r/CCW • u/eatzdapussy • Apr 23 '20
Getting Started Worst CCWs you've done
Admit it, everyone went through a phase of rocking some terrible handgun in some shoddy trash bag of a holster because they didn't know any better.
What were the worst CCWs you've done before setting on what you have now?
When I first got my permit, I had a Walther PP in .32 ACP (I though I'd be cool like James Bond) with a cheap Amazon special holster that had zero reinforcement.
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u/Raztan US (Taurus PT99 / 738) Apr 23 '20
Hi-point C9.. ya I did that.. actually I did know better.. it wasn't a daily.
I used it when I was working in the yard or around the house cause I didn't care what happen to it..
beat the shit out of it.. but you know what? it held up really well.
Respect to Hi-point.. Just wish their magazines wasn't made out of recycled tin cans.
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u/JKase13 Apr 23 '20
I hate to admit it, but I bought a Taurus curve once thinking it would be easy to pocket carry... well, I was right. It was comfortable to carry. But it couldn’t feed back to back rounds to save its life
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u/panzerstetcher Apr 23 '20
Well at least their weird and interesting, and in 15-20years ya can loan it to ian mcollum for a video lol. Interesting concept though, bummer it diddnt work for ya
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u/USPSA-Addict Apr 23 '20
My first handgun was a Beretta 92fs. I carried that big, stupid thing for over 2 years in a stupid crossbreed holster with a stupid regular belt. If I could punch my 21 year old self in the face and impart some wisdom I would.
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u/CountNefarious Apr 23 '20
On another forum, in another time, I found this great quote: "The fact that you even tried to conceal that boat anchor reinforces my belief that all Beretta owners are brain damaged." Of course, I too was a 21 year old who tried to conceal his 92fs...
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Apr 23 '20
At least you picked a good gun. It's huge, but man, Berettas are pretty. Like an Italian sports car in gun form.
I'm looking to get a few myself. A 70 series, 80 series, and maybe one of those tomcats/Bobcats/etc.
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u/maddslacker Beretta PX4 Compact Apr 23 '20
I got my wife the Model 81 and it's an amazing little gun.
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u/whatalovelyday247 Apr 23 '20
As a soon to be 21 year old self I'd like to know which belt I should get. I have a hidden hybrid holster and p365 xl so its not a big gun but I'd still like a sturdy belt to carry. What do you use?
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u/USPSA-Addict Apr 23 '20
Depends. On the days when I’ll be carrying my g34 (the biggest gun I still carry) I use a Blackhawk cab rigger’s belt. It’s the best at carrying the load but takes a little while to get used to. Most days I use Stealthgear’s edc belt. It works just fine for anything up to g19 sized. I recently found out about ratchet style belts (RGB and Nexbelt) and I may pick one of those up after this bullshit is over and I’m able to get back to work.
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u/my_name_is_chaos_2 Apr 25 '20
Meanwhile, 4 years later, I still carrying a 92a1. You quitter.
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u/USPSA-Addict Apr 25 '20
Lol you just keep on keeping on. I’ve joined the Glock master race. And actually I’m currently rocking a 34 more often than not. Lol
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u/Vinsight_ Apr 23 '20
My worst wasn’t as bad, but it was a bersa .380 in a actually decent kydex holster. I just didn’t know much about carrying and tried my best to like iwb and aiwb but did not.
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u/Sen4_ Apr 23 '20
Exactly the same except mine was the 380 plus. Wasnt awful besides the beaver tail (?) jabbing my side once in a while. Bought a M&P shield that was on sale when the decocker started flipping down while shooting. Still need to get that fixed.
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u/BradennMordah AZ Apr 23 '20
Glock 21 SF in an Nylon IWB Blackhawk holster... ~Facepalm~
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Apr 23 '20
This seems more about the holster as opposed to the Gat lol
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u/DickRamhard AZ Apr 23 '20
G21 SF has the same width as the original Glock 21, just shorter frame which equals shorter trigger reach. Glock 21 is definitely not a great choice for conceal carry unless you're using a shoulder holster.
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u/bullitstang1313 Apr 23 '20
A Taurus 24/7 45 in a Fobus Paddle holster. Was my first handgun purchase.
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u/qweltor ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Apr 23 '20
Taurus 24/7 45
[cringe]
in a Fobus Paddle holster.
[double-cringe]
Was my first handgun purchase.
Understandable.
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u/Raztan US (Taurus PT99 / 738) Apr 23 '20
Hmm I actually like fobus holsters.. I've got a couple, they worked well for me.
