So, what gun for when you leave America?
It is entirely plausible that, in a few years, I’ll be able to carry a concealed handgun behind enemy lines. By that, I mean to a state in the union that is not friendly to gun rights. Honestly, carrying a gun in that rocking Jewish deli on Times Square sounds pretty rocking. However, I doubt that restrictions on magazines limits will be lifted. I exclusively carry a Smith and Wesson M&P9. And that is a no go. So, when you leave America, do you get some of those ten round magazines (or try to find a 7 rounder for NY), or do you get a smaller, similar gun because it’s easy to conceal. In other words, what’s a good gun to carry in all 57 states?
May 27th, 2015 at 6:49 pm
your Californian readers are going to be a help on this one.
My solution: Glock 26. It’s right-sized around a 10-round 9mm magazine (no wasted space and just a hair bigger than the Glock 43). But the G26 expands to larger capacity Glock mags for non-prohibitionist states.
May 27th, 2015 at 6:52 pm
For my permit in CA, I carried a Glock 29. 10 rounds of 10mm.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:03 pm
LW Commander 1911 in .45 acp for the win.fd 7 round mags in the People’s Republic, 8 rounders everywhere else.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:06 pm
Single stack 9. I have a Walther PPS but there are many others.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:06 pm
As a Californian I deal with that all the time. If you use the M&P 9, I’d recommend the smaller M&P’s to go with it. There’s no reason to go bigger since you can’t have more than 10 rounds, and the smaller ones are easier to conceal.
I’m only allowed 3 firearms (all by serial number!)on my CCW and all are the smaller M&Ps: a 9c, a 9mm Shield, and a .380 bodyguard.
All three are very concealable, and work pretty much the same for handling and cleaning.
The M&P 9c handles just like the M&P 9, just shorter. The Shield is actually easier for me to hold (I have smaller hands) but I have been shooting the 9c for years and feel more comfortable with it. The bodyguard goes in a wallet holster and is only used when I can’t carry in a side holster.
FYI, my wife does the same thing, except with Glocks: a 19, 26, and 42. She absolutely loves her 26.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Sig P239 in .40 S&W or .357 Sig. Seven round single stack magazines. It’s like they were made for New York stupidity.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Well, to use my old joke: Which gun do you want to carry? Not that one! (Actually, I think this IS the NY/NJ/CA law…)
I imagine I could get a magazine for my current carry that would only hold 10/7/6. Or I’ll just keep one in the pipe and leave the mag at the state line…
Or, just keep to my current policy: Always stay in Jesusland.
May 27th, 2015 at 7:43 pm
Sig p225 or a p7m8 both good bets for 9mm and single stack
May 27th, 2015 at 8:14 pm
I think the law in NY was you just couldn’t have more than 7 rounds loaded, in gun.
May 27th, 2015 at 8:16 pm
since I live behind enemy lines my carry guns are as follows.
S&W1911Sc (now cataloged as S&W1911PD) Kahr PM45 (also now available in CM45) Ruger LCR .357
Rarely but available for VERY light/deep concealment a NAA Mini Revolver, and a Beretta 21A .22
May 27th, 2015 at 8:16 pm
I really like my Kahr CW9. Seven in the mag and one in the chamber is not a lot of ammo, but it hides so well. I usually carry a spare mag and/or a P380. I wish I had spent more for the P9, but the differences are mostly cosmetic. I don’t shoot often, but after more than 2,000 rounds my CW9 had NEVER had a failure… except the the time I put .380 in the mag. The trigger pull is really long, but smooth. The reset is the entire length of the trigger pull. It does not have an external safety. My G19 feels big in my small hands, the Kahr is more comfortable for me. Happy Shopping. 57 states? “You don’t know how many states we have? That’s OK, we really like the symbolism of voting for you”… twice. Hope and (Fundamentally) Change!!!
May 27th, 2015 at 8:19 pm
XDS 45 – 5 rounds in the short mag, 7 in the long mag
XDS 9mm – 7 rounds short, 9 long (so no long mag for travel)
May 27th, 2015 at 8:25 pm
S&W model 19, .357mag.
