Carry gun Nirvana; now what??

[Ura-Ki]

Hope y'all satisfied, cause now y'all got me thinking about a P365...

For those occasions when the M11 is a bit too large...

Say it isn't so, when did you go to the dark side and put the 1911's away?
I thought you were a die hard 1911 fan-atic, Like me!
They do make compact double stacks ya know, for the modern man who appreciates the finer things in life!

We cant be friends now, not till you put away the kiddy toys and go back to a mans gun, just as Saint John intended!

 

[sobo]

And the endless 1911/anything else debate begins in 3... 2... 1...

 

[Alexx1401]

And the endless 1911/anything else debate begins in 3... 2... 1...

There is no debate, the 1911 is it

 

[AshWilliams]

And the endless 1911/anything else debate begins in 3... 2... 1...

Round 3: Fight!

 

[revjen45]

1) I just don't have the $ to buy every new pistol that comes out. Would I like a P365? Sure. I would like to have any # of other pistols too. (S&W M57 8 3/8" bbl mmmm).
2) carrying a new EDC requires verifying that it works every time. Finding out what works in a given gun can use up a lot of ammo.
3) Once you find a gun you like and have shot enough to trust why get something else? My EDC is a Gen 1 Steyr S9 bought in '04 and carried since then. Malfs = 1 (sorta). Didn't quite go into battery. I like the feel, the sight picture, and the reliability. It would take 16 years for a new gun to equal what the S9 has done to earn my trust. Too big for pocket carry in my bathrobe, but I have something else for that. So, Nirvana? Not quite - I still want to do a trigger smooth and tune - but close enough.

 

[Certaindeaf]

1) I just don't have the $ to buy every new pistol that comes out. Would I like a P365? Sure. I would like to have any # of other pistols too. (S&W M57 8 3/8" bbl mmmm).
2) carrying a new EDC requires verifying that it works every time. Finding out what works in a given gun can use up a lot of ammo.
3) Once you find a gun you like and have shot enough to trust why get something else? My EDC is a Gen 1 Steyr S9 bought in '04 and carried since then. Malfs = 1 (sorta). Didn't quite go into battery. I like the feel, the sight picture, and the reliability. It would take 16 years for a new gun to equal what the S9 has done to earn my trust. Too big for pocket carry in my bathrobe, but I have something else for that. So, Nirvana? Not quite - I still want to do a trigger smooth and tune - but close enough.

Beta testers gonna beta test.

 

[Firemansim]

After decades of trying various carry pistols and doing endless research and trades and spending thousands of dollars in pursuit of the right balance of capacity, size, accuracy, reliability, and power, I have achieved carry pistol Nirvana with the acquisition of my Sig P365.

I started with a Ruger P90 in .45 acp in the mid 90's, then a S&W 686, then went to the dark side with various Glocks, Beretta's, Walthers, M&Ps, and then more Glocks.

I now have a pistol that is the smallest I've owned, nearly as accurate as the largest I've owned, has low recoil, holds 12 rounds, a safety, night sights, great trigger, 100% reliability, good looking, and points naturally. Absolutely love this little pistol!

But I've been going through withdrawal. For the first couple of months, it was nice not going online every day and reading posts and articles about various platforms and pistols and engaging in endless debates regarding the best carry gun. It was quietly amusing seeing posts from folks frustrated in their choice of carry gun that wasn't living up to expectations. I would just smile and simply post to get a P365 and be done with the drama. I'd found Nirvana and it was peaceful.

But lately, I've been missing going over all of the pros and cons of each candidate for carry. I've missed hunting for the best deal on a subcompact carry gun.

I think I'll be OK, though. I started turning my attention to range toys and bucket list guns and just bought my first 1911.

Anyone else find their perfect carry gun and ended the seemingly endless pursuit of carry pistol Nirvana?

100% the same with me. I absolutely love my P365. Now, I'm getting into building my first AR-15!

 

[Alexx1401]

100% the same with me. I absolutely love my P365. Now, I'm getting into building my first AR-15!

Oh man you're in trouble now. Building and AR can be a VERY expensive proposition. As in as soon as you see how much fun it was you want to make a bunch more

 

[STEELE]

I can't get past my S&W 3913 AND/OR my 1911. Haven't carried a wheel gun in decades although I love them. Searching for a RH cross draw leather for the 3913 without success. Seems the better "leatherers" are only producing for the "modern" handguns.

 

[Alexx1401]

I can't get past my S&W 3913 AND/OR my 1911. Haven't carried a wheel gun in decades although I love them. Searching for a RH cross draw leather for the 3913 without success. Seems the better "leatherers" are only producing for the "modern" handguns.

