As I stated there are a myriad of carry options and a million different styles in which to carry.
What I'd like to do is go over the ups and downs (my personal opinion) on the different positions you can carry from and where I think (again, just my opinion) a concealed weapon would actually do you some good, should the need arise.
The criterion are fairly straight forward when considering your carry location.
1. Comfort
2. Concealability
3. Mode of dress
4. Speed of access
Shall we begin?
IWB
In the waist band (IWB) holster are the more common out of all holsters for sub-compact and compact models. They are usually carried just past the peak of your hip bone heading towards your wallet or back pocket.
The comfort of these is "ok", some people say they are great, some people say they are bulky, some people hate them... opinions are what they are so far as comfort goes.
The concealability on an IWB is good. You have to consider when you bend at the waist because the grip may print on you.
Mode of dress is easy as well, just an untucked shirt is enough in most cases. There are some models that allow you to tuck in your shirt, but test those out and see if the printing is a problem when you do tuck in.
The accessibility is the best out of all the holster options out there, period. Tug with the weak hand to pull up the shirt, and draw with your strong hand, then two hand grip and extend. Pretty darn simple, actually.
OWB
This is pretty much the same as IWB, except the obvious, it is outside of the waist band.
This is considered the most comfortable carry position by lots of people.
The concealability is "ok". You have a greater chance of printing since the entire gun and holster are out in the open, so to say.
Your clothing choices are either an untucked shirt or a jacket...that's all the leeway you can have.
The drawing is the best of all concealable holsters out there, period.
...I will cover more in separate posts. There too much to cover in just one.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Holsters...and lots of them
After you've determined that you're going to carry and what you are going to carry you have to decide where, on your person, you are going to carry.
Once you've done that you have to decide on the holster that fits for you.
At last count there are 1.8 bazillion holster manufacturers out there of holsters. Places like Safariland, Uncle Mike's, Galco, and also some custom shops like Kholster and N82 Tactical.
There are holsters that are custom made for your pistol and some "universal" holsters that will fit anything within a certain size range. They come in leather, nylon, kydex, aluimum foil, plastic wrap and Spam. The options are almost mathematically endless.
There are holsters for your belt, ankle, pocket,under arm (shoulder holsters), small of the back, "Belly band", concealment T-shirts, concealment jackets, concealment purses, and fanny packs. Seriously, if you can't find a place to carry you really aren't trying.
The upside is there are millions of choices the down side is you won't know what you like until you try it out and walk around with it for a while. It is entirely possible that you will spend about half, if not more, of the price of your gun simply on finding the right carry option.
Please, do not let this discourage you and please find one that is comfortable and does what you want it to do for you. Do not get a holster and wear it if it isn't comfortable and allows you mobility. You will stop carrying if it gets to be uncomfortable...
So, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. It will take time and effort and some money, but you'll find the right one for you.
Once you've done that you have to decide on the holster that fits for you.
At last count there are 1.8 bazillion holster manufacturers out there of holsters. Places like Safariland, Uncle Mike's, Galco, and also some custom shops like Kholster and N82 Tactical.
There are holsters that are custom made for your pistol and some "universal" holsters that will fit anything within a certain size range. They come in leather, nylon, kydex, aluimum foil, plastic wrap and Spam. The options are almost mathematically endless.
There are holsters for your belt, ankle, pocket,under arm (shoulder holsters), small of the back, "Belly band", concealment T-shirts, concealment jackets, concealment purses, and fanny packs. Seriously, if you can't find a place to carry you really aren't trying.
The upside is there are millions of choices the down side is you won't know what you like until you try it out and walk around with it for a while. It is entirely possible that you will spend about half, if not more, of the price of your gun simply on finding the right carry option.
Please, do not let this discourage you and please find one that is comfortable and does what you want it to do for you. Do not get a holster and wear it if it isn't comfortable and allows you mobility. You will stop carrying if it gets to be uncomfortable...
So, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. It will take time and effort and some money, but you'll find the right one for you.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Beretta Tomcat .32 acp
Ok, this one is going to be a little out of the normal for a review, but I have to admit, I'm smitten with this little pocket rocket.
As a disclaimer, I like the .32 acp concept. I like small nimble guns with almost no recoil and all that. They look neat, are easily kept at hand, and they are, well, they are just nifty.
Another disclaimer: I haven't fired this weapon.
The Berreta Tomcat is a tilt open barrel design. Which means you can either load your magazine conventionally, but inserting the mag and pulling back on the slide.
