Thoughts on low capacity 9mm carry for self defense ?

[BehindBlueI's]

Great point, in particular with bad arthritis in strong hand.

If Jerry’s gun shop is open tomorrow I’m going to look at the G 43 I’ve got to pick up a load of feed in Monon and I can work it in. If 9mm or better, that may be the ticket.

Just hope they make a strong side leather holster for it. But I’m guessing they do, it seems to be a popular carry piece. Thanks again to all.

It's small, for sure. Have you ever shot a Shield? It's a pretty solid single stack smaller 9mm option. 43X would be the closest Glock to the Shield.

 

[Chase515]

I carried my shield 2.0 9mm all day today in a sticky holster with a sticky double mag holder in my back left pocket. Trijicon sights on all my pistols. Same sight picture same hold with all my handguns. 3 hours of last minute Christmas shopping and driving. Just put on pj's and tucked it back in the 4 o'clock position. Carry what your most comfortable with.

 

[Route 45]

What’s this Glock 43 you guys are talking about? Caliber? Capacity? WEIGHT? TY

9mm, capacity is 6+1 with the flush fit mag. A Pearce baseplate gives you a pinky rest and 7+1 capacity.

 

[Mij]

Every carry position has some weakness. I'm not real worried about carjackings at a stoplight, it's just not much of a thing compared to gas stations and the like. Add in if you're being held at gunpoint, drawing while under observation is a pretty solid way to catch a bullet. Better play is comply and then fight when their attention goes to the car if you choose to.

That said, if you are worried I think a two gun solution makes a lot of sense. Ankle holster is pretty easy to get to while seated without a lot of movement. Appendix works for me seated and belted, but others report they find the belt in their way. I think it depends on body shape, vehicle, etc

Excellent training, situation, advice.

Where I am, the most likely situation would be a “ this is what I observed “ situation.

After all isn’t that what we all think (non-professional) individuals. At least thats my thoughts.

I get my gas at my barn, I park outside the store when my wife goes inside, the store is a private German Baptist outfit.








As a “buy the way”. I was once stopped by a giant black State trooper. I’m 6’4” 260+ lbs. so by giant I mean big, I was about 45 yrs old at that time. I noticed and asked him about his back up, it was a 1911 with the holster screwed to his door. He just said that’s the best place for it.

I pad going south ……later

 

[Mij]

Will read but don’t know if I cab yep much

 

[Route 45]

My question to you guys who talk about pocket carry is how do you draw with any speed from a front pants pocket at any time, and especially when sitting in a vehicle with a seatbelt on ?

There is no one method of carry that's good for all potential defensive situations. If I see a situation unfolding, I can have my hand on my Shield Plus in my front pocket and no one is the wiser. It's well concealed, doesn't jab up against my side, doesn't poke a divot into my car seat, and I don't have to sweep anything out of the way to draw. Drawing smoothly from a pocket is easy with the right size pocket. I buy my jeans with this in mind. Granted, that pretty much rules out Freddie Mercury skinny jeans, but that's not really my style anyway.

I keep a full size pistol in the middle console of my truck, easily accessible in a retention holster that is screwed into the interior wall of the console. That pretty much should take care of any need for a pistol while driving, although a car or truck has a lot more foot pounds of energy than a 9mm, if you can hit with it. In the exceedingly rare instance of an attempted carjacking, you're up against a drawn gun pointing at you in the first place, which is a no-win situation unless your attacker gets distracted. Not something I'm overly concerned with in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Route 45]

Great point, in particular with bad arthritis in strong hand.

Might look at a S&W Shield Plus over a Glock 43. The Shield Plus is a softer shooter than the Glock 43. A little more grip to hold onto, but still very concealable.

 

[firecadet613]

I'd look at the Hellcat while you're in the gun shop. 11+1 vs. the 6+1 the 43 has, in a slightly smaller package.

INGO told me Springfield's are riddled with issues, and the P320 and Glock are the bee's knees (see the recent thread of the 43X with issues and P320 drop firing issue).

Personally, I've had zero hiccups with my Hellcat (or Springfield's for that matter, but I've never had an XD).

 

[Amishman44]

3x3x3...
That's an AVERAGE.
Your gunfight will NOT be average. Do not bet on averages. Do not count on averages. Averages are not the real world.
That said - plenty of people - plenty of *very good with handguns* type people, carry a 5-shot J-frame every single day.
Small part convenience, larger part concealability.
Can you draw and hit what you need when it matters?
The #1 self-defensive tool that we have at our disposal is avoidance.

Very well said sir!
Situational Awareness is #1 key in a self-defense situation - being able to recognize and identify potential danger and take steps to avoid if possible -
a) Recognition / Awareness - identify potential danger / threat
b) Avoidance / Egress - if possible - distance is you friend!
c) Prepare to Defend Oneself / Seek Shelter - if necessary,
d) Defend oneself when no other option is available.
I have a S&W 360J in .38 special that's set-up in DAO for pocket carry, and I love it!
It's very accurate and it's been in the rotation for years...the DAO trigger, it just takes practice!

