TexasCHLforum.com

My son graduated from High School this morning, so I had to actually be unarmed for a while. I bought a P3AT this afternoon. I pocket carried it to a backyard crawfish boil at a friend's house this evening just to see what it was like. I hardly noticed it was there, and it was great. I will wear it on stage tomorrow during worship services. When I get home after church tomorrow, I will strap on the 3" Kimber and go about my business as usual, because for most things, the .45 is a better choice, and the truth is, it is a really nice gun, and I prefer carrying it. But is is certainly nice to know that the Keltec is available for those occasions when the Kimber simply won't work.

There is a decent article in the June 2008 issue of American Rifleman comparing the carrying of a full size 1911 Springfield to a Keltec P3AT. The author makes the same point that I've made above - that he carries the 1911 when dressed casually because it is easily concealable in that situation, and the Keltec when he has to wear a suit because it conceals better in that situation. He also says that he makes the effort be proficient with both pistols, and he notes that the primary difference between deploying the 1911 versus the Keltec is that, when deploying the Keltec, he sweeps his thumb across a non-existent safety lever.

It is an absolutely cogent argument that, once the gun is deployed, you have greater firepower, and probably greater accuracy, with the 1911, and that it is therefore more prudent to carry it (or some other larger capacity "not mousegun") whenever possible. But it is an equally cogent argument that life does not always present us with the opportunity to carry whatever we want, if we also want to earn a living at our chosen trade; and that we need to have viable alternatives for those occasions when a larger pistol simply isn't practical.

Liberty wrote:While I don't own a mouser, anyone carrying a mouse gun on their person and knows how to use to use it, is better armed than 99% of the public.

Zackly!

mr surveyor wrote:VERY WELL SAID!!!

+1

Look, most of the time, you're going to find me carrying a 1911. You're also going to find me wearing jeans, boots, and an untucked shirt; or cargo shorts, sandals, and an untucked shirt... ...you get the point. A 3" 1911 conceals very nicely that way, and I've already invested substantial money in a couple of "untuckable" IWB holsters for that pistol, so I'm not going to run right out and buy another expensive tuckable - at least not at this time.

But this morning, I had to attend a chamber of commerce function, and something other than jeans/boots, or shorts/sandals was called for. My clothing choice accommodated neither my 1911 nor the 642 I normally pocket carry when the 1911 isn't practical. Something small in .380 like a P3AT or LCP would have been perfect - but I didn't have one. Now I own a website design business which is only a month old. I'm still at the point where I've got to do what I've got to do in order to build my business. A lot of the time, I can wear whatever I want, and it has no impact on what I'm doing. I can write code in my bathrobe. But other times, I have to interact with potential or actual customers in a professional setting, and the clothing choices I make are important to the way I try and present myself. This is my livelihood we are talking about here, and it involves the welfare of my family as well as my own. I don't have the luxury of always dictating the conditions under which I will meet with someone, and I don't have the luxury of punching a time clock. I want to stay armed as much as possible, but I have to balance that with my professional requirements. This morning, for lack of a mousegun, I went out unarmed for the first time in a while. I hated it, but for lack of a pistol smaller and more concealable than my 642, it had to be done.

yerasimos, I understand where you're coming from, but I have to respectfully disagree. I will always carry as much caliber as I can, and about 90% or more of the time, .45 ACP is not only doable, it is my 1st choice. For me, it's not about getting used to carrying the minimum caliber as a matter of habit. Rather, it is about carrying the biggest caliber choice I can get away with, given the circumstances in which I have to operate. I love guns and shooting, I cherish my RKBA, and I am proud of my CHL, but my entire life does not revolve around them, and I have a business to run. If the choice is to occasionally go armed with a smaller pistol, enabling me to do the business things I need to do to survive, then in my book, that is better than not being armed at all. For that reason, I will eventually purchase a small, easy to conceal .380 - not as my primary carry gun, but because sometimes that's just simply what you have to do to be armed - and I will spend some time learned to get good with it. Being inflexibly dogmatic about it fails to take into consideration all the many variables which can affect other people, and it does not serve a good purpose in my view. With all due respect, until you've walked a mile in someone else's shoes, the advice you give that person may possibly be ill-informed.

I seek balance in all things. I will always try to carry as much caliber as I can get away with, but I'm not going to walk around feeling like a 2nd class RKBA citizen just because I had good reason to caliber down for a day; and I'm not going to put myself in a business situation where the lump in my pocket or on my side under my shirt is drawing more attention than the sales presentation I'm trying to make.

Just my 2¢.

DoubleJ wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:I'm just curious... for you guys who are carrying .380s, what kind of ammo do you keep in them?

Doooooooooood.

I forgot my own post in that thread!!

I've always smiled at the expression "friends don't let friends carry mouseguns," but I ain't volunteering to get shot with one. I know that a lot of people are comfortable with calibers smaller than .380 ACP, but for me personally, that's kind of the personal minimum with which I am comfortable. I will probably buy a P-3AT or LCP at some point. I own a Colt Government in .380; but I never carry it because it isn't a good pistol for left-handed carry, it is not flawlessly reliable, nor is it all that accurate. Plus, it's a pretty pristine example, and I really want to keep it that way if I can.

At this moment my daily carry is a 3" Kimber, and my smallest carry pistol is a S&W 642; but even the 642 is a little big for some applications, although I make do with it.

I'm just curious... for you guys who are carrying .380s, what kind of ammo do you keep in them?