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More CCW questions from the noob to you old timers

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Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
So I was all set on a P365x that my friend was gonna hook me up with, but it’s taking time. I don’t want to hound him as he is asking it as a favor to his friend that owns a gun shop. I might just go get one on my own in the end, but what this wait time has done is allowed me to more throughly confuse myself with YouTube vids.

Ideally I want a hammer fired pistol, like the P30sk/P2000sk etc. with the LEM trigger. I figure it would give a new guy a little more leeway on safety as I could hold the hammer when reholstering. Those 2 aren’t optic ready so I would have to send it out for milling if I went with a RDS.

If not hammer fired then maybe move up from a micro9 to a sub compact.

My question for you IWB guys who have carried a bunch of different guns is this: it’s seems obvious a thinner gun will be more comfortable to carry, but between say a p320 and a P365 is the difference a lot? Mag capacity isn’t a concern as we are limited to 10 round mags here so the benefit of the larger gun would be for recoil, and the ability to get a hammer fired model. I don’t know if a 1911 variant would be a good first choice for a newbie like me with the cocked and locked thing, and the light trigger. I own a SA 1911 and did some shade tree gunsmithing in it so I have a feel for them and their internals. It’s purely a range bullseye toy that turned out pretty good, but I don’t trust sticking down my pants considering what I did to it lol.

Anyways I’m rambling…any insight?
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
So I didn’t realize this but a p320 is .4” thicker than a p365. Quite a difference.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
When you say; “ Sig P365X, are you talking about the Sig P365X Macro?

No, the X version is the short slide with the XL grip module. I gravitated toward the shorter slide thinking it would be easier to carry, but research is telling me slide length makes almost no difference in concealment for IWB.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I’m gonna go down tomorrow and grip an HK since the Rona seems to have passed and the smell is coming back.

Something tells me the only real answer is I will have just buy something to stick in my pants for several weeks to see for myself.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
I’m gonna go down tomorrow and grip an HK since the Rona seems to have passed and the smell is coming back.

Something tells me the only real answer is I will have just buy something to stick in my pants for several weeks to see for myself.

I think, you should wait on your friend and stick with your first choice.

You will be fine with a striker fired pistol over a hammer fired pistol.

Both, striker fired and hammer fired will be in a holster covering the trigger guard.

While a hammer fired HK might have a heavy double action trigger and even a thumb safety, that’s only 2 safeties.

Your striker fired first choice will have 3 passive safeties that are always working for your benefit all by themselves.

And you can still get the Sig P365X with a manual thumb safety also.

Imagine in your mind, pulling a hammer fired HK from a holster. Until you clear the trigger guard from the covered holster, point it at what you want to shoot and then purposefully pull the trigger to the rear, it won’t unless you do those things.

Your first choice Sig P365X? Until you pull it from the holster and it’s covered trigger guard, point it at what you want to shoot and purposefully pull its trigger, it won’t fire either until you do those exact same things?
 

FarmerTan

"Self appointed king of Arkoland"
I’m gonna go down tomorrow and grip an HK since the Rona seems to have passed and the smell is coming back.

Something tells me the only real answer is I will have just buy something to stick in my pants for several weeks to see for myself.
I'm a revolver guy, so I'm no real help, but I have carried a few different Rugers inside the waistband. Too be honest, I am carrying too much fat around the middle compared to when I first started, and have gotten really comfortable with OWB now, and doubt I'll get back to the IWB even if/when I drop the excess tonnage. I dress around my gun to conceal.

But being able to get a shirt tucked around a nice holster is a nice option with a tuckable holster. I had a cheap kydex one that broke once when I took it off my pants for the night, and I learned then that a hybrid leather/kydex was the only way for me to go with an IWB rig.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
No, the X version is the short slide with the XL grip module. I gravitated toward the shorter slide thinking it would be easier to carry, but research is telling me slide length makes almost no difference in concealment for IWB.

Slide length for you sir, will make a difference. Why?

Because you be carrying AIWB?

Bend over and sit down with a 3 inch barrel aiwb and then do it with a longer slide and barrel. There’s a difference.

The HK P30sk is a lot of pistol in size and weight and thickness for aiwb? What happened to the light t- shirt or polo?

I just looked at pics online of the HK P30sk. Fat, looks heavy and a bunch of sharp edges? Compared to the smooth lightweight profile of the Sig p365x

There’s no comparison. That HK’s First double action pull is quite heavy compared to the Sig’s first pull and every other pull are the exact same.

If you like the HK better, then I understand completely. But if you are just being overly worried about a striker fired system and accidentally discharging it?

