll just tell you what I carry, a S&W 642.

You can tell who was raised in Texas. I agree the S&W 642 is a good choice. I don't have one, but would like to. Right now I carry a Sphinx 380-AT.