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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Firearm concealment question

HI FerFal

I am looking to outfit our whole family with guns, that is teenaged sons and mom and dad. Your writings have not covered concealment topics much. We are interested in Glock handguns, but want to be able to conceal and carry if SHTF. I understand that Glock 26, for example, conceals well, but because it is not as powerful, is better as a back up hand gun. Do any of the standard/compact sized Glocks recommended as a primary hand gun also conceal well? Can one have a powerful gun that can also be concealed well in clothing? How do you carry your gun(s)?

Also, as a woman, I am curious what your wife carries?

Thank you and God Bless.

KM



Hi, my wife doesn’t carry.
We keep a 38 Special 2” barrel snubby revolver at a place in the house where both of us know where it is, along with my Glock 31 and Bersa Thunder 9.
As for your question, do yourself a favor and buy a Glock 19 (9mm) for your family members. It’s a gun in high regard by both novices an experts, and capable of performing well for both.

The Glock 26 is a 9mm, packs plenty of power loaded with the right loads. +P Gold Dots JHP are what I use, it’s a good round. Corbon and Federal have good stuff too.
The Glock 26 is a very nice Glock, but (this is all just my humble opinion folks) you lose a good grip for a fraction of an inch. Just put a 26 on top of a 19 and take a look. Not that much difference. If you use a magazine with a finger extension to make the grip any good, it’s even more alike. Keep in mind that you want this gun for defense, you want good weapon retention too.

Glock 19

Glock 26

There are other calibers out there, and 40 S&W, 45 ACP, or 357 SIG (personal favorite) do have a slight advantage over 9mm. But when using good premium ammo the different isn’t that great and when buying a first gun the ability to purchase plenty of cheap 9mm ammo compensates that difference. Eventually if you like shooting and want a bit more power you can get something else, even though thousands of defensive shooting experts, not to mention all the military forces around he world, they all trust 9mm to get the job done. The military is stuck with FMJ ammo (full metal jacket) which is less effective at stopping attackers and usually overpenetrates, while JHP (jacket hollow points) will expand as they penetrate, usually staying in the attackers body, and are more effective.

For carrying, you want an inside the waistband holster(IWB). Milt Sparks and Blade-Tech work for most people. Best thing you can do is try these or others when buying and see what you prefer or adapts better to your body. There’s a local guy here that makes beautiful leather holsters, you just have to try and see what works best for you.
A Glock 19 is easy to conceal with the right holster (and belt!) and proper clothing.
Take care.

FerFAL

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a Glock 17 and I have been carrying a Glock 26 loaded with JHP for nearly a year now. Sometimes I almost forget I am wearing it. The comfort of the holster is important. I have a Crossbreed holster. No one has yet observed that I am carrying.

Dan Tanner said...

"I understand that Glock 26, for example, conceals well, but because it is not as powerful, is better as a back up hand gun."

The Glock 26 (subcompact) fires a 9mm round, the same round that the 19 (compact) and the 17 (full-size) fires. The only difference aside from the frame size is barrel length. You do have an accuracy penalty the shorter the barrel gets, but at typical defense scenario distances (<21 feet), this is negligible.

If you were implying that the 9mm round is less effective, you desperately need to attend a defensive handgun class. The technology for all handgun rounds has seriously diminished the age-old saying that .45 is better than .40, .40 better than 9mm. I can carry 15 rounds of 9mm in my Glock 19, more than I could in a .45 of the same size. It has less muzzle flip, allowing me to make subsequent shots more accurately/faster. The ammunition costs less, allowing me to train more.

9mm is plenty powerful.

Fredo said...

http://le.atk.com/pdf/SanAngeloWBW_Report.pdf

Police test of Gold Dot, Winchester SXT, and Federal HST.

http://shootingmessengers.blogspot.com/2006/05/wound-ballistic-workshop.html

Another set of tests.

I like Federal HST. It has the greatest consistent expansion of any brand that I have found so far. Its what I carry. Of course, shoot a couple hundred rounds of your carry round to ensure it feeds without any difficulty.

As for caliber, I carry a .45ACP. I like the .45. The special forces guys I know carry .45s. The FBI hostage rescue team carries .45s. The FBI carries .40s. I know of quite a number of police departments in the US who used to carry 9mm and have switched to .40 or .45. Some of the highway patrols carry .357 Sig.

I'm not going to claim this is proof of anything, but I tend to copy the people who are out there shooting perps. If 9mm was plenty, I doubt so many organizations would have gone through the expense of abandoning it and switching to another caliber. But that's just my opinion.

I also have a crossbreed holster.

Anonymous said...

spend as much on your holster
and ammo as your gun. here's why:
your gun is your gun, now find
what works. might take a few
times to do that. so.....
holster (you don't like)+another holster (a little better)+ another
(perfect)+ ammo + another kind
+another kind+the one "it likes"
bottom line:
gun = $400
finding perfect holster = 200.
finding perfect ammo = 200.
this way you will ALWAYS carry
your gun (perfect holster) and
you will be confident (perfect
ammo determination is practice).

Greg Hawkins said...

Ferfal makes a good point on the Glock 26 vs 19 - better retention, easier to grab on a quick draw. I'd like to also comment and say that what ever pistol you chose for your family, you must train a LOT with it from a holster and back into a holster. For example,Glocks do not have a safety that you can click on and off (like a 1911) so if you reholster in a stressful situation with your finger on the triger, you can shoot yourself. It happened here to a local LEO. IMO, Glocks are great police and military pistols for carry outside the waistband holsters. I own several Glocks, but don't carry them IWB. For IWB I use a 1911 as I like the safety that comes on the 1911. What ever choice you make I say: 1. Like the gun you get; 2. Practice as much as you can and then some more so you learn and make mistakes (hopefully safe mistakes) before your life depends on it. 3. I also suggest CROSSBREED HOLSTERS for IWB. I have two and they are great!

Best - PG