Small, light handgun

[cakeshooter]

I love my S&W model 63 (5") for practice. Cabelas sells reasonably priced (when on sale) gun Toten mamas purses in a few styles. I would not suggest carrying a gun in a regular purse as it should have a delegated area just for it and nothing else. The purses at Cabelas have a special pocket with holster velcroed to fit whichever way you want the gun to sit. I carry a Stainless JFrame revolver and it is heavy in a purse. Not the greatest idea carrying off body either, but i do it this way sometimes myself. Whatever works for you.

That's awesome, thanks. I love that they make purses for it, I can't imagine trying to dig around in mine for one. I like the ones I saw online where you can just reach over and pull it out of the side.

[Just1more]

I have 2 of their purses but prefer a holster as it is attached to you whereas a purse can be taken from you. If you do choose to purse carry, be sure to wear your purse cross body as it is more difficult to have your purse ripped off of you.

[cakeshooter]

I have 2 of their purses but prefer a holster as it is attached to you whereas a purse can be taken from you. If you do choose to purse carry, be sure to wear your purse cross body as it is more difficult to have your purse ripped off of you.

Seems it would be hard to conceal with a regular holster since women's clothing is usually fairly form fitting....

[Valorius]

There are some women's clothing lines designed for concealing a firearm. Paxton Quigley is a well known shooter and writer who some years ago launched her own line. I remember seeing some buzz about it at the time. I don't how successful it was/is.

If you purse carry, one thing you could do is get either a Kel Tec P3AT .380 or Ruger LCP (higher quality version of the same design), and attach the Kel Tec designed and marketed pocket clip to it.

This would allow you to clip it to an interior and readily accessible pocket or pouch in your purse. The LCP is a very small, extremely lightweight and yet relatively powerful .380 pistol that holds 6+1 rounds of ammo, and is highly reliable.

It is hard to shoot in stock configuration because it has very minimal sights. A company called Crimson trace sells an excellent pressure activated laser for it that makes it VERY easy to shoot accurately. It's pricey, but IMO it's well worth the money. I have a crimson trace laser on my PM9, my LCP and also on my Sig P228. I highly recommend it. (A laser is also great for dry fire practice, and identifying and eliminating errors in your trigger pull and grip from the comfort of your living room)

Fully loaded with a crimson trace laser affixed, a Ruger LCP still weighs considerably less than 1 lb.

[cakeshooter]

There are some women's clothing lines designed for concealing a firearm. Paxton Quigley is a well known shooter and writer who some years ago launched her own line. I remember seeing some buzz about it at the time. I don't how successful it was/is.

If you purse carry, one thing you could do is get either a Kel Tec P3AT .380 or Ruger LCP (higher quality version of the same design), and attach the Kel Tec designed and marketed pocket clip to it.

This would allow you to clip it to an interior and readily accessible pocket or pouch in your purse. The LCP is a very small, extremely lightweight and yet relatively powerful .380 pistol that holds 6+1 rounds of ammo, and is highly reliable.

It is hard to shoot in stock configuration because it has very minimal sights. A company called Crimson trace sells an excellent pressure activated laser for it that makes it VERY easy to shoot accurately. It's pricey, but IMO it's well worth the money. I have a crimson trace laser on my PM9, my LCP and also on my Sig P228. I highly recommend it. (A laser is also great for dry fire practice, and identifying and eliminating errors in your trigger pull and grip from the comfort of your living room)

Fully loaded with a crimson trace laser affixed, a Ruger LCP still weighs considerably less than 1 lb.

Awesome post, thank you! After reading a lot of this information from you and from above, I think I'm going to look into the LCP. I also have really liked the idea of the laser sights....it seems like it would be the easiest way (I could be wrong?) to aim quickly if you don't have time to line up manual sights...and like you say, to practice quickly so you get the feel of a quick aim/fire. That's a great idea too, to practice with the laser with an empty gun at home.

Looking up Crimson Trace right now...

[cakeshooter]

Hmm if you have time could you post the link to the exact product from Crimson Trace? I went there and got confused. haha.

[Valorius]

Certainly!

http://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Trace-...4929960&sr=8-1

Here's a picture of my LCP with the CT laserguard and a +1 mag kit (8rd total capacity) installed:



There is also a company that you can send your LCP too, where for $150 they will install conventional notch iron sights, with a tritium (self luminous night sight) front sight. For the price, they also refinish the slide and polish the barrel, so it's a pretty darned good deal.

I just got that done to my LCP, and got it back last night. I wanted it in case my laser fails at the worst possible time, but either system would be fine as a stand alone aiming method. Each has advantages and disadvantages (Which is why i got both, lol). I don't have any pix of the new sights installed yet. When i take some, i will PM them to you if you're interested.

Ruger really needs to step up to the plate and start offering the LCP with real sights IMO.

PS: Keep in mine the LCP is very "snappy" to fire, and some people find it unpleasant to shoot. I rather like mine. A little recoil and muzzle flash makes for a more fun interactive shooting experience, in my opinion.

The hottest .380+P ammo offers ballistic performance roughly equivalent to a .38 special snub nose revolver firing +P rounds.

[Steve_NEPhila]

here are some instructional videos to show you what high quality training covers... it is a bit more then "sight picture, squeeze..."













Disclaimer... these videos are not training, just an intro.

[huskybiker]

+1 on either the Kel tec PF9 or the Taurus 85UL. I carry them both, on occasion, and they litterally dissappear on your person. Both have been 100% reliable. And best of all, I paid around $250 each for them, NIB.

[PhilB]

I'll echo an earlier vote for the Sig P238. It is very well made and fits in the palm of your hand. Recoil is quite manageable. Some may deride the .380 ACP as not a "proper" self-defense round, but I'll stay out of that fight. It is a bit more expensive than some of the other suggestions, about $500.

I carry mine everywhere I go.

--Phil