First-Time Gun Owner CCW Recommendations

So much about this is personal preference. What I find comfortable, you may not. What fits my hands perfectly may not fit yours.

Go to a range that has rentals, and try out a few guns to see what you like. 9mm is by far the most common round carried, followed by .40 and .45 (.380 is popular as well).

Just about anything can be concealed if you dress for it. Appendix carry is popular but many of us still prefer to carry between 3:00 and 4:00 (or 8:00 to 9:00 for southpaws).

Find a gun. Learn to shoot it. Take classes and learn to shoot it well. The rest will all fall into place.

I love my subcompact single stack 9mm handguns...that being said, im about 5' 10" 185 lbs. My favorite so far is my Glock 43. Ive carried a s&w 442 and a xds 9mm before that.

If youre looking at bigger, Id recommend a glock 19 or any of its counterparts. Imo, as long as you stick with a reputable brand, find something that you like to shoot and can shoot well. Go to the range or ask your friends with guns if you can try their handguns.

At the end of the day, if its not comfortable, you wont carry it. If you dont like shooting it, you wont practice with it. If you dont practice, your abilities to actually use it is diminished. Find a gun that youll carry and shoot.

Much like Harry Pottter, the gun chooses the carrier.

Take your time, find the right fit, rent guns at ranges, have your friends who own things already come with you and lend you their favorites.

I selected a Walther PPQ in 9mm simply because it felt best in my hand.

I hope your best gun finds you. :)

I was in your shoes two years ago. Started shopping around, thinking that I needed a 1911 because they're tried & true and good manufacturers are plentiful. Hitting the LGS, Field & stream, Cabelas, etc, I found quickly that I was going to have to make a $700 to $1000 investment to get the brands I considered reputable.
Brother in law visited from out of state & let me shoot his Glock 26. It was great, but 10+1 (OEM) capacity to me was immediately a drawback. He then pulled a 17rd mag out of the bag & explained that it would take any double stack mag..... Huh, that's a plot twist. Back to the LGS, I find that they are in the ballpark of $500 new, I was sold.

I'm now a Glock fanboy lol.

There are however several polymer striker fired pistols out there that will likely fulfill your needs. Keep that family safe & Good luck!

[Check out this guide to buying a gun for your wife/girlfriend/sweetie from the r/guns FAQ](https://np.reddit.com/r/guns/comments/4umr4o/eli5_what_gun_should_my_girlfriendwifemom_get_for/). Has everything you need to know. Just ignore the lady parts that don't apply.

There is no single gun that can be guaranteed to be a good fit for you. As everyone else has said, just try out every gun you possibly can and note what you like and don't like about each.

Just to throw my hat in the ring:

An H&K VP9SK is a great double stack concealable pistol with adjustable grips to suit different size hands. I typically wear size large gloves and the stock grip fits me perfectly with the H&K official pinky extension 10rd mag. A coworker that is ~6'2" also just tried it and really liked the fit of it.

OEM extended mags in 13 and 15 round varieties are available for it so no dealing with aftermarket stuff unless you want the other odd mags.

Being an H&K, it's extremely reliable, well built, shoots very accurately, and has a great feel to it. I've put probably 2500 rounds through it so far and I've never had a single FTE, stovepiping, or any other issue with it when firing 124gr 9mm ammo.

I carry it every day AIWB or 4:30 IWB and highly recommend it. It's my favorite pistol I've shot so far.

Stick to striker fired pistol without a safety. They are very easy to operate and maintain. Carry with one in the pipe, draw, point, shoot.

Go with a 9mm from M&P, Glock, FN, H&K, Sig, or Beretta. If those are beyond the budget, get a used police service weapon before you even consider Taurus or Bersa.

To find the specific weapon, you just have to go rent some weapons and shoot them. There are so many great striker fired pistols today. A few years ago all the manufacturers designed a pistol for consideration to be the new army service weapon. The ergonomics from those pistols have all made it to the consumer pistol models.

If all the choices become overwhelming, just get a Glock 19. It’s like the Honda Civic of pistols. The thing will just work and work forever. If you don’t end up loving it, it’s a great reference to help you find your next gun. Because chances are, you will buy more more than one gun.

Personally, I carry a Beretta PX4 Storm compact in 40SW. I’m about 6’3” and 220lbs, and also have large hands. The PX4 still has a full sized grip but is small enough to to conceal easily. But the grip is just the right size for the rest of it not feeling like a tiny gun I can’t hold onto. It’s a great gun and the recoil is easily manageable. I have the alien gear cloak tuck 3.5 (I think that’s what it’s called) holster and it has never been uncomfortable for me (I carry at about 5 o’clock, above the right pocket). That being said, it really comes down to preference. Many people nowadays prefer striker fired guns, which I absolutely hate. Call me old fashioned, but I’m a terrible shooter with them, so I buy hammer fired guns. See if you have friends who carry or have guns and try them out. Go to a rental range. Try lots of stuff. Let us know what you pick! I’m always interested to hear what people go with and I’m always looking for another fine addition to my collection. Good luck!