 

[crewchief888]

FWIW, we have 3 "carry" guns around. all of them "low cap"
sig 365 SAS 9mm (std 365 hi cap mags fit the gun)
glock 27 40S&W w 1rd mag extensions
1911 45acp 7/8 & 10rd mags

 

[tcecil88]

I routinely carry low capacity guns, Glock 42, 43 and 43X. I don't feel under-gunned as I usually have at least 2 extra mags on me. I augment that by staying aware of my surroundings, keeping doors locked, and avoiding areas where there are large crowds.
My role is to protect my family first, then those around me if possible. I am not going to go hunting for an active shooter in a Wal-Mart or other large building as it is the quickest way to get shot by another armed civilian or the first responders, plus I would have to leave my own family members in order to do so, and I won't do that.

 

[INP8riot]

For those of you carrying Glock 43 or 43x, check out Shield Arms. They make extra capacity magazines. They do it by making the magazine all metal rather than plastic wrapped. 15 rounds for G43x and 9 rounds for G43. They drop easier as well. I have 2 for my G43 before I got my Springfield Hellcat.

 

[Skip]

Well, you asked for opinions and, as you’ve probably read, you’ve gotten quite a few! That being said, since everyone has an opinion, I’ll voice mine here too.
I make my own Kydex holsters.
I make several types of IWB ones. The ones I like most though are regular OWB’s with straps or hooks on them. I carry at 3:30 and have for 40 years, that isn’t going to change, ever. Just me….
I carry to church too and wear either a tuckable IWB or an OWB with suit coat or vest.
All of my carry guns are at least 15 round capacity and I often carry 2 mags on the other side, maybe one with a light depending on time of day.
I love my M637 but don’t carry it much anymore. If I did, it’d be backup only.
I often carry two firearms but they can use the same magazines: Think “Glock 19/Glock 26” kinda thing only, they aren’t Glocks…
Where we live, it’s 35 miles to South Bend and 50 miles to Ft. Wayne. Gang activity is rampant nowadays and those boogers have lots more than 5 shots to shoot at me so….
Again, just my opinion. You can have a different one and we’ll still be friends…

The important thing is that you always carry a firearm!

 

[BehindBlueI's]

For those of you carrying Glock 43 or 43x, check out Shield Arms. They make extra capacity magazines. They do it by making the magazine all metal rather than plastic wrapped. 15 rounds for G43x and 9 rounds for G43. They drop easier as well. I have 2 for my G43 before I got my Springfield Hellcat.

In institutional testing, the Shield magazines had a small, but measurable, higher failure to feed rate over OEM in the 43X. I don't know of any testing for the 43.

For me, the slight bump in capacity is not worth the slight decrease in reliability. Others may decide otherwise.

 

[Route 45]

I'd look at the Hellcat while you're in the gun shop. 11+1 vs. the 6+1 the 43 has, in a slightly smaller package.

INGO told me Springfield's are riddled with issues, and the P320 and Glock are the bee's knees (see the recent thread of the 43X with issues and P320 drop firing issue).

Personally, I've had zero hiccups with my Hellcat (or Springfield's for that matter, but I've never had an XD).

I've watched a lot of videos and read a lot of reviews and have yet to see anyone complain of issues with the Hellcat series. My 2 main EDCs are a Hellcat and a Shield Plus, depending on what I'm wearing. The Shield Plus is a little easier to shoot, the Hellcat is a little more concealable. Can't go wrong with either. If i had to give up one platform, it would be a difficult decision since I like both so much. But I'd probably go with the Hellcat.

 

[DadSmith]

Every carry position has some weakness. I'm not real worried about carjackings at a stoplight, it's just not much of a thing compared to gas stations and the like. Add in if you're being held at gunpoint, drawing while under observation is a pretty solid way to catch a bullet. Better play is comply and then fight when their attention goes to the car if you choose to.

That said, if you are worried I think a two gun solution makes a lot of sense. Ankle holster is pretty easy to get to while seated without a lot of movement. Appendix works for me seated and belted, but others report they find the belt in their way. I think it depends on body shape, vehicle, etc.

If someone came to my driver's side window to shoot me, or car jacking, and I carry at 4 o'clock I already know I'm not going to win that fight. I'll never get my seat belt out of the way, and shirt, jacket etc in time.
That's why I feel I need to pull my edc out before driving, and have it put in a place that is quickly accessible.
I've thought about buying a cross draw holster for my S&W Shield 45acp for when I know I'm heading to the big city, and don't want to remove my main edc carry weapon for such a situation.

