First pistol in a decade. Compact choices.

[wolf_walker]

Awesome. I know allot a fellas that have those and are happy with them. Looking forward to you range report.

Gun shop guys said they'd sold a boatload of them, I volunteered that it might be because they were cheap, gun shop guy said they
preferred to think of them as value priced. Fair enough.

Ordered some Fiocchi plinking ammo for function test, what's the hotness for a 9 far as carry ammo these days?
I generally buy Speer or Winchester law enforcement stuff for the 40's.

 

[XYZ]

The least I ever carry is a LCP and spare mag.

 

[Jason Freeland]

Gun shop guys said they'd sold a boatload of them, I volunteered that it might be because they were cheap, gun shop guy said they
preferred to think of them as value priced. Fair enough.

Ordered some Fiocchi plinking ammo for function test, what's the hotness for a 9 far as carry ammo these days?
I generally buy Speer or Winchester law enforcement stuff for the 40's.

Speer, Winchester and Hornady are the high end ones. I have Freedom Munitions XDEF 135gr since they run less expensive and I can afford to practice with them, every now and then. They used to advertise it as a Hornady projectile, not sure why they quit. If you go the higher end route, Hornady Critical Defense are about the most barrier blind I have seen tested.

 

[OKNewshawk]

I bought a Taurus G3X for $303 otd today.

Was it a G3c or a GX4? Tehy are two entirely different guns. The G3c is the latest version of the old PT-111/Millenium/G2c line. The GX4 is Taurus's answer to the SIG P365.

 

[allmac]

hat's the hotness for a 9 far as carry ammo these days?

Lucky gunner did some extensive pistol ammo testing. IIRC, 124gr HST did very well.

 

[wolf_walker]

Was it a G3c or a GX4? Tehy are two entirely different guns. The G3c is the latest version of the old PT-111/Millenium/G2c line. The GX4 is Taurus's answer to the SIG P365.

Sorry, G3C. This is about as small as a handgun I could stand.

After a week of getting-to-know-you and some clean/lube:
It's certainly not a Glock (had plenty of them).
But for the money it's not bad. The grip texture is super aggressive,
it's going to rub you raw if it's touching your middle when carrying but
for a 300 gun I'll sandpaper down that part if need be. The finish on the slide
might as well be spray-paint, which is fine if there's actually tennifer or some sort
of chemically bonded to the metal treatment under it. I could give two craps
what it looks like. The front sight needs to be tritium and brighter in daylight, plenty
options out there. Lakeline makes a steel guide rid and spring and a replacement
metal striker guide (I noticed right away the stock one is plastic, which may be perfectly fine) along with lots
of sights so that will be fun to monkey with one day. The trigger is, ok. Single action could still
pass as a glock, it's fine I suspect for what it needs to do.
All in all, assuming it shoots (still waiting on ammo, and time to go shoot the damn thing)
it's fine for the money. Finding a good owb holster has been a chore so far, one of the downsides
of a cheap gun is the market is full of cheap holsters since they(rightly) assume people buying
these aren't usually spending $75 on a holster.

 

[OKNewshawk]

Sorry, G3C. This is about as small as a handgun I could stand.

After a week of getting-to-know-you and some clean/lube:
It's certainly not a Glock (had plenty of them).
But for the money it's not bad. The grip texture is super aggressive,
it's going to rub you raw if it's touching your middle when carrying but
for a 300 gun I'll sandpaper down that part if need be. The finish on the slide
might as well be spray-paint, which is fine if there's actually tennifer or some sort
of chemically bonded to the metal treatment under it. I could give two craps
what it looks like. The front sight needs to be tritium and brighter in daylight, plenty
options out there. Lakeline makes a steel guide rid and spring and a replacement
metal striker guide (I noticed right away the stock one is plastic, which may be perfectly fine) along with lots
of sights so that will be fun to monkey with one day. The trigger is, ok. Single action could still
pass as a glock, it's fine I suspect for what it needs to do.
All in all, assuming it shoots (still waiting on ammo, and time to go shoot the damn thing)
it's fine for the money. Finding a good owb holster has been a chore so far, one of the downsides
of a cheap gun is the market is full of cheap holsters since they(rightly) assume people buying
these aren't usually spending $75 on a holster.

I have a G2c and I went with the stainless steel two tone for two reasons--it doesn't show scuffs as bad as the black version and I really like the two tone look. If I can find a G3c I might consider switching for the improved trigger. I got the Lakeline stainless striker guide and guide rod--the guide smoothed out the trigger somewhat and I wanted the guide rod button to be stainless instead of black. I was slightly disappointed that it was polished instead of brushed like the slide, but it is what it is. I would have upgraded the sights but now that I'm thinking replacement, I'll wait.

I have not practiced drawing from a holster as much as you have, but I found a relatively inexpensive OWB holster that seems to do the job. It's from Tagula Gun Leather, but there's a problem with their website so I can't see which model it is. It has belt holes and I wear it with a Kore Essentials Trakline EDC gun belt. It's a ratcheting type belt and it's the only belt I use any more.

