First Gun out of these?

[Wahoo]

The grip safety on the 380 EZ is no problem.  Actually promotes use of a “proper” grip on the firearm, or else it won’t fire.  

We got one as part of a “package” which included an IWB DeSantis leather holster, a box of JHP rounds, a cleaning kit and something else which I can’t recall now.  Price was $409.  After deducting Cost of the “extras” we paid roughly $359 for the gun itself.  

My summer carry is an LCP 380 (pocket carry in shorts or ankle holster with jeans).  Not a fun gun to shoot but very easy to carry.

My other carry is a 9mm Shield.  Harder to conceal with summer clothes but once temps drop and my sweatshirts come out of the drawer, it’s my daily fall/winter/spring carry.

[hiro]

4 hours ago, redkow97 said:

My new job is safer, and the building prohibits firearms. It’s much harder to shoot on my lunch break than it used to be 😞

In the less safe job, you had to open fire even to get lunch??

[hiro]

6 hours ago, Tpoppa said:

a 5 shot .22 mag and more accurate that you would imagine.  

Actually has a ported barrel? 

[hiro]

There seem to be easier to shoot, slightly larger 380's than the LCP's. The Shield EZ seems to be one and the LC380 is the same size as the LC9s. One thought I had about a 380 is that it might be "safer" as far as pass-thru using a hollow point, and maybe easier to shoot more accurately and quickly. But it does seem to cost at least $5-6 more per 50 to shoot. Might be worth it to not get a double kill from a one target? heh

[Tonik]

The wife needs a small J frame Smith and Wesson 38 revolver for her walks. Your second gun will be a full frame 45 like an FN FNX or any 1911 style 45.

That's it thread is over. Need a mod to lock it.

[hiro]

1 hour ago, Tonik said:

The wife needs a small J frame Smith and Wesson 38 revolver for her walks. Your second gun will be a full frame 45 like an FN FNX or any 1911 style 45.

That's it thread is over. Need a mod to lock it.

I did consider the Ruger LCR and LCRx 38, or an S&W Airweight. Ammo is as much or more than 380 and they're only 5-shot and wider due to the wheel. I'd love to have a larger 38 though. 

It bugs me that my wife's father had a 357 before he died (of a heart condition) and she won't simply ask for it. I doubt that is 72 year-old widow wants to keep it, but maybe she does. Probably end up pawning it or something. A waste.

Anyway, the new list is something like this before actually trying them:
SR9 Compact (really interested)
American Compact (heavier weight and price)
Shield 380 EZ (depends on price)
LC9s (recoil?)
LC380

[hiro]

21 hours ago, Tonik said:

The wife needs a small J frame Smith and Wesson 38 revolver for her walks. Your second gun will be a full frame 45 like an FN FNX or any 1911 style 45.

That's it thread is over. Need a mod to lock it.

Since you want the thread to end for some reason, I'll wrap up with this:
I decided to go with an SR9c (with stainless steel slide).

If I were definitely going to conceal, I'd go with the LC380--wouldn't mind a purple one. haha
I can get either one for $300 which makes the SR9c a better deal.
Just need to get rid of the Hogue beavertail grip I bought in advance for the LC9s.

[Tonik]

22 minutes ago, hiro said:

Since you want the thread to end for some reason,

If I wanted it closed I would have just closed it.

When I say "mods close this thread" it is more of a declaration that I believe my answer is the correct answer and further debate is not needed.

[hiro]

4 minutes ago, Tonik said:

When I say "mods close this thread" it is more of a declaration that I believe my answer is the correct answer and further debate is not needed.

Right. OK. Any future update will be after getting the SR9c and taking it to the range. (Glocks were never an option for me, BTW. Too mainstream. heh And I don't want to shoot myself in the foot.)

[max power]

 When you say LC 380 do you mean LCP? Because it’s much smaller than the LC9. 

Compare the airweight to any of the subcompact 9 mm and you will see that it is not really any wider. It conceals much more easily because it has no square edges. I carry one in my pocket every day and no one ever notices it.  

