Small Handguns?
 

Considering picking up a small hand gun.

Just thinking about calibers off the top of my head,

I had the thought, does anyone really ant to be shot by a .22 whether short or LR? I know this is probably not an ideal "stopper" but I would think you pull any pistol firing any bullets on a bad guy, esp one without a gun, he's going to be running the other way.

I'm not saying I want a .22 pistol, just running through some ideas in my head.

I'm open to small gun suggestions, I think ideally I'd want a 9mm, but that
Ruger LCP in .380 10oz
vs. LC9mm 17oz

I think it would be nice to have something small to carry, I'm kind of thinking smaller the better,

I'll probably do more plinking /target shooting than anything with it.

Maybe I need 2, why decide? haha.

Anyone have one of these small guns? curious if a super light .380 might kick more than a light 9mm?

I've read about light guns kicking, not that I enjoy shooting .44mag a lot, but I found it very manageable, so sometimes I wonder if worrying about small light guns kicking isn't really something to worry about? but I could see the point that they might not be enjoyable to shoot a lot of rounds through.

Thanks for any insight/suggestions.

Also laser vs no laser?
Do these guns with lasers slide into holsters well? they look like they would be awkward to fit, or do they have special holsters now for these style guns?

Can you get snakeloads for the .380?
I know you can for the 9mm.
Or do they make cups for the .380 and handload some snakeloads for the .380?

I have a S&W Shield 9MM, 19 oz empty. I carry regularly. IMO the key to a comfortable carry is the right holster & belt. The Shield has a very nice trigger, and good sites. Bullet availability is also good. I would buy that gun again if I had to do it over.

My wife has the S&W Bodyguard 380. Very easy to carry, fits in your front pocket,dont even know it there. That gun has a very long trigger pull but with practice you get used to it. Sites suck!! but are an easy fix with a little testors paint. I painted the rear white the front flo. orange. Worked out real nice.

Both guns have safeties, some people like that others don't. It don't really care one way or the other.

Handle as many as you can see what feels good in your hand!

As far as self protection I wouldn't carry anything less than a 380 load with some hydroshoks or golddots.

As far as recoil, both are very manageable.

Lasers I'm not a fan but that's just my opinion.

Had a glock 26, gave it to my wife. Too small. Now I carry a glock 19. Won't go smaller than 9mm. I'm 6'1 200lbs and apex carry in a raven vanguard II. I love this thing!

In my mind 9mm is as small of a caliber as I would go. I carry 16 rounds of 135r +p Hornady critical defense. I used to carry a Glock 30SF (.45acp) but I'm extremely fast with follow up shots in 9mm vs my .45 and it's a little more thin/easier to conceal.

I've got a nice little .380 Beretta that I really like. It fits my hand perfectly and with the little camo canvas holster for it I don't even know when I'm carrying. Ruger also has nice little 9mms and a .380s, but the 9mm my buddy has just doesn't feel right in my hand when I shot it last month at deer camp.

The 1911's they are making right now and they all can handle +P ammunition - Pick one .............Done !!!

For light clothes carry or concealablity is of the esence due to environment, a Ruger LCP with Horn. Critical Defense is a hard one to beat. In one of my training classes, the guys were giving me noise for the 380. I took his gallon of water and stepped off 7 steps and cracked it once. I got wet!! I told that I don't feel anyone is going to volunteer for several of these!!!! You can put it in your pocket w/o a holster and not be bulky or print. Lay it on the table and cover it with your hand. My wife loves to carry it and shoots it very well also. The laser sight is a plus for low light conditions as both a deterent alone or a sight acquisition point.

Personal pref. Bit I'm a fan of the small .380s

I found this to be an informative test on 380 bullets. IMO bullets matter more than headstamps, whether self defense or hunting: http://shootingthebull.net/blog/fina...cp-ammo-quest/

I have a couple of LCP's and LC9's. I end up carrying the LCP far more often than the LC9 - so much that the 9 is almost irrelevant. My wife and I both carry LCP's as our normal EDC pistols. My biggest complaint about the LC9 is that it has a manual safety - I filed the lever on mine down flush so it cannot be accidentally activated. Sights are better on the LC9, but adding white sight paint to the rear sight and orange sight paint to the front sight of the Gen 2 LCP has them about even. We have 3 LCP's, I haven't had any failures in a few thousand rounds out of all of them. I kept them wet at first to make sure they'd move freely, and they've all 3 ran like a top.