May 27th, 2015 at 8:51 pm
Since NYC does not issue non-resident permits, that leaves only one way I know of for you to legally carry in NYC. If I’m correct in guessing LEOSA then NYC limits do not apply – just like they do not apply to NYPD.
When you go to the deli be sure to ask what other parts of the matzoh you can eat. And forget the delis on Times Square. Katz FTW and the best seat in the world to bring a date to. Bring a cooler if you go to Carnegie – you will be doing good to finish half of a sandwich at one sitting.
stay safe.
May 27th, 2015 at 8:51 pm
5 shot .44 mag if they limit the count then get big bullets. a 5 shot .454 would be nice.
May 27th, 2015 at 9:26 pm
If one carries a Sig P226 or P229 in .40 or .357sig then the P239 is a single stack version with a 7 round mag. Same manual of arms for all three. The P239 in 9mm has an 8 round mag.
May 27th, 2015 at 9:43 pm
Colt Python. Plus, it is good for Georgia zombies.
May 27th, 2015 at 9:49 pm
I have both the factory 17 round and accesory 10 round mags for my SR9.
May 27th, 2015 at 10:04 pm
“The Duck Says:
May 27th, 2015 at 8:14 pm
I think the law in NY was you just couldn’t have more than 7 rounds loaded, in gun.”
This. The SAFE Act restricts the loading of guns with more than 7 rounds. 10 round mags are still legal.
May 27th, 2015 at 10:20 pm
My trusty Ruger LCR or a stainless S&W Body Guard (the old shrouded hammer 5 shot snubby).
May 27th, 2015 at 10:47 pm
Pair of .357 Magnum revolvers. Say Ruger 3 inch GP100s with FULL Buffalo Bore 140gr DPX ammo at 1400 fps.
I figure if you can’t have a high round count, have a high amount of swat per round.
That or old slabsides (1911 that is, in .45.)
May 27th, 2015 at 10:49 pm
Paraphrasing Joshua from WarGames:
“The only way to win the game is not to leave America.”
May 27th, 2015 at 11:59 pm
“Skidmark” (#14) is incorrect regarding LEOSA; magazine limits apply (at least for retired LE); the 2010 LEOA Improvement Act negated NJ’s hollow-point ban for LEOSA carriers but did not address magazine limits. LEOSA carriers are restricted to the same magazines as the other carriers in those benighted states.
Because some jurisdictions’ laws ban, not magazines, but pistols “capable” of holding more than X number of rounds (DC, for example), I don’t carry 10-round double-stack magazines. A Glock 26, for example, with a 10-round magazine, is “capable” of accepting a 15-, 17-, or 32-round magazine. When I travel to unfree states I stick to revolvers.
May 28th, 2015 at 12:21 am
Given the assumed capacity limitation, an increase in cartridge power would makeup the loss in ‘firepower’.
Therefore, a revolver in .45-70 would work for winter carry. Rest of the year .357 / 10mm.
May 28th, 2015 at 3:17 am
The 7 round limit in New York was ruled against by a federal court in December,2013, although the 10 round magazine limit was upheld.
http://volokh.com/2013/12/31/new-york-7-round-limit-struck-second-amendment-grounds-assault-weapons-ban-10-round-magazine-ban-upheld/
May 28th, 2015 at 3:51 am
Springfield EMP is by far the best and easiest weapon I’ve ever carried and I’ve been carrying concealed since 1989. It comes in two different flavors, 9mms or 40 cal. If you get the 40 try to stay away from the 180 grain bullets… it gets a little snappy with muzzle flip. 165 grain bullets are very smooth. 155 grain and you don’t have hardly any felt recoil.
May 28th, 2015 at 7:50 am
The same thing that is on my hip every day.
Springfield Armory, compact 1911, Officers aluminum frame
4″ barrel in 9mm. Accurate, reliable and easily concealed. Carried in a Dragon Leatherworks Fugly IWB holster. A pair of spare mags in a cut down glasses case in my back pocket.
