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(L) S&W Bodyguard (M/649) with shrouded hammer, DA/SA. (Center) factory bobbed hammer on DAO Ruger SP101. (R) “hammerless” configuration of DAO S&W Centennial (M/40-1).

Choose Your Weapons

One can’t carry a concealed weapon without having a concealable weapon. Some are suitable for the concealed carry task, and some are not.

We can’t cover every possible choice here. A swing through the Krause catalog will show you whole books on the 1911, the Glock, the SIG-Sauer, the Beretta, the Smith & Wesson series, etc. al. Other good choices from Paladin include Living with 1911s and Living with Glocks by Robert Boatman, and the outstanding The Snubby Revolver by Ed Lovette. I think Lovette’s book should be read by anyone who owns or is thinking of owning a “snub-nose.” It puts the whole genre in perspective.

As noted earlier, it’s more convenient to have a “wardrobe” of concealable handguns, but it’s not entirely necessary. Generations of young cops have learned that it’s cheaper to buy a concealment holster for their full-size department-issue service handgun than to purchase a whole new gun and leather set for off-duty carry. Similarly, many armed citizens have learned that the full-size handgun they bought for home protection is concealable if they set their mind to it.

The competent shooter loses little going double-action-only with a snubby. This old M/36 Chief Special with Herrett stocks made 5 out of 5 head shots at 20 yards single action (left) and double action (right).

Cocked to single action as shown, this S&W 649 can be a problem waiting to happen in a tactical situation. Author prefers double-action-only (DAO) S&Ws.

Cops have picked up on this, too. In 1967, Ordnance Sgt Louis Seman of the Illinois State Police convinced the ISP to become the first large department in the nation to adopt the Smith & Wesson Model 39 9mm semiautomatic pistol as a duty weapon. The reason was not firepower. At the time, troopers were required to be armed off duty. They carried 4- to 6-inch barrel Colt and Smith & Wesson service revolvers in uniform, and generally wore 2-inch barrel small frame 38 versions of the same guns on their own time. At qualification, the “snubby” scores were dismally inferior to those with the larger revolvers. Seman reasoned, correctly, that the Model 39 auto pistol would be light and flat enough for concealed carry, but would do fine for uniform wear as well. He was proven right: scores skyrocketed, and the troopers became comfortable wearing the slim Smith 9mms on their off-time. More recently, when NYPD went with 16-shot 9mm pistols and gave their officers the choice of the SIG P226 DAO, the heavy S&W Model 5946, or the polymer-frame Glock 19, the overwhelming majority chose the latter. This was partly because the Glock 19 was cheaper (NYPD officers buy their own guns through the department), but also because it was much lighter and the only one of the three options that was truly a “compact.” The G19 was easier to carry all the time off duty, or when transferring to a plainclothes assignment.

A bit larger than J-frames, and heavier, Taurus Tracker 45 (top) and Ruger SP101 357 (below), are very “shootable” and substantially more powerful than 38s.

Today’s new paradigm: polymer-framed, striker-fired autos. From top: Glock 22 in 40, S&W M&P in 9mm, Springfield XD Tactical in 45 GAP, 45 ACP Kahr P45, 40 cal. Taurus 24/7, and 9mm Ruger SR9.

Just as hunters and sportsmen have historically modeled their rifle choices on the nation’s military small arms, America’s armed citizens have historically followed the police establishment in choosing defensive handguns. When most of America’s cops carried 38 Special revolvers to work, that same type and caliber was the most popular choice of home defense and concealed carry gun. Though private gun enthusiasts embraced auto pistols before American law enforcement in general, they did not switch to autoloaders en masse until the police did the same. Today, the snub-nose “detective special” genre remains extremely popular among cops for backup and off-duty wear, and the same style gun is very popular among armed citizens, but both tend toward the autoloader as a rule for full size “heavy duty” handguns.

Let’s take just a cursory look at available choices today. In each weapon type, various sizes and calibers are available. This allows armed citizen and cop alike to have a deep concealment gun, a larger handgun that’s concealable under heavier clothing, and perhaps a still larger one for home defense or target practice, all with the same fire controls and general “feel” for commonality of training and habituation, so that skills developed with the one will transfer to the other. With some (but not all) combinations, one can also use the larger gun’s speedloaders or higher capacity magazines for efficient spare ammo recharging with the smaller gun.

Many prefer a mix of modern and traditional. These are modern polymer-frame autos with hammer-fired mechanisms. From top: 9mm SIG P250 DAO, 45 ACP Heckler & Koch USP45, and 45 ACP Ruger P345.

