Two serious pieces of advice, heart to heart:
1. Get some serious lethal force training lest that handgun you are carrying be used against you or worse. You need to know a LOT of mundane stuff, most of it common sense, but nontheless critical. Like... nobody knows you even own a gun except for the family and they do NOT ever talk about it. Ever. And you have a plan for self defense. The last thing you want is (a) someone showing up at your home and holding a knife at your 8 year old's throat asking you to please turn over that gun in the gunsafe or in your pants. What you gonna do? (b) What warrants lethal force being okay and what are you going to do before, during and after the encounter. You need this drilled into your head so you work on auto pilot; and (c) you need to know the laws for each state that you are in at the moment you are in that state (we travel with a laptop to keep up to date believe it or not) and also be aware of what state you are actually in at all times.... it is easy to travel the interstate highway system and find yourself in a state where your permit is not valid and you are carrying concealed with a five year felony looking you in the face if you get stopped. DON'T take the chance.
I don't mean to disuade you for a moment... I am just telling you that there is lots to know asides from what kind of holster you are going to use and what calibre is best (I have been working on both of those for two years now and still don't have a concrete answer except to say that 9mm is nice and light and the smallest calibre I would carry.... but .45 LEO rounds JHP engineered rounds make a bigger hold and stop things faster. I go with fast and big. Except that means bigger and heavier. So round and round you go.
It is a science and you may even want to think about getting involved in IPSC or IDPA or whatever to hone those skills and play with a variety of handguns to see what works for you. I carried my HK P7M8's while stateside last month. Very easy to conceal and very reliable and accurate, but they weigh a ton as they are all steel.... but built to take +P 9mm loads. Still... that Glock 26 or Walther P99 is sure easier to handle. And lots lighter.
Go to it. You are on the right track. It is a big committment, but trust me when I say the first time you find yourself on the wrong side of the tracks in the dead of night with a dead GPS and no road map.... you will appreciate the comfort of having that equalizer with you. Get yourself a good set of night sights and a good gun light.... maybe even a laser sight, which I myself will invest in once I have it narrowed right down. I am partial to the internal lasers so my choice of holsters is wider.
Go to it man!
1. Get some serious lethal force training lest that handgun you are carrying be used against you or worse. You need to know a LOT of mundane stuff, most of it common sense, but nontheless critical. Like... nobody knows you even own a gun except for the family and they do NOT ever talk about it. Ever. And you have a plan for self defense. The last thing you want is (a) someone showing up at your home and holding a knife at your 8 year old's throat asking you to please turn over that gun in the gunsafe or in your pants. What you gonna do? (b) What warrants lethal force being okay and what are you going to do before, during and after the encounter. You need this drilled into your head so you work on auto pilot; and (c) you need to know the laws for each state that you are in at the moment you are in that state (we travel with a laptop to keep up to date believe it or not) and also be aware of what state you are actually in at all times.... it is easy to travel the interstate highway system and find yourself in a state where your permit is not valid and you are carrying concealed with a five year felony looking you in the face if you get stopped. DON'T take the chance.
I don't mean to disuade you for a moment... I am just telling you that there is lots to know asides from what kind of holster you are going to use and what calibre is best (I have been working on both of those for two years now and still don't have a concrete answer except to say that 9mm is nice and light and the smallest calibre I would carry.... but .45 LEO rounds JHP engineered rounds make a bigger hold and stop things faster. I go with fast and big. Except that means bigger and heavier. So round and round you go.
It is a science and you may even want to think about getting involved in IPSC or IDPA or whatever to hone those skills and play with a variety of handguns to see what works for you. I carried my HK P7M8's while stateside last month. Very easy to conceal and very reliable and accurate, but they weigh a ton as they are all steel.... but built to take +P 9mm loads. Still... that Glock 26 or Walther P99 is sure easier to handle. And lots lighter.
Go to it. You are on the right track. It is a big committment, but trust me when I say the first time you find yourself on the wrong side of the tracks in the dead of night with a dead GPS and no road map.... you will appreciate the comfort of having that equalizer with you. Get yourself a good set of night sights and a good gun light.... maybe even a laser sight, which I myself will invest in once I have it narrowed right down. I am partial to the internal lasers so my choice of holsters is wider.
Go to it man!
