RedAllison

Theres only one revolver and one auto I recommend. But realistically you dont need both, I just like to have "one to many"!!!

My .38+P AirWeight hammerless S&W has served me flawlessly. I carry it full of MagSafe's. But since I got mine several years ago they have released the AirLite. Its several hundred $$$ more, but man its a only a few ounces in weight (Scandium and Titanium) and even handles THE ultimate defense round... the .357Mag!!!

Autowise, its DEFINITELY Kimber. You cant go wrong with anything with their name on it but I prefer an Ultra Carry II full of HydraShoks. A .45ACP is just like the above mentioned wheelgun, what they both lack in numbers they MORE than make up for in firepower and the hole they leave in their victims... opps I mean attackers is admirable.

Thirdly I would say ANYTHING with Glock is an outright quality piece. I like the lil 40 they build. The things are tough as anvils. I would equally consider one in .357Sig as well.

Good luck,
RA

jritswet

Whatever type and caliber you trust and can hit what you are shooting at is the best gun to carry. Everyone is different. I don't think a dead perpatrator has ever complained about what he was shot with.

CalHunter

On-duty, I carry a Glock 22 (fullsize 40 cal.) with night sights and a gunlight attached to the rails. Off-duty, I carry a Glock 23 (compact 40 cal.) in a gunbag. I've shot the compact glock out to 100 yards and can hit a mansize steel silhouette target pretty consistently at 50 yards. With the 40 caliber, you get almost all of the .45's terminal ballistics with almost all of the 9mm's ammo capacity (15 in fullsize mags and 13 in compact mags).

I used to carry a Sig for years (both 9mm & .45) and they are quality guns also. The Sig is probably the closest thing to a colt 1911 that I've shot. My dept started issuing the Glock and now I carry one off-duty since I've spent so much duty time building up muscle memory. After several thousand rounds, shooting it is 2nd nature.

driftrider

I had the opportunity to shoot a S&W AirLite in .357Mag, and after shooting it I wouldn't carry it for self defense. Yes it is VERY light and compact, which is a good and BAD thing for this gun. Shooting full house .357Mag's the recoil was BRUTAL. The grip is small and fairly solid, and the gun is so light that the full tilt 357's felt WORSE than my Super Redhawk with max loaded 300 grain XTP-Mag. So if you carry that baby for personal defense, you'd better hit the dude on the first shot, cause the recoil will make a quick follow up difficult at best, and forget rapid fire. With 38Spc it probably would be a lot better, but at the S&W sponsored shoot I went too they only had 357 ammo.

I'm moving to Colorado this summer, and when I get there I plan on buying 2 Springfield XD Compact 9mm's, one for me and one for my wife as carry guns. I don't have a CCW in Iowa because our silly "may issue" law gives my liberal sheriff final say over who can or cannot carry in this county.

Mike

USMC PMI

Agree with RedAllison 100%. Have several Kimbers and never had a problem. You can't go wrong with anything in .45, the only round developed specifically to stop a man. I have had excellent reliability with H&K and Glocks as well.

Night Hawk 223

i carry a beretta 96 40s&w ss i have shot a lot more than 500 rds without cleaning it and it has never ever malfunctioned on me. never had any problems with my ruger p90 45 ether. the only time i have had my browning hi power jam was with wolf ammo![:@] but every other ammo i have shot in it worked great. i can not speak for any brand as a hole but i have never had a problem with the guns i have listed here.

jcb9901

Para-Ordnance P-12 45 limited,12+1 in the barrel presently.going to upgrade to the Para-Ordnance LDA P-12 45 as it's safer to carry with the hammer down.

jcb9901

What are the ballistics on a 34acp ,never heard of such a round

Matt / PA

I'm carrying a Springfield XD-40 .40 service, but as much as I like the weapon itself, it's not the most comfy thing in the world to carry IWB, it's a bit wide and blocky. (For me anyway)
I have a Blade-Tech kydex tuckable holster and it's just not comfy. (Maybe I'm getting too snug in my jeans to begin with, but I know it's there.

I am anticipating a Cabelas gift certificate windfall this X-mas (If every relative finally got on the same page) and with the sale of this years hunting bow I should have about $800 to play with........I was thinking of a different full time carry gun and keep the XD for home defense (already have an M3 tac light on it)

I was considering a Kimber .45 of some sort for the thinner profile, similar geometry to my XD and their proven reliability, Ultra Carry II? I'd love a Pro CDP but yikes.....$$$!!
I don't know? Kimbers can get confusing to me because there are (it seems) about 100 different models.
Any recommendations? I have pretty big hands so the sub style grips don't fit me well at all.