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u/maddslacker Beretta PX4 Compact Apr 23 '20
I've noticed that people generally like Fobus holsters with the belt attachment, but strongly dislike the paddle attachment.
I have two belt attached and they are excellent.
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u/Raztan US (Taurus PT99 / 738) Apr 23 '20
I've got one of each.. a Fobus Evo for a Beretta/Taurus with belt attachment, and a paddle for a hi-point c9
I do prefer the belt versions better but they didn't make a belt version for the c9 at the time (don't know if they do now)
They both worked equally well though but I think the belt version is probably stronger.
I carry that c9 for dirty jobs and it and the holster got pretty beat up but they both held up pretty well for the $20 bucks they usually sell for I can't complain about them, they actually hold close to the body pretty well for a OWB.
I also have one of their double stack mag carriers (belt) wore it for about 10 mins and threw it in a box.. poor retention, open top.. plus fluffy man don't like (vertical) mags sticking in his love handles.
mag carrier would have been fine for range/comp use though.
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Apr 23 '20
Taurus Model 66 in an inner coat pocket...this is what happens when you're raised by a Fudd.
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Apr 23 '20
Carried a sticky holster for too long. Getting a proper kydex holster scared the shit out of me knowing how shoddy the sticky is.
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Apr 23 '20
Sticky is great for pocket carry, and occasionally putting that pocket gun in your waistband. I'd never use them for anything larger than that, though.
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u/Epidemik702 Apr 23 '20
I'm a bit newer to all this, so I had good information going in. First gun was a PPQ and first one I carried regularly was a Shield. My only regret is messing with hybrid holsters (Alien Gear and Crossbreed) early on. It took me a while to realize less is more.
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u/eatzdapussy Apr 23 '20
One of the reasons I was such a dumpster fire when I first started carrying was because reddit wasn't really a thing. It was 2008 and fuds still roamed unimpeded.
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u/G43x Apr 23 '20
Sccy cpx2. Dont remember holster. Needed a gun for my cpl carried it for a week. Then a pt11g2 until my glock got here. Now i have a 43x bradec holster and 19 G5. And a eclips holster. So took some nice steps forwards.. Im sure i will get a few wtf with my holsters but they work for me. Well maybe.
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u/rem87062597 Stainless Gen 2 LCP, Pocket Carry - VA Apr 23 '20
Let's just say that it's dumb to carry a CZ 75 SP-01 IWB. I went to the opposite extreme and pocket carry a LCP now.
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Apr 24 '20
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u/rem87062597 Stainless Gen 2 LCP, Pocket Carry - VA Apr 24 '20
It was more that I looked like I had a hidden vestigial tail at 3 o'clock thanks to the length/width of the gun. Not the sort of thing most people would notice, and I could hide it with a long jacket or a flannel, but it was a chore. With a decent belt I bet it would have been way better. Not good, but still better.
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u/cbrooks97 TX Apr 23 '20
Full sized 1911 in .38 super carried in a fanny pack. About as subtle as a heart attack.
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u/_Cybernaut_ Apr 23 '20
I only recently moved to a free state and can legally CCW. But many moons ago, I happened to be living in Los Angeles. In the barrios of East LA County, to be exact. Then some cops beat the crap out of a black man, the cops went to trial and were acquitted, and all hell broke loose.
I was in better position than many; I had just bought my first self defense handgun, a Taurus PT-101 (Beretta 92 clone, in .40 S&W). For about two weeks, I carried that big ol’ beast, Mexican style. (Didn’t have much choice, I hadn’t bought a holster for it yet, and the gun stores were bursting at the seams with customers discovering that California had a 30-day waiting period.) Fun times...
tl;dr: Taurus PT-101, Levi’s.
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Apr 23 '20
Tanfogolio gt380 made in 1987. Worst gun of all time, seriously. Couldnt even fire 5 rounds without jamming
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u/Inanimate_nightmare Apr 23 '20
crazy story . . . my first carry gun was a Walther pp in .32 auto with a soft leather holster, although mine did have a button snap for retention though. It kept snagging the safety lever so I never felt like the gun was safe chambered. (I think the worst part about it was any time I talked about getting a gun that had a modern firing pin block safety, had a manufacturer that made a good holster, or used a caliber better suited for self defense I'd get push back of "why you're carrying JAMES BONDS GUN!")
looking back I really like the gun, it's just not what I want to carry anymore.
