conceal carry

[cruzans]

Buddy of mine is looking for his first pistol. He wants it mainly for protection when hiking ( came across some angry cayotes the other day ) then is going to go for his ltc. I suggested the lcp, but he is set on an auto with a manual safety. I want to be sure I'm not missing any choices. I was thinking lc9 ( although I hate going with a first run of a pistol ) or maybe Bersa Thunder 380 cc. I was even thinking of a p64 - seeing they are only
$ 149, might be a first good beater/hiking gun ? Any thoughts ?

[Brian Ahearn]

the bersa in 380 is a great little pistol , the p-64 I actually carry every day with glaser silver safety slugs and hornady critical defense. I carry 2 extra mags since it is a six shot mag. Easliy put all shots into a nice group at 20 yards on a 8 inch pie plate. If he goes 9x18 try and find somebody local that has one so that he can try it out first. 9x18 pistols are a little on the heavy side on recoil for some people. These pistols are underrated by the shooting community in general. I have found them to be excellent shooters and a good value price wise, ammo $10.00 and self defense ammo is available. They are easy to carry and deploy. I have the P-64,P-83, Pa-63 ,CZ82, russain hi-cap 12 mak. I even upgraded the sights on 2 of them. I have novak low profile sights on the Pa63 and on my Cz82 I installed XS big dots. There are alot of excellent carry pistols to choose from, what he needs to decide on is what caliber, what pistol fits his hand well, what round capacity does he want and what amount of money does he what to spend. Also does he train regularly with compacts . I also carry 9mm and 45 acp compacts. Like I said their are many choices available.

[SCBaldr]

I'd say go for a RIA commander or officer's and have fun.

[cruzans]

I'd say go for a RIA commander or officer's and have fun.

yeah, i love my ria compact but he's looking for smaller, a real pocket gun.

[cruzans]

the bersa in 380 is a great little pistol , the p-64 I actually carry every day with glaser silver safety slugs and hornady critical defense. I carry 2 extra mags since it is a six shot mag. Easliy put all shots into a nice group at 20 yards on a 8 inch pie plate. If he goes 9x18 try and find somebody local that has one so that he can try it out first. 9x18 pistols are a little on the heavy side on recoil for some people. These pistols are underrated by the shooting community in general. I have found them to be excellent shooters and a good value price wise, ammo $10.00 and self defense ammo is available. They are easy to carry and deploy. I have the P-64,P-83, Pa-63 ,CZ82, russain hi-cap 12 mak. I even upgraded the sights on 2 of them. I have novak low profile sights on the Pa63 and on my Cz82 I installed XS big dots. There are alot of excellent carry pistols to choose from, what he needs to decide on is what caliber, what pistol fits his hand well, what round capacity does he want and what amount of money does he what to spend. Also does he train regularly with compacts . I also carry 9mm and 45 acp compacts. Like I said their are many choices available.

yeah, i love my mak's ! the weight was my only issue with the p64 although when i check on line, it's the same weight as a bersa thunder 380 cc ???
after posting, i thought about a beretta tomcat in 32 maybe seeing it is so small, and 32 is not too bad a round ??

[algoesfast]

Have a Bersa and a PF9. PF9 is a good gun. Never had a problem with mine. Also have a thunder 380 and never had a problem with that. The PF9 is lighter and has a bigger round. Kicks a lot but its not going to be a range gun. They also make a 22 conversion for the PF9.

[cruzans]

Have a Bersa and a PF9. PF9 is a good gun. Never had a problem with mine. Also have a thunder 380 and never had a problem with that. The PF9 is lighter and has a bigger round. Kicks a lot but its not going to be a range gun. They also make a 22 conversion for the PF9.

I originally thought about the kel-tec pf9. I've never warmed to them because they are so crude looking, but I've never heard much negative about their functioning. It would not be in the running though, he wants a manual safety.

[PhilB]

For easy pocket carry you can't beat a Sig P238. Manual safety, nice action, and well made. Perhaps a bit pricey, but not something he'll get bored with and trade away.

--Phil

[BoneCrusher]

The Bodyguard .380 fits the bill. The DeSantis pocket holster works great too. Still loving this one dude.

[cruzans]

For easy pocket carry you can't beat a Sig P238. Manual safety, nice action, and well made. Perhaps a bit pricey, but not something he'll get bored with and trade away.

--Phil

yeah, i love my p238 but he didn't want to spend that much at the moment.