Try as many as you can and find something you are comfortable carrying, shooting, and practicing with. I love my XDS 9mm. Some may prefer a 40 but I'm a better shot with the 9. Somebody else may be the opposite, but I had to try a few to figure that out.

Rent several popular guns and see which one you shoot best.

I feel like your first consideration when choosing a (first) gun for concealed carry should be how easy it is to carry. That points you towards smaller guns in general. If a gun is too big and heavy and a hassle to take with you, you're less likely to have it if you ever need it. A small gun can disappear on your waistband or in a pocket without much extra thought. Sure it's great if it's comfortable to shoot, but with practice they shoot just fine, and 99.994% of the time it's just an extra weight to lug around. This is why the LCP and guns like it are popular. As for your large hands, most single stacks offer an extended magazine with more capacity and more to grip. I'd look at LCP, LCP II, S&W Shield, Sig 238/938, Glock 42/43, and when you're ready for a second gun look at something in double stack. My bet is you'll still carry a single stack more often.

PPS. Glock 26 glock 30. Glock 19 vp9sk p30sk.

I would recommend revisiting caliber selection. 9mm does have the mildest recoil but 45 has the advantage of greater physical incapacitation and less chance of over penetration.

Personally I carry both the 30 and the 19 depending on environment. I'd also jump on some others comments about testing a carry gun. Find something that you can easily carry enough ammo to finish the fight and something light enough to carry but you can still handle well.

Number one deciding factor in buying a carry gun should reliably. You need it to go bang every single time you pull the trigger. I also recommend sticking to 9mm with a good defensive round such as Federal HST. These rounds have outstanding ballistics and quite honestly 9mm is cheap to shoot which means you can buy more ammo and practice more.

I carry a 5” 1911 .45 all day, every day. I’ve had a G17 almost 30 years, and prefer the 1911.

Don’t try one. They are easy to shoot, have wonderful triggers, and independent safeties. Still, they are obsolete. For new people, I suggest a modern polymer 9mm. Glocks are awesome engineering achievements, but the squarish grip feels odd to me, the triggers aren’t great, sights aren’t great either, and there’s no independent manual safety. A manual safety buys you a few seconds if a kid picks up your gun, and reduces risk of ND if clothing gets into your holster. S&W M&P compact might work for you.

AIWB has a dedicated following, but violates rule 2. You’re no more or less likely to have a ND carrying appendix, but consequences can be far worse than carrying IWB at 4:00, particularly if you’re drawing or holstering seated.

All depends on budget, and personal preference. There is just no one size fits all. A lot of it is personal preference. We are living in an age where there are too many good options, we are spoiled for choice, which is great but it makes it hard to recommend one gun over another. Every person and body are different. Some people carry full sized 1911s, others prefer tiny pocket pistols. However there are three constants you'll want to be aware of going into this. Namely that A.) you will need lots of ammo for training, and it's not cheap B.) you will probably have to spend $100+ to get a good rig to carry with comfortably and C.) you want to stick to .380 auto and up in terms of ft/lbs of force/penetration for defensive rounds, some people even say 9mm and up.

With that in mind, here is a foolproof plan to get the best CCW you possibly can for you:

• Step 1.) Go online and make a list of reliable pistols in your price range to consider. This should help you narrow it down: http://reddithandguns.com/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/guns/wiki/handguns This is also a very good source to look general info up on: http://www.genitron.com/

• Step 2.) Go to a local gun shop and try all the guns on your list. Check the ergonomics of the grip grip, trigger, safetie(s), etc, the sights, if it's small enough to carry and so on. Write down your impressions and eliminate any that don't fit you well. Check a few that didn't make your initial list just to compare.

• Step 3.) Find a gun range (or friends) that will rent you the top guns on your list. This will probably run ~$100 to try out a few, but it is beyond worth it, especially for a first timer. You will learn a lot about what you like and what you don't like. Again record your impressions and eliminate any that aren't to your liking.

• Step 4.) Use the list of finalists to go online and find the cheapest one. Use the money you saved to buy ammo and a decent holster. These sites can help find great deals: https://gun.deals/ and https://gunwatcher.com/ You can also find local deals on www.Armslist.com just be aware of scammers.

My wife and I have done this multiple times, and there is just no substitute for trying before you buy, especially when it comes to your EDC. We were both surprised by what we like and what we didn't, it was very different from our expectations even after a lot of research and handling at the LGS.

All that said, my advice after carrying for a considerable portion of my life is I'd highly recommend putting the CZ P-01 and/or P-07 (Cajunized or CZC if you can), CZ Rami, Beretta PX4 Storm Compact Carry, Steyr M9A1 or S9A1, and a lightweight commander 1911 in 9mm on the short list (Ruger's is really nice for the money, Wilson EDX9 is the penultimate). They are the best CCW pistols I've used, and I've used a lot. Also the Sig P238/P938 makes an excellent deep conceal pistol with extended pinky mags. I'd recommend JM Custom Kydex holsters and Beltman, Kore, or Ratchet belts with stiffeners.

Feel free to ask any questions!