If you’re into leather, then Galco makes the Summer Comfort or the Royal Guard(very respected and been around a LONG time). While many experts I respect hate hybrid holsters, I carried one for the majority of my concealed carry experience (Crossbreed Super Tuck Deluxe) thus far but I do certainly recommend switching to a better made kydex one at the earliest opportunity. Stay away from cheap brands like Uncle Mike, Fobus, etc. * Appendix carry is also an option, but not until you have a lot of training under your belt and understand the risks involved. Get an inside-the-waistband, probably kydex, holster and carry it behind the hip on your strong side (most likely around 3-4 o’ clock, figuring out the most comfortable and concealable place on your body behind the hip). Don’t even think about carrying a “cross draw” holster.Īnd for the love of God, get a real holster, not a flimsy $10 Wal-Mart nylon holster that won’t stay on your belt and folds and flops around meaning you have to point the gun at yourself and use two hands to re-holster your gun after shooting. The second part of the family member’s question was asking me if I had a small-of-the-back holster. Pick the one you like better and that fits your hand best.ĩmm ammo is the cheapest of all service calibers and is readily available, pick a self-defense load from this list and then practice with the cheapest stuff available. They’re the best choice if you’re just starting out or don’t know what you don’t know yet. You will see more people using these at shooting classes, competition shooting events, and in the holsters of American Police than any other guns for a very clear reason. If you want (or need) an even SMALLER gun for some reason, then you get the most reliable small gun you can in this category which, again, can be found in the Glock 43 9mm or Smith & Wesson M&P Shield.īoth the Glock and the Smith and Wesson M&P line have been proven over decades of use by police, military and competitive shooters. (For the record, I carry the Glock 19 Gen 4.) If you want a slightly smaller, usually easier to conceal option, then go with a “compact” model of one of the above. If you want a full-size “service pistol” then choose the Glock 17 9mm or the Smith & Wesson M&P9. The short and long of it is that you can’t go wrong with a 9mm Glock or 9mm Smith and Wesson M&P. The Best Handguns For Self-Defense (An 80/20 Guide) The point is that there is a CLEAR trend in the modern combat pistol choices of today’s experts. Now that’s not to say I’m an expert that knows everything, but I do have a fair bit of experience here having spent quite a bit of time learning from true experts in the field–the best of the best. I thought that “everyone” knew it would be a great choice for a self-defense handgun.īut, as I said, what I thought was common knowledge apparently isn’t. It’s, literally, the most popular handgun in the world. “What do you think of the Glock 17? Heard anything bad about it? Do you have holster for small of your back?”Īfter all, the Glock 17 is the handgun that started the polymer/synthetic gun revolution. So a close family member sent me the following email that sparked this discussion: So let’s talk about the basics today, what I call the 80/20 version (based off Pareto’s principle of the 20% of knowledge that will get you 80% of the results you want) … The Question: What Gun & Holster Combo For 2015? Others are written by people that at one time were experts, but haven’t updated their knowledge base in years, or continued to adapt to proven improvements in basic TTP’s. Many gun articles are written by writers with little actual training experience or even very little concealed carry experience.