 

[wolf_walker]

FINALLY got to shoot the G3C today. My ammo I ordered from PSA is STILL not here, but my usual carry stuff, speer, came in from luckygunner at light speed
and a buddy had some he was willing to let me blow through.

So my buddy hands me a box of no-name "nato spec" 9mm in a gray box he is pretty sure he's had for 20 years, I figure, wth.
I get about 4 in and have a failure to go into battery, the slide won't rack back mag in or out, I says to myself "I have two hands, I can get by with
one" and tap the slide into battery. Cycles, cycles again, then the same thing. Huh. I repeat the force it into battery jig a few more times and empty the mag.
My buddy fishes up one of the empties at this point and the primer is blown out and the case is bulged where the feed ramp is in the barrel lol...
The others, are all the same.

Soooooo... yeah. interesting old ammo. Don't think he's going to use the rest of that he has.
I have a vague memory of there existing some really hot loaded foreign 9mm for sub guns
years ago, maybe it was something like that.

Moving on, Winchester white box, perfect function for a couple mags. Speer Gold Dot, perfect.
Both low and left at 7ish yards, don't know if it's me or the pistol.
The trigger was fine, the travel in single action is oddly long but the break is as good or better
than any stock Glock I've ever fired.
I was dead on in a 2" circle with my G22 I've had forever, which is normal.
I think I'm going to put three dot night sights on the G3C, which is what my G22 has.
What it has are ok, and really good for the money considering Glock is still shipping plastic sights, but still.

All in all a fun afternoon and all good. I still don't like small pistols, and my G22 shoots
easier than the G3C despite being a big bad "snappy" .40,
because small pistols suck.

Also I shot a couple of Uzi's that I haven't even seen one of in fifteen years so that was cool.

 

[T Gab]

I'm certain that any one of the guns mentioned are great. I love my M&P Shield so I think if I switched it would be to the Shield plus. My advice is shoot as many as you can and find what works for you. After all, you're the one that'll carry it. Good day.

 

[TheDoubleD]

So I'm not a "pistol guy" which I know is kind of a dumb term, but they have just never motivated me
to spend time and money on them. I haven't carried outside the home much in the last few years, between
the plague and working from home to start with, I don't get out a hell of a lot. But anyway,
my 20 year old Glock 22 that I've had for like, 12 or 13 years is annoying to even halfass try to
conceal. I carried it open plenty and it's fine for that, and I love a full size handgun like Peter loved
the Lord, but it just ain't workin at this stage in my life.

Soooo, compact 9 or 40. I don't care which. Lot more 9's around than 40's, but I have an ammo can full
of 40 so that kinda sucks jumping ship but whatever.

The folks here have offered you some pretty good ideas about some very good guns that are available.

I am going to go a different way and make a suggestion based on what you wrote. You said you aren't a pistol guy-clue 1.

You said you have a Glock 22. Clue 2

You have problem with concealed carry, clue 3.

If you buy any of the guns that have been suggested other than Glock you need to be sure take on an extensive session of retraining. You need to spend a lot time on the range learning the new gun. You need to develop new muscle memory. You need to be able to operate the new gun without conscious thought or hesitation.

I suggest you stay with Glock as you are familiar with Glocks and know how they function. You have existing muscle memory.

I am not suggesting stay with Glock because I think it is better--these guns others suggested are equally good guns. When you need the gun, hopefully never, it needs to be second nature to deploy. That why I suggest a Glock for you

I carried a gun at work for over 35 years. I carried some version S&W revolver to start. Later I moved into Auto's. I mastered them but they were always awkward to operate. Then I was issued a Glock and for 18 years Icarried nothing else. I never had a problem with the Glock because it fired like my revolver.

Today 11 years into retirement I only carry in passive defense. I no longer go to the range once a month to practice. Once a year maybe.

For a while I carried a Glock 23. It is smaller and I can conceal it but it really is to big and your description half assed carry describes it perfect.

Several years ago I came across the Glock 43. Like S&W revolver working the same as any other S&W Revolver, the 23 works just like any other Glock. It is kind of small in my hands. But I am not using this gun for target shooting. On the range it shoots quite well and accurately, especially with the 6 rounds it holds. Since it it functions like the big Glocks I trained on for years, I can shoot this gun very well in a passive defense situation. I'm a good witness, but when I am in articulable fear of my life or the life of another, I can instinctively deploy this gun defend my self.

Carry-the Model 43 a is a pocket gun and drops right in. I normally almost always wear cargo pants. This little gun in a BORAII pocket holster fits right slit or patch pockets. Small not bulky holster covers the trigger securely. This holster helps to break up pocket print also. The small spare magazine goes in another pocket and is not heavy and bulky.

So there is my idea for you. Hope helps you make decision.