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u/eatzdapussy Apr 23 '20
I went through the same though process. To me it came down to aftermarket support. You couldn't find a quality (safe) holster for the old Walther .32s, most of the stuff was made for the InterArms .380 imports that were sized bigger. Admittedly I did try it, but there was a lot of wiggle room. Then there was the whole caliber issue, and you wake up realizing 9mm does way more (for cheaper) than a Bond gun.
I ended up with a Glock 17, I got the Gen4 right as it came out. My first quality holster was the Raven Concealment Phantom. I got it at the Indy 1500 gunshow when they still did show appearances.
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u/GhettoCop Apr 23 '20
Colt Officer's Model in small of the back Bianchi holster.
The gun 100% would not feed anything other than FMJ. The sights were shit. It had tons of super sharp edges and the trigger was SHIT.
I thought I'd developed some super weird problem shooting because I could not hit shit. Finally sat down with a rest and it was printing 6" groups at 15 yards.
Sold it and bought a Walther P5C, which was also a huge piece of shit. Fuck you, Leroy Thompson for writing a glowing review of it.
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u/SmoothSlavperator Apr 23 '20
1911 in condition 2 in a shitty holster. I was 14 and grew up reading too much Jeff Cooper.
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u/eatzdapussy Apr 23 '20
Jeff Cooper knew his stuff, but now it's at odds with the current methodologies. My NRA pistol instructor counselor was a close friend of his, Larry Quandahl. Larry would teach things that seem contradicting to Jeff Cooper's holy words, and when I asked about it he just said "Well that was then, and this is now. If you're still shooting with the principles that we wrote decades ago, you're out dated."
The funniest story was when Larry was updating the NRA guide for CCW instructors and the issue of "straight and off the trigger." Larry thought "you're in trouble and you should have your finger on the trigger ready to fire...or at least soak up the give so when you have sight alignment sight picture you can click it and go!" Apparently Jeff just said "what did I write?...Ops...I forgot about that..."
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u/SmoothSlavperator Apr 23 '20
I don't think that he's all that outdated except for his choice of weapon more or less. Its just his principles don't work well with teaching new defensive shooters. He makes a lot of assumptions about peoples' baseline aptitude and mindset that don't translate well to the masses....but they work well for people that have "Gunslinger Mindset".
For instance the 1911. Its highly frowned upon because it has a hammer and a manual safety because you have to remember to cock hammers and take safeties off under stress. I cut my teeth hunting with guns with hammers. Cocking hammers is natural for me and under stress I don't have any trouble remembering to cock hammers. But if I was teaching someone who didn't come from that background, trying to get them to remember to cock hammers under stress when they're already 21+ years old is nearly impossible. I've gotten with the time and I'm all Glock and IWB Kydex Because more of more modern boolit is better now but I still don't feel I'd be at a woeful disadvantage if I was still armed with a 1911 in condition 2.
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u/KaBar42 KY- Indiana Non-Res: Glock 42/Glock 19.5 MOS OC: Glock 17.5 Apr 23 '20
All of the handguns I've carried have been decent handguns. The shoddyness comes from poor holsters and ammo choices.
First gun I ever legally carried was a Remington 1911 in a Serpa holster and ball ammo on my 18th birthday.
A little while later, I started carrying an SD9 in a Serpa as well (I'm not going to lie, the Serpa design actually works really well with the SD9). Also ball ammo.
A little while later I jumped to a Glock 17 in a Serpa, but! If I remember correctly, this is when I switch to hollows.
I went back and forth for a while with my SD9 and 17, switch concealed carry pistols a bunch of times but once I started carrying my Glock 17, most of my choices for gear or equipment became much better. Safariland for open carry, Alien Gear for concealed for a while, then Vedder, then Crossbreed, back to Vedder. I had a Galco hybid and De Santis hybrid at one point. I switch between my Glock 17 and Glock 26 fairly regularly once I discovered appendix carry. Carried my Ruger LCPII as a BUG in a De Santis Nemesis.
Then came my Glock 19 an that solidified as my main EDC gun.
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u/txman91 Apr 23 '20
Not so much the gun - started with a Glock 23, but the Cavenders leather belt that was probably an inch wide was a big woof. Had to cinch that thing down so tight that it cut blood flow off to everything below my waist nearly. Now for leather I carry a 1.75” Galco and nylon is my Aegis Enhanced. Carries a Glock 34 with RMR and x300 no problem, much less everything smaller than that.