This will put a round in the chamber this will pull the hammer back in the "cocked and locked" position. This will give you 7 rounds total in the gun.
The other option is to insert the magazine but then hit the barrel release. This will, literally, flip the barrel up and allow you to load another round in to the barrel directly and it will not cause the hammer to retract and be cocked and locked.
This will give you 7+1... nothing wrong with an extra bullet at your disposal.
As you may have guessed the Tomcat has a DA/SA trigger. That means double action/single action. The meat and potatoes of that is that if the hammer is down and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot. If the hammer is back and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot.
Ergonomics on the Tomcat are great! I know, I know, it is hard to believe, but they really are. The grip is nice and round and easy to get your hands on. It is, of course, short, but for some reason, that's not a problem. It just sits great in the hand.
It has an external safety lever which is easily actuated so you can carry in "condition 1" which is a round chambered and the hammer cocked.
The weight is enough to let you know that you're holding on to something substantial and not some piece of fluff. Which speaks to the materials it is made of. It's metal, not composite or plastic. I'm a fan.
It does have one drawback. It is chambered in the .32 acp caliber. Some people will say that you might as well throw a rock at someone if all you have is a .32. These same people will also say the same to anything that isn't a .45, so consider the source.
No, it won't kill a charging Rhino and no, it probably won't immediately stop a drugged up assailant. However, there have been numerous reports that state a an average man hopped up on PCP can taken dozens of direct hits to the torso and head and still kept coming... If 63 shots from police service pistols aren't going to stop someone, there's nothing you can carry, as a civilian, that would stop someone like that.
Your best bet are head shots and plenty of them.
To me, if your shot placement is good and your training is current and consistent, this little gem will save your life, period. And at the end of the day that's the true test of a defensive handgun. Will it save your life? In my opinion, yes, the Tomcat will.
All in all, I'd give great consideration to this pistol if you want to keep it in your pocket or purse. An extra magazine would be also very easy to carry around too, heck, maybe even a couple. That would be a total of 22 rounds. Not too shabby.
As a disclaimer, I like the .32 acp concept. I like small nimble guns with almost no recoil and all that. They look neat, are easily kept at hand, and they are, well, they are just nifty.
Another disclaimer: I haven't fired this weapon.
The Berreta Tomcat is a tilt open barrel design. Which means you can either load your magazine conventionally, but inserting the mag and pulling back on the slide.
This will put a round in the chamber this will pull the hammer back in the "cocked and locked" position. This will give you 7 rounds total in the gun.
The other option is to insert the magazine but then hit the barrel release. This will, literally, flip the barrel up and allow you to load another round in to the barrel directly and it will not cause the hammer to retract and be cocked and locked.
This will give you 7+1... nothing wrong with an extra bullet at your disposal.
As you may have guessed the Tomcat has a DA/SA trigger. That means double action/single action. The meat and potatoes of that is that if the hammer is down and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot. If the hammer is back and you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot.
Ergonomics on the Tomcat are great! I know, I know, it is hard to believe, but they really are. The grip is nice and round and easy to get your hands on. It is, of course, short, but for some reason, that's not a problem. It just sits great in the hand.
It has an external safety lever which is easily actuated so you can carry in "condition 1" which is a round chambered and the hammer cocked.
The weight is enough to let you know that you're holding on to something substantial and not some piece of fluff. Which speaks to the materials it is made of. It's metal, not composite or plastic. I'm a fan.
It does have one drawback. It is chambered in the .32 acp caliber. Some people will say that you might as well throw a rock at someone if all you have is a .32. These same people will also say the same to anything that isn't a .45, so consider the source.
No, it won't kill a charging Rhino and no, it probably won't immediately stop a drugged up assailant. However, there have been numerous reports that state a an average man hopped up on PCP can taken dozens of direct hits to the torso and head and still kept coming... If 63 shots from police service pistols aren't going to stop someone, there's nothing you can carry, as a civilian, that would stop someone like that.
Your best bet are head shots and plenty of them.
To me, if your shot placement is good and your training is current and consistent, this little gem will save your life, period. And at the end of the day that's the true test of a defensive handgun. Will it save your life? In my opinion, yes, the Tomcat will.
All in all, I'd give great consideration to this pistol if you want to keep it in your pocket or purse. An extra magazine would be also very easy to carry around too, heck, maybe even a couple. That would be a total of 22 rounds. Not too shabby.
I might change my mind...
Previously I stated that I was going to go with the Glock 19 (or perhaps G26) for my personal carry weapon. I still maintain that it is a fine firearm and will absolutely stand the test of time, over and over again.
