I'm out for the night guys. I'll come out and check out what you guys have left for me tommorrow. Thanx for all the advice thus far. The yard rocks!!!

james_bond,james_bond,
err.. you said .50 AE, i haven't tried that one yet.
But have shot lots of .44 Mag Desert Eagles.. extraction is a problem, leading to stovepipes & such.

And watch out for that Goddam Slide Stop!! GRRRr... see how shallow cut it is??
well one time i had one friggin Release on me! ..while i was clearing a jam.. the slide Slammed shut and the extractor Impaled my Thumb! !@#$%!

so after those experiences.. if i ever bought one i'd do a Lot of mods to it.. then i wouldn't carry it.. would only be a plinker for me..
anyways.. Ymmv.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Jerrwhy has provided some excellent general advice. Take a long walk through the store to get an idea what size you'd feel comfortable carrying. The features and operational protocol is also important to consider (da,sa, decocker, semi, revolver, mag release, hammer, striker, etc etc. I carry a walther p99 but Its definately too big to wear IWB with just an untucked tshirt but I can get away with tucking one shirt in and then wearing a second t-shirt loose. I'm 6ft and 180lbs so I dont have alot of extra flesh to help with concealment.

The sig 232 caught my eye when I was looking for a ccw for a buddy. I've seen a few of them lightly used inside of your price range and they are fine firearms.


MST3K and army of darkness rock....!

some good pointers and suggestions here, good dawgs <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

A revolver is going to be no more accurate than an auto, at least as far as a life threatening shooting is concerned. The big advantage that an auto has over a revolver is capacity and the ability to reload quickly. However, there are some folks who can reload a revolver wickedly quick.

Most shootings occur within 5 yards of the shooter itself. Keep in mind that this figure is an average; some shoots will be closer some will be further. And 50% of the bad guys are out of the picture on the first shot because of the psychological trauma of being shot. it's the other 50% you need to worry about.

When it comes to the actual shooting itself shot placement is more paramount that caliber size. You want to get the biggest caliber that you can comfortably shoot. I run a Sig 229 in 9mm all the time as my carry piece. I shot a lot of nine and .45 in the navy and i'm comfortable with both. However, I run 9mm because that's what my wife can run and it makes sense to me to standardize our calibers. Otherwise i'd run my .45 all the time.

There is no perfect carry gun for everyone. They are all comprimises of one trait over another. Decide what is important to you. There are many fine choices, some requiring more practice to be proficient with. S&W Airweight, hammerless, light, .38+P can be had pretty hot now. Very simple. The smaller autos have the advantage of more rounds, but may give up some in reliability (mostly due to limp wristing). When you look into the weights listed, add the ammo too. Consider what you will really carry too, its no good if you don't have it on you. Take a reputable CCW course as well. Its a big responsability and changes any confrontation to one that involves a firearm. Consider a small flashlight to go with it and OC too, more options that are non-lethal.

Leatherface how has the reliability of those Kel-Tec's been?

Police studies place most gunfights at no more than 21 feet.

I have the 32cal and 380 cal Kel-tec and I love them. They are exceptionally accurate for such a small pocket pistol. We were hitting 1-liter pop bottles at 25 paces. Granted they are not target guns but a bunch of fun to shoot and I usually just carry them in my pocket. I also have a small 38 that shoots well. I actually carry the 38 more because I can load shot shell in it.

Dan

Have a look at Glocks. I carry a G-17 but you might find the G-26 better. Arguably there the most reliable guns on the market. There priced real well. Tomorrow I pick up A bersa 380 for summer carry. less than 300 and everyone has nothing but good things to say about them. As for Kel-Tecs and kahrs their priced well and the ones that work seem to work well but from what I've read the quality out of the box can be a bit spotty.

Another recommendation would be the Ruger SP101 .357 magnum revolver you can find them for less than 400 new and their built like a tank. Down side you only have 5 rounds but speed loaders make reloading fast and easy.

Thanks Dan.

Bors is correct about the Ruger SP101. Its only failing is that's its heavy.

Glocks the short answer for an auto, simple reliable, Walther/S&W 99C nice too. Heard same thing about Kahrs and Kel-Tec, but no first hand experience. .357 is a handful out of a snubby and ballistically inefficient as well, longer cases with shorter snub extractor can be tough to reload-especially if they are "sticky". SP101, another great choice.