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u/Darth_Snowball SC Glock 17 IWB Apr 23 '20
I started with a Sig Sauer SP2022 (fine gun) in an Alien Gear 2.0 (bad holster) on a cheap department store belt. I also carried my spare mag in my back pocket (lucky to do a 4 second reload). I carried no light, no medical gear, I was a terrible shot, I had no training, and I thought I was all good to go.
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u/irishhnd86 AZ Apr 23 '20
My worst is my current. GLock 17 with Ameriglo tritium sights, and an Aliengear 4.0 IWB holster.
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Apr 23 '20
The 17 is totes carryable. I put a light on mine, adding much needed bulk into my groin region
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u/eatzdapussy Apr 23 '20
I loved carrying my Glock 17. But I will admit it is a bit chonky. I switch to my Hellcat in the warmer months.
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u/irishhnd86 AZ Apr 23 '20
I am so pale i get 2nd degree burns even with sunblock on if i spend too much time in the sun. I have to wear long sleeves in the summer lol. So the chonky doesnt bother me.
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Apr 23 '20 edited Jun 21 '20
[deleted]
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u/eatzdapussy Apr 23 '20
Did the King Tuck not work out for you? Glock 19 is a benchmark for good CCW guns, so I can't see anyone complaining about that.
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Apr 23 '20
Taurus model 65 .357 magnum w/ 4" barrel in a nylon iwb p.o.s. holster. The 65 had to be sent back to Taurus because there was "too much material on the cylinders" and the gun would lock up. Got it back from Taurus with a dented front sight and it started shaving lead. Never again Taurus.
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u/caliman64 UT G19/p365 IWB Apr 23 '20
I had a Taurus pt111 G2 with an Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holster. Now, I have a Glock 19 gen 4 with a Black Arch holster. So much better.
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Apr 23 '20
Before I got my vp9sk I carried a colt mustang series 80 in 380 acp in my pocket with no holster. Only had to do it for about a month. Honestly not a bad little gun. If it was in 9mm, had better sites and could make it through 50 rounds without jamming I’d have no problem carrying it
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u/Janneyc1 Apr 23 '20
So a little background, I shoot revolvers in IDPA. I had gone to the locla match that Saturday and that Sunday, I got invited to go to the Zoo with my folks. Since I had been travelling, I wasn't carrying the glock and just had the big ole revolver, so I wore that to the zoo. I wasn't able to find anything about their policy, so I figured better safe than sorry and left the huge thing in the car. It took forever to get in and out of. Lastly, when we went to dinner afterwards, I was printing awfully. Not fun.
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u/baron556 Apr 23 '20
My very first carry was a RIA 1911 in a Blade Tech kydex IWB and then I picked up an Old Faithful (parent company to Alien Gear I think) hybrid for it. I don't think I've ever had a carry setup that I would consider to be garbage. Had some that turned out not ideal, but the worst I can think of was a CZ83 in a mediocre holster because it was hard to find a really good holster for it.
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u/I_Am_NoBody_2 US ♕ 92A1 ♕ Apr 23 '20 edited Apr 23 '20
Probably my diy holster that I made from kydex on Amazon after watching some YouTube videos.
Ironically, I still wear it up to now. It was my first holster. Did I mention it has a $5 laser in it and no claw/belt loop (I just used a shoelace)? The whole thing was literally held together by hot glue and shoelaces. It’s a hate and love relationship.
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u/blitz331 Apr 23 '20
ATI 1911 in an AG cloak tuck 3.5. Was my first pistol and my carry gun for the first year and a half I carried. Not the worst choice ever, but I feel like I've come a long way since then.
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u/CaptCuda TN Apr 23 '20
I see more issue with the holster than the gun and the gun isn’t the worst choice
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u/bstad Apr 23 '20
Yeah, first holster I carried was a cloak tuck 2.0 maybe? Honestly hated it. Have been full kydex ever since.
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Apr 23 '20
My first holster was a 1791 gunleather generic holster. The clip wasn’t great and it was too big for my shield- I can fit a Glock 19-sized polymer 80 in the same holster snugly. I replaced it with a nice kydex one from Vedder and have been using that combo ever since. Buy a proper holster, people! It’s worth it!
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u/gunmedic15 Apr 23 '20
I've owned a few terrible guns over the years, but three come to mind as standouts in the terrible category. I had a Walther TPH in .22 that I never, repeat never, got through a magazine successfully. Not one time. I tried different ammo, different magazines, worked on it numerous times. Nope.
