I suppose I will chime in on this one:
IMO the notion that you MUST dress around the weapon is ridiculous although I do respect that belief if you choose to have it. One of my first threads on this forum I found myself being bashed by another member on this subject. I do not remember the exact details but to sum it up I was looking for a new single stack 9mm that was easy for a 6ft tall 160 lb man to conceal. (The Shield 9mm fit the bill perfectly). The other member’s opinion was that I should buy a double stack and "dress around the gun" stating that when off duty he always wears cargo pants and Hawaiian shirts. Okay cool, good for you. BUT for me... well... ONE: my closet has more than just cargo pants and Hawaiian shirts in it. TWO: Even if I wore a Hawaiian shirt I bet a G17/22 would still print relatively bad. Not often, but sometimes, I am not even comfortable carrying the Shield (assuming I am trying to conceal). At some point on here I asked if anyone carries while they workout, mainly while running. I received numerous responses many to the tune of "Oh just get you a Glock 26 or 27, wear sweatpants, and cover that bad boy up by wearing sweatpants!" I am sorry, but I just cannot imagine running (for exercise) with a Glock 26/27 strapped to my ankle. (or wearing sweatpants while running outside in July)
My conclusion: If I should find myself in a situation where I need to defend myself with a firearm I want to have a weapon that I am confident in. Something I know will work every time and that I am proficient with. And believe it or not, with practice I have found that almost anyone can be proficient with anything of decent quality. For example, my girlfriend sure didn’t like that long heavy trigger pull of my S&W 642-2 but after a relatively low amount of range time she was hitting her target every time.
For me there are three firearms that fit my needs perfectly. They are a Glock 19, Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm, and a Ruger LCP. I carry the G19 or Shield depending on what I am wearing. (Summer tends to promote carrying of the Shield more often while the winter I tend to carry the G19 more. Either one is always accompanied by the LCP in a pocket holster. AND on occasion I find myself with just the LCP (rare, but it does happen from time to time). Oh and just for the sake of clarity the Glock 19 is carried OWB in a custom kydex holster to accommodate the x300 Surefire and the Shield is also carried in an OWB kydex holster. I always want to have the most firepower possible for the given situation so with that being said I do plan to explore some other holster options in the future that may help me to be able to carry the Shield in a situation where I previously only carried the LCP or carry the G19 in a situation where I carried the Shield etc.
Oh... one last thing, the LCP works great in a belly band for you runners out there. That is of course unless you prefer to run with a brick strapped to one leg.
Just my opinion on the subject. Take it for what its worth.. (which probably is not much haha)
IMO the notion that you MUST dress around the weapon is ridiculous although I do respect that belief if you choose to have it. One of my first threads on this forum I found myself being bashed by another member on this subject. I do not remember the exact details but to sum it up I was looking for a new single stack 9mm that was easy for a 6ft tall 160 lb man to conceal. (The Shield 9mm fit the bill perfectly). The other member’s opinion was that I should buy a double stack and "dress around the gun" stating that when off duty he always wears cargo pants and Hawaiian shirts. Okay cool, good for you. BUT for me... well... ONE: my closet has more than just cargo pants and Hawaiian shirts in it. TWO: Even if I wore a Hawaiian shirt I bet a G17/22 would still print relatively bad. Not often, but sometimes, I am not even comfortable carrying the Shield (assuming I am trying to conceal). At some point on here I asked if anyone carries while they workout, mainly while running. I received numerous responses many to the tune of "Oh just get you a Glock 26 or 27, wear sweatpants, and cover that bad boy up by wearing sweatpants!" I am sorry, but I just cannot imagine running (for exercise) with a Glock 26/27 strapped to my ankle. (or wearing sweatpants while running outside in July)
My conclusion: If I should find myself in a situation where I need to defend myself with a firearm I want to have a weapon that I am confident in. Something I know will work every time and that I am proficient with. And believe it or not, with practice I have found that almost anyone can be proficient with anything of decent quality. For example, my girlfriend sure didn’t like that long heavy trigger pull of my S&W 642-2 but after a relatively low amount of range time she was hitting her target every time.
For me there are three firearms that fit my needs perfectly. They are a Glock 19, Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm, and a Ruger LCP. I carry the G19 or Shield depending on what I am wearing. (Summer tends to promote carrying of the Shield more often while the winter I tend to carry the G19 more. Either one is always accompanied by the LCP in a pocket holster. AND on occasion I find myself with just the LCP (rare, but it does happen from time to time). Oh and just for the sake of clarity the Glock 19 is carried OWB in a custom kydex holster to accommodate the x300 Surefire and the Shield is also carried in an OWB kydex holster. I always want to have the most firepower possible for the given situation so with that being said I do plan to explore some other holster options in the future that may help me to be able to carry the Shield in a situation where I previously only carried the LCP or carry the G19 in a situation where I carried the Shield etc.
Oh... one last thing, the LCP works great in a belly band for you runners out there. That is of course unless you prefer to run with a brick strapped to one leg.
Just my opinion on the subject. Take it for what its worth.. (which probably is not much haha)