May 28th, 2015 at 8:17 am
Dep801 is right, and the New York State Troopers are officially not enforcing the 7 round limit:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/State-Police-guide-amended-to-ignore-seven-round-5355959.php
However, that could change, and the federal court ruling doesn’t apply statewide, so if you’re outside of the Western District of New York, local police could still charge you with violating the 7 round limit.
May 28th, 2015 at 8:47 am
My EDC gun is the M&P Shield 9mm. I think it’s good to go in every state, although you may want to load fewer rounds for Communist-held NY. Obviously, my single-stack 9mm preference may not be yours. I think my second choice would be a compact 1911.
May 28th, 2015 at 9:39 am
Considering the way the big, Dem, cities are blowing up, I’d say a Wildey in .475 wildey magnum.
Or do you have a death wish?
May 28th, 2015 at 10:16 am
As others have pointed out, you can load 10 in NY now, but that can change.
Of course you can still carry as many magazines as you like (or even a ‘New York Reload’ by carrying your spare magazine already inserted into your spare gun).
I think the biggest issue is that you want something that stays concealed. People in gun-unfriendly states can freak out if they see that an ordinary person is armed in public, and the police don’t always handle these situations gracefully.
May 28th, 2015 at 11:26 am
Note to self: never, Never, NEVER move to California.
May 28th, 2015 at 11:30 am
SD3, it depends on which county you reside. The rural counties like Kern are gun friendly and the sheriff will issue carry permits and it was my experience that everybody, including the local Dems, ignored the state gun laws. That being said, I moved to Texas as soon as I could.
May 28th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
It’s the President’s intention that no one carries “in all 57 States”, well except the hired guns that protect him, his family and others of the elite ruling class.
May 28th, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Aside from round count, another thing to consider is any requirement for being on an approved list (CA and MA) and whether there is a requirement for an external manual safety, loaded chamber indicator, etc.
A modern gun designed and intended by the manufacturer to be available in those markets with all those options, popular and bland finished enough that they will pay (need a manufacturer big enough to pay those costs) to keep it on the “approved list” is probably the place to start looking.
May 28th, 2015 at 2:24 pm
Veeshir is right about the dimocrat cities blowing up, but my choice for a dimocrat city weapon would be a Dillon Minigun, just to be on the safe side.
May 28th, 2015 at 4:18 pm
I usually carry a .45 Long Slide with laser sight, an Uzi 9mm, a 12 gauge autoloader, and a Phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.
While I have your attention, does anyone know a young man by the name of John Conner? I last saw him in LA. Need to find him.
May 28th, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Well, depends on what you like to carry normally.
I don’t carry (because laziness, honestly; Oregon is Shall Issue but I haven’t bothered), so the rest of this is all theoreticaly rather than experiential. But I do know my general preferences and hassle-tolerance.
For me, I’d probably be carrying a 7-10 round plastic-frame .380 in the first place, because I don’t want to carry anything big or heavy.
(Re. Mr. Carberry’s point, are there any things like loaded chamber indicator or external safety or approval-list requirements in any states for mere possession in pistols, rather than for sale?
I don’t know of any, but I haven’t looked into the Un-Free States at that level of detail.)
May 29th, 2015 at 12:27 am
I just try not to leave America. I haven’t been to New York since college and California since my uncle died.
May 29th, 2015 at 7:44 am
Me too, LKP. I hear folks talk about traveling, flying or cruising to exotic destinations, but we’re satisfied to travel from Tennessee down to Florida Gulf Coast (Destin) staying in gun friendly Dixie. And be in my own vehicle rather than being fondled, prodded and rayed by the TSA. I definitely don’t intend to visit any of the slave states.
May 29th, 2015 at 8:57 am
Beretta 21a or 950.
.22 (or .25). Tip-up barrel to load, no slide-racking. Single/double-action. Originally intended for undercover.
I’d prefer a .45 or at least a 9mm. But, bad guys don’t want to get shot with anything.