The Gen 2 LCP is the one to get, and you'll be sorely disappointed if you buy a Gen 1 then someday feel a Gen 2's trigger, or see the sights. I still carry my Gen 1, but only because I paid $230 for it so it didn't make sense to sell it rather than just outright buying another Gen 2. My Gen 2 is my EDC, my Gen 1 is my "jogging carry gun" since I sweat like he11.

As far as accuracy goes - the LCPs are accurate. They're a bit difficult to shoot, and a Hogue Hand-all grip wrap helps the LCP a lot ($7 part, goes on without tools). BUT, the LCP is accurate. The first day my wife got her LCP, I cleaned it in the truck as we drove out to check fence in one of my pastures. She broke it in by knots on small trees as we walked the fenceline - 2" or smaller diameter trees at 10yrds with a pocket pistol sure aint bad.

Sig Sauer P238 is another fine piece. I'm not a fan of manual safeties on my carry weapon, but the single action trigger is a great improvement over the DAO pocket pistols in its class. 1911 styling, straight shooting, reliable even when dry and dirty. A bit heavier so it feels much better behaved, and the stock grips feel much much better in hand than the LCP.

If you want a small handgun that has some power, forget about a .380 and look a a .40 cal. I carry most days a Kahr MK40 with a crimson trace laser sight. It is one of the 2 guns I qualify with each year for my national carry privileges.

I used to carry a small Beretta, but now I carry a Ruger LCP. The Beretta is a better shooter but it is heavier and was more noticeable in my front pocket. The tiny LCP is so small that I carry it everywhere that is legal to do so. I even carry the LCP as a backup whenever I carry a larger pistol. My wife does the same. Critical Defense is my ammo of choice.

The little 380 is certainly not in the class of a 45, 40, or 9mm, but as they say " the pistol you have on you is more effective than the pistol left behind in your glove box."

You will never win a target match shooting the little pistol but I can keep almost all of my holes in a paper plate at 25 feet during slow fire.

I live in Phoenix Arizona: lots of shorts and tee-shirt weather here which makes concealment a priority. I carry a Beretta .32 loaded with hollow points. For carrying in our warmer months I use a tool belt pouch as a holster. The pistol fits in it very well and the pouch does not raise eye-brows. I got it from Home Depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-4-i...0N13/204853191

The price looks right too !

And that as well. In the front pouch I keep an extra mag. I used to use a fanny pack but they just scream "gun!"

I used to carry a LCP religiously until we did a lot of expansion & penetration research testing in several different test medias. Now the .380 just don't make me confident it'll do the job as a primary carry gun. I only carry 1 gun & it has to be pretty small to be easily concealed year round. The gun I moved up to is the excellent Kahr CM-40. It's almost as small as a lot of .380s, even smaller than a few .380s,but delivers a LOT more powerful punch. While there's nothing wrong with a 9x19 I just prefer carrying the most powerful, most firepower for it's size cartridge/gun I can find within that size category. You might look at the Kahr CM-9, S&W Shield in 9mm, and a host of others around that size.

My everyday carry is a S&W Shield 9mm with 124gr gold dot hollow points. All I need. I have carried the Ruger LCP, 1911, glock 23, S&W airweight 38. For one I will never own another .40 unless it is a 10mm but the shield 9mm fits like a glove plus I never notice it is there.

When in casual attire out with the wife or wearing shorts I like to carry my Taurus 738 TCP in .380. I have it stoked with Hornady Critical Defense ammo. This little pistol fits into my front pants pocket with no noticeable "printing". When I do carry it in a holster with a shirt over it, it looks like nothing more than a cell phone on my belt. And accuracy out to 10 yards is more than acceptable.

I have several hand guns to chose from 357'mags 38 special and 22's. the one I have handiest is the 22LR cylinder equipped Ruger single six loaded with hollow points.
I sure would not want to be shot any place with a hollow point 22cal bullet and never in the knees.

:D Al

The knees?? Why would you try to hit someone in the knees in a self defense situation?

Great question. Sounds like a prison sentence. The only way I would even draw on someone is if I felt my life was in danger (they have a gun). Otherwise I'm confident I could get away. If not, I'm definitely not aiming for the knee.

Home defense is a bit different but I don't use a handgun for that and I'm still not aiming for the knee.

Thats a really neat idea!!! Thanks.

Every see how fast some one with bad knees are?

Practice practice and use a gun you can handle well.

:D Al