However, the more I handle one and really try and get the feel of it and what it would be like to carry it I get more and more disheartened.
It is a block of metal, it is heavy and bulky. I just can't get over the feeling that would be inconvenient to carry with me. I think it would be, but I didn't see any other options which would fit the bill.
I looked at the XD, the M&P, so on and so forth and either the slide was too tall (XD) or the grip was ridiculously too short (M&P) or it was just too fat (G19, XD).
I couldn't land on one that really fit well in my hand.
I looked at some smaller single stack pistols, Kahr CV9, Kel Tec PF9, the P11 and so on, but those were lacking in heft (Kahr) or didn't feel very "finished" as in the Kel Tec.
Then I stumbled upon the Ruger SR9c. Now this one, to me, and again your perception may vary, seems to fit all my criterion and be a big winner.
It is in 9mm, holds 10+1 (same as the G26) comes with a second extended map (12 rounds I believe). It has a drop trigger, meaning there is an internal safety that won't allow the striker to release unless the trigger is pulled, it also has an unobtrusive manual safety on it. I don't think I would need the manual safety if it has a drop trigger...just my 2 cents.
The grip is thin and well fitting, the slide is relatively free of clutter, the pistol weighs more than a Glock, M&P, or XD, but it doesn't feel heavy. In fact, it feels better than the Glock so far as weigh is concerned.
The slide is much thinner than any of the other big three I named which while most assuredly assist me in concealment and consistent carry. It has a low bore axis which means the barrel is low in the frame which means less felt recoil, which is a huge advantage over the XD.
The grip is just a hair longer than the others out of the box, so I wouldn't have to worry about getting a +2 mag extender as I would for the other sub-compacts.
Not to mention the fact that its a Ruger. They make a fine pistol. Some people are brand loyal and will only buy M&Ps or XDs or Sig Sauers, and that's fine. I am of the opinion, though, that if it works and works well, I don't care who makes it, assuming that it isn't some company I've never heard of that has spotty workmanship.
Top that all off with the fact that its over $100.00 cheaper than the next "brand name" compact out there and you have a recipe for success. I can get a lot of ammo for $100.00.
I'm going to be looking at it more and more and getting the feel for it and I'll keep everyone posted, but initial impressions are very favorable.
However, the more I handle one and really try and get the feel of it and what it would be like to carry it I get more and more disheartened.
It is a block of metal, it is heavy and bulky. I just can't get over the feeling that would be inconvenient to carry with me. I think it would be, but I didn't see any other options which would fit the bill.
I looked at the XD, the M&P, so on and so forth and either the slide was too tall (XD) or the grip was ridiculously too short (M&P) or it was just too fat (G19, XD).
I couldn't land on one that really fit well in my hand.
I looked at some smaller single stack pistols, Kahr CV9, Kel Tec PF9, the P11 and so on, but those were lacking in heft (Kahr) or didn't feel very "finished" as in the Kel Tec.
Then I stumbled upon the Ruger SR9c. Now this one, to me, and again your perception may vary, seems to fit all my criterion and be a big winner.
It is in 9mm, holds 10+1 (same as the G26) comes with a second extended map (12 rounds I believe). It has a drop trigger, meaning there is an internal safety that won't allow the striker to release unless the trigger is pulled, it also has an unobtrusive manual safety on it. I don't think I would need the manual safety if it has a drop trigger...just my 2 cents.
The grip is thin and well fitting, the slide is relatively free of clutter, the pistol weighs more than a Glock, M&P, or XD, but it doesn't feel heavy. In fact, it feels better than the Glock so far as weigh is concerned.
The slide is much thinner than any of the other big three I named which while most assuredly assist me in concealment and consistent carry. It has a low bore axis which means the barrel is low in the frame which means less felt recoil, which is a huge advantage over the XD.
The grip is just a hair longer than the others out of the box, so I wouldn't have to worry about getting a +2 mag extender as I would for the other sub-compacts.
Not to mention the fact that its a Ruger. They make a fine pistol. Some people are brand loyal and will only buy M&Ps or XDs or Sig Sauers, and that's fine. I am of the opinion, though, that if it works and works well, I don't care who makes it, assuming that it isn't some company I've never heard of that has spotty workmanship.
Top that all off with the fact that its over $100.00 cheaper than the next "brand name" compact out there and you have a recipe for success. I can get a lot of ammo for $100.00.
I'm going to be looking at it more and more and getting the feel for it and I'll keep everyone posted, but initial impressions are very favorable.
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