I have taught hundreds of young people to safely carry Glocks who were not as smart or even as experienced as you are?
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Slide length for you sir, will make a difference. Why?

Because you be carrying AIWB?

Bend over and sit down with a 3 inch barrel aiwb and then do it with a longer slide and barrel. There’s a difference.

The HK P30sk is a lot of pistol in size and weight and thickness for aiwb? What happened to the light t- shirt or polo?

I just looked at pics online of the HK P30sk. Fat, looks heavy and a bunch of sharp edges? Compared to the smooth lightweight profile of the Sig p365x

There’s no comparison. That HK’s First double action pull is quite heavy compared to the Sig’s first pull and every other pull are the exact same.

If you like the HK better, then I understand completely. But if you are just being overly worried about a striker fired system and accidentally discharging it?

I have taught hundreds of young people to safely carry Glocks who were not as smart or even as experienced as you are?

Thanks for the info.

Actually it was from watching YouTube where some say being able to hold the hammer down would be safer when reholstering. Any ND would be from my error pulling the trigger that’s for sure. I guess it all boils down to practice and training. Every little extra feature on a gun to increase perceived safety in the end can’t make up for that. I can see being over reliant on safeties, and holding down hammers etc and the one time a safety isn’t engaged or the thumb isn’t on the hammer is when I get shot in the jewels, or someone else gets shot.

And you are right, the p30 does look fat and bulbous lol, that’s why I wanted to go grip the thing, but in the end I do really want the P365x, and it’s cheaper to boot.

I feel this is a really big responsibility I am undertaking, and the old-man conservative risk aversion side of me is really going into over-drive looking into everything I can do to cover my bases.

Thanks for input guys, I’ll get the Sig and use the saved money for training and ammo.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I'm very satisfied with my standard P365. I feel safe without a manual safety, and I want the pistol to have the least amount of protrusions on a carry gun. Trigger finger discipline is the key to safety, learning to place the trigger finger in the same place along the frame above the trigger guard each and every time. One thing you should do is place your thumb on the rear of your slide as you holster/re-holster the gun to keep the slide being pushed out of battery.

I have average sized hands and don't find the shorter grip frame a problem and chose to carry with the flush magazine, finding that the grip prints less being shorter, YMMV.
 
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59 yr old carried various things for long time since legal age to
P365 is my go to for a while now incredible piece of kit previous for 10+ years was glock 32

yeah I think the wait as you decided will be the best choice :) ditto Okkie About the slide length for Appendix it does matter some for sure not as much for 3 to 4 but again the IMHO is the key part and again IMHO Appendix is the way to go

AIWB as I said being my fav way to carry I love the TXC holster and I also have the tenicor velo as my 2nd choice dont use it so much but its nice I got both used both a bunch but keep the tenicor around as its a great holster and the TXC is my daily :)

to me the built in wedges vs a pad you stick on and just the clip angles the TXC goes on and off super easy vs the Tenicor which is tougher to get on my belt because of this little bump they for a reason though to keep the butt end in more vs the clip angle on the TXC :)
tenicor you can use one or two clips with it and many love this holster also

and like razors you just have to use both see what you like unless you already know the holster you want to try BUT IMHO try a TXC and neomag for extra mag in the pocket is just a insane good carry setup and having carried for 40 yrs of changes ya can say and how things have IMHO gotten way better in holster design etc.
basically the modern setup is just so incredible good for me with the p365 and the 12rd mag great holster no printing so comfy etc.. truly WOW these days

so IMHO holster choice is huge decision also
 
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I've carried compact, sub compact, micro, and revolvers. Length, width, height, the smaller is always more comfortable to me. I like it when I can thumb the hammer, use a safety, or have a stiff long trigger pull. Also be very attentive to reholstering, always, even with all the above. Because there will at some point be a mistake, so redundancy in being safe is good. It is much more likely to have a ND handling your own gun than finding yourself in a self defense situation.
 
Some rambling so bare with me.

The P365 is an excellent choice. Some of the concern regarding holstering a weapon is new ccw and some valid. Many accidents happen during holstering. There is nothing beyond the youtube warriors that state a weapon must be placed in the holster while you are wearing it. Big hint there.

Striker fired pistols are popular because they are easier to shoot. The striker mimics a single action pistol. You mentioned 1911 pistols. That is a deep rabbit hole that requires careful consideration. Most who go down that road never come back, lol.

If safety is a worry then consider one of the 365 variants with a manual safety. They are excellent and the safety action mimics that of a 1911 if you choose to go that route in the future.