Much better knockdown power than 380 or even 9 mm and if you need more than five shots you’re not close enough and you’re probably going to jail.

[redkow97]

On 9/25/2018 at 4:18 PM, hiro said:

In the less safe job, you had to open fire even to get lunch??

Up until July, i was prosecuting felons. Their friends and family tend to show up for the verdict, and sentencing, if not the trial. They also tend to wait in the parking lot. Usually just to yell to their family member as the transport van rolls past, but sometimes to hassle the people who “did this to their” brother/son/boyfriend/cousin. 

They also heard my name every time the judge said it, and they knew i was In the courthouse pretty much every day, if they ever felt like waiting outside. An Un-shocking number of felons angry family members don’t have much going on during business hours. 

We were encouraged to carry firearms, and check them with the deputies when we entered the courthouse. 

Edited September 27, 2018 by redkow97

[hiro]

2 hours ago, redkow97 said:

Up until July, i was prosecuting felons. Their friends and family tend to show up for the verdict, and sentencing, if not the trial. They also tend to wait in the parking lot. Usually just to yell to their family member as the transport van rolls past, but sometimes to hassle the people who “did this to their” brother/son/boyfriend/cousin. 

They also heard my name every time the judge said it, and they knew i was In the courthouse pretty much every day, if they ever felt like waiting outside. An Un-shocking number of felons angry family members don’t have much going on during business hours. 

We were encouraged to carry firearms, and check them with the deputies when we entered the courthouse. 

Ah, so, just about right that you need to be armed even to get lunch! I just heard a story in my new town of how the local Sheriff traveled to NY to retrieve a guy who killed someone in NC. While he was on the way, the perpetrator's relatives set fire to his house! This was way back in the 1930's or 40's. Some things never change!

[hiro]

7 hours ago, max power said:

 When you say LC 380 do you mean LCP? Because it’s much smaller than the LC9. 

Compare the airweight to any of the subcompact 9 mm and you will see that it is not really any wider. It conceals much more easily because it has no square edges. I carry one in my pocket every day and no one ever notices it.  

Much better knockdown power than 380 or even 9 mm and if you need more than five shots you’re not close enough and you’re probably going to jail.

Not the little LCP 380. The LC380 is the same size as the LC9s, but with a different trigger. The LC9s is now striker fired. I think photo shows the 3 different guns. I went from wanting the middle size to the larger size. The SR9c is not shown with the extended mag though. It's only slightly smaller than the full-size SR9.

[hiro]

7 hours ago, max power said:

Compare the airweight to any of the subcompact 9 mm and you will see that it is not really any wider. It conceals much more easily because it has no square edges. I carry one in my pocket every day and no one ever notices it.  

Much better knockdown power than 380 or even 9 mm and if you need more than five shots you’re not close enough and you’re probably going to jail.

(I took to long to add the part about revolvers.)

As far as a 38 revolver goes, it does sound good to conceal, but I realized that that isn't going to happen for a while, if ever. I need to learn more about the laws and do some training before even considering it. With all the things that can go wrong with a semi-auto, I probably would choose a 38. Most problems are handled without a gun let alone 17 rounds! heh

[redkow97]

How much shooting have you done?  It’s quite difficult to shoot a short barrel gun well without solid fundamentals. 

The striker fired LC9 is easier to shoot that a DAO pistol, but it’s still small. 

Thats why i asked what your actual use will be. Carry guns are not typically great range guns. 

[hiro]

On 9/28/2018 at 6:16 PM, redkow97 said:

How much shooting have you done?  It’s quite difficult to shoot a short barrel gun well without solid fundamentals. 

The striker fired LC9 is easier to shoot that a DAO pistol, but it’s still small. 

Thats why i asked what your actual use will be. Carry guns are not typically great range guns. 

Hmm...probably less than 1000 rounds total over my entire life. heh Maybe less than 750 even.

This is probably not real impressive at 15 yards considering it could be done with a bow and arrow, but it was decent for me. My last 6 shots of the day. I was aiming at the white area between the target spots, so at some point I probably aimed at a spot I had already hit just to have something to target.