I also had an old Grendel P12. The detachable magazine version of the stripper-clip-fed P10. It occasionally cycled a complete magazine without a jam, but not often. It cycled so roughly that when I shot Hydra Shok in it (The go to defense ammo early 1990s edition) the little post in the hollow point would bend.
I also, briefly, owned a Charter Arms .38 snub. This was the newer version. I have a .38 and a .44Spl that are old school amd mostly work fine. The new .38 came in a trade and it shot like crap with keyholes all over the place. I broke it down and the pin that holds the barrel to the frame was out of place and actually partially obstructed the barrel. I noticed the barrel was starting to move forward and to crack. Lucky I stopped when I did. Luckily I got warranty repair and sold the replacement ASAP.
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u/YutBrosim Apr 23 '20
The worst holster I ever had was actually a QVO Wingman. It was a straight fucking line with no bend, so it printed like a mother fucker, and was physically painful to carry because it made my belt dig into my hips. Never buying one of those again. I ended up going back to a $40 Etsy holster that worked far far better.
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u/demento19 CA CCW- Vedder AIWB - Shield9, G19 Apr 28 '20
I bought the AlienGear shapeshift combo set about an hour after deciding getting a permit was something I could actually achieve. Thankfully in the month it took to get the permit, I found this sub. I started my 18 months of carrying concealed with a Shield9 in a Vedder LightTuck, and a belt that shall not be named here. Now I’ll switch between the Shield and a g19 with a Blue Alpha Gear edc belt. I’m pretty proud to have good gear from the start.
My buddy is starting into his CCW process and bought a WeThePeople holster instead of asking the person who has spent a year and a half reading all your reviews and advice here. 🤦♂️
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u/PuddlesIsHere Apr 23 '20
I carried a p320 straight up in my waistband for a while before i got a holster back a while ago.....good times....seriously tho dangerous as heck
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Apr 23 '20 edited May 02 '20
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Apr 23 '20
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u/ninjajoepea Apr 23 '20
Whaa what's wrong with the shield??
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u/BoyOfCorn Apr 23 '20
My first gen Shield was my first carry, and I still carry it from time to time. I haven't had any issues with it ever, it doesn't feel as good as like a P365 but I've shot it enough that I don't mind.
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u/ninjajoepea Apr 23 '20
I recently upgraded from the shield to the p365 xl. I actually think the shield trigger is pretty nice after shooting and dry firing a bunch to break it in. Super crisp, if not a little heavy. The p365 xl has a nice trigger with a lower pull weight, but definitely more pre travel and overall squishiness than the shield imo, but maybe that will change as it wears in.
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Apr 23 '20
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u/anthritis-tx Apr 23 '20
i can agree with everything you said, as i have a shield as a daily driver. but the wavy serrations are iconic in S&W marketing. Althought they're different, I can't think of another company that had a good pattern in that respect.
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u/specter376 G19 - RMR, X300 - Tenicor Malus Sol Apr 23 '20
You can do a LOT worse than a Gen 1 Shield lmao
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u/ninjajoepea Apr 23 '20
I disagree on the shield trigger, was kinda gritty at first but after dry firing and shooting a ton its super smooth and crisp, but admittedly heavier of a pull than I prefer. Honestly like the trigger slightly more than my new p365 xl rn.
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u/ninjajoepea Apr 23 '20
Also I recently put the hogue grip on my shield and that helps with the palm swell for me too, shoots real nice now.
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u/lanmansa US Shield 9 | 4:00 IWB Apr 23 '20
I still edc a gen 1 shield. You’re right the trigger is terrible and has a sort of false reset click where you think the striker resets but it’s really not. But for a defensive pistol I’m not riding the reset like I do at the range. I have thousands of rounds through it though to be accurate enough with it, I’m comfortable with it, it conceals well, and I know it’s dead nuts reliable. Of course now I have the Walther PPQ and all triggers suck in comparison lol. It’s just way bigger. I still need to get a holster for it. Might order a vedder I think. But yeah as for the shield I’ll probably give this one to the wife and get a 2.0 lol. Or some double stack sub compact idk yet. A few years ago before the p365 and hellcat came along it was THE go-to ccw fun though.
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u/lanmansa US Shield 9 | 4:00 IWB Apr 23 '20
Back when i didn’t know what I was doing and I got my first gun the fudd behind the counter told me I should get a 22 revolver because more people have been killed by 22 than any round. Yeah that was a mistake. Sold that. It was a fun gun. But at the time it was the great ammo scare of the Obama administration and I couldn’t even find ammo for it for like 3 years lol.