Secrets of experience: moderately long-barrel guns with short grips deliver great shooting performance, and may be easier to carry at the waist than “snubbies.” From top: Kahr Covert P40 in 40 S&W; S&W Model 64 38 Special with 4-inch barrel and Craig Spegel Boot Grips; and Colt CCO with 4 1/4-inch barrel of Commander mounted on short Officers frame, in 45 ACP, wearing Barnhart Burner stocks.

The New Paradigm “Automatics”

The proper term is considered to be “semiautomatic,” but for my generation “automatic” was an acceptable descriptor of autoloading pistols which only fired one shot per pull of the trigger, so forgive me if I use it in this book for convenience. We all know what we’re talking about.

The most popular genre of automatics today are striker-fired pistols with no “hammers” per se, and with polymer frames. Pioneered by Heckler and Koch with the VP70Z and HKP9 series pistols of the 1970s and ’80s – but popularized more than 20 years ago by the market-leading Glock brand – the polymer frame reduces weight, reduces cost, and is impervious to corrosion. The latter is an important point with guns carried concealed and often exposed to salty, rust-creating human sweat. Most of these pistols will have a trigger pull that’s the same from first to last shot, which makes them easier to learn to shoot well. These include the Glock, of course, and also the Springfield Armory XD, the Kahr, Smith & Wesson’s successful Military & Police series and cost-effective Sigma line, and the slim, reliable Ruger SR9 among others. The Glock line is far and away the most popular in American police service at this writing, but the S&W M&P is coming on strong in that sector and so, to a lesser degree, is the XD.

Double-action semiautomatics can be had with polymer frames (Beretta Ninety-Two and Px4, the current HK series, SIG P-250 and SIG-Pro, Ruger P95 9mm and P345 45, for example). These require a long, heavy (read “deliberate”) pull of the trigger for the first shot, and are considered by some to be less prone to stress-induced accidental discharges for that reason. They can be ordered DAO (double-action-only, with that same heavy pull for every shot, such as the popular Kel-Tec series), or TDA (traditional double action) in which the pistol cocks itself to an easy, light pull for every shot after the first. The latter will be fitted with a decocking lever to safely lower the hammer when the shooting is done. Of course, the same companies – plus Smith & Wesson and many more – offer double-action autos with steel or aluminum frame construction, too.

Two approaches to making 1911’s butt less protuberant in concealment. Top: shortened Officer’s frame on Colt CCO. Center: “Bobtail” configuration developed by Ed Brown, shown on his Executive model pistol. Below: standard size 1911 frame for reference, here a Smith SW1911. All 3 are 45 ACP.

S&W lightweight Centennials have been the choice of experts for deep concealment for more than half a century. Top: Original Centennial Airweight, circa 1953. Center, Model 442, early ’90s, with Eagle grips. Below, Model 340 M&P, with factory-furnished Hogue grips, introduced 2007.

A classic favorite among American shooters is the single action semiautomatic, typified by the 1911 pistol that has been popular since the eponymous year of its introduction. To be ready for immediate, reactive self-defense, the 1911 type handgun has to be carried cocked and locked (hammer back, thumb safety in the “safe” position) with a live round in the chamber. This alarms some people not in tune with the tradition, and there is no shame for those people to simply go to a double action or striker-fired handgun instead. The 1911 was popular for concealed carry from the beginning because it is extremely thin for a gun of its power level, and is therefore very comfortable to wear inside the waistband or even in a shoulder holster. The most popular chambering is the one this gun was designed around, the 45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol), but enthusiasts have bought them in 38 Super, 9mm, 10mm, and other chamberings. The 1911 was designed by firearms genius John Moses Browning, who before his death did the initial design work on another famous weapon that bears his name, the Browning Hi-Power. Even slimmer, and capable of holding 14 rounds of 9mm Parabellum, this high quality weapon has something of a cult following in the CCW world.

Revolvers have earned a reputation for good reliability and have been around since the year 1836. A swing-out cylinder double action design is the easiest handgun for new shooters because of its simple “administrative handling,” the routine loading and unloading, checking, and cleaning that accompanies all responsible firearms ownership. Its “manual of arms,” i.e., its physical operation, is without parallel for simplicity. This is one reason most experts recommend the double-action revolver as a “starter gun” for new shooters.

Model 642 Airweight 38 Spl. may be today’s “best buy” in a carry snub, opines author.

642 with Uncle Mike’s grips and pocket holster, backed by Speed Strip, and loaded with 135-grain Gold Dot 38 Spl. +P is an excellent everyday carry snubby set-up.