Comfortable carry and comfortable to shoot do not necessarily align. Most often they don't. What makes a comfortable carry gun for one person may not be the same for another. Weight in my experience makes a big impact even with a gun belt. Another big hint there.

Beyond weight is grip length and slide length. These are somewhat dependent on the carry method as others have mentioned. Individual body type plays a big role there.

Width is least important in my opinion. Why is that? Most ccw carriers start out with a hand cannon. One of a few things happens. They begin to leave the weapon behind. Either at home or in the vehicle. The other thing that occurs with experience, most gravitate to a smaller platform and/or a different carry method.

AIWB is the most unforgiving method in terms of carry. An accident here can easily be fatal given the multiple arterial exposure in the appendix position. Not to scare, but to inform. Consider it in the balance of all things.

Revolvers, in particular the j frame and small Rugers are excellent and safe choices as well. Which brings me to the final dimension of width. Width is more of a concern with a pistol than with a revolver. Revolvers have a lot of curved surfaces that make the width easier to deal with.

Most of us have been thru many firearms and have a large box of holsters laying around. Carrying a weapon isn't always comfortable or convenient. Myself having gone thru an assortment over decades ended up back with the same basic carry choices the journey began with. Know yourself and trust your decisions. But remember they are not set in stone.

Final thoughts and observations. You know you best. Are you the type of person who is accident prone? Stub the foot or bang the hand frequently? Trip often or frequently drop stuff? That will not change with a firearm even with more diligence than normal. If you are that type of person than get a weapon with a safety.

Hope this information is helpful.
 
Lots of good points- I will only add that if your are going to be buying a new platform and you are already thinking about running an RDS, buy a model that is RDS ready from the factory.

I am a Glock guy. If I was buying another Glock today, I would buy Gen 5 and I would buy the MOS model.
 

nortac

"Can't Raise an Eyebrow"
I suspect that almost all NDs involve involuntary manipulation of the trigger. Either the finger was on the trigger when it should not have been or a foreign object or article of clothing/etc. gets caught on the trigger. Don't be in a hurry to holster a pistol.
 
I suspect that almost all NDs involve involuntary manipulation of the trigger. Either the finger was on the trigger when it should not have been or a foreign object or article of clothing/etc. gets caught on the trigger. Don't be in a hurry to holster a pistol.

Would mostly agree. Did see a video on the range with an instructor where the pistol fired without any manipulation. I suspect it was a hang fire but don't know for sure. Either way, not all strikers are the same. Makes for a puzzle.
 
I was going to recommend a 1911. Commander size makes a great carry gun. But I have fallen down the rabbit hole.
back in the early days I carried a stainless 45 officers :) that thing was great but did bite the palm (not bite but could feel) when shooting as it was so short but worked with what I was doing at the time

but so glad to be away from the whole 1911 stuff and into the modern
I got the glock the first year it came out and loved modern plastics ever since hahahahaha
again this is personal like the new vs old razors or whatever :) haahhaaha so NOT trying to correct

my brother 4 yrs older than me so in his early 60s is a huge die hard 911 guy !

it just shows this is so personal and I can see why folks go down any hole they love

YT warrior poet society had a good vid out this week on carry :) I like his content so nothing for folks who have been at it but still fun to watch as he has good jabs and humor along the way

the old saying a pistol is just something we have when we do not have a rifle is true
and the gun we will for sure carry cause its comfy is better than the best kit that is not comfy and we tend to not wear as much
 

BigFoot

I wanna be sedated!
Staff member
back in the early days I carried a stainless 45 officers :) that thing was great but did bite the palm (not bite but could feel) when shooting as it was so short but worked with what I was doing at the time

but so glad to be away from the whole 1911 stuff and into the modern
I got the glock the first year it came out and loved modern plastics ever since hahahahaha
again this is personal like the new vs old razors or whatever :) haahhaaha so NOT trying to correct

my brother 4 yrs older than me so in his early 60s is a huge die hard 911 guy !

it just shows this is so personal and I can see why folks go down any hole they love

YT warrior poet society had a good vid out this week on carry :) I like his content so nothing for folks who have been at it but still fun to watch as he has good jabs and humor along the way

the old saying a pistol is just something we have when we do not have a rifle is true
and the gun we will for sure carry cause its comfy is better than the best kit that is not comfy and we tend to not wear as much
I am 57 so we must be about the same age. I do like like Glocks, I even own 1. There is just something about that 1911. :thumbup1:
 

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Is there a range around you that rents guns? If there is rent and shoot you top 2-3 picks. Buy what you shoot best, not what you think will be the most comfortable to carry. A good quality holster goes a long way in making a larger framed pistol more concealable and easier to carry.
 
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