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I’ve been in the gun industry in one form or another now for my entire adult life. I’ve managed stores and ran a pretty neat custom shop. I did some tests and helped tell the general public about the myths around rifle barrel length. I’ve won medals at Camp Perry and have had access to nearly every weapon available on the market today. Thing is, there’s only one handgun that I carry with confidence – GLOCK’s Model 19 Gen 4. And here’s why . . .
It can be hard not to get caught up in the hype of handguns and the infinite wish list we all possess. I salivate all day long over the latest and greatest carry options to be had. Realistically though, I’m a 25-year-old mechanic starting a new career with a new wife and new bills. Because of my tight finances I had to be frugal with my carry decision. Sometimes it’s really hard to save up the extra couple hundred dollars to get that GLOCK or M&P. Which brings me to what I carry, a Bersa BPCC 9mm . . .
Like many in the gun buying community, I follow fads with firearms and buy into marketing hype. I had a couple skinny 9’s, and sold them. I have a pocket .380 and try to leave it in my safe whenever possible. I had a grip of GLOCKs, and sold them. I did the government 1911 thing for a while, wanting to carry what I compete with until I wore a hole in my favorite pair of jeans from that ridiculously long muzzle in my IWB holster . . .
A lot of folks out there subscribe to the theory that one should just have one carry gun that he or she becomes extremely proficient with, in order to create muscle memory and try to maximize your chances of success in a gunfight. While I agree that it is a sound practice, it is not a philosophy that I personally follow. I carry a rotation of three different firearms, both while I am on duty as a police officer and in my free time . . .
I live in Arizona and work for a rather well-known online retailer that specializes in tactical firearms. I picked up a SIG P229 SAS used and haven’t bothered looking back. As we are an Constitutional carry state I carry my 229 openly in a Kydex holster made by Ares Armor in California. I use this pistol for plinking in the desert, as a demo gun for customers, and have taken it to a few pistol classes. The only upgrade/change I’ve done to it was the custom Cerakote that my friends over at Vang Comp Systems did for me, they call it Midnight Bronze . . .
The Ruger LC9s is my Goldilocks gun. It isn’t the sexiest gun (too hot!), it isn’t the most “operator” (too cold!), but it’s just right for me. I’m 5’7” and reasonably slim. I started with a Kel-Tec P3AT (seen peeking down from the top of the photo) that I still pocket carry and take on runs. I’ve read some scathing opinions on the gun, but mine has given me nothing but reliable feeds and fires. I then procured the .357 magnum Smith & Wesson 640-1 (no lawyer lock) in the pic. I still carry that gun from time to time, but I wanted something thinner, lighter, and in 9mm Luger. Lao Tzu famously said, “The journey to the perfect carry gun begins with a single click.” Or something like that. So I took his advice and went to that fortress of truths we call the internet . . .
My EDC is a GLOCK 26 Gen3. I bought a few years ago from a local cop who was ready to upgrade to a Gen4. As you’ll see from the photo, he had made three minor modifications to it: (1) heavily stippled, (2) extended mag release, and (3) aftermarket external safety. The first two mods aren’t uncommon, but an external safety, you exclaim? On a GLOCK? Well, there’s a method to my madness for keeping it . . .
I’ve carried the spectrum of handguns from a G20 to a NAA mini-revolver. TTAG has been there to help guide the last few purchases, so here’s a condensed version of the journey:
Kimber CDP, .45ACP: An absolute joy to shoot, the CDP is still my favorite range piece. It was my only pistol when I received my first CCW permit, so I carried it in a CrossBreed SuperTuck. It didn’t take long to admit that a 5” barrel and checkered wood grips weren’t comfortable or concealable under a t-shirt . . .
My current EDC is a 9mm SIG P320 in a Safariland ALS holster. I chose the P320 for a variety of reasons. First, and most importantly, I am left handed. My requirement for a carry gun is that I am able to operate all the controls easily one-handed, which immediately cuts out 80% of the current handgun market. So, after narrowing down the field and looking at my options I decided the absolute best handgun for me would be…. a Walther PPQ! You probably didn’t see that one coming . . .
Due to my domestic situation, I have never felt comfortable spending a lot of money on guns. For me, $500 has always been “a lot of money.” My first real carry gun was an East German Makarov that I got for a couple of hundred dollars. I used to tote that and sometimes a 9mm Stallard Arms boat anchor. The Mak eventually wound up going to my oldest son, but in the meantime I had bought a Polish P-64 in 9×18 for about $250 . . .
I carry a Ruger GP100. Specifically a 3″ Wiley Clapp model in one of the very few non plastic 3″ IWB holsters available, made by Bianchi. Why? Mostly because it’s what I like to shoot. Like a lot of people, when I first got my carry permit I thought I needed a single stack 9mm, so I picked up a Taurus PT709 and carried it for a few months. It was reliable and accurate enough for most defensive situations, but it just didn’t feel right . . .
I’m relatively new to the concealed carry routine. A few random violent encounters in the District of Columbia turned me on to guns and concealed carry. While I don’t exercise my rights in the aforementioned gun-free zone, I tote at least one gun in the freer states of the union. The Smith & Wesson 642 has been receiving a lot of love on this blog and it’s about to receive just a little more . . .
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