Revolver or Auto

As you assess your particular balance of needs, you’ll find some stark differences between the attributes of the double action revolver and the semiautomatic pistol. Let’s go for a quick overview.

All autoloading pistols have long bearing surfaces between slide and frame, making them sensitive to proper lubrication. They are also depended on clean, pristine magazines with unfatigued springs. Thus, auto pistols are more maintenance intensive than revolvers, which can be left unlubricated and at rest literally for decades with no degradation in function. Military spec auto pistols such as the Glock, Beretta, SIG, etc. have large tolerances between the moving parts, allowing them to function when sand or dirt get in the mechanism; the more finely fitted revolvers may choke if dropped in a sand pile or immersed in mud. Thus, while the revolver is more forgiving of lack of routine maintenance, the automatic is more forgiving of field abuse.

In the serious defense calibers (38 Special and up) revolvers have only five shots in the small frame models, six in the standard frame, and occasionally seven or eight in the larger, progressively harder to conceal sizes. The smallest 9mm autos start at seven rounds on board, quickly progress to ten or eleven, and if you can carry a light polymer-frame, full size 9mm auto, you’re up to 18 rounds or so, twenty if you don’t mind a small magazine extension protruding from the butt. With quick-interchanging magazines, the autos are also much faster to reload. By any measure, if firepower’s what you want, a semiautomatic is what you need.

Most semiautomatics can jam if pressed against an assailant’s body before firing, as can happen in a belly-to-belly fight to the death or rape attempt. The pressure will push most autos’ slides out of battery, or firing alignment of the parts, preventing even one shot from being fired. If the first shot discharges, viscous blood, fat, and brain matter may be back-blasted from a shot against bare flesh into the barrel bushing area of the autoloader as it cycles, preventing the slide from closing into battery for a subsequent shot. With a revolver, however, this is not a consideration. If your likeliest threat profile is a contact-distance mugging, rape, or murder attempt, the revolver will give you an advantage. Muzzle contact shots are particularly devastating since the violently expanding gases of the muzzle blast are directed into the opponent’s body, causing massive additional damage.

Crimson Trace Lasergrips make an excellent addition to hard-to-shoot snubby revolvers.

Seen here with 340 M&P, Centennial’s design lets the hand get higher on the backstrap for superior recoil recovery in rapid combat fire.

Revolver shooters have tended historically to practice with light loads, using mild wadcutters or feeble 130-grain generic 38 Special range loads for training, and then loading monster Elmer Keith Memorial Magnum loads of 357 persuasion for the street. Cops got away from that long ago, because they realized that light loads didn’t prepare the officer to hit with a hard-kicking gun at the moment of truth. Too many private citizens still delude themselves this way. An advantage of the auto pistol is that it won’t run with light loads, forcing the shooter into relevant practice.

Shorter, more efficient auto pistol loads tend to produce less muzzle flash at night than revolver ammo of equivalent power levels, i.e., 38 Special versus 9mm, 357 Magnum versus 357 SIG, or 45 Colt versus 45 ACP or 45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol). The less muzzle flash, the less the shooter is blinded by his or her own weapon, another advantage to the auto.

Autos tend to have squared-off “handles” that press tightly against the body, particularly in pocket, ankle, belly-band, or other deep concealment carry modes. This means the fingers of the drawing hand may have to fight a little to get between the flesh and the gun to gain a drawing grasp. The rounded profile of the small frame revolver allows a much faster grasp, hence a much faster draw. Score a point for the revolver here, particularly in pocket, ankle, or belly-band carry.

Revolvers tend, overall, to be somewhat more reliable than auto pistols, which can jam from being held with a limp wrist, from using too short or too long a cartridge, or from lack of lubrication or magazine damage. Particularly for non-experienced shooters and those who don’t routinely lubricate their guns, this gives the “wheelgun” a reliability edge. (Auto shooters, remember to lubricate your carry gun monthly, even if you don’t shoot it. Lubricant is liquid; it drains and evaporates.) If you carry in an ankle holster, grit builds up on the gun quickly. Only a few “military-spec” small autos seem to survive this buildup without jamming: the Kel-Tec P11 and P3AT, the baby Glocks, and the Kahrs, for example. Revolvers tolerate this grit buildup in ankle holsters much better.

Ayoob says “Friends don’t let friends carry mouse guns.” Compared to S&W 40-1 38 (top), the NAA 22 Magnum (center) and 22 Short (bottom) mini-revolvers should be seen as enjoyable recreational guns, not fighting weapons, he feels.