I believe we rented an M&P 9 M2.0 Compact with a 4" barrel. (There is also a version with a 3.6" barrel. The SR9c has a 3.5" barrel and a shorter grip, depending on the chosen magazine options.)  All I know is that the grip was long enough for the pinky grab and It held at least 14 rounds. VERY easy to load using the UpLULA!

A few interesting notes about my wife using it; she said tonight that she didn't really even notice the recoil! (I did, but it was comfortable.) Her shots dropped low after the first half of the mag because it was tiring for her to hold the gun straight out the whole time. Both of us thought the grip was overly abrasive and I didn't like this particular thumb safety because the levers got in the way of grabbing the slide with the palm over the top.

So, considering the suggestion of a Ruger American, I think the weight would be too much for my wife at the range. It's maybe 28-29oz empty. The SR9c is around 23-24oz empty, close to what that M&P was. Clearly recoil wasn't a problem using target rounds, but weren't shooting for speed either.

I'll probably have an SR9c by Wednesday. Gotta start somewhere! I guess it won't excel at any particular role, but I'm hoping it will be a decent multi-tool. At the last second I requrested a 2nd purchase permit, just in case! (Cost $5 each here, and if I didn't get an extra one now, I would have to go through the application again and wait another 8 days.)

The good news is that my wife is interested in a general class or a concealed carry class to learn more about shooting and the legalities. Maybe just to keep ME out of trouble. heh Not complaining!

Edited September 30, 2018 by hiro

[motocat12]

15 yards?

[hiro]

17 hours ago, motocat12 said:

15 yards?

Yeah. Is it that bad? I mean, I haven't even begun my training yet. It was kinda like open bowling with disco lights. 

[Steve Butters]

1 hour ago, hiro said:

Yeah. Is it that bad? I mean, I haven't even begun my training yet. It was kinda like open bowling with disco lights. 

I'm no expert but 15yd is good distance for a pistol and in a self defense encounter those shots would have been good enough to get it done... Good (enough) shooting to me 

[hiro]

14 hours ago, Steve Butters said:

I'm no expert but 15yd is good distance for a pistol and in a self defense encounter those shots would have been good enough to get it done... Good (enough) shooting to me 

For self-defense though, I'd be in all kinds of legal trouble, having taken the time to aim from 15 yards! haha Here is what my wife did up close, trying to resist aiming. The first half of the shots were dead center! After a magazine change, she did something funky and crawled high. For "qualifying" I think that is 74 out of 75. Regular scoring is 135 out of 150 with a 1x line cutter.

[Tonik]

Assuming right handed.

 

She is snatching the trigger quickly rather than a steady squeeze. That pulls them to the right. She is also pressing into the gun with the heal of her hand as she fires anticipating the recoil. That pushes the pattern up.

[hiro]

5 hours ago, Tonik said:

Assuming right handed.

 

She is snatching the trigger quickly rather than a steady squeeze. That pulls them to the right. She is also pressing into the gun with the heal of her hand as she fires anticipating the recoil. That pushes the pattern up.

Ah, OK. I did ask her later if she knows about taking up the slack in the trigger before squeezing it. She said she didn't do that. (Too much to deal with at once, I guess.) 

I picked up some snap caps which could help with training trigger pull and seeing if someone is reacting to anticipated recoil.

Is it OK if someone reacts AFTER the shot? Is that even a thing? Like reacting to push the muzzle back down, or is that just about a good grip?

[hiro]

I thought she was not extending her arms all the way and holding lower after I said to just point without aiming. Like shooting from the hip, but with two hands. heh

[hiro]

Got my SR9c today. Thinking of adding Tractiongrips. Anyone like rubber sticker grips?

[hiro]

Seem like pretty good deals? Not as stealthy as black, but I like the silver and the tannish LC9s. I thought I found a good deal at $300 just a few weeks ago. These prices are from a local shop even. I learned that Hornady Critical Defense "Lite" could be used to keep the recoil of the LC9s lower--uses a 100 grain (pink tipped) bullet. If they had a deal on an LC380, I mighta got one!

Edited October 12, 2018 by hiro