I have a LCP, glock26, and glock19 and carry all 3 at different times. I find myself carrying the LCP more than the others just because I can stick it in a pocket and walk out of the house. With the g26 or g19 I must carry it inside waistband to properly conceal.

I will pocket carry...no waste or ankle...just wondering if LCP is a good idea or should I get a bigger 9mm in case I don't get the CCL?

No reason not to get CCL. IMO.

I like big holes. I carry a Millinium Pro in .45. The right CCW holster helps a lot with comfort.

If you're going to pocket carry the LCP can't be beat. The LC9 is slightly larger but in "pocket carry" every inch "less" counts!

Haha I knew it was only a matter of time before dink brought the XDS into the mix .. I'm a fan of it as well

That is NOT what she said

My wife carried a .380 ACP for a number of years until we reached a certain point in our wound ballistics studies where we were quantifying the performance of .357 Sig in deer compared with 9mm. Not only did the deer always drop pretty quickly with the .357 Sig, but the wound damage was very impressive. Finally, my wife exclaimed, "I want to carry a gun that does THAT."

Performance of the 9mm is not too bad with some of the best loads. The 127 grain Ranger SXT is a great choice all around load. Some of the 147 grain JHP loads are little better than ball ammo. But no 9mm loads perform as well in the shorter barrels as they do in service length barrels. 100-200 fps lower velocity robs wounding potential in several ways: reduced expansion, reduced energy, reduced temporary cavity.

My twin brother has trained more shooters than I have (Louisiana Shooters Unlimited in LC), but I've trained enough to see my share of bad shooting with the mini 9mms compared with the service sized pistols. It probably takes 3000 rounds of practice a year to maintain the proficiency with a mini 9mm that one could maintain with 1000 rounds annually through a service pistol. In practice, the recoil of those guns is not conducivve to practice, and few of them would stand up very well to 3000 rounds per year of practice. Consequently, almost no one acquires and maintains proficiency with them. Learning to dress around a more appropriately sized gun that one will actually practice with is a probably a better option for most.

I think I have my delimna solved...two guns. One for pocket and one for just shooting. My new question is what is the best/most comfortable, reliable gun to shoot (caliber don't matter). Realize anything I buy will probably be good with me... being I'm a rookie in this department and I won't know all the small differences in each firearm anyway.

Two guns is not a bad idea, but you are looking at it completely wrong.... One gun to carry and possibly have to use in a defensive situation, and one gun for "just shooting." As MathGeek already stated, a pocket sized firearm is a difficult waepon to master. This is the firearm, by your reasoning, you will be using to protect yourself with while you will train with a totally different weapon :confused:? Doesn't make much sense to me. You can pick up a full size Glock, then a full size M&P, then an XD and they will each have different ergonomics causing you to shoot each differently. Compare that to the LCP everybody here is suggesting and good luck hitting your target in a stressful situatuion after static training with your "just shooting" gun.

I'm not trying to be an @$$, it's just simple logic that no one here has seemed to point out yet. They have a gun show in Lafayette next week. I would suggest braving the lines, pay the $8 admission, and finger bang every handgun you can until you find that one that gives you a boner once you hold it. Train with it like your life depended on it, because it just might, and dress around it. Effectively carrying a weapon is more than just sitting in a 1 day class and throwing a gun in your pocket and now your safe. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I spend at least 20-30 minutes a day practicing my draw and sight acquisition. Not because I'm paranoid or some Chris Costa wannabe, but because I'll be damned if I get killed with my own weapon because I didn't prepare enough.

Rant over. :rotfl:

Agree...I was thinking two pistols with identical triggers...example sr9 compact and sr9 or glock 26 or 19...etc

Does the LCP and LC9 have similar trigger pulls/ characteristics? I will definitely practice with the gun I would carry the most.

As far as preference goes I prefer my sig saur P220. It's a 45 acp. The down side is that it is heavy and has a single stack 8 rd magazine I've recently switched to carrying a glock 22 40cal when I wear a uniform at work. The main reason is the weight of the sig gave me sciatic problems. One important thing to remember is to keep your weapon clean and lubricated. I've seen a sig stove pipe in an officer involved shooting, however that officer did not maintain his weapon very well. I've prob put2,000 rounds thru my sig with no problems and over 5,000 thru my Glocks with no problem. A glock is a combat handgun, if its dirty it will shoot, dependable, reliable. Anyways that's my2 bits

Yep, go Glock, most LEO departments use them, and that ought to tell you something. If you want a small weapon, Glock 27 or 27 gen4, 40 cal. This is weapon most departments use as backup. In fact, my son-n-law says he is more accurate with this one than his side carry. Great little weapon.

No matter what gun you choose shot placement is the key......

The number and kinds of different pistols out there is mind numbing. I've been looking at the LCP closely... Hogue grips, Wolfe 11# spring, BT guide rods, Desantis holsters, Promag, lasermax, federal ammo etc. Interesting how specific people get with there pistols. Any of the LCP people use any of this stuff?

Not sure if you have looked at this one....
Beretta Nano....you can get it in a 9mm and I think 40 cal too....

http://www.homedefenseweapons.net/wp...Subcompact.jpghttp://berettanano.com/pdf.png

I wouldn't go with anything less than .40.......

It looks like kahr cm9 is the smallest 9mm that would pocket carry. Thoughts on this gun...Dink I do believe Kahr makes a small cm40

The Kell tek is a great, super light, little gun. There is a trigger attachment to make the trigger wider that really helps on quick draws. I carry a Kahr cw40. My dad carries the Kell.