That is a damn shame. The 39 series was a VERY nice pistol.

 

[STEELE]

That is a damn shame. The 39 series was a VERY nice pistol.

Not "was", but IS! I have several and bought my first one in 1964. It was the first series with the flat spring extractor, which apparently had problems with breakage. I don't know why S&W doesn't bring them back.

 

[sobo]

There is no debate, the 1911 is it

 

[nammac]

Say it isn't so, when did you go to the dark side and put the 1911's away?
I thought you were a die hard 1911 fan-atic, Like me!
They do make compact double stacks ya know, for the modern man who appreciates the finer things in life!

We cant be friends now, not till you put away the kiddy toys and go back to a mans gun, just as Saint John intended!

Hey, the 1911 has its place, I'm an equal opportunity owner, I like all flavors of firearms, including revolvers. Each has its place, when and where it should be carried. The purdier ones, like that 1911, have been relegated to "goin' to bbq" duty Don't want to blemish her, cause she's so Purdy.

 

[nammac]

I can't get past my S&W 3913 AND/OR my 1911. Haven't carried a wheel gun in decades although I love them. Searching for a RH cross draw leather for the 3913 without success. Seems the better "leatherers" are only producing for the "modern" handguns.

Leather is one issue with carrying an older vintage sidearm, parts availability and repair are another.

 

[CountryGent]

It's @Certaindeaf , so, Potato!


Or, WAFU, not sure which this time!


Didn't click!

Turtle power.

 

[Alexx1401]

Hey, the 1911 has its place, I'm an equal opportunity owner, I like all flavors of firearms, including revolvers. Each has its place, when and where it should be carried. The purdier ones, like that 1911, have been relegated to "goin' to bbq" duty Don't want to blemish her, cause she's so Purdy.




View attachment 700634

Both of the 1911's in my rotation are both over 20 which is nice. When new I used to always hate to see that first scratch or such. Now they both show the wear and tear so I no longer have to worry if they get bumped and banged around
Both are stainless which I have long loved for just this reason. Harder to get rust on, if you do it's far easier to get back off, and the bumps and bruises don't show up as well.
As much as I joke about them being the be all to end all I do readily admit there have been FAR better designs come out after JB left us. I'm just die hard in love with these. I do NOT push them on new shooters though if they find something else they like. One of mine was Fathers. He had not carried in decades. Got a job he needed for so I took him to the range with a hand full of options. He fired several, picked up one of my 1911's, fired it 2 times, put it down and said "I want one of those". So after we finished out front we went and he bought one out of the case. So maybe it was in the blood line all along?

 

[sobo]

He fired several, picked up one of my 1911's, fired it 2 times, put it down and said "I want one of those".

I love it!

 

[Alexx1401]

I love it!

Believe me it brought a large grin to my face then, and again when we went out front and he picked out a nice new one (that I now have) to buy. Later that year he discovered night sights and asked. So I loaned him another and sent his to Springfield to have a set installed for Fathers Day. They did such a nice job on his I sent one of mine to them after for the same.

 

[Unicykle]

For me there is no "perfect" but ive carried my 340pd for several years
now and although it lacks capacity its the only pistol ive carried thats small and light enough that literally I forget its there and dont feel like i constantly need to adjust the pistol or belt or shirt while carrying. Id rather have something that allows me to cary all the time but lacks capacity or power.than carry something that will drop an elephant but so big or heavy i rarely carry it. The 340pd with hogue grips feels nice in my hand, points instinctively and although its rated for 357 i only run 158gr 38+P which i feel will be enough.

 

[nammac]

For me there is no "perfect" but ive carried my 340pd for several years
now and although it lacks capacity its the only pistol ive carried thats small and light enough that literally I forget its there and dont feel like i constantly need to adjust the pistol or belt or shirt while carrying. Id rather have something that allows me to cary all the time but lacks capacity or power.than carry something that will drop an elephant but so big or heavy i rarely carry it. The 340pd with hogue grips feels nice in my hand, points instinctively and although its rated for 357 i only run 158gr 38+P which i feel will be enough.

Regarding that constant need to adjust, that's a combination of holster and belt. Don't go cheap on either of those, quality is the key to not adjusting. Nothing improves concealed carry more then a good rigid, non-flexing gun belt... I went through many, until I decided to invest in a Bigfoot steel lined gunbelt. It makes carrying anything up to an all steel 1911 a breeze. No more adjusting...

Holster is the next important item, you want something that pulls the gun closer to the body and tucks the butt of the gun in close to the body. It also needs to add minimum bulk. I found the one pictured below to do just that with the Sig M11... Takes lots of trial and error, and cost, to find the sweet spot...