There is such a thing as “too big” in defensive revolvers, such as the 460 Smith & Wesson. Author whimsically holds 8 3/8-inch version, left, and short barrel “emergency” model, right.

Kel-Tec P3AT (below J-frame S&W shown for comparison) is extremely flat and easy to carry, but author does not trust its 380 cartridge as much as he does 38 Spl. +P.

P3AT by Kel-Tec is reliable in current production, says author, and certainly light and flat.

One thing we’ve seen more and more since autoloaders became predominant in police work is that if they are carried with a manual safety locked in the “safe” position, they offer an element of proprietary nature to the user if a criminal gains control of the weapon. This feature is generally the province of auto pistols instead of revolvers. However, the K-frame (38-size frame) or larger S&W revolver can be converted to Magna-Trigger configuration by Rick Devoid. Such a conversion can only be fired by someone wearing a magnetic ring. When my little ones were not yet at an age of responsibility, my “house gun” (and often my carry gun) was a 4-inch barrel Smith & Wesson 357, MagnaTriggered. It will come out of retirement now that I’ve got grandkids. I gave a 2 1/2-inch barrel MagnaTrigger Combat Magnum to my youngest when she became a mom – Devoid tuned the action, too – while her older sister was comfortable with her pet S&W Model 3913 9mm automatic in this regard, since it is equipped with both manual safety and magazine disconnector safety. Devoid (www.tarnhelm.com) can also fit a Cominolli thumb safety for all Glock pistols but the Model 36, offering proprietary nature to the user to Glock fans.

There are other factors to consider, but these are the key points. They help to explain why serious shooters today seem to prefer autoloaders, but most experts recommend revolvers for beginners and for that class of gun owners that expert Mark Moritz defined as NDPs, or non-dedicated personnel. It also explains why the revolver is so popular as a hideout/backup gun among even highly trained gun people.

When in doubt, do what I do. With a service-grade automatic on my hip and a light, snub-nosed revolver in my pocket, I figure I’m covered whether St. Peter turns out to be a Bill Jordan/revolver fan or a Jeff Cooper auto fan when I meet him on Judgment Day…

The carry gun of your choice will probably be available in a variety of size formats. Here are the four currently produced 9mm Glocks. From top, target size G34; service size G17; compact G19; subcompact G26.

The old revolver paradigm, seen with S&W 38 Specials. From top: 6-inch K38 for pistol team use, 4-inch Combat Masterpiece for uniform wear, and 2-inch Chiefs Special for concealment needs.

Your model of choice may be available in various lengths. These are single-action-only SIG P220 45s. From top: 5-inch barrel target model, 4 1/4-inch service model, and 3.9-inch “Carry” model.

Concealed Carry Gun Features

Whatever your choice, there are some features that are particularly suitable for concealed carry. You want a carry gun that is snag-free. No sharp edges. Nothing to hook on clothing and reveal the pistol, or wear holes in the garments, or catch on fabric and fatally stall a defensive draw. If you just have to have a sharp-edged, non-ramped front sight, make sure your holster has a “sight channel” that will prevent “catching.” Some shooters really do have a need for adjustable rear sights – they’re carrying a hunting handgun or match handgun that needs to be precisely zeroed, and may need the sights adjusted to take advantage of different ammunition power levels – the edges of those sights should be rounded, even if a custom gunsmith has to do it.

Make sure the grip and grip-frame area give the hand enough traction if wet with sweat or blood or rain. The defensive handgun, remember, is an emergency tool. Smooth metal frames coupled with pearl or even ivory “handles,” if the latter don’t have finger grooves, might as well be coated with wet soap. Some secure grip surfaces can be too tacky for concealed carry. Depending on the garments, “rubber” grips have been known to catch inner clothing surfaces and hike up the garment to reveal the handgun. Skateboard-like grips that lock the gun solidly into the hand can abrade coat linings. I find I can wear them next to bare skin, but a lot of my colleagues find them agonizing. On the other hand, some of those folks can wear cocobolo grips next to their skin, but in my case they cause an angry red rash. There are a lot of individualistic little tastes that you develop over years of concealed carry, and they tend to be highly subjective.

Thickness is an important dimension in CCW selection. Top to bottom, left: Springfield XD, Glock 22, Kimber 1911, SIG P226. From top at right: Kahr P40, S&W K-frame, S&W J-frame, and Browning Hi-Power. Note slimness of 1911 and Hi-Power formats, a reason for their popularity among CCW professionals.