Of those that carry concealed, how do you like your triggers? My P238's trigger is around 5lbs. and not real smooth, but am hesitant to lighten it by much.
I don't carry but if I did it would be something like the snub nose 38s made by Smith & Wesson that are double action only and have no external hammer.... For several reasons. An accidental discharge would be next to impossible and if you carried in a jacket pocket and you felt threatened enough you could be pointing the gun at the assailant and no one would have to ever even see it. No Hammer to snag on your clothing.
Just a passing comment that is off subject but I feel I must post. Here in Texas, any lawful gun owner can carry concealed or open without any registration or permit. I don't carry because our streets are safe, crime is low, and I feel no need to carry. I was born and raised in New York where I definitely would carry if I still lived there. In New York it takes an act of God to get permission to concealed carry. Where you need it, you (almost) can't get it. here here you don't need it, its easy.
If I had my druthers I'd carry a nine shot 22 magnum snub nose like the one I described. I believe Taurus makes a nine shot, though I'm not a big fan of Taurus. Now granted that would be only for a concealed carry gun where you're basically shooting across the room at most distance. It's perfect because there's no Hammer to snag on clothing and you don't even have to take it out of your clothing to have it pointed and ready to go. My cap and ball revolver is single action only and it's fun to shoot but certainly nothing you would conceal carry with its 1 ft long blue steel octagon barrel. If I don't hit a beer can at 120 ft with it 90% of the time it's in a medium size dinner plate range.
The best thing about small calibers is small guns. Ur less likely to get tired of carrying it and then not have it, and small bullets are better than no bullets.
I have a Springfield XD 45 and I hate it so I'm not doing anything until I can get a gun that I like. It has a back strap safety plus it's striker fire I like those two things about it but it's too large of a caliber and two small of a frame and shooting it is painful
I'm an old Artilleryman and like bigger guns. I view a 22 as a practice gun. I'm not much into wheel guns either. The first handgun I ever carried was a 1911 45 in the Army. But I didn't like the range limitation. We used to say that the maximum effective range of a 45 was as far as you could throw it. But the stopping power was excellent. My first personal handgun was a 40 S&W Beretta 96D. Big and bulky like the 1911. The FBI developed and fielded the 40S&W cartridge when the military went to 9mm. The FBI wanted more "oomph" (technical term). I ended up buying a Ruger 9mm LC9s for concealed carry purposes... although I do not routinely carry. I've always viewed a 22LR round as good for harassing an attacker... not much for stopping him/her.
I'm not disputing that more kinetic energy is effective and better but a 22 magnum will put a hole right through you. They tend to be 60 grain bullets so a 30% weight increase over a typical 22 long rifle and roughly double the velocity. If you crunch the numbers that is not an insignificant round.
The 1911 45 cal was adopted by the Army during the Huk rebellion in the Phillipines. The Huks would get high, then attack with a macete held high over their heads. The standard issue 32cal of the day might kill the attacker, but they would still fall forward, killing the defender as the machete descended. The 45cal would blow the attacker backwards. I like that concept.
I had a 1911 .45 handy when I stayed at the store by myself during the hurricane and the next two nights when I sat in my van in front of the dark store with no electricity by myself, in the total darkness just watching for any would be looters until dawn. It was indeed a comfortable feeling. Much much better than a cell phone would ever be. Lol. It hasn't been around largely unchanged since 1911 for no reason! Our store had no problem with any looters. Not so at a store across town, where no one was bothering to sit on guard.
No. I live in a city of about 70,000 between Houston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi. I grew up in New York City and see some similar problems with Houston. I'd still feel one helluva lot safer walking alone down a dark Houston street than I would ever feel walking down a similar street in New York.
70,000 is a good size. I have preferred country living for a while and under 100,000 seems to avoid a the problems with the larger cities, but is still large enough to get the boutique items you might need. Houston sounds like a very interesting city, despite issues. I heard that New York crime used to be a bit more localised. As long as you avoid certain areas it was ok? (But that may no longer be the case).
We lived in San Diego for years before I retired 6 years ago. Due to the military, I lived all over after leaving New York after college: Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Florida, Germany, Virginia (3x), Delaware, Pennsylvania (2x), New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iraq, UK, Israel, California, and lots more. We researched diligently and found a great town in Texas. Texas... no state income tax, great housing prices, wonderful restaurants, shopping, about 20 miles from the Gulf, great services, Constitutional gun laws, mild weather, wonderful medical care (THREE medical centers... important as we age), friendly people (reminiscent of Beaver Cleaver's home town), few regulations (we don't even have to put down deposits on bottles and cans!), low crime, lots of interesting nearby historical sights to explore, and so much more. Caribbean cruises are available from Galveston, fun times in San Antonio from the Riverwalk to the Alamo... we've died and gone to Heaven. Our Governor has outlawed all the China Virus Mandate silliness (masks, separation, etc.) Our schools have stayed open... we joke how our kids will be astronauts and doctors while blue state kids will still be trying to read. TEXAS! WHERE FREEDOM LIVES!
professional advice-never modify your carry gun trigger pull nor disconnect any safety device (such as removing the magazine safety on the Browning Hi Power-a popular move by competition shooters).
my current choices are the SIG 365XL and the slightly bigger Macro X. one holds 12 rounds and the Macro comes with 17 round magazines and are as small as the 8 round SW Shield I carried 10 years ago
~ Makes me think about leaving Communist California. PS — My father was in U.S. Army artillery during WW2.
I have the XDm in .40S&W. I like it for all the reasons you like your XD, but it's a little bulky and snappy for EDC. Most often I carry a S&W Shield, also chambered in .40S&W, and it's an easy carry. I bought it in that caliber so I didn't have to stock different ammo for my EDCs. It's REALLY snappy, and if I had it to do over again, I'd definitely choose a smaller caliber.