What are your thoughts on what I should do? Am I thanking correctly?
I do not like, or am I comfortable with AIWB. I do too much bending, and a full size pistol carried there while working is very uncomfortable.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

If someone came to my driver's side window to shoot me, or car jacking, and I carry at 4 o'clock I already know I'm not going to win that fight. I'll never get my seat belt out of the way, and shirt, jacket etc in time.
That's why I feel I need to pull my edc out before driving, and have it put in a place that is quickly accessible.
I've thought about buying a cross draw holster for my S&W Shield 45acp for when I know I'm heading to the big city, and don't want to remove my main edc carry weapon for such a situation.

What are your thoughts on what I should do? Am I thanking correctly?
I do not like, or am I comfortable with AIWB. I do too much bending, and a full size pistol carried there while working is very uncomfortable.

I wouldn't do off body carry of my only gun. If you're seperated from your vehicle, maybe you're under observation by two attackers from different angles until you're out of the vehicle, now what? One of my case files for a loss was reaching for off body carry in his truck, bad guy noticed it, and shot him. I'd also keep in mind unless you're going to keep switching back and forth, if you're carrying for 'in car' how does that affect you outside of the car? Crossdraw is more easily fouled by an attacker in close range and definitely more noticeable, but can be ideal for seated scenarios where you're partially obstructed from view. Kind of goes back to two guns in two positions, at least one of which has to be on body.

I can't really advise you on specifics other than to test it yourself. There's a lot of variables for body type, pistol, and vehicle. Do you have a yellow barrel for your gun? The plastic substitute that lets you assemble the gun, rack the slide, etc, but it's just a chunk of barrel/chamber shaped plastic so no way for a round to be chambered or fire? Or a blue gun? Some way to have a non-functional firearm that you don't have to be concerned about flagging yourself, safe backdrops, etc? It's a good way to see for yourself what works and what doesn't for you.

All that said, it's honestly just not that much of a thing. Carjackings of people behind the wheel on the street are exceedingly rare since it's sort of a low percentage game. In parking lots, at gas stations, anywhere they can catch you in the door in that transitional state of "sorta in sorta out definitely off balance" is a much more common approach, and even that's rare these days.

 

[DadSmith]

I wouldn't do off body carry of my only gun. If you're seperated from your vehicle, maybe you're under observation by two attackers from different angles until you're out of the vehicle, now what? One of my case files for a loss was reaching for off body carry in his truck, bad guy noticed it, and shot him. I'd also keep in mind unless you're going to keep switching back and forth, if you're carrying for 'in car' how does that affect you outside of the car? Crossdraw is more easily fouled by an attacker in close range and definitely more noticeable, but can be ideal for seated scenarios where you're partially obstructed from view. Kind of goes back to two guns in two positions, at least one of which has to be on body.

I can't really advise you on specifics other than to test it yourself. There's a lot of variables for body type, pistol, and vehicle. Do you have a yellow barrel for your gun? The plastic substitute that lets you assemble the gun, rack the slide, etc, but it's just a chunk of barrel/chamber shaped plastic so no way for a round to be chambered or fire? Or a blue gun? Some way to have a non-functional firearm that you don't have to be concerned about flagging yourself, safe backdrops, etc? It's a good way to see for yourself what works and what doesn't for you.

All that said, it's honestly just not that much of a thing. Carjackings of people behind the wheel on the street are exceedingly rare since it's sort of a low percentage game. In parking lots, at gas stations, anywhere they can catch you in the door in that transitional state of "sorta in sorta out definitely off balance" is a much more common approach, and even that's rare these days.

I've practiced with my current carry that's how I found out that 4 o'clock iwb is not good for driving.
Glad you brought that up about reaching for the weapon giving away your intentions never thought of that angle.
I'll probably buy that crossdraw holster and see how that works out.
Crossdraw seems ideal when sitting in the driver's seat, and I'm right handed so the firearm will be pointed in the right direction once it clears the holster.
I've always been watchful of transition areas. It doesn't take more than a few seconds to scan the area to be safe.

Thank you for your input its always helpful when you can hear things from people who know.

Have a Merry Christmas.

 

[Mij]

Jerry didn’t have a 43 in stock.

After Christmas I’ll look at other shops, the Hellcat looks promising. Again weight and size will be a factor.

As to seatbelts, me personally, I’ve never worn one. And I’ve been stopped a few times all over the state. One officer even told me he was going to give me a warning, he didn’t.

I’ll keep looking. The rite sidearm is out their. If I don’t own one, I’m sure they sell’em. Thanks to all.

 

[VERT]

MIJ had me thinking. My kid has a Glock 43 in the safe, and he is away at college. Maybe I need to try it out. I have carried my trusty PPS since before the G43 and Sig P365 was an option. There are times it would be nice to have a slightly smaller pistol that tucks away and conceals better.